Leadership and Business

Every spring, the MBA program at the William & Mary School of Business presents the Principled Achievement Award to a leader who best embraces and demonstrates the tenets of principled achievement. Previous winners include the head coach of the Buffalo Bills, Sean McDermott; and AnnaMaria DeSalva, global chairman of Burson, the global communication company. The Principled Achievement Award winner is the leader who values people, diversity of thought, empathy, humility, integrity and success. This year’s winner is Michael Medline, CEO of Empire Company and Sobeys Inc – Canada’s second largest retailer, whose key businesses include Sobeys, Safeway, IGA, and others. Medline joins us to discuss principled achievement, leadership, and how doing things the right way is the only way.  Learn how the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at William and Mary can help you and your organization develop your top talent through customized executive education and professional development programs. Visit us at www.wmleadership.com. Thank you for listening.

Have you ever avoided interacting with a colleague because the two of you see the world very differently? You know the conversation will be frustrating, so you just go another way. That, in its most basic form, is an example of polarization. We tend to think of polarization in politics: two parties divided and at two distant extremes. But polarization takes place at work. Our guest says it not only affects behavior, but it harms innovation, collaboration, and success. Phil Wagner is a professor of Organizational Behavior at the William & Mary School of Business. He says while we live in divisive times - and research indicates it’s getting worse - leaders and professionals need to understand polarization, and takes steps to get people talking.  Learn how the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at William and Mary can help you and your organization develop your top talent through customized executive education and professional development programs. Visit us at www.wmleadership.com. Thank you for listening.

November of 2022: That’s when the Large Language Model ChatGPT was introduced. Professionals everywhere started to take notice of, and adopt, the technology. Now, just two years later, we have a number of LLMs at our disposal, including Copilot, Perplexity, Claude, Genesis and DeepSeek. In January, DeepSeek R1 was introduced. Developed by a Chinese Artificial Intelligence startup, DeepSeek has quickly become popular across the world. Monica Tremblay is a professor of Operations and Information Systems Management at William & Mary’s School of Business. She’s a top scholar and researcher who was a systems analyst at Exxon Mobile before starting her career in academia. She joins us on the podcast to discuss DeepSeek, what makes it different from other LLMs, and where the technology may take us. Learn how the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at William and Mary can help you and your organization develop your top talent through customized executive education and professional development programs. Visit us at www.wmleadership.com. Thank you for listening.

Few businesses have experienced the amount and type of change college athletics has experienced recently. It started when NIL was introduced, which gives college athletes the rights to control and profit from their name, image, and likeness. Now, some of the very best college athletes in the country are earning seven figures. Meanwhile, the transfer portal - which allows student athletes to easily move from one college team to another - has dramatically changed college athletics. And the changes keep coming. Brian Mann is director of athletics at William & Mary. A former college quarterback, he was senior associate athletics director at University of California, Berkeley before coming to William & Mary. He joins us to talk about NIL, revenue sharing, and the significant changes taking place in college athletics.  Learn how the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at William and Mary can help you and your organization develop your top talent through customized executive education and professional development programs. Visit us at www.wmleadership.com. Thank you for listening.

It seems wherever you go, working professionals and companies are talking and strategizing about artificial intelligence, machine learning, and ChatGPT. And many of those conversations have taken place fairly recently. But before all the buzz, way back in 2016, Ai Spark began researching ways machine learning could intersect with finance. Now the organization uses a technology and people approach for credit risk analysis. Matt Fiordaliso is a partner at Ai Spark. He’s a William & Mary graduate who serves on the board of the Boehly Center for Excellence in Finance at the William & Mary School of Business. On a recent visit to campus, he joined us to discuss Ai Spark, how the importance of data has grown greatly, and the ways technology is a job creator. Learn how the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at William and Mary can help you and your organization develop your top talent through customized executive education and professional development programs. Visit us at www.wmleadership.com. Thank you for listening.

The holidays and the New Year, a time to relax a bit and recharge your battery. It’s also an opportunity to break away for awhile and read or listen to a good book. But go online or into a bookstore and it’s easy to be a little overwhelmed by all of the choices.To help you cut through the clutter, we invited Anna Milholland to join us. She’s the business librarian at the McLeod Library at the William & Mary School of Business. She oversees the library, works closely with faculty and students, manages the databases, books, publications, and the library team. To help you choose a good book that you’ll enjoy, we asked her to recommend six books of various genres that are relevant and interesting.  Learn how the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at William and Mary can help you and your organization develop your top talent through customized executive education and professional development programs. Visit us at www.wmleadership.com. Thank you for listening.

When you hear the word “dominoes,” chances are you think pizza. And for good reason: There are over 20,000 Domino’s locations across the world. Domino’s is #1 in the world in quick-service restaurant pizza. It has 20% of the global market share, and 22% market share in the US. And while pizza is the heart and soul of Domino’s, company leaders see themselves in three businesses: pizza, storytelling, and technology. Joe Jordan is President, US and Global Services at Domino’s. After working at Pepsico, Unilever, and Accenure, he’s been with Domino’s for 12 years. A William & Mary graduate, he recently spoke with the school’s MBA students about the unique way Domino’s sees itself. Learn how the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at William and Mary can help you and your organization develop your top talent through customized executive education and professional development programs. Visit us at www.wmleadership.com. Thank you for listening.

Twenty-five years ago she made history when she became the first woman to be named CEO of a top company. Carly Fiorina became CEO of Hewlett Packard in 1999. During her tenure as Chair and CEO, HP became the largest technology company in the world, as cash flow, revenue, and profit all grew. Since that time, she’s been working as a consultant and leadership coach in the government and private sectors. She’s written three books on leadership, and she serves on the boards of James Madison University and the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. She recently visited the William & Mary School of Business to talk with students and guests, then she joined us to discuss leadership, and the qualities and characteristics of high-quality leaders. Learn how the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at William and Mary can help you and your organization develop your top talent through customized executive education and professional development programs. Visit us at www.wmleadership.com. Thank you for listening.

If you’re a sports fan, you often hear about the substantial salaries some professional athletes earn. Most players rely on their agent to handle the details and negotiations on their contracts. But it’s only been recently that many coaches and assistant coaches have turned to agents for guidance. Dennis Cordell is one of those agents. He’s the CEO of Coaches Incorporated, a sports marketing agency dedicated to protecting and promoting coaches in a variety of professional and college sports. A William & Mary graduate, he spoke to students and guests and William & Mary’s entrepreneurship hub recently. Then he sat down with us to discuss the role of the agent, the changing landscape of college sports, and how he became an agent and entrepreneur.  Learn how the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at William and Mary can help you and your organization develop your top talent through customized executive education and professional development programs. Visit us at www.wmleadership.com. Thank you for listening.

Chances are you’ve dined at one or more of Bloomin’ Brands restaurants. Their brands include Outback Steakhouse, Carrabas, Bonefish Grill, and Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse. Casual dining was hit especially hard during the global pandemic, but thanks to innovative thinking, leadership, and loyal customers, Bloomin’ Brands continues to grow in the US and abroad. Michael Healy is CFO and Head of Global Business Development for Bloomin’ Brands. He’s held a number of leadership positions there including CFO of Outback, president of Bonefish Grill, along with roles in supply chain, brand, and strategy. A William & Mary graduate, he visited campus recently and joined us to talk about casual dining, the importance of brand, and the elements customers seek in their favorite restaurants. Learn how the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at William and Mary can help you and your organization develop your top talent through customized executive education and professional development programs. Visit us at www.wmleadership.com. Thank you for listening.