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

Following surgery and chemotherapy to treat non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Michael O’Neil emerged humbled, inspired and ready to finish the graduate studies interrupted unexpectedly by cancer. Steering the final year of his J.D./M.B.A. program from business plan to life mission, Michael founded GetWellNetwork to tackle an unaddressed problem in healthcare: educating, engaging and empowering patients and families to take control of their healthcare journeys. Today, he leads the global digital health technology company as founder and chief executive officer. His vision for transforming the patient experience launched a new healthcare technology segment called Interactive Patient Care™. Two decades later, GetWellNetwork has given millions of patients around the world a voice in their own care. In 2014, he founded the O’Neil Center, a think tank and research institute advancing the science of patient and family engagement. Michael also established GetWell Labs, an R&D incubator, to accelerate the development of disruptive patient engagement technologies. Michael is a recognized leader in the healthcare, technology and entrepreneurial communities. In 2019, he was named a Health Innovators Fellow by the Aspen Institute. He is The Global Good Fund’s 2019 Social Entrepreneur of the Year and recipient of the 2019 Social Impact award from the Georgetown Entrepreneurial Alliance. His past honors include the E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year award and NVTC Tech Executive of the Year. Michael is an actively involved member of several leadership organizations, including Mindshare, a network of high-tech CEOs fostering entrepreneurship and growth throughout the nation’s capital, and the Young Presidents Organization, a global community of peer leaders committed to lifelong learning and idea exchange. He also serves as executive chairman of PerfectServe, a private-equity-backed clinical communications and collaboration company. Previously, Michael served on the boards of directors for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and for The DAISY Foundation, a global organization dedicated to honoring nurses. Michael holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Notre Dame and a Juris Doctor and Master of Business Administration from Georgetown University. Michael lives in Chevy Chase, MD with his wife and two daughters.

I have a passion to see people meet Jesus and get to know God. Why? Because for years I was one of those guys who tried to follow all the rules, do everything right, and I even had some success. In the end though, my focus on “being right” led me to actually behave as if “I was always right”. I was no fun to be around. God in his mercy let things fall apart, and then met me in my brokenness. I have been fortunate to work in Corporate America, with my last position leading the organization that cared for the nuclear power plants of our nation’s fleet of nuclear submarines. I also had the privilege of working in the Church as a full time Pastor for 12 years. Today, I serve as the chief executive officer of The Pocket Testament League, where I get to lead this global movement of Christ-followers who are sharing Jesus in His own Words.

Frank Frietsch is Executive Vice President of Layher and CEO of Layher North America. He has served SAIA in numerous capacities since 2014, including time spent on the Executive Board. Frank holds a degree in mechanical engineering from the FH Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences and advanced degrees from FH Pforzheim University and a MBA Steinbeis-Hochschule in Berlin. In his free time, he enjoys doing sports and being active.

Larry Griffith, CEO of Corporate Chaplains of America (CCA), loves God, people, and business. Larry has walked with Christ since his childhood and brings more than three decades of leadership experience at a Fortune 250 firm, in the non-profit sphere, and as a Naval officer. At the pinnacle of his business career with ALLTEL, he led more than a thousand employees with annual P&L responsibility exceeding $1.5B. He considers his role at CCA as the magnum opus of his life, and is energized by their quest to see 6,000 people a year come to Christ through their Chaplains building caring relationships in the workplace.

Martin is CEO and Co-Founder of Trelus, an online platform transforming the misaligned marketplace for business owners seeking growth equity or to exit.  Trelus was built from the ground up to empower owners, giving them more control of their outcomes and legacy with smart tools and intelligent matching to a peer-reviewed network of win-win advisors, investors and buyers.  Martin’s professional career includes executive level experience spanning startups, Fortune 500 financial institutions, and advisory work for global private equity firms. Prior to founding Trelus, Martin was managing director at NexSpring Group, an advisory firm whose clients included leading global private equity firms and top-tier financial institutions. His private equity-related advisory work included acquisition targets and company turnarounds ranging in target/ investment size from $100MM to $1B+.

Miles Harter is the CEO and co-owner of Dynamic Lifecycle Innovations. In 2007, he recognized a need for electronics recycling and founded Dynamic Recycling. Through innovation and constant refining of services, Harter has helped grow the company to Dynamic Lifecycle Innovations, a full-service electronics and materials lifecycle management corporation specializing in IT asset disposition, electronics recycling, legislative compliance, mobility management, product refurbishment, remarketing and resale, materials recovery, data security, and logistics. In 2018, Harter received the “Wisconsin Small Business Person of the Year” award from the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Shashi Jasthi is the President and CEO of Solugenix. He is responsible for driving client and partner value through innovative technology and business solutions. Shashi has over 20 years of experience managing Information Technology and Consulting organizations. He built IT organizations and turned around loss-making acquisitions in Chicago, IL, Phoenix, AZ, Provo, UT, Wellington, New Zealand and Sydney, Australia. He joined Solugenix in 1992, and after a brief hiatus in early 2000, he came back to lead the company. Shashi holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, an MS in Computer Science from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL and a Bachelor of Technology degree in Electronics Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in Chennai, India. He holds patents in the areas of navigation mapping and routing. Shashi actively works with several excellent groups to promote STEM education and technology industries: He is a member of the Board at the Arizona Technology Council Member of the Governing Board for BASIS Schools Governing Body, and a member of the Board of Directors for University of Chicago Alumni Club Arizona. Shashi lives in Scottsdale, AZ with his wife and two children. Shashi’s claim to fame? He can sing some oldies on an acoustic guitar that can clear a large public park in under 2 minutes.

Robert O. Martichenko is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of LeanCor Supply Chain Group. LeanCor Supply Chain Group is a trusted supply-chain partner with a mission to advance the world’s supply chains. Robert is an industry thought leader and has spent over 25 years learning and implementing lean and operational excellence with a focus on end-to-end supply chain management across a wide array of industries. Robert Martichenko’s mission is to embrace the role of the “Human CEO” where respect, empathy, relationships, education, courage and critical thinking still matter for businesses to remain relevant and competitive. As a professional speaker, Robert addresses topics such as “Building Cultures of Continuous Improvement,” “The Power of Narrative Leadership,” “Discovering Hidden Profit,” and “Make Work Meaningful: The Human CEO’s Strategy.” He volunteers on multiple advisory boards and educational institutions and has received several prominent industry awards. Most notably, he received the Distinguished Service Award from the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP), the highest recognition achievable for professionals in the supply chain industry. Robert has written several business books, most recently, Discovering Hidden Profit. His other books include two Shingo Research award-winning books: People: A leader’s day-to-day guide to building, managing, and sustaining lean organizations and Building a Lean Fulfillment Stream. Additionally, Robert is the author of Everything I Know About Lean I Learned in First Grade and Lean Six Sigma Logistics. His debut novel, Drift and Hum, has won multiple awards including the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Gold Winner Award for Best First Book-Fiction. He has also written two children’s books, It’s Perfect Being Me and A Day Well Spent. Robert complements his professional experience with a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics, an MBA in Finance, and a Six Sigma Black Belt. Born in Timmins, Ontario, Canada, he and his family have lived in the United States for the past two decades.

Michael W. Myhre is the Chief Executive Officer for the Florida Small Business Development Center. In this role, Myhre leads the statewide network of more than 40 offices and nearly 250 employees, providing strategic vision and oversight in the continued success of Florida’s largest provider of hands-on business assistance for small and medium-sized businesses.  Myhre holds more than 25 years of economic and business development experience, dedicating his career to ensuring success for entrepreneurs and small business owners. He joined the Florida SBDC Network in January 2011, and has served as CEO since March 2013.  Prior to his tenure with the Florida SBDC Network, Myhre held the position of Executive Director for the Office of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development for the State of Minnesota. In this position, Myhre provided oversight of Minnesota’s leading office of entrepreneurial and small business policy development and support services, including direction of the Minnesota SBDC Network.

Tim Wallace is a Strategic Advisor to iPipeline and has over 30 years of experience in the software, service, and consulting industry. In 2008, Tim joined iPipeline as CEO with the mission of scaling the company and solidifying iPipeline as an industry leader and innovator. Under his successful leadership, the company grew to be the largest provider of SaaS to the Life and Annuity industry and was acquired by Roper Technologies in 2019. With this change in ownership, Tim pivoted into a Strategic Advisor role, guiding the company in future mergers and acquisitions to continue expanding iPipeline’s market share and influence on the Insurance and Financial Services industry. Tim previously served as President and COO of MEDecision Inc., a public software company. Prior to MEDecision, Tim was the CEO and Chairman of FullTilt Solutions, Inc. FullTilt a was recognized by Forrester and Gartner Research as the leading enterprise product information management software in the marketplace. Mr. Wallace is a winner of the 2011 Ernst & Young Technology CEO of the Year, the 2013 PACT Enterprise Award for Technology CEO of the Year, and the 2014 Red Herring Top 100 Award. Prior to joining FullTilt in 2000, Tim served as CEO of systems integrator XeroxConnect, and as the President and CEO for XLConnect Solutions, Inc., where he was also one of the founders of the company. Tim and other members of the management team took the company public in October of 1996. Xerox acquired XLConnect in June of 1998 for approximately $420 million. Tim was formerly a partner in The Waldec Group, a system integration company that was twice on the Inc. 500 list. He previously spent eleven years with Arthur Andersen & Company, where he was Managing Director of the Business Consulting Practice. Tim received a Master of Business Administration from Miami University and a Bachelor of Science Degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and has served on the following boards: AccuWeather, BizEquity, FullTilt Solutions, Knova, MEDecision, Migo Software, NitroSecurites, Point.io, Serviceware, Snickelways, and XLConnect.