Be EPIC Podcast

This week on the podcast Matt sat down with John R. English, Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation and Andrew Braham, Professor of Industrial Engineering at the University of Arkansas. John and Andrew are co-authors with Matt of their new book focused on values-driven authentic leadership. In the episode they dive into what it means to be an authentic leader, the importance of being a mentor and a mentee when it comes to leadership and lessons learned from various leaders they interviewed for the book. Find out more information about the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Values-Driven-Authentic-Leadership-Essential-LeadershipWWEB/dp/1954892063 and listen to the full interviews from leaders interviewed here: https://soundcloud.com/user-561194034?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

This week Matt is joined by Julie Gehrki, Vice President of Philanthropy at Walmart. She explains how Walmart's philanthropic efforts impact billions of people everyday, starting with their own employees and expanding to communities across the globe. To finish out their conversation, Gehrki advises students seeking a career in philanthropy to gain a diverse set of skills and experiences that will lead to a higher impact.

This week Matt sat down with Charu Thomas, CEO of Ox and member of Forbes 30 Under 30. They discuss Charu’s journey as a young entrepreneur and why she chose to start her company in Northwest Arkansas. Her company, Ox, manages the world’s first human centered automation technology and is quickly growing in the supply chain and retail industries. Charu also touches on lessons she has learned from company advisors like Marc Lore, including what to focus on as a CEO. Learn more about Ox here: https://getox.com/

This week Matt is joined by Ann Bordelon, Vice Chancellor for Finance & Administration for the University of Arkansas. Ann has also previously served in executive roles at Walmart, Walmart Asia and Sam’s Club and serves on the board for America’s Car-mart and Portillo’s. In the episode Matt and Ann discuss the importance of co-curricular engagement as a student, building a global mindset throughout your career and transformational opportunities that are taking place at the University of Arkansas.

This week Matt sits down with David Dobryzkowski, Associate Professor and Director of the Master of Science Program in Supply Chain Management at the Walton College. Matt and David discuss the new 100% online Master’s of Supply Chain Management program that is now available at the Walton College and the amazing opportunity it gives to people across the country whether you work in the supply chain industry or not. Dobryzkowski closes out the conversation by discussing supply chain innovation that he sees in the future. Learn more about the Master of Science in Supply Chain management here: https://walton.uark.edu/graduate-programs/supply-chain-masters-degree/

This week on the podcast, Matt sits down with Denise Breaux-Soignet, Director of the Tyson Center for Faith-Friendly Workplaces and Clinical Associate Professor of Management at the Walton College, to discuss the Center’s initiative. The Tyson Center for Faith-Friendly Workplaces helps students gain experiences, knowledge, and opportunities to connect with people of different religious and spiritual backgrounds in the workplace. Denise engages in important conversations about how diversity needs inclusion for co-workers and leaders to create great things together. Get involved and learn more about the Tyson Center for Faith-Friendly Workplaces here: https://tfsw.uark.edu

This week on the Be Epic podcast, Matt speaks with David Roemer, CEO and co-founder of Ideas United. They discuss Roemer’s experience early in his career at Apple that led to the founding of Ideas United. Now, Ideas United travels the world for Campus Movie Fest to discover the world's next best directors, animators, musicians and more. They also help companies, brands, and people share their story with the world.

This week on the podcast, Matt is joined by Marvin Davenport, Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer of VSP Global. Marvin has extensive experience working in leadership roles for a variety of companies including Walmart, Raytheon and Amazon. In the episode he shares his five core leadership lessons. He explains how these lessons helped him achieve his 10-year-plan and led to his current position at VSP Global. Finally, Marvin gives advice to undergraduate students to find internships, a company that aligns with your personal and career goals, and find a peer mentor or peer group.

In this episode of Be EPIC, Matt is joined by Dr. Laura Jana, pediatrician, educator, award-winning author, and health communicator. She has had an extensive career writing 30 books and working with a variety of organizations from LinkedIn and Google to Mattel/Fisher Price. In the episode, Dr. Jana discusses the 21st century skills that everyone needs to have and how to build those starting from a young age. She also highlights her experiences with technology and startups, writing parenting and children books, and working with large corporations to effectively communicate about car seat safety and engaging but also fun children’s toys that help develop those 21st century skills from an early age. Watch Dr. Jana’s TEDxChandigarh Talk here: https://youtu.be/z_1Zv_ECy0g

This week Matt sat down with Marlene Colucci, CEO of the Business Council, Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of GXO Logistics, Inc., and former Special Assistant to the President under the Bush Administration. Colucci highlights her experience interacting with other CEOs on the Business Council and how they all work together to learn from each other and implement best practices in their own companies. She also gives insight into a weekly Business Council meeting and popular discussion topics among many Fortune 100 company’s CEOs.