On Your Mark, Get Set, Grow!

Guest: Chris Mellon, a coach at CEO Coaching International. Chris has over three decades of leadership experience as CEO, CFO, and COO in various industries, including wholesale distribution, banking, consulting and advisory services, formation and sale of SaaS entities, and public accounting.  Quick Background: BIG growth isn't an accident or a stroke of good luck -- it's a process. And committing to that process through intentional planning and continuous review is the only way to sustain growth while staying true to your company's culture and values.  On today's show, Chris Mellon explains the 4 things he focused on as a hired gun CEO leading a family-run business from $300 million in revenue to almost $4 billion.

 Guest: Frank Buonanotte, a coach at CEO Coaching International. Frank has been a founder, chairman, and/or CEO at several highly successful companies within the commercial real estate, retail, and franchise industries, including Party City.  Quick Background: Working with a CEO coach gives you access to decades of top-level knowledge from business leaders who have been there and done that. And while no two companies are exactly alike, combining tried-and-true best practices with discipline and accountability is a formula that leads to winning, exponential growth, and Making BIG Happen. On today's show, Frank Buonanotte shares the 7 Smarts to CEO Success that he used to lead companies in multiple industries to BIG.

Guest: Ken Eissing, a coach at CEO Coaching International. Ken has served as President, COO, General Manager, or Advisor in the Technology, Media, Telecom, and BPO Financial Services industries in public and private entities ranging from Fortune 100 to less than $20 million businesses. Quick Background: Did you wake up this morning wanting to lead a single-digit growth company? Didn’t think so. Exponential growth is the product of an empowering sales culture that stokes competitive flames and rewards top performers who aren’t content to clear the low bar. On today’s show, Ken Eissing discusses six ways CEOs can assemble, manage, and motivate a top sales team that will drive fast growth and Make BIG Happen.

Guest: Juergen Rochert, a coach at CEO Coaching International. As an innovative and driven leader, Juergen has been highly successful in various executive roles for the Mercedes-Benz and Daimler Truck Financial Services Companies around the globe, including Mexico, Canada, the United States, Germany, Australia, and New Zealand.  Quick Background: According to a study by McKinsey & Company, the top 10% of the largest companies in the world earn nearly 90% of the economic profit created. Meanwhile, the bottom 20% are coping with steep losses. That translates into a BIG opportunity for small-to-medium-sized companies that can leverage speed and creativity to compete with larger incumbents. On today's show, Juergen Rochert identifies five areas where smaller firms can compete and win market share if they follow an effective plan.

Guest: Mateo Romano, a coach at CEO Coaching International. Matteo has more than 25 years of experience at top brands including Mattel and Tyco Toys. He is an exceptional driver of business growth, revenues, and profitability at companies across the U.S., Europe, and Latin America. Quick Background: Every new remote worker you hire, every smaller company you acquire, and every international office you open thinks the same thing: "We're different. We have a unique way of doing things, and it works." Maybe. But when it comes to setting targets and measuring progress, a growing company needs to establish a baseline of consistency to ensure that every level of the organization is working towards the same goals. On today's show, Mateo Romano explains the four elements of alignment that will keep a BIG decentralized team progressing towards your BIG vision.

Guest: Andres Molano, a coach at CEO Coaching International. Andres has led diverse, high-performing teams and grown international sales and operations throughout North America, Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.  Quick Background: No company gets BIG by staying the same. At those moments when momentum is stalling and growth is plateauing, struggling CEOs often start chasing shiny objects or throwing money at the wall to see what sticks. Effective leaders face those same challenges by going back to square one and reassessing what's essential to the company's culture. On today's show, Andres Molano shares a five-part framework CEOs can use to drive a BIG culture transformation that will kick off a promising new chapter for their companies.

Guest: Erno de Bruijn, a coach at CEO Coaching International. Erno was the president and chief operating officer of the international division for a global manufacturer of building materials. He has also been an active YPO member since 2008. Quick Background: Optimizing how to effectively communicate in a decentralized workforce world should be near the top of every CEO’s to-do list for the remainder of the year. Many of your best workers consider WFH a non-negotiable now. Your next key hire might live on the other side of the world from your headquarters. And if you’re contemplating an international expansion, you’ll need to keep your whole team Making BIG Happen across time zones, language barriers, and cultural differences.

Guest: Francisco D’Angelo, a coach at CEO Coaching International. Francisco has extensive experience growing revenue in outsourcing supply chain management services in procurement, contract manufacturing, logistics, and 3PL environment across 13 countries in the Americas. Quick Background: The pandemic showed many CEOs that they were taking their supply chain management for granted. To keep your business growing through the next disruption, CEOs need to reassess their core competencies and identify strategies that will keep their warehouses stocked and their customers happy. On today’s show, Francisco D’Angelo explains how companies can make their supply chains more resilient, more efficient, and more profitable.

Guest: Kelly Wade, a coach at CEO Coaching International. Kelly has nearly 30 years of sales, marketing, and management experience. She spent the last decade with one of the largest commercial roofing companies, where she helped transition the company to an ESOP as the COO and led the company through a highly successful sale to private equity as the first female CEO in the national roofing industry. Quick Background: For many entrepreneurs, becoming the CEO is a natural -- and often necessary -- extension of leading a new company from startup to BIG. For others, becoming a CEO is the culmination of a journey from the ground floor of a business all the way up to the C-suite that develops character, skillsets, perseverance, and a unique appreciation for how high-performing teams work. On today's show, Kelly Wade discusses the accumulation of work and life experience that helped her grow into a successful and trailblazing CEO. 

Guest: Pascal Brochier, a coach at CEO Coaching International. Pascal has over 20 years of experience in sales, marketing, and general management roles at some of the world’s biggest consumer products and technology companies, including Gillette (now part of Procter & Gamble), Vivendi Universal, and Electronic Arts. Quick Background: The pandemic forced many companies to accelerate their online pivots. Now, it's time to start preparing for the next phase of your digital transformation. Web 3.0 could decentralize pieces of the global economy and create rapid advances in AI and data acquisition. And however you want to define "metaverse," there's no denying that your customers are going to increasingly live, shop, and play online. On today's show, Pascal Brochier reflects on lessons he learned during the first wave of online growth in the early 2000s to point CEOs towards a BIG digital future.

Guest: Ron Carson, founder and CEO of Carson Group, and Paul West, Managing Partner of Carson Wealth Management. Carson Group is a client and strategic partner of CEO Coaching International.  Strategic Partner: Carson Wealth is a Strategic Partner of CEO Coaching International. To learn more, visit here.  Overview: You’re spending countless hours thinking about your business, working in your business, but how much time are you spending on effectively managing all the money that you’re earning from your business or from that windfall that could come from a significant exit? Much like a good executive coach can help CEOs develop better business plans, Ron and Paul discuss how to think about your income and wealth, how to put it in perspective, and how to make sure you have a proactive wealth plan for your money so you don’t have to worry about it. 

Guests: CEO Coaching International's Mark Moses, Don Schiavone, Craig Coleman, and Christopher Larkins. Quick Background: In 2016, Mark Moses' book Make BIG Happen asked CEOs four questions that can transform businesses: What do you want? How do you get what you want? What could stand in the way of you getting what you want? How do you hold yourself accountable? Now, Mark and three of his colleagues at CEO Coaching International have expanded upon that framework and detailed the proven system that we use to help CEOs achieve exponential growth. "Our clients kept asking us, what is it that leads some firms to sell their businesses for nine figures or more," Mark says. "We wrestled down the rhythms and concepts of this execution framework to help companies perform at the highest level." Their new book, Making BIG Happen, debuted at #5 on The Wall Street Journal hardcover business bestseller list and hit #1 on Porchlight Book Company's best seller list. On today's show, Mark, Don, Craig, and Chris dig into how t

Guest: Chris Hurn, the founder and CEO of Fountainhead Commercial Capital. Fountainhead is a nationwide non-bank direct commercial lender that specializes in funding commercial real estate projects and providing growth financing for business owners. The company was recently named to the Inc 5,000 list of the fastest growing companies in America. Chris is also an executive coaching client of CEO Coaching International. Overview: BIG growth sometimes requires spending BIG cash. And if you don't want to give up equity to get the cash, what are your options? On today's show, Chris Hurn explains the debt financing options CEOs should explore before they start breaking off chunks of equity that they may regret parting with in the future. 

Guest: Bill Brady, a seasoned entrepreneur, lawyer, and a coach at CEO Coaching International.  Quick Background: The Great Resignation has sparked a lot of conversation about how companies can help employees achieve better work-life balance. But shifting workplace dynamics have hit CEOs hard as well. According to several studies, executive-level burnout is on the rise. CEOs who let their businesses consume them aren't just putting their health and sanity at risk, they're also crippling the growth potential of their businesses. On today's show, Bill Brady explains three keys to developing a company that can keep Making BIG Happen while the CEO is living life to the fullest. And in terms of Making BIG Happen, Bill sold his company at age 41 for more than $100 million. 

Guest: Sasha Kelberg, Founder and CEO at Groglass and a client of CEO Coaching International.  Overview: Where the best companies start out is often very different from where they end up. Sasha Kelberg began his career working in Latvia for a U.S.-based private equity firm that was developing glass coatings with ex-Soviet technology. After spinning the glass business off into its own company, Sasha expanded Groglass from its Latvian base into an international company that's now one of the leading developers and manufacturers of high-performance coatings for glass and other displays. And, with the help of his CEO coach, Sasha executed this expansion so well that he's able to oversee operations and 200 employees from his new home in South Africa. On today's show, Sasha discusses the decisions he made during several key pivot points that allowed his company to survive the Great Recession and identify new niches around the globe.  

Many small to mid-sized business owners are surprised to discover that TV advertising is much more cost-effective than they think. Sure, a Super Bowl ad costs millions for a 60-second spot. But you can be much more surgical in finding the right networks, the right day part, the right message, and fine tune your results based on the analytics to generate BIG growth on a very reasonable budget. On today's show, Mic Feld explains how direct response TV advertising works and how you can use an insider's knowledge to get great results regardless of your budget.

Guest: LeAnn Boyd, President & CEO at Southern Scripts, which is a rapidly growing provider of pharmacy benefit management services throughout the United States. Overview: Some entrepreneurs look at a market dominated by two or three major players and see an insurmountable barrier to entry. Others see a stagnant business space that's vulnerable to new thinking and BIG disruption. On today's show, LeAnn Boyd describes how she and her entrepreneur coach, Jaime Cohen Szulc, used our Making BIG Happen System to create a culture of innovation that redefined her company's value proposition and grabbed the attention of her target customer base.

Guest: Earle Pratt, a coach at CEO Coaching International. Earle is a seasoned CEO who has led companies in the U.S., Europe, and Latin America in the Education and EdTech, Franchising, and Financial Services markets. Earl has led multiple private equity backed businesses (investors include The Carlyle Group and Camden Partners) and has extensive experience prepping companies on both sides of a sale transaction. Quick Background: What is the difference between selling your company and selling BIG? Preparation. CEOs eying an exit start planning to reach that finish line years in advance so that they can optimize both their businesses and that future opportunity. That longer runway also helps the CEO prepare for a major personal and professional transition once the sale is complete. On today's show, Earle Pratt shares a five-step process that CEOs aiming for a sale should adopt sooner rather than later.

Guest: Emily Murphy, a coach at CEO Coaching International. Emily has held multiple leadership roles in the federal government, most recently serving as Administrator for the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), the federal agency charged with managing 371 million square feet of office space, over $75 billion in governmentwide contracts, and a number of shared services. Quick Background: Think you have problems managing, compensating, and inspiring your team? Well, imagine your workforce is more than 11,000 strong, you're overseeing a $37 billion budget, and both you and your organization are responsible for supporting the operation of the U.S. federal government. On today's show, Emily Murphy discuses the specific strategies and tactics that she implemented within the GSA that led to BIG improvements in culture, employee engagement, and leadership scores, all while generating multi-billion-dollar increases in sales and revenue.

Guest: Kevin Adams, a coach at CEO Coaching International. Kevin's experience includes leadership roles in publicly-held, private equity-backed, and family-founded businesses including Isagenix, ConAgra Brands, International Home Foods, and Stella Foods. Quick Background: No, "growing broke" isn't a contradiction in terms. It's what happens when a CEO's eyes get so wide that she loses perspective on what made the company special in the first place. Without that clear focus on what's really driving your growth, your business could wander off track and burn cash with every wayward step. On today's show, Kevin Adams describes a four-part framework for achieving rapid growth that's centered on the "secret sauce" your company needs to make BIG happen.