Voices of Experience

Latest Episodes
Partnering With Communities—And Your Competition
If youre distilling Mary Beth Cote-Jenssens career into three words, theyd be sustainability, water and partnership. As a global water stewardship executive at PepsiCo, she knows the importance of
How Humans Fit Into an AI Future
Artificial intelligence is entering the business world, welcome or not. Binh Diep (MBA 2012), general manager at Slalom, a consulting firm, is doing his best to prepare his company and his clients for
Reasons to Rock the Boat
After spending time at Amazon and Meta (formerly Facebook), Stephen Newton knows what a visionary leader looks like. Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg certainly fit the bill. Now, Newton is looking to ba
Predictions, Decisions and Getting it Wrong
It's 2008. The economy is taking a nosedive. The government is bailing out the country's top mortgage lenders. And Doug Duncan walks into a new job at Fannie Mae. The ship has steadied over the past 1
Five Ways to Build a ‘Culture of Opportunity’
Staring down a surprise $26,000 bill after his first semester in college, Terrence Cummings was certain his dream of higher education was dashed. He persevered, using that experience as his career Nor
Steering a Struggling Startup Toward Success
Chris Dawson says he's always been attracted to big challengesand he certainly found one when he became CEO of Arcimoto earlier this year. The Oregon-based electric vehicle company was floundering: i
Lessons From a CEO’s Notebook
In a thick, well-loved, black sketchbook, Kirsten Benefiel keeps the lessons she's learned over her career as an executive. Benefiel's resume includes stops at Accenture, Newmont Mining, ViaWest and H
Scaling Everest—and DEI Work
Lauren Guthrie wasn't much of a trekker or backpacker, but there she was, climbing 9,000 feet to reach the base camp at Mount Everest. The opportunity to join an all-Black team of climbers was too goo
Like Family: Building a Successful Hotel
Leigh Hitz is a strategic advisor in the hospitality industry that retired as CEO of Stout Street Hospitality in 2016. Hitz worked at Stout Street for nearly three decades, learning to manage all aspe
Metaverse 101: What You Need to Know Before VOE
It was once the stuff of sci-fi stories, but in 2023 the metaverse is very real. Virtual reality, mixed reality and extended reality come together for an immersive experience that an increasing number