The Company of Dads Podcast

Interview with Ian Dinwiddy / Corporate Coach and Founder of Inspiring DadsHOSTED BY PAUL SULLIVANBusinesses are starting to emphasize parental leave for fathers as well as mothers. No complaints there – as long as the corporate culture makes men feel that taking leave won’t be a penalty. But what many companies are not doing is helping fathers (and mothers) reenter the workforce and thrive in a world that’s different from what it was before kids. It’s something Ian Dinwiddy knows well. He was a management consultant until he had children. His wife, a senior lawyer in London, had less flexibility than he did, so Ian became the Lead Dad. But as the years went on, he realized his skills as a consultant could be used to work with companies and their new fathers to adjust to a new mix of life and work. Listen to Ian talk about how he helps Dads be their best at home and work.---Get our free newsletter covering all things fatherhood delivered straight to your inbox: https://thecompanyofdads.com/thedad/

Interview with Marvin Avilez who Spent 7 Years Securing Fatherhood RightsHOSTED BY PAUL SULLIVANMarvin Avilez’s story to be a father to his daughter continues. The former counter-intel Marine turned technologist became a father in 2015 in New York City – when the mother of his child was in the United Kingdom. After talking his way into the country in 2020, he was fortunate to have an attorney who worked at a capped rate to get him residency. He had no such luck with the legal bills to secure fatherhood rights, racking up substantial debt in his battle to secure parenting rights to see his daughter. Earlier this year, his case came before the judge who had been presiding over it for years. Listen to hear how the case was resolved and where Marvin is today.---Get our free newsletter covering all things fatherhood delivered straight to your inbox: https://thecompanyofdads.com/thedad/

Interview with Marvin Avilez who Spent 7 Years Securing Fatherhood RightsHOSTED BY PAUL SULLIVANMarvin Avilez has one of the most captivating stories about becoming a Lead Dad I’ve ever heard. A former counter-intel Marine turned technologist, Marvin became a father in 2015 in New York. His daughter's mother, who lived in London at that point, wanted to control all aspects of his involvement in his daughter's life. He refused to be erased, and so began a seven-year odyssey traveling between New York and London to secure his rights as a father. In this first episode, Marvin talks about educating himself, crafting a plan and making strides – until he was struck with Covid-19 in the earliest days of the pandemic. It ends with Marvin selling everything he had and emigrating to London as soon as flying restrictions were lifted in 2020. He was at least near his daughter but his fight was nowhere close to being over. Listen now.---Get our free newsletter covering all things fatherhood delivered straight to your inbox: https://thecompanyofdads.com/thedad/

Interview with Dan Kadlec / Early Remote Worker and 1990s Lead DadHOSTED BY PAUL SULLIVANDan Kadlec was a Lead Dad when silence about his role was the way to maintain his ability to work remotely and parent his children as his wife’s career became more demanding. That was the 1990s when working from home was a euphemism for slacking off. But after discussions with his wife, they realized his job as a magazine columnist was more portable, so he raised his hand to be the Lead Dad for their three school-aged children. “At some point that may have hurt my career, but it also opened up some doors that I wanted to pursue,” he said. As for being the go-to parent for the kids, it was worth every trade-off, particularly with his teenage daughter: “I heard stuff I’d never have heard if I wasn’t driving them. They just thought I was the chauffeur and talked like I wasn’t there.” Listen to Dan’s 7 tips for Lead Dads adjusting to a role that is rewarding if still not always understood and accepted.---Get our free newsletter covering all things fatherhood delivered straight to your inbox: https://thecompanyofdads.com/thedad/

Interview with Michael Cohen / Employment lawyer, Philly sports fan, Lead DadHOSTED BY PAUL SULLIVANWhen Michael Cohen’s first daughter was born, some 20 years ago, he was afraid to take paternity leave. Not super shocking in the early 2000s – unless you know that Coach Mike, as his daughters and their friends call him, is an employment lawyer who helps companies craft their workplace policies – including around parental leave. Back then, he was afraid to ask the senior partners at his firm for time off when so many of them boasted about the parenting moments they had missed. Today, Mike is that senior partner and he encourages men and women to take time to be parents. He trusts they’ll get everything done and knows how important that flexibility is. When it comes to the companies he advises, he said things are getting better but there’s still room for improvement. Listen to him talk about what companies should do, what employees need to ask for and how much he learned from coaching his daughters in sports.---Get our free newsletter covering all things fatherhood delivered straight to your inbox: https://thecompanyofdads.com/thedad/

Interview with Kate Mangino / Gender Expert, Researcher, AuthorHOSTED BY PAUL SULLIVANSplitting up work at home equally doesn’t mean you do the dishes and I take out the trash. It means both partners share the mental load of running a house, raising children and tending to all the things that crop up. Kate Mangino spent time with 40 men who are equal partners to their spouses – as verified by their spouses – to write her new book Equal Partners: Improving Gender Equality at Home. What she found was the upbringings of the 40 weren’t always traditional – some were raised by single parents, some felt different growing up, some came from violent households. But their willingness to take on more of the mental load when they got married was summed up in a positive way: they felt it was better for them to be equal contributors in their relationships and they didn’t feel like that was a sacrifice. Admirable stuff. But listen to learn why so many of the 40 asked for anonymity and still don’t know each other.---Get our free newsletter covering all things fatherhood delivered straight to your inbox: https://thecompanyofdads.com/thedad/

Interview with Andrew Jensen / Pro Athlete, Mental Health Advocate, Suicide SurvivorHOSTED BY PAUL SULLIVANAndrew Jensen was an elite athlete all through the junior and university ranks. Handsome, fit and charming, he nearly reached the pinnacle of his sport, falling just a few notches short of playing on the PGA Tour. Throughout it all, Andrew was struggling with his sense of self-worth and hanging everything on his professional golf performance. Under that pressure, he played worse, and his mental health declined. He tried to take his own life three times. Now as a Lead Dad to his wife and their one-year-old son, he still worries about his own mental illness. He talks candidly on this episode about his own struggles and also about his desire to help other men in need.---Get our free newsletter covering all things fatherhood delivered straight to your inbox: https://thecompanyofdads.com/thedad/

Interview with Brian Page / Founder of Modern Husbands, Financial Literacy ExpertHOSTED BY PAUL SULLIVANFor our first joint podcast, Paul Sullivan, founder of The Company of Dads, and Brian Page, founder of Modern Husbands, come together to discuss what the two groups have in common and where we differ. No competition here, just two men discussing one set of key issues that have come out of the pandemic: what it means to be a Lead Dad or Modern Husband in this changing world of work and home life. Listen to hear what Brian and Paul have to say about money, marriage and the pursuit of dad and husband happiness.---Get our free newsletter covering all things fatherhood delivered straight to your inbox: https://thecompanyofdads.com/thedad/

Interview with Han-Son Lee / Founder of Daddilife, Leader in HR Change in the UKHOSTED BY PAUL SULLIVANHan-Son Lee, the founder of Daddilife, a parenting website for fathers in the United Kingdom, is working to change the way companies treat working dads. Human resources departments can be there to facilitate changes and help create Working Dad Groups, but the only way men are going to come on board is if there are effective mentor groups. Listen to Han-Son talk about how to create these groups and why a lot of effort at the start pays dividends that grow exponentially for years.---Get our free newsletter covering all things fatherhood delivered straight to your inbox: https://thecompanyofdads.com/thedad/

Interview with Mike McGee / Marketing Guru, Lead Dad to Annika Sorenstam HOSTED BY PAUL SULLIVANMike McGee was a sports marketing guru in his own right before going to work for Annika Sorenstam, one of the greatest golfers of all time. About 15 years ago, their relationship turned romantic, and he’s now a Lead Dad to Annika and their children Will and Ava. Growing up in a golf family – his father was PGA Tour winner and Ryder Cupper Jerry McGee – he learned from his parents about what it meant to live in a true partnership. “I knew I had the love in my heart to do this and the ability to support Annika,” he said. “I’d lived it: it’s about the kids and supporting your spouse. I’m very fortunate to do that.” Listen to how Annika and Mike make the partnership work – and why he prefers guys ribbing him go with Mr. Annika.---Get our free newsletter covering all things fatherhood delivered straight to your inbox: https://thecompanyofdads.com/thedad/