Loren Padelford is the Chief Operating Officer of Podium. Previously, he spent seven years as the General Manager of Shopify Plus. We chatted about entrepreneurship, the impact of the pandemic on small businesses, lessons he's learned as a girl dad, his new position with Canadian company Podium, his EDM DJ'ing hobby, gaming, books and more. Hope you enjoy this conversation!
Read MoreAlly Garber is a communications professional based in Nova Scotia. She's someone I've followed on Twitter for years and but this is the first time we've spoken. We talked about the communications profession, what it's been like operating her own business and the national conversation she started a few years ago about drinking culture and wine mom memes. I hope you enjoy this conversation.
Read MoreWe're wrapping up 2021 with a conversation with Jamie Johnson, the brand ambassador for the best-selling whisky in the world. This episode is 75% chit chat and 25% professionally guided whisky tasting. If you're playing along at home, the four we will be tasting are:
- Glenfiddich 15
- Glenfiddich Project XX
- Glenfiddich Fire & Cane
- The Balvenie 14 Year Caribbean Cask
Jamie is such a fun person to speak with and so knowledgeable about the world of whisky. I'm looking forward to making this an annual episode. Hope you enjoy it!
Read MoreFor the 50th episode of this little podcast of mine, I am really delighted to be able to introduce all of you to my dad. I’ve been after him for about two years to do this. But once I got him to agree and hit the record button, the stories just kept flowing. This is actually my longest podcast to-date, coming in at just under two hours. We hit on so many anecdotes. Growing up in Wawa, Ontario. The challenges associated with losing his own father when he was just 14. A few brushes with famous people, including Del Shannon, the wrestler Gorgeous George, Stompin’ Tom Connors, etc. And some stories from his 47-year run of operating a second-hand furniture and collectibles store in Sault Ste. Marie. And trust me, I know first-hand that there are hundreds more stories to tell. So I’m hoping to get my father back in front of the mic at some point in 2022. I hope you enjoy this episode. And, as always, thanks for listening.
Read MoreThis week, I got to chat with Ken Connors, a longtime radio announcer from Montreal, Canada. We talked about how he got his start in radio, some of his most memorable interviews and much more. I especially loved his story about how he got his original opportunity to work in radio! Hope you enjoy this episode!
Read MoreMohamad Fakih came to Canada from war-torn Lebanon in 1999. He came to the country with next to nothing. More than two decades later, he has built several successful businesses but it’s his prolific charitable work that has changed the lives of so many and set an example for even more. We spoke about his early days in Canada, how he responded when his restaurant chain lost 90% of its business overnight when the pandemic hit, his ongoing public battle with hate, what drives his community work and much more.
Read MoreJen Hartmann is the Director of Strategic Public Relations and Enterprise Social Media for the iconic John Deere brand. We chatted about her career in communications, the state of media relations today, her advice for young communicators, her life-threatening experience with a brain tumor 10 years ago, raising a child with autism and how all of that has shaped her view of work and life.
Read MoreErin Davis spent nearly three decades with Toronto radio station CHFI, building an incredibly loyal audience as half of the Erin and Mike Morning Show. We chatted about her career, the devastating loss of her only child Lauren in 2015, what she's up to these days and more.
Read MoreThis is Terry's second appearance on the podcast. We chatted about how government and corporate leaders have fared over the past year from a communications standpoint, the state of journalism, some great stories from his decade working in Memphis and more.
Read MoreVery pleased to introduce a new podcast I have created with longtime friend and communications expert John Perenack. Each week, we riff about stories in the news that have a reputation management angle to them. We also throw in a little off-topic banter to mix things up a bit. I'm just posting this first episode here, so if you like what you hear, you can subscribe to it wherever you get your podcasts. It's called Reputation Town. Thanks for listening!
Read MoreMichelle Hoad is the CEO of the Medical Laboratory Professionals' Association of Ontario. We chatted about what it's been like for these key health care workers this past year, the 100+ media interviews Michelle has done in the past 12 months, her recent health scare that ended in some good news and much more.
Read MoreNoel Mack is the Chief Brand Officer for Gymshark, one of the fastest-growing fitness apparel companies in the world. This is a company whose execs don't really do many podcasts so it was a tremendous honour to be able to speak with him for this one. We talked about how he got into the business, leadership, the value of hard work, some inside stories from the rocket ship of a company he works for and much more.
Read MoreOne minute, Mark Opauszky was a high-flying Toronto tech CEO. Founder of a successful company. Great home life. Perfect Health. The next minute, he was fighting for his life in a New York hospital with an advanced case of flesh-eating disease. This was a great conversation with a man who's very lucky to be alive today. We talked about his brush with death, his long road to recovery and much more.
Read MoreIn 1988, Peter and Chris Neal started making croutons in their parents' kitchen while in university. More than 33 years later, Neal Brothers Foods is a leading manufacturer and distributor of healthy snacks and a range of other foods and, most recently, their own brand of de-alc beer. We had a great conversation about running a business and the highs and lows of his career, including a major mental health crisis in the fall of 2019.
Read MoreSteve Kee is a well-known Canadian corporate communications expert. He headed communications for the Toronto Stock Exchange for two decades, spent another 10 years heading external communications at the Insurance Bureau of Canada and has been a lecturer, radio announcer and more. We had a great chat that touched on his career, some of his regrets, the state of journalism, the implications of the Twitter ban of Donald Trump and much more. Hope you enjoy it.
Read MoreJack Butcher was a successful but burnt out co-owner of a small design agency with his wife Celia. The more successful they became and the more business they won, the more of a grind it became. He thought there must be a smarter way. Inspired by the famous tweet storm by Naval Ravikant, he set out to transform their service business into a suite of digital products. They're off to a great start. Their business bank balance was $58 at the start of 2020 and was over $1 million by the end of the year. They’ve achieved this early success by creating and selling digital products, including a digital daily planner, several online courses and an online community of 2,500+ members. (CLICK ‘READ MORE’ BELOW TO LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE)
Read MoreAlan Cross is the voice of a generation. Well…to be accurate…by this point, he’s the voice of at least a few generations. Alan has been a broadcaster for 40 years and while he’s done a ton of work throughout his career, he is best known as the host of the syndicated radio series The Ongoing History of New Music, which he started (against his will…more on that in the podcast interview) in early 1993.
Today, he’s approaching 1,000 episodes of that show. They’re also available as podcast episodes and if you’re a music fan (and really…who isn’t?) I highly recommend that you check it out if you’re not already familiar with it. Alan creates shows that are insanely easy to listen to. They’re full of bits of trivia, nostalgia, storytelling and, of course, music. And the thing that brings it all together is that iconic and instantly recognizable voice. (CLICK ‘READ MORE’ BELOW TO LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE)
Read MoreJay Baer is one of the best-known marketing minds in North America. He’s a bestselling author, a hall of fame keynote speaker, an MC, podcast host, collector of fancy tequila and much more. I really enjoyed this chat with Jay. I have known of him for years and enjoyed his books but this is the first time we’ve spoken. In this hour-long chat, we touched on a whole bunch of topics and we got into the motivations and the personality of the man behind the flashy plaid suits. Hope you enjoy this interview. (CLICK ‘READ MORE’ BELOW TO LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE)
Read MoreMolly McPherson is a veteran communications, media relations and public relations expert from the Boston area. Her wheelhouse is the area of crisis response in the age of digital communications. She’s also the host of the Confident Communications Podcast, which should be required listening for anyone working in the corporate communications profession. (CLICK ‘READ MORE’ BELOW TO LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE)
Read MoreYou might not know him by name, but you know his story. Well, a small part of it, anyway. Clint Hill is best known for his role in the presidential motorcade during the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. Mr. Hill was a Secret Service agent at the time, in charge of protecting First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. During the assassination on Elm Street in Dallas, Texas, while the shots were still ringing out, Agent Hill ran from the car behind the presidential limousine, leapt onto the back of the car and shielded Mrs. Kennedy and President Kennedy with his body while the car sped toward Parkland Memorial Hospital. You can see all of this take place in the famous Zapruder film. (CLICK ‘READ MORE’ BELOW TO LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE)
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