Why Not Now? With Amy Jo Martin

Marisa Thalberg is one of the most iconic CMO’s out there. She is the Executive Vice President and Chief Brand & Marketing Officer at Lowe’s Companies, Inc. Marisa has previously worked for Estee Lauder Companies, Revlon, J. Walter Thompson, as well as built Taco Bell into the lifestyle brand we know it to be today.   In this episode, recorded live at the Cannes Lions Festival in France; the advertising Super Bowl, Amy Jo and Marisa discuss weaving in and out of business and life. You’ll dive into Marisa’s strong and desirable whisper brand, learn how to make a major life move with kids, hear the key to creativity and learn how Marisa rebranded from a corporate perspective.   Marisa talks about the importance of seeing peers as humans and not just coworkers.   Marisa is also the Founder of Executive Moms - a resource and online community for Executive Moms. She recognized a need in this niche 20 years ago and came up with a solution. For Marisa, it was not about creating a business, but rather creating a

Liz Matthews is the Senior Vice President of Global Brand, Creative and Experiential Marketing at Dell Technologies. She oversee’s all brand at Dell, which is a 100 billion dollar company. Liz has around 700 people who report up to her. Her leadership style is unmatched. It has to be. In this episode, recorded live at the 2022 Cannes Lions Festival in France, Amy Jo and Liz discuss what it means to be a leader today. They explore what teams need now versus what they may have needed in a leader a few years ago. You’ll learn the two traits that drive the highest engagement within teams at Dell, and how Liz is encouraging her people leaders to show up at work as their full selves by focusing on the whole person, not just the work persona. Liz talks through the future of work and what she’d like to see more of in this work from anywhere age. You’ll also learn why confidence and physiological safety are needed in order to experiment and drive innovation in the workplace. When people don’t feel safe, they don’t tak

Regan Walsh, Chief Renegade Officer at Renegade Global, is an incredible people leader who has coached some of the top executives at Nike, Wall Street and everything in-between. She navigates her own life with constant curiosity and guides others around healthy boundaries by shifting the way people lead. In this episode, Amy Jo and Regan discuss their point of view on perfection and provide tactical steps you can take to optimize your day, as well as your relationship with perfection before paralysis kicks in. They break apart the “disease to please” and differentiate between a preference versus a requirement. Regan also explains how you can operate with a full tank of gas by taking out your head trash, shedding your shoulds and being brave before good, instead of faking it until you make it. You’ll learn the key ways Amy Jo and Reagan integrate these tactics into the Renegade Accelerator programming. They provide personal examples of how they have reclaimed time in their own days and shifted to a mindset of

Ken Coleman is America’s Career Coach, the #1 national bestselling author of The Proximity Principle and From Paycheck to Purpose, and host of The Ken Coleman Show. Ken is known for helping people discover what they were born to do and providing practical steps to make their dreams reality.   In Amy Jo’s conversation with Ken, they talk through his personal journey and how he had to realize that “Nobody is sitting around thinking about how they are going to help you. You have to help yourself.” Ken went back to the basics and started with connecting, which he describes as a posture of learning.   Ken left the business world to move into broadcasting with no degree, no experience, and little connections. He talks about how he overcame fear, doubt, and pride issues. Ken had to collect on his career collateral so that he could get in the broadcasting industry and win.   Amy Jo and Ken discuss the difference between making things happen versus a letting things happen, and you’ll learn three key questions to ask y

Jodi Shelton, the co-founder and president of GSA (Global Semiconductor Alliance), plays full out. She has maintained a job since 6th grade, established herself as a pioneer within the technology space, written a screenplay, moved across the country, ran a triathlon and has grown GSA to include companies throughout the supply chain, representing 25 countries across the globe. Her strong work ethic and grit materializes as perpetual forward movement. Jodi is not afraid when it comes to going from idea to action. In this episode, you will hear how she followed Renegade Rule #2 and manifested her Why Not Now? idea to move to China. Jodi also discusses how one conversation, at a typical quarterly board meeting, sparked her to start the Women’s Leadership Initiative almost immediately once the meeting ended. You’ll learn Jodi’s tips for parents trying to juggle work and home life, her philosophy on “busy” and how she rejects it, the importance of curiosity, and how she kept her sanity through a very difficult se

Liya Sharif is a former corporate Renegade who led Brand Marketing at Qualcomm. Like all Renegades, Liya has pushed beyond normal expectations and structure, and does not have a traditional journey. Currently, Liya is studying for a degree in interior design as well as guiding emerging companies, looking to grow, with her creativity and unconventional approach to leadership. In this episode, Liya discusses how she did an audit of her life. She shares her roots, her history in dance and how that skill taught her to be disciplined, her desire to always know what it feels like to be a beginner and her rigorous education. As a woman who grew up in the former Soviet Union, Azerbaijan, Liya also shares her point of view on the war in Ukraine. Liya does many things, but conform is not one. It is in her DNA to innovate. She follows her curiosity and looks for continual renewal which drives all sorts of things in life that get her excited. Her personal motto; “If you continue doing the work you love, it is no longer w

As a corporate Renegade, Erik Day has many titles, one of which is Senior Vice President and General Manager of Global Small Businesses at Dell Technologies, where he serves as a heartbeat behind the brand. Erik has been working at Dell for 20+ years combining career with passion, purpose and skill.   In this episode, Eric shares 5 incredibly valuable steps for approaching difficult situations. You’ll learn two vital ingredients for a business to succeed, how to break down bias, how to be an empathetic leader and retain top talent, the importance of accountability and how to lead with optimism.   Erik lives with his finger on the pulse. When trying to make advisors more effective at talking to clients, he was told to stay in his box and not given any support from his bosses, until he ran a successful pilot program they could not say no to implementing further. In 2002 he also created a pride LGBTQ employee resource group at Dell to talk about challenges and solutions the community was facing.   Eric and Amy J

Phyllis Newhouse has quite the resume. She is the first African American woman to lead a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC), the first woman ever to win the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of the Year award in the technology category, she’s on the board of the Women’s Presidents Organization and is a pioneer in business. She is a retired senior military officer, a CEO, an investor and serial entrepreneur. Phyllis also happens to be a “frientor” to Amy Jo (a friend and mentor). Phyllis is changing the game and rewriting the business play book, especially for women. One way she does this is with “ROCs,” which stands for Resources, Opportunities and Connections. Phyllis generously gives these out all day every day. Amy Jo has personally been a beneficiary, as Phyllis has opened many doors for her. In this wide-ranging conversation, Amy Jo and Phyllis talk about business, their relationship with money, how Phyllis looks at wealth versus revenue, and how Phyllis’ power always enters the room before she does

Amy Browns-Taylor is a US citizen living in Poland. She is personally involved with helping Ukrainian refugees.   Amy and her family recently said “Why Not Now?” and moved to Poland. Not long after, they found themselves faced with a unique opportunity to open their home up to Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war. After making that difficult decision, they haven’t looked back.   Amy is a communications professional with her Bachelors in Journalism and Masters in Arts Administration. In this episode, you’ll hear how Amy has learned to leverage technology to do a whole lot of good. She has truly become a home base connection point for many Ukrainians needing help in Poland, and you’ll hear some of those heartfelt and inspiring stories during this conversation.   She also discusses the amazing ways technology has allowed her efforts to be amplified as well as the hardships she has faced. It has not been an easy journey, but she says the love and humanity she see’s daily is incredible.   Visit the link below to lea

Tatiana Ferreira is the Senior Vice President of Customer Service Excellence at Neiman Marcus. Tatiana has quite a colorful career journey. She has worked for some of the biggest brands in retail and fashion, and got her start at Disney.    As a top Latina executive in the luxury experience arena, she has been able to do things that are pretty unheard of. One of which is bringing mindfulness into the corporate world. She talks through some tactical suggestions on how you can introduce mindfulness into your own business or corporation and the ROI of doing so.    Tatiana refers to her Why Not Now? story as “productivity hell”. She talks about her addiction to work. Specifically, she dives into what resulted from that, some of the rules she set for herself to overcome the problem, the concepts around those rules and how she was able to shift and get ruthless about her new priorities.    Tatiana also discusses Service Excellence. What it looks like today, and how it compares to Service Excellence experiences of t

John Hardin is the co-founder and Executive Director of Proclaim Justice—a not-for-profit organization that frees victims of wrongful convictions. He is also a private investigator who has years of experience in public affairs communications. John is known for bringing media and public attention to situations where there’s a wrongful conviction.    John’s co-founder, Jason Baldwin, was one of the members of the “West Memphis Three,” a well-known case in which three people in Arkansas were wrongfully convicted of a crime and sent to prison for many years. John played a critical role in freeing the trio. Now, together, John and Jason are doing that for other people.    In this multifaceted conversation, John shares what he’s learned from knocking on doors and looking for answers. John also discusses the power of persistence and resilience; how it feels to come up short and not find what you’re looking for; and getting up each day to fight for what you believe is right.    John’s experience with the West Memphis

Andres Traslavia has interviewed more than 2,000 executives as a longtime recruiter and the head of executive search and talent acquisition at Whole Foods Market. He has a rare view into talent trends spanning the past 15 years—and insights into what he calls “the Great Rebellion,” or the mass resignations employers are seeing in 2021 and 2022. Dangling shiny salaries and massive compensation packages is not enough to attract talent anymore. In this episode, Andres shares how employers can retain talent and maps out three things he is looking for when he interviews an executive. Listen for his cheat sheet for anyone going through the interview process. Andres grew up in Bogota, Columbia. He came to the United States and fell for the idea that success was about having material things. In the midst of this lonely realization, he walked into Whole Foods and fell in love with how happy the workers were. Andres knew he had to work for this “Disneyland for foodies.” So he said, “Why Not Now?” and moved to Austin wi

Vanessa Van Edwards is the Lead Behavioral Investigator at Science of People - a company she founded over 15 years ago. She is an internationally acclaimed speaker and author of two books, Captivate and Cues.  Vanessa guides people on mastering the secret language of charismatic communication, and in this episode, Vanessa dives into the specifics of charisma. We ask the question “Are you born with it or can you learn?” and Vanessa’s answer may surprise you.  Vanessa grew up with social anxiety issues, leaving her feeling very awkward. She is an ambivert, which means she is somewhere in-between the introvert and extrovert spectrum. She details the Why Not Now? moment that set her on the path to being a Behavioral Investigator and how she has discovered that “Awkward” characteristics show up differently for different people, whether you are highly intelligent, the alpha in the room or constantly try to please everyone.  Vanessa lists her favorite non-verbal cues used by one of the most charismatic people on the

Noramay Cadena has a resume many people would envy—she has three degrees from MIT, spent many years at Boeing as an aerospace engineer and is a venture capitalist.  But Noramay has had her fair share of adversity. In this wide-ranging conversation with Amy Jo, she shares powerful advice on how to navigate inflection points in your career.  Noramay shares the importance of muscle memory—doing one hard thing enables you to do another hard thing, and another and so on. She describes how her experience as a teen mom built up her own ability to navigate hard situations in life and business. Those early experiences also taught her to look at difficult times as an ecosystem of possibilities in which the opportunity ahead of her is expansive, and not diminished by her circumstances. And she talks through a key Why Not Now? moment. Noramay was approaching burnout and at a crossroads in her career, considering leaving her corporate life for entrepreneurship. For the first time in a long time, she put her own desires to

Amber Allen is a true badass. Her energy and zest for life are contagious. Amber loves to play. Her personal motto is, “Every day that childlike Amber high-fives adult Amber, I’ve won.” She believes that if we can ingrain more play in learning, we will remember what we learn for so much longer.  Amber is the founder and CEO of Double A Labs, a software company that is a catalyst for human connection. She was named one of the 30 most influential people in the metaverse.  This wide-ranging conversation covers the biggest lessons Amber has learned as an entrepreneur, her upbringing as the daughter of a Baptist preacher and a Why Not Now? moment that ranks as one of Amy Jo’s all-time favorites. Amber decided to move one day while having brunch—as in literally got up from the table and packed up her car. A renegade to her core, she's an idea-to-action woman. When Amber says “Now!”, she means it. Amber breaks down the metaverse and Web 3.0 in simple terms that anyone can understand. She talks through the desire to

Matt Lombardi is a former Professional Athlete and the Co-Founder of Beam, a company that makes functional wellness products to help you reach your potential. It's quickly disrupting the category with ingredients like nano hemp, nootropics and adaptogens.    Matt goes deep fast, and toward the end of the conversation he has Amy Jo in tears. Matt and Amy Jo cover topics from inspiration to heartbreak and everything in-between, including mental health.    When it comes to being successful in business, Matt believes risk and reward go hand in hand.    He talks about the importance of failing and going through challenging times in order to create something great, whether that be in business or in life, and how understanding that is a key to success.    Matt shares how the death of his Dad taught him to be unshakeable and to keep finding a way to move forward. He discusses how his experience in pro sports helps him find joy in the struggles he encounters on the entrepreneurial journey.   You’ll also hear Matt’s ti

Juliet Funt is a Productivity Wizard. She is a renowned Keynote Speaker, CEO, Author and tough-love advisor to the Fortune 500.   In this episode, Juliet gets into the tactics of how and what to do in order to create more space in your day and life. You’ll learn how to recognize that you’re doing too much, how Juliet helps companies and individuals reduce busyness and why space to recover, think, and be strategic, is the key to your efficiency.   If you are a person in constant rush, throwing your hands in the air right at the brink of burnout, Juliet discusses what you can do to create more space and give yourself permission to “Opt-Out”.   If you are employer, Juliet gives you actionable tools to avoid being a casualty of the great resignation, and retain your talent.   You’ll also hear Juliet break one of her own rules, and share her ultimate Why Not Now? story; a story that she has never shared during a podcast interview before that involves her traveling to 14 countries in 2 years whilst still running he

We’re back and we have some big news!  For Amy Jo, 2022 is all about living life on offense, playing full out and falling in love with her life a little more every day. Imagine how that can compound over time? Regardless of where you're starting from, whether you're at a deficit or a surplus of joy, imagine falling in love with your life just a little bit more every single day. Little and often. That consistency definitely compounds over time. Which bring us to the reason we took a break to begin with. In true Why Not Now? and Renegade form, we’ve launched a new company - Renegade Global. In this episode you’ll learn why we started Renegade Global, who we are, what we do and how our Renegade approach is bringing true joy and fulfillment to our clients in this time of "The Great Resignation", or as we like to call it, The Great Rebellion. Next week we’ll be back with our usual interview format. For more info head to renegade.global.

Dan Khabie is the Co-Founder of CourtAvenue, an operating network helping transform the digital landscape. CourtAvenue doesn’t predict the future, they create the future. The people behind the company are literally laying the ground work and pave the way into the unknown. Dan is a master storyteller with a contagious zest for life.    In this episode, Dan talks about one of his most impactful Why Not Now? moments that came when he was only 24 and starting his first company, Digitaria. He tells the incredible story of how he won the business of Digitaria’s first big client & how that moment transformed the trajectory of his career.    Dan and Amy Jo discuss navigating major downturns in business. He shares the unbelievable story of his first child’s birth when his business partner snuck into the delivery room to inform Dan that they were out of cash and didn’t have the funds for payroll. This moment could’ve been the end of his entrepreneurial journey, but instead, he chose to seek out the advice, knowledg

Virginia Suliman is the Executive Vice President and CIO of Invitation Homes. Prior to joining Invitation Homes, Virginia was Senior Vice President of Software Engineering at Hilton Worldwide, where she held a variety of escalating roles across Digital and Technology.   In this episode, Virginia shares a Why Not Now? moment that came after working with Hilton Worldwide for 22 years. She was offered a position with Invitation Homes, and while she initially had no intention of taking the job, she decided to go to the interview. She shares the story of meeting with the CEO and how a Pop-tart led her to say “Why Not Now”?   Virginia and Amy Jo discuss creating culture and building an environment in the workplace where people can feel comfortable to be themselves and let their creativity flow. She looks at her team as a collection of souls and works to understand who they are in order to help fully unlock their potential.    She talks about how she draws from her own personal life experiences to make her a stronge