WPAOG Podcast

This episode features an interview with MAJ Nargis Kabiri ‘10, Field Artillery/FA 58 at the United States Military Academy at West Point. MAJ Kabiri is currently an Army Marketing Officer and a mother of three who immigrated to the United States from Afghanistan in 1986. She enlisted in the Army at age 17 and would later get recruited to play basketball for West Point. In 2010, she received her Ba...

This episode features a discussion between LTC Tom Dull, Executive Officer at the Character Integration Advisory Group at West Point, and MAJ(P) Ben Elliott, MAJ Marc Meybaum, and CPT Brian Martinez. They are three officers who have conducted research on the Army profession and are Instructors of MX400: Officership, a class on the oath of office for first class cadets, at West Point. In this episo...

This episode features an interview with Dr. Chris Gibson, President of Siena College. Dr. Gibson is a scholar of leadership and politics, a decorated combat veteran, and a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Upon becoming the 12th president of Siena College in early 2020, Dr. Gibson led the COVID task force during unprecedented times. He is the first permanent lay leader in Siena’s...

This episode features an interview with Steven Lee ‘01, COO and Co-Founder at Crowdz, an innovative receivables software as a service Fintech company set to revolutionize the $9 trillion receivables market. Steven has over 18 years of hands-on leadership, operations, project management, logistics, finance, and personnel training in the military, aerospace, and high-tech industries. Prior to Crowdz...

This episode features an interview with John Nawoichyk and Michael Mazzocco, graduates from the United States Military Academy at West Point Class of 1993. John currently serves as the Senior Associate Athletic Director for Cadet Wellness and Operations at West Point. He joined the department in June 2018 after retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel with over 25 years of service in the Army. John holds...

This episode features an interview with Coach Matt Sherman, Head Rugby Coach at United States Military Academy at West Point. After a five-year tenure as the Director of Rugby at Stanford, Coach Sherman joined the Black Knights in 2015 to lead the Army West Point men's rugby program. He became the first full-time coach in Army West Point men's rugby history. From 2009 to 2011, Sherman worked with...

This episode features an interview with Terry Hill ‘92 and Alex McKindra ‘93, Managing Directors at J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company providing innovative financial solutions for consumers, small businesses, corporations, governments and institutions around the world. Terry is a Managing Director, National Industry Manager for...

This episode features an interview with Coach Brian Riley, Head Hockey Coach at United States Military Academy at West Point. Coach Riley has 18 seasons as Army hockey’s Head Coach. Following 14 years as an assistant to his brother Rob and a lifetime of hockey education from his father Jack, Brian knew all about the U.S. Military Academy. Over his 17 seasons at the helm, Brian is just the third Ar...

This episode features an interview with Brigadier General Shane Reeves, Dean of the Academic Board at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. BG Reeves serves as the 15th Dean of the Academic Board. Commissioned in 1996 from West Point, he served seven years as an Armor Officer in the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment. After attending law school in 2003, he transitioned into the Judge Advocate Genera...

This episode of the WPAOG podcast features a conversation with Lieutenant Colonel Robert (Rob) Beale, class of 2002.  Beale is the 2022 WPAOG Alexander R. Nininger Award winner and currently serves at U.S. Army Special Operations Aviation Command at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The WPAOG Nininger Award is presented annually to a graduate who is an exemplar of heroic action in battle and is funded b...

This episode of the WPAOG podcast features an interview with David F. Melcher, a businessman and retired U.S. Army Lieutenant General. He spent 32 years serving in the military and is recognized as a prominent figure in the aerospace and defense community, as the former President and CEO of Exelis from 2011–2015 and of Aerospace Industries Association from 2015–2017. During his 32 years of service...

This episode features a conversation with Joe Beard ‘96, Co-Founder & CEO of CollateralEdge, a Dallas-based fintech platform that provides banks with a flexible, automated sales enablement solution to efficiently increase lending capacity without compromising credit quality. Joe has had a diverse career spread across the military, technology, investment banking, and venture capital. As a former Pa...

This episode of On Point features an interview with David Hunt, Founder and CEO at Crossrope, a fun new way to get fit anywhere with a weighted jump rope experience. David is a 2004 graduate of the United States Naval Academy, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology Entrepreneurial Masters graduate, former Naval Aviator, startup founder, and jump rope enthusiast. With just a library card and an...

This episode features a conversation with Bob Eisiminger ‘88, Entrepreneur, and Founder and Former CEO of Knight Point Systems. He is also a member of the Board of Directors at Chaminade University of Honolulu and Patriapps Software Venture Studio, and Board of Experts at Birthing of Giants Fellowship Program. Bob is a serial entrepreneur, an investor in veteran led companies, and a former CEO. In...

This episode of the WPAOG podcast features a conversation between Tye Reedy '05, Director of Business Development at Adams Keegan, and James Keegan '55, a private investor and former Chairman of the Board of Adams Keegan. He is best known as a co-founder of Morgan Keegan & Company (now Raymond James), one of the country’s largest investment firms, where he served as president and COO until retirem...

This episode of On Point features a conversation with Brian Elliott ‘14 and Andrew Wolgemuth ‘15, Co-Founders of Wove, a 21st century jeweler bringing the jewelry designer directly to couples for custom engagement ring creation. Brian Elliott is a serial entrepreneur with a passion for reinventing outdated consumer experiences. At Wove, he focuses on Digital Product, UX and Marketing. He previousl...

This episode features an interview with Mike “Coach K” Krzyzewski ‘69, a Naismith Hall of Fame coach, a five-time national champion at Duke, and a six-time gold medalist as head Coach of the US Men’s National Team. He was also the West Point Men’s Basketball Head Coach from 1975 to 1980. Coach K was initially reluctant to attend West Point, but eventually realized how much he loved the academy, th...

In this episode of the WPAOG Podcast, Bridget Altenburg ‘95, President and CEO of the National Able Network, is joined by Kimberly Jung ‘08, CEO of Blanchard, and Emily Miller ‘08, Senior Impact Fund Manager at Twilio.org. In 2014, they founded Rumi Spice, an award-winning social enterprise that provides high-quality, sustainably farmed saffron to world class chefs and Michelin-rated restaurants,...

This episode features a conversation with Brad Genser, Founder and CTO at Farther, the first digital family office that pairs expert advisors with intelligent technology to manage your entire financial life in one place. At Farther, Brad provides the vision for using technology to deliver an elite wealth experience for clients. Prior, Brad was at Goldman Sachs in New York where he founded and led...

This episode features a conversation with Michael Meese ‘81, President of the American Armed Forces Mutual Aid Association (AAFMAA), a not-for-profit, member-owned financial services association that provides life insurance, military benefits counseling, Survivor Assistance Services, residential mortgages, financial planning, investment management and trust services to the American Armed Forces Co...

This episode features a conversation with Emily McMahan ‘01, Co-founder and General Partner of Academy Investor Network, a seed-stage focused venture fund that invests in dual-use technology and military veteran-led startups. She has a passion for working with startups and connecting people, technologies, and companies solving tough national security, civic, and social challenges for good. Before...

This episode of On Point features an interview with Brad Harrison, Founder and Managing Partner of Scout Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm making the world a better, safer place by investing in frontier and dual-use technologies built by veterans, intelligence leaders, and premier research labs. Brad is an entrepreneur and seasoned business development executive with a passion for buil...

This episode features an interview with General Rebecca S. Halstead  ‘81, Founder and CEO of STEADFAST Leadership, a leading consultancy company she founded after serving for 27 years in the Army. She retired from the military as a Brigadier General. Becky specializes in inspirational and motivational speaking, developing leader training programs, leader coaching and mentoring. Becky has provided...

This episode features a conversation between Dr. Scott Parsons, Character Education Integrator for the Military Program at the United States Military Academy at West Point, and LTC Tom Dull, Executive Officer at the Simon Center for the Professional Military Ethic. Dr. Scott Parsons assists universities and institutions in developing leaders of character by designing curriculum, integration techni...

This episode features an interview with Rolfe Arnhym ‘53, a Chair for Vistage, the world’s largest and most comprehensive executive coaching organization for small and midsize businesses with $1 million to $1 billion in revenue. As a Vistage Chair, Rolfe mentors numerous business leaders in the community through three groups he oversees. He has served every community in his personal and profession...