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

Kristen is an accomplished executive with vast experience in marketing, sales, business development, board management, strategic planning, and M& A. Kristen’s personal motto in life is to “Be Kind, Work Hard and Have Fun!” Building and leading great teams is her favorite part of the job. Kristen was the President & CEO Data Sciences International (DSI) and led a successful exit for its investors in January of 2018. In her 20-year career, she has delivered results for Mayo Clinic, Otto Bock Healthcare, and Coloplast where she helped develop and promote products to progress healthcare. She is highly motivated by advancing healthcare and aligns herself with companies with missions to improve lives. Kristen has a B.A. from the University of St. Thomas and is a proud Tommies fan; she received her MBA from Cardinal Stritch University. Kristen is married to Zach, and both originally hail from Austin, MN. When they’re not watching their two energetic boys playing hockey or baseball, you’ll find the family at the lake, where Kristen will be rocking flip flops and a baseball hat.

Entrepreneur, philanthropist, speaker, and author, Simon Lee is a graduate of the University of Texas Austin (1997), Dallas Theological Seminary (2007), Harvard Business School (2015). Simon founded Buy On Purpose (www.buyonpurpose.com) in August 2004 with one specific goal: to donate 50% of the company’s profit to support Christian organizations focused on fighting human trafficking, providing clean water and adoption/foster care. Today, Buy On Purpose, a multi-million company with thirty-eight warehouse distribution centers located around the United States, offers support to eight charities, locally and worldwide. In early 2015, Buy On Purpose launched a 2nd company Secor.cc. Secor.cc sells ink and toner cartridges nationwide and donates 100% of the profit to fight human trafficking around the world. Simon is married to Faye for 14 years. Faye graduated from the University of Texas in 2000 and graduated from the University of Houston Clear Lake with a Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy. They have 2 wonderful children: Isaac 6 years old and Mariella 10 years old.

David Abeles, Chief Executive Officer of TaylorMade Golf Company, a global leading manufacturer of golf equipment, golf balls, and golf accessory products; oversees all business units for the TaylorMade, Adams, and Ashworth brands. A 15-year veteran of the TaylorMade Golf Company, Abeles rejoined the organization in February 2015 as Chief Executive Officer and President. In October 2017, Abeles completed the sale of TaylorMade Golf from Adidas AG to Private Equity, KPS Capital Partners. Abeles began his career with TaylorMade in 1995 as the Northeast Regional Strategic Accounts Manager in the Metropolitan Section PGA. After relocating to the Carlsbad, California based corporate headquarters in 1998, Abeles served as the Director of Sales, Americas for the TaylorMade brand. After two years of executive experience, Abeles moved to Hong Kong as the General Manager for the Asia Pacific region. Returning to the U.S. in 2002, Abeles joined the Acushnet Company as Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing for the Cobra Golf division. During his tenure at Acushnet, Abeles led the turnaround and resurgence of the Cobra Golf brand. In early 2008, Abeles returned to TaylorMade Golf Company as Executive Vice President and General Manager. He was responsible for global commercial operations of the organization; inclusive of the TaylorMade, Adidas Golf, and Ashworth brands. In 2013, Abeles took the position of CEO at Competitor Group Inc., a San Diego-based global services, media, and event entertainment company dedicated to the active lifestyle industry. During his tenure, he oversaw the popular Rock-n-Roll marathon series, online registration platform raceit.com, plus media and digital properties that include Velo, Triathlete, Women’s Running and Competitor. A graduate of the University of Connecticut, School of Business; Abeles, resides in San Diego with his wife and three sons.

A natural at sales and marketing, Ron Rocca grew up within the healthcare and pharmaceuticals sales sector and his numerous awards, accolades, and opportunities to participate in some of the most successful and unique campaigns, are all a testament to his sales and leadership capabilities. Ron started his career at Johnson and Johnson, learning the basics of healthcare sales, before moving on to lead some very interesting directives – partnering with the Lupus Foundation of America, spearheading Disease Management tools creation and implementation, and efficiently and effectively hiring and building multiple teams. Ron has his BS, in Marketing and Personnel Management, from Towson University. He is the first-generation son of Italian immigrants, is the proud father of two (one in their second year of law school and the other a UC Irvine grad who teaches English in Tokyo) and he lives in Carlsbad, CA with his lovely high school sweetheart who he’s been happily married to for 31 years.

Mike serves as the President & CEO for The C12 Group as well as serving on the Board of Directors. Mike originally joined The C12 Group as a member in 2010 when he owned a healthcare management consulting practice and was serving as a pastor at Grace Point Church (San Antonio, TX). In 2011 he joined the local franchise as a full-time associate chairman serving dozens of CEOs across the local market. In 2013 he and a partner acquired the greater Central Texas franchise and grew it to a team of 8 full-time chairmen serving over 130 local leaders. In 2016 Mike was selected to be the 3rd steward for The C12 Group’s global vision. Prior to his role with The C12 Group Mike worked in a variety of industry settings including Walgreens Health Initiatives, Gliemi & Company, TQ Strategies, Health by Design and Grace Point Church, yielding a blend of Fortune 50, SMB and non-profit leadership experiences. It was in 2004 that God first revealed to Mike the “sacred versus secular” divide he had been operating under and began to draw him into the adventure of living one life in Christ with work as worship, business as ministry and all of life as mission. Mike grew up in Alaska and met his wife (Jacqui) while in college at Trinity International University (TIU) in Chicago where they married in 2002. They have 2 daughters, Elayna and Sophia. Mike graduated from TIU with a degree in marketing, did graduate work at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS) in theology, Loyola Graduate School of Business in project management, and is an ordained pastor. Mike is passionate about discipleship, Gospel-driven collaborations, foster care, and integrated missional strategies. He believes The C12 Group represents a breathtaking platform to see leaders, families, businesses, communities and eventually nations flourish through ongoing transformation in Christ.

Richard (“Ritt”) Carrano is Chief Executive Officer of Purchasing Power, LLC. He joined the company in 2001 within its first six months of operation. Ritt was promoted from Chief Financial Officer to President in 2007, and in 2011 became the CEO. Within his tenure, he has guided the company to achieve consistent, annual double-digit revenue growth, 95% client retention and more than $2.5 billion in processed orders. Initial results for Carrano’s leadership underscore the remarkable corporate culture he has built and advocated at Purchasing Power. Powering People to a Better LifeTM has become both a company tagline and corporate internal philosophy. Prior to launching Purchasing Power, he co-founded and served as CFO for eTour, Inc., an early consumer internet website discovery service that was acquired by Ask Jeeves in 2001. Ritt previously was a management research fellow assigned to new business development at SmithKline Beecham (now GlaxoSmithKline) and began his career with Deloitte & Touche in Washington, D.C. He received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (cum laude) in accounting from the University of Richmond’s Robins School of Business. Ritt also earned an MBA in finance from Emory University’s renowned Goizueta Business School in Atlanta. Among his accolades, Carrano was named the Atlanta Business Chronicle's CFO of the Year award for private, midsized businesses in 2008; and GeorgiaTrend magazine’s “40 Under 40: Georgia’s Best and Brightest.” An active volunteer within the community, Carrano serves numerous roles with Junior Achievement of Georgia, which inspires and prepares young people to succeed in a global economy. He also is heavily involved with Inter Atlanta FC (IAFC), a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and enhancing the culture of soccer in Atlanta. Additionally, Ritt serves on the Board of Advisors and the Economic Development Council for the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce (MAC), the Board of Councilors for The Carter Center and the Board of Directors for FinTech Atlanta. As a champion of corporate social responsibility efforts, Carrano empowers his employees to invest more than 3,300 combined volunteer hours annually to Non-profit organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, Atlanta Community Food Bank, Children’s Restoration Network, Families First, Partnership Against Domestic Violence, Open Hand, Ronald McDonald House Charities, Relay for Life (American Cancer Society) and Safehouse Outreach.

A natural at sales, marketing, and helping clients maximize product and service offerings, Buzz Bradley has an extensive career helping grow and lead middle market manufacturing organizations. From Account Manager to Sales leadership roles and up through the executive suite, Buzz’s strong customer service focus, eye for details, and innovative, entrepreneurial spirit have allowed him to adroitly manage production, people, and profits. Buzz has been the CEO of Zpacks Corporation, an industry-leading manufacturer of ultralight backpacking equipment since 2015. Buzz lives in Melbourne Florida with his wife and three children and is passionately involved in charitable service.

Jason Christensen founded NorthStar in 2000 and has overseen its growth to become one of the top 15 largest residential security and home automation providers in the nation. A passionate leader who is committed to doing things the right way, Jason leads by example in living the core values of Integrity, Accountability, and Service. Prior to NorthStar, Jason worked for SalesNet Marketing and Eclipse Marketing doing pest control sales while completing his undergrad at Brigham Young University (BYU), where he graduated summa cum laude and number one in his class in 1996. The summer after graduating from BYU, Jason led the nation and set new industry standards by selling just under 700 pest control accounts in four months. In 1998, he returned to Eclipse Marketing as a Vice President and started a new "Home Security Division". For two years he built this business and successfully oversaw all sales and operations of the division, generating over 10,000 accounts during its first two years. In 2005 he received his MBA from BYU.

Jeff Clapper has been owner and CEO of 8th & Walton since 2013. 8th & Walton located across the street from Walmart's Home Office in Bentonville, Arkansas, helps consumer product companies succeed at Walmart and Sam's Club by providing expert-led services and education. Jeff's retail career began in magazine publishing, as the Newsstand Sales Director for Pack-O-Fun, Inc, a 55-year-old publisher of 6 consumer crafting magazines, calling on key national retail accounts including Walmart. He later led the $11MM business as publisher and independently brokered its sale to Amos Press, Inc. in 2006. In 2007, Jeff raised $1.2MM to launch Gimme Golf, an online golf video game, which he sold to San Francisco-based World Golf Tour in 2010. Jeff attended Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio, where he studied economics, philosophy, and music. He enjoys playing piano, riding his bicycle throughout downtown Bentonville, and spending time with his wife and their two young children.

Peter Strahm is a purely entrepreneurial business executive with more than thirty years of leadership experience in the food and beverage industry. He has a proven track record including several major beverage industry success stories with Peter influencing and impacting every step along the way from the launch to maturity. Peter has worked for some great names in the industry including PepsiCo, Snapple, Jones Soda, and Red Bull before becoming the CEO and Founder of Drink King Distributing Co Inc and Nth Degree Innovations Inc. and starting his own entrepreneurial leadership journey. Peter has his BS, Marketing and Information Decision Science from Fordham University and his MBA, Marketing & Management from Wagner College. Peter lives in New Jersey with his wife of almost 30 years Pam, son PJ, daughter Brianna and granddaughter Sienna. And outside of being a motivational leader, he is passionate about coaching travel baseball and keeping physically fit.