The Leadership Standard

A'Lelia Bundles is an Emmy award-winning producer who spent over 30 years as an executive with ABC News and NBC News – in addition to authoring several biographies about the trail-blazing women in her family. A'Lelia’s great-grandmother was a central figure of the Harlem Renaissance, A'Lelia Walker, and her great-great-grandmother was the first female self-made millionaire in America, Madam C.J. W...

EPISODE 22 Have you ever wondered what it takes to become a coveted Fortune 500 company? Look no further than this episode of The Leadership Standard podcast featuring award-winning thinker, author, broadcaster, Senior Editor at Large of Fortune Magazine , and speaker on today’s most significant trends in business – Geoff Colvin! As someone who is frequently surrounded by multi-billionaires and vi...

Tara Cowling is a member of the American Medical Writer’s Association (AMWA), the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) – and one of Canada’s top entrepreneurs. In 2008, Tara founded Medlior Health Outcomes Research Ltd with a priority for providing value and insight to health outcomes research projects through robust methodology. The community-based research or...

The Honourable Perrin Beatty, P.C., O.C, is the President and CEO of Canada’s largest and most representative national business association, the 200,000-member Canadian Chamber of Commerce . Since Perrin was elected to Parliament at 22 years old, he has made significant contributions to the development of Canada through his work as a politician and corporate business leader. During his 21 years in...

Beau Lotto is a neuroscientist and world-renowned expert in perception. His research explores the ways in which we experience the world through our own versions of reality – and he has helped brands like Cirque du Soleil, Microsoft, and L’oreal gain valuable, science-backed insights into their businesses and customers. As Beau puts it, “the brain never sees the world as it actually is, only the wo...

The Leadership Standard – 018 – Bob Izumi - Professional Angler and the Host of Bob Izumi's Real Fishing Show Hailing from the small town of Blenheim, Ontario, Bob Izumi has become Canada’s “ Most Recognizable Fisherman ” – and you’ve likely seen him on your television for the past 38 years as the host of Bob Izumi’s Real Fishing Show since its premiere in 1983. In addition to his iconic televisio...

Did you know that content marketing can generate triple the amount of outbound marketing leads, drive six times higher conversion rates, and has the potential to generate a 7.8-fold boost in your web traffic? Whether you’re wondering how to execute content marketing more effectively – or how your organization can hit the ground running and get started and up to speed – you won’t want this episode...

The Leadership Standard – 016 – Jennifer Carlson - CEO & Co-founder of Baby Gourmet, Founder at Thirsty Naturals Jennifer Carlson built a baby food empire from the ground up with her Baby Gourmet brand and recently revealed the organization’s next growth phase: Being acquired by the renowned Switzerland-based baby-food manufacturer, Hero Group.  In the latest episode of The Leadership Sta...

Our latest episode of The Leadership Standard podcast features a master communicator and facilitator, David Maclean. As a TEC Canada Chair , the winner of numerous regional, national, and international awards, and the man behind MacLean Group Marketing – which made Profit Magazine’s 2004 list of Canada’s fastest-growing companies – David Maclean has an abundance of impactful takeaways for every le...

Thomas Benjoe – President and CEO of FHQ Developments and TEC Canada member – joins Gair Maxwell for a raw conversation that uncovers the triumphs, struggles, disruptions, and future opportunities of the fastest-growing population in Canada – Indigenous people. As Thomas and Gair unwrap the effects of institutionalized racism against Indigenous populations, listeners will gain insights about how F...

The Leadership Standard – 013– Adam Hartung As the CEO and Managing Partner of Spark Partners – an organization specializing in innovation-based business growth for technology companies, start-ups, and entrepreneurs – Adam Hartung boats over 30 years of experience in developing and implementing successful strategies that take advantage of emerging technologies and new business models. Adam was nam...

Born into a family of entrepreneurs in Wroclaw, Poland, and raised in Winnipeg, Iggy Domagalski always knew that he wanted to run his own company. In his captivating conversation with Gair Maxwell , TEC Canada speaker and branding expert, Iggy reminisces about the days of launching a painting business, the trials and tribulations of starting an online marketing company in the early ’90s, and how h...

Francis Cholle – Wall Street Journal and USA Today Best-selling author – uses deep human learning and cognitive science to help leaders and organizations solve complex problems and thrive in times of disruption. As an international speaker, he has presented at Davos World Economic Forum, on the TED stage, Wharton and Columbia Universities, just to name a few. His latest book, SQUIRCLE A New Way to...

For Mark Sutcliffe, effective leadership and running a marathon are kindred subjects. In addition to being a TEC Chair, Mark Sutcliffe is an award-winning broadcaster, columnist, author, blogger, podcaster, entrepreneur, volunteer, community activist, and Order of Ottawa member who has played a leadership role in several distinct fields throughout his 30-year career. Throughout Marc’s insightful c...

“Birds of a feather flock together. We’re all in the same boat. Great minds think alike. While just figures of speech to some, they reflect a simple truth—it’s the company we keep that often determines the level of personal growth and professional success we achieve in life.” – Leo Bottary Leo Bottary is the founder and managing partner of Peernovation, LLC. He is a sought-after thought leader on...

Passionate about creating beautiful jewelry, and empowering women in the process, Rachel Mielke ‘s entrepreneurial journey is rooted in making a difference in the world – one sparkle at a time. Since its creation in 2007, Rachel Mielke has grown grew her jewelry business — named Hillberg & Berk in homage to her great-grandmother, Hilda Bergman, and her dog, Berkeley — from a kitchen-table-oper...

There are two parts to every company: the mechanics and the soul. How does a leader achieve both in a  time of retail disruption? Since joining Lee Valley Tools at the age of 22, Jason Tass é has embarked on an experience and inspiring journey of growth and leadership, recently becoming the COO of the celebrated Canadian business. From detailing his definition of leadership to insightful refl...

What’s the secret to success? Carol Kitchen will tell you that it’s realizing there is no substitute for knowing your business. From humble beginnings on an Illinois farm to becoming the President and CEO of United Farmers of Alberta, and recently being named GROWMARK Vice President, Energy and Logistics – Carol’s 30 years of global, multi-channel success has been the result of embracing lifelong...

The transition from a small town in Newfoundland to Toronto’s Bay Street was an eye-opener for new law grad Kerry O’Reilly Wilks. The east coaster worked her way up to head of legal for the world’s second largest mining company and currently serves as Chief Officer of Legal, Regulatory and External Affairs for TransAlta. Though, it is in her Maritime’s roots where Kerry set the framework for her s...

Sports teams and movie series have a phenomenal fan culture, but so do many businesses. Whether you’re manufacturing dump trucks or selling flowers on the corner, people seek out human connection. Eight-time author David Meerman Scott draws on neuroscience and extensive marketing experience to explore ‘Fanocracy’ the idea of turning fans into customers and customers into fans.

Why does one team win and one team lose?” Once the youngest captain in NHL history, Ryan Walter is now a five-time author and Stanley Cup Champion. In this episode, Ryan breaks-down how the margin of difference in company success vs failure is not in the caliber of their people, but rather the energy of their people. Episode art photo credit:  Richard McGuire

Mike Gettis, co-founder of Endy, has eighty-nine million reasons to be a disruptor. Along with his business partner Raj Ruparell, the duo began selling pillows online, but soon realized to control their distribution channel, they would have to alter their product line. Out sprung Endy, the customer-focused mattress company famous for Mattress-in-a-Box. Founded in 2015, Gettis and his partner obser...

Todd Millar, President & CEO of TEC Canada, went from pumping gas as a teen to selling SuperPages for $2.6B. It was during those early years where Todd learned the hard way the value of integrity and trust - his guiding principles ever since. In the inaugural episode of The Leadership Standard, host Gair Maxwell explores leadership frontiers with Todd and how he climbed the ranks of the corpor...