Midlife Male by Greg Scheinman

Billy Mann is dedicated to the proposition that a Hit Life is richer than the pursuit of a Hit Song alone. He is however one of America’s most celebrated songwriters and producers having worked with Pink, John Legend, Celine Dion, and many others. He has been a top executive at EMI and President of Creative for BMG North America. He is a successful entrepreneur heading up the management firm Manncom as well as Green & Bloom/Topline a publishing venture and The Colors You Like which provides creative services for a variety of high profile artists and brands. Mann’s philanthropic involvement is even more impressive than his music career. He led more than 50 EMI artists from around the world in an initiative named “Answer The Call” after Earthquakes in Haiti and Chili. As the father of a family impacted by Autism Spectrum Disorder, he is a board member of Autism Speaks.

In 2008, Liam Caffrey was in a personal and professional rut, he decided to shake things up. He determined that life was too short put off things he'd always thought about doing so he embarked on a yearlong odyssey of travel, fun, and once-in-a-lifetime adventures. They ranged from running the Chicago Marathon to attending mass at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, playing a round on the Old Course at St. Andrews to throwing out the first pitch at a Major League Baseball game. He captured the spirit and lessons of that time in his recently published book, The Best Year Ever.

Chris Cusack sits down to talk to me about his rise and fall at the helm of the Treadsack Group and where he's at now. Chris was a media and restaurant industry darling while he was opening multiple concepts in 2016 and coming off the success of Downhouse and D&T Drive Inn. After shuttering high profile restaurants Hunky Dory, Bernadine's and Foreign Corespondents, Cusack's had to deal with the fall out, both personally and professionally and we got candid about his reputation, business dealings, relationships, lessons learned and how he's going back to basics and what it's like making a comeback after getting one's "comeuppance"

Thomas is a co-founder of the Peli Peli Restaurant Group, with three locations in Houston, Texas. Currently Peli Peli is ranked in the Top 5 in Houston on both Tripadvisor and Yelp. In 2015, Thomas was named as one of Houston Business Journal's 40 Under 40 for his philanthropic efforts. Thomas, along with his partners Chef Paul Friedman and Michael Tran, were featured in an episode of Restaurant Startup (Season 3) on January 27, 2015 and received the largest offer in Restaurant Startup history.

While attending The University of Texas at Austin, Ben Siegel, the entrepreneur behind Bangers Sausage House & Beer was enamored by The Best Wurst trailer on Austin’s famous Sixth Street. Post graduation Siegel moved to Dallas and became involved in commercial real estate. Not satisfied, Siegel took the leap and followed his college dream of opening a sausage house and beer garden in his college town of Austin, Texas. He is newly married, a new and very proud father and in the process of expanding Bangers and his growing Sausage empire.

Mark Pieper – Is the CEO of Baseball for Independent Sports and Entertainment (ISE) an integrated sports, media, entertainment and management company that represents more than 300 of the best athletes in the NBA, NFL and MLB. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan with a degree in economics and a law degree from Northwestern University. He lives in Chicago and is married to his college sweetheart Dana and they have triplets.

Naren Aryal – CEO Mascot Books - With a single self-published children’s book about a collegiate mascot, Naren Aryal co-founded Mascot Books in 2003. After meeting publishing success, he was more than happy to give up his career as a corporate attorney, diving head first into the dynamic world of books. That’s how we got our start and that’s the story behind our name. Over the years, the company has expanded its list of genres and has established itself as one of America’s fastest growing and respected independent publishing houses.

Jay Rusovich – Jay is a contemporary fine art photographer and writer based in Houston, Texas. Last year he published a satiric literary memoir titled, Urban Dystrophy, The Perverse Truth About Mid-Life in the Big City, which is sold through select bookstores, and on Amazon. He also hosts a wildly popular blog, urbandystrophy.com, which explores the inner workings of the urban Baby Boomer, with themes that parallel his memoir.

Eric Hinman – Entrepreneur, Influencer, 2x Kona Ironman and CrossFit Athlete. Eric loves helping brands that he’s passionate about share their products services, messages and stories. A prolific social media influencer, Eric is also the founder of Urban Life Athlete, Original Grainsters and Fellow Gent. Listen to Eric talk about structure, discipline, health, wellness and balance.

Joe Rosa – CEO Avalanche Food Group. Along with brothers John and Ricky, Joe Rosa Founded Avalanche Food Group in 2009 and has grown the company to own and operate 8 Twin Peaks Restaurant locations with over 500 employees. It is a family business that prides itself on integrity, loyalty and a transparent family environment for all staff and employees. AFG stands for Accountability, Family and Gratitude. In 2011, AFG was awarded The Franchisees of the Year Award from the International Franchise Association.