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

Jeff Totten is the Founder and CEO of Evergreen Services Group and focuses his efforts on vision, capital allocation, team building and growth. Prior to founding Evergreen, Jeff was a Vice President at Alpine Investors where he led investments in business services companies and was a board member of Risk Management Strategies, MidAmerica, YouCaring and Constructive Media. Jeff Totten graduated Phi Beta Kappa with highest honors from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley where he was President of the Berkeley Investment Group. Evergreen is a holding company that acquires and operates a group of leading service companies. Selling your business is one of the biggest decisions you will make in your lifetime. Owners and founders of services businesses trust Evergreen to help them achieve their long-term goals and to steward their legacy. We are committed to acquiring and holding businesses indefinitely and empowering management teams with a proven playbook for growth. We’ve succeeded in guiding companies through the next stage of their growth. Our north star is our mission to be North America’s best home for businesses and their leaders. That means we empower employees and treat each deal as a unique opportunity to work with owners to support and grow businesses into perpetuity. We believe the single greatest input to our operational success is our CEOs and we also believe in attributes over experience. Evergreen’s CEO program directly places MBA graduates at the helm of businesses we acquire in a variety of management roles and have seen these leaders grow into running our highest-performing businesses. We have the benefit of sharing best practices between the exceptional leadership teams across our portfolio. We are committed to specific industries and all Evergreen companies have access to the community platform that connects leaders across the entire portfolio. We believe that by connecting CEOs and other team members with their counterparts at other companies, everyone can learn and grow.  

Matt is the Founder/CEO of Uniquely Normal, LLC. Uniquely Normal exists to equip and train leaders to build flourishing team members and organizations through empathy, empowerment, and excellence. Matt has had the honor of training leaders, teams, and boards in over 40 countries over the past 20+ years. Prior to launching Uniquely Normal, Matt served in C-Suite roles in private equity, banking, and industrial supply and distribution. Matt spent the first 15 years of his career leading his family’s business in the wholesale (later adding retail as well) petroleum industry. After starting the business over after less than a year at the helm, the business grew by over 15x before being sold. Matt earned undergraduate degrees in business from Indiana University and an MBA from Taylor University. Matt is certified in nearly 20 personality, team building, and leadership assessments. Matt is a best-selling author and his first book, unSatisfied: When Less is More, was released on 11 October 2022; his second book will be released late 2023. Matt also serves as an Adjunct Professor, and he has served on several Boards of Directors in businesses and non-profits both domestically and internationally. Matt’s greatest treasures are his Faith, family, and friends. Matt resides in northeast Indiana with his family.

Mike Plaia is a proven hands-on leader and senior executive with over twenty years of leadership and business experience in small, medium, and large companies. He is responsible for the overall performance of PharmaPoint, an innovative technology-enabled pharmacy management and software company focused on medication optimization and outpatient retail pharmacy management for hospitals, health systems, and physician groups. PharmaPoint has been recognized as one of the most innovative, inspiring and fastest-growing private companies for six consecutive years (2013-2018) by Inc. Magazine, a Fast Track 30 company by the Birmingham Business Journal (BBJ) for three consecutive years (2015-2017), and highlighted in PricewaterhouseCoopers’ report, “Digital Accelerators for a New Innovation Era.” In addition to these corporate accolades, Mike has been recognized by the BBJ as a Top 40 Under 40 recipient (2003), Top CEO (2015), Veteran of Influence (2018) and Who’s Who in Healthcare (2021-2022). Prior to PharmaPoint, Mike served as a founder and chief operating officer of Source Medical, the largest nationwide provider and leading source of information technology solutions and other critical services for ambulatory surgery centers, specialty hospitals and rehabilitation clinics. During his tenure, Mike developed the initial business plan, helped raise all capital and spearheaded the acquisition and integration of three companies and one asset purchase from a publicly traded company. Mike also co-founded Industriaplex, Inc. and served as executive vice president of business development. Industriaplex focused on providing a full range of commercial equipment, systems, maintenance and professional services to national retail, food service, and industrial customers in the United States, Canada, Middle East and Asia. Industriaplex was twice ranked in the top 100 of the Inc. 500 Fastest Growing Companies. Working on the corporate audit staff for General Electric (GE) in more than seven different GE businesses, Mike oversaw such initiatives as acquisition integrations, Six Sigma implementations, financial audits and controllership assessments. Mike is passionate about mentoring our younger generation through sports and pursues a lifestyle of giving back to his community. He has served two terms as president of the Hoover Athletic Association (HAA) governing youth sports in the city of Hoover. Mike has coached more than 500 area youth in both football and baseball over the past ten years. He now works with his alma mater, John Carroll Catholic High School, in helping coach within their football and baseball programs, while also serving on the school’s advisory board. In addition to his commitment to coach and mentor area youth, Mike also believes deeply in giving back to the city he loves and was raised to appreciate. To that end, he has served more than 10 years as chairman of Rise Above, Inc., a charitable foundation providing contributions to a myriad of non-profit organizations within the Birmingham community. His most recent commitment is to serve as chairman of gotURback, Inc., a not-for-profit organization focused on helping children facing adversity. It is both founded and led by local high school students who have a passion for being known as a generation of selfless leaders. Military Mike served his country on active duty for the United States Armed Forces from 1994 until 1997. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in management from the United States Military Academy at West Point, and was then stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, where he served as a Field Artillery Officer for the United States Army. After his time at West Point, Mike served as Graduate Assistant Coach (awarded Army Achievement Medal for performance), Fire Directions Officer (awarded Army Achievement Medal for performance) and Assistant Divarty S1 (awarded Army Commendation Medal for performance). He also earned the distinction of Commandant’s List Graduate, Master Fires Award (highest academic average in fire support) and Master Shooter Award (best in observed fire) at the Field Artillery Basic Course. In addition, Mike was a three year letterman in both football (Coaches Award for “Most Courageous Attitude”) and baseball (voted co-captain by the team). Mike Plaia was selected by West Point leadership to escort President Bill Clinton during his inaugural visit to the Academy in 1993.  

For over three decades, Corey has been engaged in the global world of direct selling. He has lived and worked in Hong Kong, Japan, China, Australia and, of course, the United States, solving complex business issues. Corey has worked in senior C-level positions for two billion dollar-plus consumer product companies that market products through direct selling–one being doTERRA. Developing competent and loyal teams has been the hallmark of Corey’s professional career. He holds a BS degree in accounting and an MBA degree, and began his professional career in 1987 working for one of the world’s largest public accounting firms prior to beginning work in the direct selling world in 1990. He loves all sports, especially golf, but Corey is quick to point out that his favorite pastime is being with his amazing wife, Janis, along with his eight children and their families including 20 grandchildren doing whatever it is that they want to do. About doTERRA: doTERRA sources, tests, manufactures, and distributes pure essential oils and natural wellness products to over nine million Wellness Advocates and customers. Our products are shipped to 86 countries and counting. Through industry-leading, responsible sourcing practices—Co-Impact Sourcing®—doTERRA maintains the highest levels of quality, purity, and sustainability in partnerships with local growers around the globe. The doTERRA Healing Hands Foundation®, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, offers resources and tools to sourcing communities and charitable organizations, raising self-reliance, increasing access to healthcare, promoting education, advancing sanitation, and fighting against human trafficking. With our social impact mission to triple our impact by 2030, doTERRA is helping the world heal—one drop, one person, one community at a time.

Wiley Mullins is the founder and president of Uncle Wiley’s Specialty Foods, Inc., a Fairfield, Connecticut-based firm that produces and markets Wiley’s “Healthy Southern Classics” seasonings and spices. A passion for southern cooking and a starting base of his grandmother’s recipes, combined with ten years of marketing expertise in the packaged food industry enabled Wiley to launch this business in 1992.  His goal was to introduce a healthy approach to preparing common foods.  He has expanded his product line and distribution network so that today Uncle Wiley’s are now sold in supermarkets across the country. Wiley is a graduate of The University of Alabama and received a Master’s degree in Business Administration from The Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. After graduate school, he joined Procter & Gamble, Inc. Throughout his marketing career he has managed national brands including Vick’s VapoRub, Mott’s Apple Sauce, and Vick’s NyQuil.

Doug is Chairman of Newport LLC, a national partnership of CEOs and senior executives who advise emerging middle market companies and assist private equity firms to invest in and grow portfolio companies. He is also a member of the Teaching Faculty at the Jim Moran School of Entrepreneurship at Florida State and also Advisory Board Chairman for the Business Dynamics Research Consortium at the University of Wisconsin – Extension.  Its mission is to study exceptional growth companies, the capital markets, and overall business activity to learn more about their impact on employment and economic growth. He is the Former Chairman of the Board for the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG), a global not-for-profit organization with 58 Chapters and 14,000 members in the US and internationally, representing middle market private capital investors, intermediaries and the middle market deal community.  In 2017 he was given ACG’s Lifetime Achievement Award at the organization’s Intergrowth 2017 conference in Las Vegas, recognizing his dedication to ACG and the middle market community in the U.S. and around the world. Previously, Doug was Chairman and CEO of Tatum LLC, which grew into a highly respected national professional services firm with 30 offices and over 1000 professionals and employees.  The company was sold to Spherion in 2010. Doug is the Managing Director of TIP Seed Fund LLC, a newly formed seed stage VC fund with investments and investment rights in a diversified portfolio of companies with unique and proprietary products in the consumer, high-tech, and nutraceutical to pharmaceutical marketplaces. Doug is the author of No Man’s Land: Where Growing Companies Fail, a leading text about growth companies that has been translated into several languages and has won four National Best Business book awards.  His insights about the economy and business have been cited in hundreds of media outlets including Inc. Magazine, The Financial Times, and The New York Times online.

Anne Beiler began twisting pretzels in 1987 to support her husband's vision of offering free counseling services in their community.  What started as a single farmer's market stand grew into Auntie Anne's®, the world's largest hand-rolled soft pretzel franchise.    Anne's journey towards success began many years before she rolled the first pretzel when she and her husband experienced any parent's worst nightmare – losing a child.  This propelled Anne into years of darkness, depression, and despair but out of her pain came purpose and the desire to persevere towards personal and professional success.    Anne is among an elite group of women who have founded national companies in America and is among an even smaller group that has owned an international franchise company. She was named one of America's 500 Women Entrepreneurs by Working Women and Entrepreneur of the Year by Inc. Magazine. Many television shows have featured Anne's Entrepreneurial insights and personal story, including Secret Millionaire, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Good Morning America, ANDERSON, and Food Court Wars. Her story is highlighted in numerous publications, including Fortune Magazine, Inc Magazine, Guidepost, and Nation's Restaurant News. Anne also received honorary doctorates from Eastern College and Elizabethtown College.    Anne sold Auntie Anne's® in 2005 and authored Twist of Faith, a revealing look inside her life and business.  She followed up that book with, The Secret Lies Within, which provides an inside-out look at trauma and how to overcome it through sharing your story. Today, Anne speaks to audiences worldwide, inspiring people with her authentic stories and life experiences. Her mission is to help women overcome the pain, blame, and shame of their past by sharing their stories so they can lead with purpose. 

Howdy Holmes started working at Chelsea Milling Company in 1963 as a sophomore in high school. He worked in many departments, learning the company from the ground up during his high school and college summer breaks. He left the company in 1968 saying he would return later, but first, he was going to pursue a boyhood dream. He wanted to be a race car driver. He spent 20 years in motorsports winning regional races, the Formula Atlantic Championship, and Rookie of the Year at the Indianapolis 500 in 1979. He competed in the Indy 500 six times,  qualifying on the front row in 1984, and held the best average finishing record of anyone who started more than four events from 1911 – 1988 when he retired from driving race cars. As a businessman, Howdy operated a motorsports marketing company and an advertising company, which served the motorsports community. He authored an award-winning book called, “Formula Car Technology” and was a contributing writer for magazines and newspapers about racing. He was also one of the first color commentators of racing for ESPN. Howdy rejoined the family business in 1987. “The relationships between racing teams  and manufacturing are kind of twin sisters in the sense that you’re always trying to  improve something with the mechanical equipment.” Howdy led a transformation of the then 100-year-old family business. With the help of others, a professionally managed strategic vision was successfully introduced. Today, known for its Quality and Value, “JIFFY” Mix is uniquely positioned for the  21st Century. “JIFFY” is the market share leader in retail prepared baking mixes. In  2007, Chelsea Milling Company entered the foodservice market space, selling to  commercial and non-commercial customers.  

Jodi Daniels, founder & CEO of Red Clover Advisors, national keynote speaker,  co-host of She Said Privacy/He Said Security podcast, and co-author of the  Wall Street Journal Best Selling Book, Data Reimagined: Building Trust  One Data Byte At A Time, knows just how important trust is when it comes to building a business and growing a brand. As founder & CEO of Red Clover  Advisors, Jodi works hand-in-hand with businesses, creating customized and  affordable privacy programs to help them build trust with their customers.  As a dedicated privacy consultant, Jodi designs custom compliance programs to fit the size and diversity of each business. These programs include balancing customer data collection and use, GDPR and US privacy law compliance, operationalizing privacy, digital governance, online data strategy, and much more.  Jodi understands the many facets of building and managing a business, and she knows how challenging it can be to keep up with the ever-changing regulations around compliance (after all, you don’t know what you don’t know…). Jodi breaks down privacy laws and each company’s specific obligations into simple, easy-to-understand terms. It is her passion to help businesses foster strong customer relationships that are based on trust, while also privacy-friendly and compliant with privacy laws.

Jeremy Macdonald is the CEO of Bonney Plumbing, Electrical, Heating and Air where he and his team are on a mission to build the most trusted home services company in California. Prior to joining Bonney, Jeremy worked as an entrepreneur in South Africa’s rapidly evolving telecoms industry. Jeremy moved to the US with his family 5 years ago in search of better opportunities and adventure. At Bonney, Jeremy is focused on constantly improving company culture, hiring and developing talent and pursuing sustainable growth.