Lt Gen (RET) Burt Field began his Air Force career as an F16 fight pilot. He ascended the ranks and retired as a three-star general. The transition from a single-seat fighter plane to commanding thousands of troops reveals Gen Field's leadership development. Gen Field experiences illustrate how leaders can apply the same skills in this age of Artificial Intelligence.    

Why would anybody in his right mind want to jump on a sled and hurl himself down an icy mountain at over 80 miles per hour? At the age of 21, Ruben Gonzalez took up the sport of luge and started training for the Olympics. Four years and a few broken bones later, Ruben made his Olympic dream come true! But he didn’t stop there... Ruben kept training, and at the age of 47, he was racing against 20-year-olds at the Vancouver Winter Olympics! Ruben is the first person ever to compete in four Winter Olympics in four different DECADES! He’s one of the most popular speakers in America, and his best-selling book "The Courage to Succeed" has been translated into 10 languages.Get ready to be inspired.... to go for the Gold.

Avital and Bobby Carroll discuss human performance and leadership. They are the husband/wife team that created a stir on the Freestyle Skiing World Cup Tour, where Avital finished #8 in the world and won two bronze medals at the 2023 World Championships. Bobby is the head coach of the Austrian National Team and an assistant coach of the Australian Men's Team. 

After graduating from the US Air Force Academy, Burt Field qualified to fly F-16 fighter planes and then rose to instructor. His Air Force career led him to be named Commander of the US Forces in Japan and the 5th Air Force. Lt Gen Field also served as the Military Assistant to Ambassador Richard Holbrooke followed by serving as the Vice Director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Casey Converse is the former head swimming coach at the US Air Force Academy. He is a 4X national champion and represented the United States in Montreal's 1976 Summer Olympic Games. Casey was the 1977 NCAA champion and American record holder in the mile. He has coached multiple national champions, All-Americans, and conference champions throughout his career including back-to-back NCAA National Championship teams in 1995 and 1996. Casey is a member of the US Air Force Academy Atheltic Hall of Fame and the City of Mobile (AL) Hall of Fame. He is the author of Munich to Montreal: Women's Olympic Swimming in a Tarnished Golden Era. https://www.amazon.com/Munich-Montreal-Olympic-Swimming-Tarnished-ebook/dp/B01CNAMKB6/ref=sr_1_1?crid=37EI8K7M2O5XX&keywords=munich+to+montreal&qid=1670101219&s=books&sprefix=munich+to+montreal%2Cstripbooks%2C119&sr=1-1

Dave Nordel is a retired United States Air Force Command Chief Master Sergeant with over 30 years of service. He is a registered nurse and emergency manager, and served as a medic in areas of operations that include Saudi Arabia, Somalia, South America, Iraq, Korea, Japan, and Hungary.Dave grew up in a dairy farming community in rural Northern California and experienced all that brings to a young man raised in the late 60s and 70s. Dave left home at 19 to join the Air Force and ascended through the enlisted ranks to culminate as the Senior Enlisted Leader for all nuclear missile forces in the United States. He has vast experience leading small groups and large organizations and has led city government activities and large organizations as an emergency manager for multiple communities through Covid and other disaster situations.Dave currently lives in Billings, Montana, and is an outdoorsman, a mentor, and speaks to young leaders to aid in their development and future successes. He continues to give back the gifts he has collected along the way.Twitter: #DaveNordelInstagram: dnordel65www.linkedin.com/in/david-nordel-85265246/onemanoneplanmt@gmail.comhttps://www.amazon.com/Giving-Back-Leadership-Combat-Beyond/dp/1982285834/ref=asc_df_1982285834/?tag=hyprod-20&amp&linkCode=df0&amp&hvadid=598351558985&amp&hvpos=&amp&hvnetw=g&amp&hvrand=11149717278079118340&amp&hvpone=&amp&hvptwo=&amp&hvqmt=&amp&hvdev=c&amp&hvdvcmdl=&amp&hvlocint=&amp&hvlocphy=9020688&amp&hvtargid=pla-1672524547128&amp&psc=1

Dr. Heidi K. Gardner is a Distinguished Fellow at Harvard Law School and a former professor at Harvard Business School. Previously a McKinsey consultant and Fulbright Fellow, she is the author of Smart Collaboration: How Professionals and Their Firms Succeed by Breaking Down Silos, a Washington Post bestseller. She was named by Thinkers50 as a Next Generation Business Guru, and is cofounder of the research and advisory firm Gardner & Co.Ivan Matviak is the Executive Vice President of Clearwater Analytics, a Cloud-based SaaS provider solving investment accounting operational challenges. We provide investment accounting and reporting analytics for investment management, corporations and treasuries, institutions, and insurance companies.Dr. Gardner and Mr. Matviak are authors of Smarter Collaboration: A New Approach to Breaking Down Barriers and Transforming Work published by Harvard Business Review Presshttps://www.amazon.com/Smarter-Collaboration-Approach-Breaking-Transforming/dp/1647822742

Into this new world, Sheri L. Orlowitz’s 30-plus-year experience as an entrepreneur, venture capitalist, turn-around expert, board director, corporate leader, attorney and former federal prosecutor make her uniquely qualified not only to lead companies in the cannabis industry but to advise regulators and identify best in class cannabis companies. Few can match her track record of success.Sheri has owned and led a dozen very different companies, some acquired from Kodak, Tyco International, and Applied Magnetics, employing over a thousand people and raising $100 million in the process. She has invested in seed and venture capital companies for over 25 years including a payments company acquired by PayPal.Her foray into cannabis was marked by years of monitoring the industry and after careful analysis, she made her first investment in MJ Freeway a track and trace software company. Sheri subsequently raised the capital needed to fill out its Series C round to prepare it to be the first U.S. based SaaS marijuana company to be listed on the NASDAQ under the name Akerna.From real estate development to computer component manufacturing, her successful ventures required precision, negotiating expertise, commitment to quality, coordination with federal regulators and an insistence on the highest ethical standards of corporate behavior. With an eye towards using her decades of board experience and turn around expertise, she guides growth in companies, as a member of boards such as Connected Living and AgTools or in the C-suite most recently as Chief Strategy Officer of Witi a cannabis and medical device tech company.Sheri’s commitment to social justice led her 25 years ago to found a non-profit to address human trafficking as well as sit on the Harvard University Women’s Leadership Board and others. It also led to her involvement with the Marijuana Policy Project, the leading public policy advocacy group whose work is largely responsible for the “cannabis industry”. Sheri’s experience, integrity, and vision are used to help promote the safety of users and increase prosperity for people disproportionately affected by the War on Drugs.To accelerate efforts to increase safety and mainstream the industry Sheri founded and is Chairman of the Board of the Council for Federal Cannabis Regulation. The Council is made up of best in class professionals in the cannabis industry, FDA scientists, government relations, law, and social equity.

Michael  Okaty is a partner and business lawyer who focuses on a wide variety of corporate transactions, governance, and counseling. He serves as an advisor and trustee to high-net-worth individuals and families. Mike is founder and former chair of the firm’s Senior Living Industry Team, former vice chair of the firm’s Industry Teams Department and formerly the managing partner for the Orlando office. Mike is presently co-chair of the firm’s Transactions Practice and a member of the firm’s Management Committee.Mike has experience in a wide variety of corporate law matters, including corporate formation, corporate operations and governance, contract drafting, review and negotiation, mergers and acquisitions, and capital raising and finance transactions for both public and private companies and lenders.

Robert Jordan is the author of  RIGHT LEADER, RIGHT TIME: Discover Your Leadership Style for a Winning Career, which is the executive reader’s one-stop guide to assessing their distinct leadership style and a step-by-step plan for optimizing that style to best suit their business and scale its growth. Robert identified 4 distinct leadership styles and when and where those styles are the most useful. For example: ·       Are you an adrenaline junkie who "runs into the fire?" You might be a FIXER·       Are you a creative that is constantly envisioning new products, innovations and better ways to do things?  You might be an ARTIST·       Do you excel at managing teams, investors, and other stakeholders with diverse agendas?  You might be a STRATEGIST·       Are you transaction oriented and focused on the endgame? Do you see the ceiling as something made to break through? You might be a BUILDERSOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATESweb: | Interimexecs.com  twitter: | @interim_execsLinkedIn: | @interimexecsyoutube: | InterimExecs

Craig Jones is a veteran of the venture capital and private equity industries and currently runs the private equity firm TPE Boulder. He has invested extensively in software, healthcare, and business services companies, leading investments in over 60 companies. He is Chairman of Integrated Computer Systems. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of CanSource, DFW Neuro, and Voxco. Mr. Jones is a past member of the Board of Directors of the National Venture Capital Association and has founded a charter elementary school. He lives in Boulder, Colorado with his wife and kids.

Mark C. Crowley provides the roadmap workplace leaders the world over are seeking: How to most successfully and sustainably inspire and manage other human beings in the post-pandemic era. Nearly 50 million workers quit their jobs in the U.S. alone in 2021 - a record number likely to be exceeded in 2022. While we might imagine that an opportunity to earn greater pay is the key driver of this "Great Resignation," research shows two-thirds of the reasons people leave jobs boil down to issues related to their engagement & overall well-being. More specifically, people quit when they feel they aren't valued, respected, appreciated, coached - or cared about personally - by their manager & organization. Thanks in large part to the COVID pandemic, & a global reset of what matters most to people in their lives, human beings have profoundly evolved in what they need & want in exchange for their work.   Consequently, a radical change in employee expectations demands that organizations & managers rapidly pivot by embracing leadership practices that match the moment. The remedy to the Great Resignation is to adopt more humane ways of managing people knowing they inherently lead to infinitely greater engagement not to mention optimal employee performance. In this new & updated version of his seminal & visionary book, Mark C. Crowley draws upon emerging medical & other scientific discoveries which prove it's the heart, not the mind, that drives human motivation & achievement.  While we've long been led to believe that human beings are essentially rational beings ("I think, therefore I am," Descartes famously said), new research shows that feelings & emotions far more often motivate human behavior - & what people care about most & commit themselves to in their lives. In light of this breakthrough understanding, it's become incumbent upon workplace managers to pay great attention to their employees' emotional experience at work - far greater attention than any of us ever believed necessary.   Ironically, most of us were told the heart has no place in workplace management. In fact, most of us were taught that the heart acts like Kryptonite in leadership: it inherently undermines a manager's effectiveness - & lowers performance. What makes this book so remarkable is that it brilliantly contradicts all those traditional beliefs & proves why people naturally & instinctively respond to managers who care about them personally & support their deep human needs. To be absolutely clear, there's nothing soft or weak about the Lead From The Heart philosophy. Instead, it represents the future of workplace management & a roadmap to driving uncommon engagement, productivity & profitability when organizations around the world are wanting it most. Rich with inspiring stories & illuminating research, this book proves that when you lead people with a greater balance of mind & heart, people naturally follow. And, they also excel.

Rich Gannon played 18 years in the NFL where he was the leagues's MVP, a 4X Pro Bowl selection, 2X first team All-Pro, 3X AFC Player of the Year and 2X AFC Offensive Player of the Year. He led the Oakland Raiders to the Super Bowl in 2002. He attended the University of Delaware where he was named Yankee Conference Player of the Year as a senior and honorable mention All-American. 

Matt Doherty of Doherty Coaching Practice played and coached basketball at the University of North Carolina. He started on the 1982 National Championship team with NBA greats Michael Jordan & James Worthy. The program was led by legendary coach Dean Smith. Matt went on to coach college basketball. He was the head coach at Notre Dame before taking over the UNC program. He led the Tar Heels to the 2001 regular season ACC Championship while being named AP National Coach of the Year. Matt is now a consultant while broadcasting games for the ACC Network. Since his time at UNC, Coach Doherty worked as the head coach at FAU and SMU in addition to working at ESPN, the Indiana Pacers and the Atlantic 10 Conference.https://coachmattdoherty.com 

Now in his eighth season as head coach at Sam Houston, K.C. Keeler has taken the Bearkats to places they have never been before, culminating in the program's first-ever FCS national championship in 2020.In his tenure he has directed the Bearkats to a 71-22 record that includes 14 victories over top-10 ranked opponents and 13 wins in NCAA postseason action.During 27 years as a head football coach, Keeler has produced a record of 243 victories, only 95 losses and 1 tie. His teams at Rowan, Delaware and Sam Houston have combined for 16 NCAA postseason playoff appearances, 10 conference championships and played in 9 national championship games.His SHSU teams made the playoffs in each of his first 4 seasons at the helm, including FCS semifinals appearances in 2014, 2015 and 2017 along with a pair of Southland Conference championships.But it was the 2020 season that catapulted the Bearkats, and Keeler, even higher into the upper echelon of FCS programs. Keeler helped direct the Bearkats through the COVID-19 pandemic that pushed the season back to the Spring 2021 semester, and then helped Sam Houston close out a perfect 10-0 record with the program's first-ever title at the FCS level. After a win over Monmouth in the opening round, Sam Houston knocked off North Dakota State and James Madison, winners of the last 9 FCS titles, to reach Frisco and the title game. The Kats then took down top-seeded South Dakota State to claim the title. With the win, Keeler became the first coach in FCS history to win FCS championships at multiple institutions, having also won the 2003 title at Delaware. He also passed Jim Tressell for the most FCS playoff wins in the division's history with 25.

Since Lawrence R. (Bubba) Cunningham officially began his duties as Carolina’s director of athletics on November 14, 2011, UNC has graduated over 1000 student-athletes while consistently competing for championships in an array of different sports – exciting, motivating and influencing along the way. Under Cunningham’s leadership, the athletic department has accomplished numerous academic and athletic achievements: - The Tar Heels have won 13 national titles and made an additional 12 runner-up finishes. More than 2,700 student-athletes have made the ACC Academic Honor Roll -- which requires a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better for the year – each of the past six years. - More than 40 student-athletes have been named to Phi Beta Kappa honor society. - Ten student-athletes have been NCAA Elite 90 recipients. - Carolina’s APR has steadily risen, and 15 teams scored a perfect 1000 in 2017-18. In 2018-19, nine teams received APR recognition, which marks the third consecutive year UNC has won the most recognition awards among public schools in the ACC and a first-place tie for the most teams honored among public schools in the Power 5 conferences. - The Tar Heels finished in the top 10 of the NACDA Learfield Directors' Cup six times. -And student-athletes have logged more than 40,000 hours of community service, helping at hospitals and local schools, and partnering with a variety of local and national groups. Among Carolina’s many achievements during his tenure are a partnership with Disney to enhance customer service and organizational practices; the development of the Student-Athlete Academic Initiative Working Group; a compliance review by an outside firm; a student-athlete degree completion program called Complete Carolina; a master plan for UNC’s athletic facilities; and the creation of the RAMMYs -- an innovative end-of-the-year awards show popular with Carolina’s student-athletes and staff. Cunningham’s leadership has also extended outside of Chapel Hill. In 2020, he was named to the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee, and he also earned the 2019-20 AD of the Year Award from The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA). In 2018 he accepted an invitation to serve on the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) Advisory Council. He is the past president of NACDA and sits on the board of LEAD1, an association representing the ADs from the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) schools. He is in his eighth year on the ACC Television Committee, which helped lead the launch of the ACC Network in the fall of 2019. He also is currently serving on the ACC Autonomy Committee and has served on numerous NCAA committees over the last two decades. Cunningham, who earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration from Notre Dame in 1984 and 1988, respectively, worked in his alma mater’s athletics department from 1988-2002. A former member of the Irish golf team (1982-83), Cunningham served as Notre Dame’s Associate Athletics Director for finance and facilities from 1995-2000 and was the Associate Director of Athletics for external affairs from 2000-02.

Col Sean Finnan is a command pilot in the United States Air Force with over 3,100 hours in several variants of the C-130. He has flown missions throughout the world, including in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy, the USAF Weapons School, the US Army’s Command and General Staff College, and the US Naval War College. He commanded the 86th Operations Support Squadron from 2014-2016 and is currently the 86th Operations Group Commander at Ramstein Air Base, Germany.

Colonel Ryan “Rhino” Hill is a command pilot with over 2,500 hours in the A-10 and A-29. He is a former commander of the 81st Fighter Squadron and has served in combat in Afghanistan as an A-10 pilot and as a Battalion Air Liaison Officer. He is a 1999 graduate of the United States Air Force Academy and has master’s degrees from the Air Command and Staff College, the Army’s School of Advanced Military Studies, and the Naval War College. Colonel Hill is currently serving as a military professor and director of the Stockdale Leader Development Concentration at the US Naval War College.

Neal Doshi is the founder of M3 Capital Partners in Bloomfield, Michigan. A proven entrepreneur with extensive knowledge in strategy, operations, and business development, Neal has managed cross-functional teams in logistics, inventory management, sales, and strategy. He has over 16 years of experience in a myriad of industries including private equity, venture capital, healthcare, information technology (IT), automotive manufacturing, and commercial real estate. • M3 has completed transactions in a myriad of industries throughout the United States. Total transactions are valued at over $100 million. • Global work experience includes the US, Mexico, China, and Europe. • Managed over 20 re-sellers and partners for national IT firm. • Successfully implemented staffing division supplying over 20 professional working roles for large utility company. • Worked, developed and implemented strategic plans, CON documentation, and operational efficiency plans for over 30 hospitals throughout the US. • Director of Tier 2 manufacturing plant running with over 200 employees in China producing wire harnesses for OEM’s both locally and globally. • Corp! Magazine named “Most Valuable Professional” award recipient in 2015. • Sit on various for-profit and not-for-profit boards to develop strategic plans.

Max DeZara founded Akoya Capital Partners in 2005. He serves as Managing Partner of the company and is involved in overseeing all aspects of the operation. Mr. DeZara has sourced, evaluated, valued, and structured numerous investment opportunities across a variety of industries including manufacturing, professional information services, consumer foods and specialty chemicals. Mr. DeZara is uniquely expert at partnering with industry-leading executives to develop proprietary investment opportunities for family office and private equity co-sponsorship. The strategies he has developed and teams he has partnered with have created substantial shareholder value. Since its inception, Akoya has completed 20 platform investments and numerous add-on acquisitions across the portfolio. Prior to forming Akoya Capital, Mr. DeZara spent over 20 years in talent acquisition, assessment and human capital consulting, most as the founder and leader of the Carlyle Group, a leading Midwest boutique retained executive search and consulting firm. In 1998, Mr. DeZara sold Carlyle Group to The Whitney Group, creating a top-ten global executive search firm with eight offices worldwide. During his tenure with The Whitney Group, he was elected vice chairman and served on Whitney’s board of directors and lead their global private equity practice. Mr. DeZara is an active member of the Family Office Club, Association for Corporate Growth, and Vistage, a peer mentoring group for CEO’s and Tiger 21. Mr. DeZara is also the former Chairman of the Century Foundation, a non-profit board focused on the development of Lane Tech College Prep High School and remains actively involved on the board. Mr. DeZara works closely with our portfolio companies Edge Adhesives, NSA Industries, TTG and NutriScience. (312) 546-8322 mdezara@akoyacapital.com