Motivated to Lead Podcast - Mark Klingsheim

This week we interviewed Craig Sider. Craig is passionate about unleashing potential in others. He partners with leaders and organizations to help them identify - and move courageously toward - a preferred future. For over three decades, Craig has walked with and served leaders from business, non-profit, and education. He combines insights gleaned from his degrees in business, theology, and leadership development. Craig's approach is to listen deeply and then ask questions that draw out deeper reflection and inspire fresh thinking. Craig shares insights from his new book, “Beyond Your Box: Break Free to Pursue Your Dream”

This week, we interviewed Doug Hoekstra. Doug worked at Medtronic for 30 years and retired in August 2021. At Medtronic Doug held the position of Vice President and Global Controller for 12 years. In this role, he led global finance operations and reporting, financial planning, business development support, finance enterprise excellence, and the finance training and development programs. He also co-chaired the Finance Executive Committee, which focused on business operations and results, functional strategies and planning, key functional objectives, and talent management. Prior to this position, Doug served in a variety of other finance roles, including roles in several business units and at the Corporate level. Prior to Medtronic, Doug was an audit manager at KPMG, a public accounting firm. He graduated from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management in 1986. Doug is currently serving on the Board of a privately held company, focusing on coaching and mentorship.

This week, we revisit our interview with Marie-Pierre Dhers. She founded an advisory firm in 2013 in New York City. Her network of partners advises investors and entrepreneurs in aviation and aerospace, transportation, energy, and new technology in the US and Europe. She is actively serving on several boards. Before that, Marie-Pierre held senior executive positions for more than 20 years at Air France-KLM, one of the largest European airline Groups with over $30B in revenues. She built a track record of driving growth and leading large complex transactions and transformations. She holds a Master of Science from Cranfield University, UK, a Master degree in engineering from the French College of Civil Aviation, ENAC (Grande Ecole Ingenieur), Toulouse, France, and an Executive MBA from Saint John's University, New York, USA. She is certified in Corporate Governance by INSEAD.

This week, we interview Steve Nash, the Founder of Traditional Human Performance. Steve’s background experience includes almost 25 years as a military officer/commander, serving at home and abroad in The Royal Canadian Regiment, the Canadian Airborne Regiment, the UK Parachute Regiment (on exchange), and the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command. Further, he has 10+ years working with at-risk youth and 20+ years running his own company, Traditional Excellence Human Performance. His activities span from more formalized boardroom/conference room presentations and classroom courses to outdoor/experiential events through fitness, wilderness adventure, and beyond. Steve is an 8-degree black belt in Shotokan Karate.

This week we interviewed Dr. Kevin Fickenscher who is a senior physician executive with extensive domestic and international experience in large, complex healthcare organizations. Throughout his career, he experienced strategic and operational management roles related to the development and expansion of programs as well as turnaround initiatives by serving in various C-suite positions. He holds demonstrated expertise in healthcare system development, consulting, technology management, informatics, infotech deployment, transformation, and care management with related experience in leadership and organizational development, strategic planning, clinical quality, and health policy with an established national reputation as a dynamic, visionary, and strategic leader in healthcare.

This week, we interviewed Paula Cruickshank. Since June 2020, she has held the role of Senior Vice President in Ontario, overseeing BDC’s financing and consulting services across the province's 33 Business Centres. Paula has more than 25 years of banking industry experience. Prior to her current role in Ontario, she held the role of Senior Vice President, British Columbia and North, from 2017 to 2020, where she successfully grew the bank’s financing and consulting services throughout that region. In 2023, Paula was recognized by Women We Admire as one of the Top 50 Women Leaders of Toronto. She has been a board member of Futurpreneur since 2020. She holds an International MBA from the Schulich School of Business and an LLM in Banking and Financial Institutions from Osgoode Hall Law School.

This week, we revisit our interview with Gayle Packer, Board Chair, CEO, and President of Terracon. She joined Terracon (ENR#24)* in 2004. During her 17 years with the company, Gayle has served in multiple leadership roles, including attorney, co-general counsel, director of corporate services, and chief administrative officer. She has been instrumental in Terracon’s growth, coordinating the acquisition of more than 50 companies and expanding the company to over 150 offices nationwide. Gayle holds a Juris Doctorate from the University of Minnesota and a Master of Laws from the University of Arkansas. In addition, she also has earned bachelor’s degrees in political science, international studies and agricultural economics, as well as a master’s degree in agricultural economics and applied business management from The Ohio State University. Prior to joining Terracon, Gayle held roles in sales and public relations for the agricultural broadcasting network in Ohio and was as an attorney (specializing in the areas of corporate, tax and employee benefits) at regional and national law firms in their Kansas City offices. In April 2021, Gayle was elected to the board of VHB, Inc., (ENR#56)* an employee-owned transportation and energy engineering firm, and she serves on VHB’s audit committee. Gayle was recognized in the Kansas City Business Journal’s Women Who Mean Business class of 2010 and Ingram’s top Women Executives in 2020. She currently serves on local, regional and national non-profit boards of directors, including the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation (audit committee and investment committee), ACE Mentor Program, ACEC Research Institute (finance committee), Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce. In addition, Gayle was recently elected to the executive committee of the Design Professionals Coalition. Gayle is a member of both the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) and Women Corporate Directors where she has served on the programming committee for the local chapter.

This week we revisit our interview with Dr. Julia Lee Cunningham. Julia Lee is an Associate Professor of Management and Organizations at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, and a National Geographic Fellow and Explorer. She currently serves as a faculty co-director for Center for Positive Organizations. She is also a faculty affiliate at the Sanger Leadership Center, and Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise at the University of Michigan. Prior to joining Ross, she served as a Lab Fellow in Institutional Corruption at the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics, and a Research Fellow in Women and Public Policy Program at Harvard University. She earned her PhD, MPP, and AM degrees at Harvard University, where she was trained in organizational behavior, psychology, and behavioral economics. Dr. Lee Cunningham studies the psychology of narratives, lay theories, and behavioral ethics. She is passionate about understanding the power of narratives in shaping objective reality, discovering the mechanisms that alter them, and illuminating how narratives can be leveraged to yield more ethical, sustainable, and adaptive behavior in the workplace. Her research has been published in a number of top scientific journals in management and psychology, including Academy of Management Journal, Organization Science, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Psychological Science, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, and Journal of Applied Psychology. Dr. Lee Cunningham strives to promote the use of scientific evidence in diagnosing and addressing critical problems in public policy and business practices, and has many years of experience in consulting and conducting field research with leading companies, non-profits, and governments. She teaches BBA, MBA, and executive education courses on leadership, teams, negotiation, and conflict resolution, and was named one of the Top 50 Undergraduate Business Professors by Poets and Quants in 2020.

This week we interviewed Jeff Lackey. Jeff is the founder and CEO of JKL Advisors, a consultancy whose purpose is to help grow small, medium, and large corporations that need to unlock their growth strategy with people. Jeff recently served as Vice-President of Talent Acquisition for CVS Health, where he led the award-winning Global Talent Acquisition team for a $300B / 300,000-person enterprise for more than 7 years. He has also led Talent Acquisition for other globally recognized brands, including Rolls-Royce, First Energy, and Corning Incorporated. Over his 25+ year career, his teams have hired over 1 million people in over 70 countries and across 8 industries – including healthcare, retail, insurance, aerospace, defense, energy, communications, and executive search. Jeff is continually evaluating new technologies and innovative approaches to Talent Acquisition. He regularly meets with company leaders who are shaping the landscape of Talent Acquisition and includes some of them on his weekly podcast Growing your business with People.

This week, we welcome back Keith Grossman. Keith has been a leader in the medical technology industry for more than 35 years. He is currently the Chairman of the Board of Nevro Corporation (NVRO), where he was previously President and CEO from 2019 through April 2023. Prior to Nevro, he was named President and CEO of Thoratec Corp. (THOR) for the second time in 2014. He led the company’s return to growth, a 2.5x increase in company value, and its $3.4 billion acquisition by St. Jude Medical in 2015. He previously served as the CEO, President, and Director of Conceptus, Inc. (CPTS) from 2011 to 2013, where he took the company from negative sales growth to over 20% growth, tripled EBIDTA, and led the company’s sale to Bayer Healthcare for over $1.1 billion, a 3x increase in the company’s value before his arrival. Prior to Conceptus, Keith served as managing director of TPG (Texas Pacific Group), a private equity firm, as a member of its healthcare investment team. Prior to TPG, Mr. Grossman served as Thoratec’s President, Chief Executive Officer, and director for the first ten years of its growth as a commercial company. Prior to Thoratec, he held a number of commercial and general management roles with companies, including SulzerMedica and American Hospital Supply Corp. He currently also serves as Vice Chairman of Alcon, Inc., and is on the board of Outset Medical, Inc. and previously served as a member of the Board of directors of Intuitive Surgical, Inc., Kyphon, Inc., ViewRay, Inc., Zeltiq, Inc, and a number of privately held medical device companies. Keith received a B.S. in life sciences from The Ohio State University and an M.B.A. from Pepperdine University.

This week we interviewed Steve C de Baca. Steve is Executive Vice President and Chief Patient Safety & Quality Officer of Royal Philips. He brings more than 30 years of quality and regulatory affairs (QRA) experience in the medical technology industry. Prior to joining Philips, Steve served as the EVP of QRA for Cardinal Health, supporting the $185 bn enterprise and was a member of the Operating Committee. Prior to this, Steve served as VP of QRA for Orthopedics and Americas for Zimmer Biomet, where he was responsible for supporting multiple business segments as well as the Americas region for international regulatory and compliance. Earlier in his career, he served as the SVP of Quality, Regulatory & Clinical Affairs for the Danaher Diagnostic platform, which includes the four separate operating companies of Beckman Coulter Diagnostics, Leica Biosystems, Radiometer & Cepheid. Prior to that, Steve was with Boston Scientific for over eight years in progressively senior strategic roles, the last of which was VP of Quality, for the Cardio, Rhythm, and Vascular (CRV) and the Neuromodulation businesses. Additionally, Steve served as an industry board member and instructor for six years for the Regulatory Affairs master’s degree program at St. Cloud State University. He earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering and industrial technology and an MBA, both at California State University Long Beach. He lives in Minnesota and has been married to his wife Katherine for over 24 years. They are proud of their son Carson who is currently attending Northeastern University in Boston.

This week, we revisit our interview with Renee Ryan. Renee has 25 years of building category-creating healthcare companies. She was most recently the CEO of Cala. Prior to Cala she led the health technology investments for Johnson & Johnson Innovation (JJDC) on the West Coast and Asia Pacific for 8 years. While at J&J, she made over 15 new investments, including the Series A for Cala Health. Previously, she was a healthcare investment banker at RW Baird, Jefferies and Goldman Sachs. Renee currently sits on the boards of Cala, Neuropace and RefleXion Medical.

This week, we interviewed Sean Bacon. Sean is a Canadian Armed Forces veteran who served 12 years as a Paratrooper and as an Instructor at the Canadian Forces Military Police Academy. During that time, Sean developed a system of training to psychologically and physically prepare both soldiers and police to thrive in some of the worst situations and environments the world has to offer with a winning mindset. His company, Dynamic Shift Consulting Inc., leverages this experience to work with Corporate Leaders and Organizations to develop and sustain Mental Toughness, Leadership, and Team Development in a competitive environment. His clients include The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Gold Medal Women’s Eight Rowing Team, Scotiabank, Scotia Wealth, Business Development Bank of Canada, First West Credit Union, Prospera Credit Union, Mountain Equipment Company, Kal Tire, Attabotics, Langley Concrete, Gran Tierra, AG Hair, and the Canadian Men’s National Soccer Team.

This week, we welcome Dr. John Lowry. John is a recognized authority on negotiation through his experience as a lawyer, management consultant, entrepreneur, negotiation coach, and university administrator. We discuss his new book Negotiation Made Simple, A Practical Guide for Solving Problems, Building Relationships, and Delivering the Deal. His results-focused, systematic approach to negotiation has been successfully implemented by thousands of professionals across the United States. John teaches negotiation at the top-ranked Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine University’s Caruso School of Law and lectures in Vanderbilt University’s Master’s in Management in Health Care program. John serves as president of Thrivence, a new management consulting firm affiliated with Barge Design Solutions. In addition to leading the firm, John counsels clients on leadership, executive team effectiveness, strategy, revenue growth, and conflict management. He also provides negotiation training and coaching for governmental entities, healthcare organizations, and other businesses. John is a popular keynote speaker and leads multiple executive retreats each year including the opening retreat of the Nashville Health Care Council Fellows program. John earned his bachelor’s degree in speech communications from Pepperdine University and master’s degree in religion from Abilene Christian University. He received his juris doctorate degree from Southern Methodist University’s Dedman School of Law. He has also completed graduate work in dispute resolution at the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine University’s Caruso School of Law and in public policy at California State University, Sacramento. John resides in Nashville, TN with his wife, Melissa, and their three children.

This week, we interviewed Andy Bass, who is a consultant, author, and speaker who works with businesses to find and exploit their hidden assets. He has worked with organizations in the UK, US and Far East including International Automotive Component Group, Rolls Royce, L’Oreal, Trimas, Deutsche Bank and The Advanced Propulsion Centre. Prior to his consulting career, Andy was a lecturer at Aston Business School and has also taught at Oxford Saïd, Warwick and Strathclyde Business Schools. Andy has a PhD in Software Engineering and describes himself as a geek who learned to wear a suit (to the point where he can pass undetected in the C-suite - usually). He is author of Start With What Works: a faster way to grow your business, Committed Action: The three-step method to inspire your people to take action, and The Performance Papers: Incisive Briefings for Busy Leaders. Outside work, he played lead guitar in a Rush tribute band, and is a failed standup comedian. For free book chapters and presentations, visit: bassclusker.com.

In this week's episode, we revisit our conversation with Jeremy Utley. Jeremy is the Director of Executive Education at Stanford’s d.school and an Adjunct Professor at Stanford’s School of Engineering. He is the co-host of the d.school’s widely popular program, “Stanford’s Masters of Creativity.” He is the coauthor of Ideaflow: The Only Business Metric That Matters (Portfolio) with Perry Klebahn. He is also on the teaching teams of d.org, an organizational design course, and Transformative Design, a course that turns the tools of design onto graduate students’ lives. One of the most prodigious collaborators at the d.school, Jeremy has taught alongside the likes of Lecrae, Dan Ariely, Laszlo Bock, and Greg McKeown. He holds a BBA with Honors in Finance from The University of Texas at Austin and an MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

This week, we interviewed Scott Flora. Scott is an accomplished medical device executive who has held global leadership positions at Smith & Nephew Loptex (Opthalmology), Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics, and Covidien, now known as Medtronic. Scott was also the CEO at Invuity, OmniGuide, and Conventus Orthopaedics. In the past, Scott has held public board roles at MAKO, now Stryker, and Invuity, now Stryker. Scott is currently President and CEO of SFlora Consulting, LLC, which assists investors and CEOs of early and later-stage growth businesses with their growth strategies. Scott is Chairman of the board at Palliare LTD and a board member of TubeWriter, Origami Surgical, and Integrum.

This week, we revisit our interview with Heather Simonsen. Heather is the CEO and Board Member of Boomerang Medical, Inc., a bioelectronic medicine company focused on autoimmune diseases. Throughout her career, Ms. Simonsen has served in numerous executive leadership roles, most recently as the President of PQ Bypass, Inc., a medtech company acquired in 2021 in one of the highest-valued vascular device exits in the past decade. Prior to that, she held senior leadership roles at both venture-funded medical technology startups, five of which were acquired, as well as Fortune 500 companies such as Abbott and Johnson & Johnson. She spent the early part of her career in hospital administration and management consulting with a specialty focus on risk management for healthcare organizations. Her record of effectively and efficiently bringing multiple companies from start-up to liquidity, including the successful sale of PQ Bypass. In addition to her operating roles, Simonsen was one of the founding board members for the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association (HBA) in San Francisco and also served on the HBA national Board of Directors. Currently, she serves on the Founders Board of Advisors for Stanford’s StartX incubation program for entrepreneurial companies focused on changing the future of healthcare. She has an MBA from Chicago’s DePaul Kellstadt School of Business and completed the Executive Program at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.

This week we revisit our interview with Robert Pasin. Robert is the CEO/Chief Wagon Officer of Radio Flyer Inc., the business founded by his grandfather in 1917. Radio Flyer is an iconic brand that holds a special place in people's hearts because it instantly transports them to a happy time — to the best parts of childhood. Robert works with a wonderful group of passionate "Flyers" whose mission is to create products that bring smiles to kids of all ages and create warm memories that last a lifetime. Company sales have grown significantly because of Robert’s focus on building a highly committed and creative team. The product line has expanded beyond the iconic Little Red Wagon™ to include tricycles, scooters, and other ride-ons featuring innovative, beautiful, playful design. Robert is the Emmy winning producer of the animated short film, Taking Flight.

This week we interviewed Pam Fox Rollin. Pam coaches executives and top teams in Silicon Valley and globally. Pam also facilitates technology and healthcare organizations to succeed in strategic transformation, executive development, and culture change. Her bestselling books -- Growing Groups into Teams and 42 Rules for Your New Leadership Role -- are described as indispensable for leaders at all levels. Pam and her team at Altus Growth Partners work with highly capable people to take on their next round of leadership and strategic growth. Pam’s MBA is from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business (GSB), where she later served as Guest Fellow in leadership and Master Coach for executive education.