The Executive Appeal with Alex D. Tremble

Two years and a significant investment into a technology decision, Simon Kaye recognized it was the wrong call and walked away, even as his own vendor questioned how he could abandon that much sunk cost. That willingness to admit a mistake and act on it is central to how Jaguar Freight has operated for over 33 years without every decision escalating back to Simon's desk. Simon Kaye is the founder...

You can't be in every branch, every day. So when something goes unresolved, your people fill that silence themselves, and it isn't always with the truth. Matt Schroeder is President of Truck Equipment, Inc., a heavy-duty parts, repair, and equipment upfitting company with five locations across Wisconsin and Michigan, recently named 2025 Distributor of the Year at Heavy Truck Aftermarket Week. In t...

If you're running a multi-location, operations-heavy business in the eight-figure range and you still can't name three people who could step into a critical leadership role tomorrow, this episode is for you. Alex D. Tremble sits down with Jamila Cowan, NA Public Sector Programs & Partnerships Strategy Lead at Dell Technologies, where she has spent nearly two decades in senior leadership roles...

If your team is talented on paper but problems still roll up to you before they get handled, this episode is for you. Andrea Piering is the co-owner and president of Sun State Builders, one of Arizona's longest-running design-build general contractors. She started as a college intern, spent 25+ years working nearly every role in the company, and took the helm as president in 2024. She knows what i...

If your leadership team is always busy but never quite focused on the right things and you're still the one who has to sort out which initiatives actually matter, this episode is for you. Teresa Duran , Chief Information Officer at Tree Top Inc., is an award-winning technology executive with over two decades of experience leading large-scale transformations across multiple industries, including bi...

If you're running a multi-location, operations-heavy company and you're still the person every major decision runs through, this episode is a direct conversation about why that's happening and what it actually takes to change it. Anthony Apa, President of Mark-It Express LLC and a third-generation operator in transportation and logistics, built a portfolio spanning asset-based trucking, freight br...

What happens when the CEO becomes the operational bottleneck, even with a strong team in place? In this episode of The Executive Appeal, Scott Lovell shares how he transitioned from HR manager to President/CEO of SmithCo Side Dump Trailers and learned one of the hardest lessons for growing operations-heavy companies: if every major decision still depends on the CEO, growth eventually slows down. W...

In this episode of The Executive Appeal, Siri and Alex D. Tremble unpack what leadership really looks like when teams are moving fast, change is constant, and the pressure to adapt never stops. Sirisha “Siri” Swahari is Vice President and PMSO Sector Leader for US Global Technology Operations at CGI, where she leads global infrastructure operations, oversees multi-million-dollar portfolios, and he...

Michael Wright, Vice President of Strategic Growth at JANUS Research Group, has spent 25+ years helping organizations evolve from activity-driven execution to outcome-based performance in high-stakes environments. In this episode, he and Alex D. Tremble break down a challenge most leaders of a multi-location, operations-heavy business doing roughly eight figures in revenue face: your team is busy—...

If you’re a CEO of a multi-location, operations-heavy business doing roughly eight figures in revenue, you’ve likely felt this: you have solid managers but they still hesitate, filter information, or wait for you before making a move. In this episode of Executive Appeal podcast , Alex sits down with Janis Middleton, Chief Inclusion Officer at 22Squared and founder of First, Not Only Network. With...

If you’re a CEO of a multi-location, operations-heavy business doing roughly eight figures in revenue, you already know this: growth doesn’t break your business, misalignment and low trust do. In this episode, Alex sits down with Ryan Changcoco, Principal at CCG and The Marketing Ronin, GP at Anchorage Pointe Ventures, and CEO of a fast-growing pediatric behavioral health organization expanding ac...

If you’re leading a $10M–$25M, multi-location, operations-heavy business, you’ve likely felt it: revenue slows down unless you step in and push. In this episode, Alex D. Tremble sits down with Lara Shackelford , CEO of Hawksmoor.ai , where she architects AI-driven go-to-market systems for enterprise and mid-market companies. With deep experience across Oracle, Microsoft, and high-growth environmen...

If you’re leading a $10M–$25M, multi-location, operations-heavy business, you’ve likely seen it: your team aligns in the meeting… then decisions get questioned, reshaped, or quietly undermined afterward. In this episode, Alex Tremble sits down with Laurie J. Fitzmaurice, Independent Board Member and Consultant, who brings 30+ years of experience building and leading $7.5B+ in energy infrastructure...

If you’re leading a $10M–$25M, multi-location, operations-heavy organization, you likely have a strong team but still feel like too many decisions come back to you. In this episode, Alex sits down with Suzanne Devenport, CEO of Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC) and lifelong advocate for rural and Indigenous communities. Suzanne has spent decades building organizations that bridge resou...

If you’re leading a $10M–$25M, multi-location, operations-heavy business, you likely have a strong team but still feel like too many decisions come back to you. In this episode, Alex sits down with Court Lorenzini, Founder & CEO of FounderNexus and a serial entrepreneur behind companies like DocuSign, who has raised over $300M and built multiple startups across decades. The conversation goes b...

Strong communication isn’t about saying things clearly. It’s about being understood the way you intend. In this episode of The Executive Appeal , Alex D. Tremble sits down with Darrin Kayser , Executive Vice President at Edelman , the world’s largest communications firm. With over 30 years of experience across government, military, and global organizations, Darrin shares what most executives misun...

Scaling a company is rarely about doing more work yourself. It’s about building the right people, partnerships, and systems that allow the business to grow without everything depending on you. In this episode of The Executive Appeal, host Alex D. Tremble , founder of GPS Leadership Solutions, sits down with Stephen Hightower , Chairman and CEO of Hightower EV Solutions and President and CEO of Hig...

You can be clear. Logical. Strategic. Ethical. And still lose influence. In this episode of The Executive Appeal, Alex D. Tremble, executive coach and founder of GPS Leadership Solutions, breaks down a hard truth for senior leaders: at the executive level, perception is the operating system of influence. In $50M to $750M organizations, leaders often believe communication is about clarity and autho...

Hard work doesn’t always lead to results. And for many executive leaders, that’s the real frustration. In this episode of The Executive Appeal, Alex D. Tremble sits down with Jim Iyoob, President of ETS Labs and Chief Revenue Officer at Etech Global Services. Jim shares how mentorship, servant leadership, and real execution—not just effort—are what truly develop high-performing teams. Starting his...

Senior executives face unprecedented challenges: AI-driven processes, multi-generational teams, and constant change can make leadership feel overwhelming. In this episode of The Executive Appeal, Alex D. Tremble sits down with Alejandra Castillo, Senior Fellow for Economic Development at Purdue University NW and former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development. Alejandra shares...

Senior executives don’t struggle because they lack intelligence. They struggle because growth still depends too heavily on them. In this episode of The Executive Appeal, Alex D. Tremble sits down with Jason Monczka, Head Honcho, Jr. (Rainmaker) at Pomeroy Group. Jason has built a career around long-term, trust-driven relationship building that has generated hundreds of millions in opportunity flow...

Senior leaders often focus on strategy, execution, and results, but the real differentiator at the executive level is self awareness and trust. In this episode of The Executive Appeal, Alex D. Tremble sits down with Brad Eckerdt, Fractional Corporate Development Officer at Emerson Consulting, LLC. Brad brings decades of experience across military leadership, investment banking, M&A strategy, a...

Senior executives often say they want their teams to “step up” but real ownership only happens when trust is intentionally built. In this episode of The Executive Appeal, Alex D. Tremble sits down with Mugdha Tipnis , Senior Vice President and Transportation Business Line Leader for the Mid Atlantic South at WSP . Mugdha leads complex, high stakes teams across major infrastructure projects where t...

Senior executives rarely struggle because their teams lack talent. They struggle because trust erodes, hard conversations get delayed, and misalignment quietly turns into politics, leaving the CEO to manage conflict instead of strategy. In this episode of The Executive Appeal, Alex D. Tremble sits down with Ann Dunkin, CEO of Dunkin Global Advisors Inc. and Distinguished Professor of the Practice...

Many executive teams look aligned on paper, but behind the scenes, decisions still roll up to the CEO. Leaders hesitate to act, initiatives slow down, and the organization becomes dependent on one person to keep things moving. In this episode of The Executive Appeal, host Alex D. Tremble sits down with Nathan Ohle, President and CEO of the International Economic Development Council, who brings dec...