ROI’s Into the Corner Office Podcast: Powerhouse Middle Market CEOs Telling it Real—Unexpected Caree...

I started in the family manufacturing company in 1978 after being encouraged by my parents. Shortly after starting I began a formal, two years, machinist apprenticeship. I worked on the manual machines in the factory for about six years when my father tasked me with implementing CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machinery in our company. It was highly successful. For the next decade, I worked and managed the operations of the family business and segued into administrative roles; Procurement, Quoting, HR, Business Development, Sales, Marketing and PR. I literally learned the family business from the back door to the front door. After years of encouraging my father to create a business succession plan, we did, and in 2004 I became President and sole shareholder. Running a small business is challenging as we wear a lot of hats in our day to day. I kept pushing through those roadblocks; recessions, employees, customers, vendors and more and in 2007 we had our most profitable year. But as we all know the Great Recession came along – it hit us in the 4th quarter of 2008 – and we had to layoff 60% of our workforce. It was not pleasant and it was gut-wrenching to one by one tell my veteran employees, who I cared about there was no work for them. I vowed I would never let that happen again so made a decision to start working on the business rather than in it. I reached out to our long-term manufacturing association – the TMA and started learning about marketing and networking. It was out of my comfort zone but knew if I pushed myself the rewards would come and they did. I was encouraged to join committees, peer groups and attend industry-specific networking events around Chicago. I met like-minded people that ironically all shared the same pains and stories of my decades in the business. I became friends with these peers and created a small, personal Board of Directors with them, people that I could trust and could ask anything. It was and still is one of the most rewarding experiences in my business career. I found I had an innate ability and passion for marketing and suddenly found myself mingling with these professionals too. We would share our frustrations, successes and technologies with each other which helped me grow my personal and business brand – which I found out are together as one. As my networking evolved, I was asked to join the exclusive TMA Board of Directors and in my third year was voted by my peers to move into the executive chairs, culminating into Chairman, the highest Board level position. I was humbled and accepted. Through this networking platform, I was presented with an opportunity to be interviewed on a local Chicago AM radio station and share my marketing savvy and wisdom with their audience about how I was using social media to brand my manufacturing company – nobody was doing it at that time. Also at my interview was Jason Zenger, the President of Zenger’s Industrial Supply. My company was a premier vendor who was buying industrial cutting tools from his business for years. We had never met but knew of each other. Jason was there to add to the discussion about what he was doing differently as a third-generation business owner at his company. We hit it off. Shortly after our interview aired he called me to ask if I had heard of or listened to podcasts. I said yes, I knew of that media but was not actively listening. Jason said, “I think we have a deep knowledge of our industry, we are not competitors, are highly connected to the community, have a commanding presence and no one relevant in our industry was in that space.” Suddenly a light bulb in my head went off – that a-ha moment – I had felt that feeling when I started using social. I wanted to be the trailblazer and this seemed like a fairly low-risk proposition. I agreed. The only caveat was I would only do it if it was well structured, thought out and quality was the overwhelming key. We planned for a year doing research on the average American commute, joined online podcast communities to learn tips on what other successful podcasters were doing, hired professional voice talent and sound editors and at the onset of 2015 released our first show. It was immediately well-received and in two weeks we were on the iTunes New & Noteworthy List of Podcasts. A few major trade publications did some articles on us and of course, we used our social media savvy to target our audience. We were on our way. What we didn’t realize is that although our mission was to equip and inspire manufacturing leaders, with the hope that we could garner some thought leadership and interest in our respective manufacturing companies, major brands that sold to our audience started to notice us and inquired about advertising on our show. We were excited but didn’t know how to react. This was strictly a grassroots project and neither of us knew much about this space. Of course, we accepted and the rest is history. We are new an income-producing, bona fide brand, that is known among our community and we have lucrative contracts with some of the largest players in our industry. The next step. We are definitely busy people, me running my manufacturing company, conducting interviews and shows with Jason and to retain the level of networking that helped me grow into what I am today. It’s not easy but as my father always used to tell me: “Jim, if it was easy, everybody would be doing it”. He couldn’t be more right.

Jeff Greenfield is an entrepreneur, advisor, and disruptor with three decades of strategy, growth, and marketing leadership. Jeff is currently building the next generation of AI-Driven Attribution as the co-founder and CEO of Provalytics, which is a 'cookie-less' attribution & measurement solution that enables marketers to prove the impact from upper funnel channels like CTV and grow their budgets. 

John Rossman the Managing Partner and Founder of Rossman Partners. He is a business strategist, operator, and expert on digital transformation, leadership, and business reinvention. He has consulted with many great brands including Novartis, Fidelity Investments, Microsoft, Walmart, and Nordstrom. He served as senior innovation advisor at T-Mobile and senior technology advisor to the Gates Foundation. He is an operator and builder whose love is diving into business problems and customer needs designing solutions and business opportunities. EXPERIENCE Former Amazon Executive Responsible for the launching and scaling the merchant integration team and played a key role in launching and scaling the Amazon marketplace business, which is now over 50% of all units sold at Amazon.com. Also responsible for the enterprise services business with responsibilities for Toys R Us, Target.com, NBA.com and other great brands. Media Analyst Sought after expert commentary regarding Amazon as interviewed by New York Times, CNBC, Yahoo Finance, Bloomberg, BBC, Geekwire and many others. Author Author of Big Bet Leadership: Your Transformation Playbook for Winning in the Hyper Digital Era. Releases Feb 27, 2024. Author of Think Like Amazon: 50 1/2 Ideas to Become a Digital Leader. Author of The Amazon Way on IoT: 10 Principles for Every Leader from the World’s Leading Internet of Things Strategies. Author of The Amazon Way: Amazon’s 14 Leadership Principles. Assignments - Interim chief technology officer for the Gates Foundation - Innovation advisor to T-mobile - Interim CIO for a national retailer Speaker Keynote speaker on innovation, leadership and digital transformation. John leads workshops on a wide variety of innovation, internet of things, digital strategy, and creating a culture of agility, trial and error, scaling and accountability. His goal is to give audiences tools they can immediately use to operate differently. Advisor Rossman Partners helps it’s clients compete and win in the digital era. I work with my clients to both define strategy and create change for the organization. Bringing a broad range of expertise and trusted partners to the table, I first listen and understand, and then help create a customized approach for your situation.  

Abby Smith is the President and CEO of Team Pennsylvania, where she leads statewide efforts to build strategic public-private partnerships that address long-term challenges no single sector can solve alone. With more than 20 years of experience in policy, strategy, and cross-sector collaboration, Abby has held leadership roles advancing economic development, education, and workforce initiatives in Pennsylvania and beyond. She previously served as Team Pennsylvania’s Vice President of Policy & Programs and Senior Advisor to the Foundation, and earlier in her career worked for the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Teach For America, and as a 7th grade social studies teacher. Abby holds degrees from Yale University, The Johns Hopkins University, and Carnegie Mellon University. A recipient of the Above & Beyond Award honoring Pennsylvania women of public and civic leadership, she also serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Jewish Federation of Greater Harrisburg and the Jewish Community Center, where she led the acquisition of the Alexander Grass Campus for Jewish Life. She lives in Hershey, Pennsylvania with her husband, twin sons, and dog, Comet.

With over 20 years of experience at the intersection of sales, construction, and technology, David Hernandez has built a career around leading high-performing teams, scaling businesses, and driving meaningful transformation through innovation. As Managing Director of Elecosoft North America, he leads operations, sales, marketing, and customer success while shaping go-to-market strategy and product direction to meet the evolving needs of the U.S. and Canadian construction markets. David’s focus is helping executives and organizations bridge the gaps between people, processes, and technology—delivering software solutions that connect the office, site, and workforce. By addressing these disconnects, he enables companies to improve efficiency, reduce risk, and increase profitability in a rapidly changing industry. Throughout his career, David has consistently delivered results—growing revenue, expanding customer bases, launching new products, and turning underperforming teams into top performers. He combines hands-on sales expertise with strategic leadership to align teams around growth, accountability, and operational excellence. David leads with four core values: focus on what can be controlled, help others succeed, build a meaningful legacy, and remain intentionally curious. These principles guide how he builds teams, partnerships, and solutions that create long-term impact for both customers and the industry.

Jon Bassford is an operations professional and entrepreneur driven by his Curiosity! Curiosity is his superpower, and it has driven his personal and professional advancement. After law school, Jon put this curiosity to work by launching, managing, and improving operations for venture-backed startups and global nonprofits with a positive impact. For Jon, there is nothing that curiosity can’t help. Today, Jon is recognized for his curiosity-driven leadership, which helps organizations and individuals innovate, change, and grow by adopting Curiosity as their superpower.   Throughout his career, Jon has led organizations with innovation, growth, and change. His career, spanning over 15 years, has involved working at the director, VP, and C-Suite levels before creating Lateral Solutions and serving in similar roles as a Consultant and Fractional COO. Jon has a proven track record of delivering tactical and strategic solutions to growing startups, small businesses, and nonprofits.

Matt Guse is President of M.R.S. Machining Co., Inc. Matt Guse and his wife Vicki own M.R.S. Machining Co., Inc. was started by his father in 1986 in his garage. Matt has been in the manufacturing industry for over 30 years. Matt has also been very active in his community by serving on his local school board, he is a licensed official for both football and basketball, and serves on the Chippewa Valley Technical College Machine Tool Advisory board. Matt Guse also was part of the startup of Cardinal Manufacturing at the Eleva-Strum school by donating equipment. He continues to donate his time and expertise to this great educational opportunity on a regular basis. He is keenly interested in developing new talent and ideas for the manufacturing industry and created two patents for cutting tools that he himself developed. Matt is also an author, and you can find his book MRS Machining: A Manufacturing Story on Amazon.

As a seasoned digital marketing industry veteran, I work to daily put into practice the lessons of generosity and “helping, not selling” that have been shown to be my so many colleagues over my career. My purpose in business is to help marketers and companies to get the most out of their digital marketing strategies, tactics, and investments. Despite all of the distractions, constant change in our industry, and competitive forces in the digital marketplace, I can count hundreds of specific examples of success and ROI and the realization of return on investment in subject matter that sometimes doesn’t feel possible. I’m an industry speaker, best-selling author, contributor to top publications, conference founder, board member, and guest weekly on podcasts about digital strategy, digital marketing, the START Planning process, and how to build a Digital Marketing Success Plan™ All of those things are connected back to my purpose and drive to help people and teams reach their goals and full potential in digital marketing. Through speaking, coaching, and the work of my digital agency, I have the privilege of working with some great people in finding their paths to success. Skills: - Digital Strategy - Digital Marketing - Speaking - Book Writing - Podcasts - Lead Generation - ROI Strategy Planning - Website Strategy - Website Creation - SEO - Search Marketing - Article Writing Digital Marketing Success Plan™ website: https://thedmsp.com Connect with me at corey@thedmsp.com

Kevin is the father of the Virtual Assistant and a Silicon Valley innovator, serial entrepreneur, CEO, and futurist. He was INC Magazines’ Entrepreneur of the Year, a CNBC top Innovator of the Decade, World Economic Forum Tech Pioneer, Chair of Silicon Valley Forum, Planet Forward Innovator of the Year nominee, featured for 5 years on TechTV’s Silicon Spin, and inducted into RIT’s Innovation Hall of Fame. He has 94 worldwide patents and led pioneering work on the first cellular data smartphone (AirCommunicator), the first human-like AI virtual assistant (Portico), soundproof drywall, high R-value windows, AI-driven building management, Generative AI for QA automation, supply-chain auctions, and the window/energy retrofits of the Empire State Building and NY Stock Exchange. His upcoming book, titled The Joy Success Cycle, changes the way people act and think every day, leading to more fulfilment and life success.

As CEO of AFIRE, Gunnar Branson brings nearly three decades of experience across commercial real estate, professional services, education, and association leadership. Prior to joining AFIRE in 2018, he served as CEO of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Managers (NAREIM), and before that, he led strategy and marketing for Fortune 500 and other innovative mid-market companies. As a recognized thought leader, Gunnar is a regular speaker, panelist, and spokesperson for the global real estate and investing community, focused on institutional investing, urbanism, sustainability, and future trends.