Business Leadership Series

Derek Champagne talks with Chris Robinson. Chris is a founding partner of the Maxwell Leadership Certified Team and as the Executive Vice President of the Maxwell Entrepreneur Solutions, he a product of the product leading a global team of over 40,000 speakers, coaches, and trainers. He is an international speaker who has enthralled crowds as large as 4500 and trained small groups inside of companies weekly before taking on his current role as the EVP of the Maxwell Entrepreneur Solutions.John Maxwell has made a tremendous impact on his life over the past 20 years. Initially Chris started watching John’s VHS tapes in the basement of a church. Then as a sales representative for the largest vehicle service, he quickly advanced 3 positions in 5 years to a Senior Sales Manager by learning and then applying John’s principles. Chris helped grow that company from 18 employees to over 700.Years later he became a part of John’s team as a certified coach. Chris has been instrumental in the development of many of the pr

Derek Champagne talks with Jason Ferguson. Jason Ferguson wasn’t supposed to make it—not out of his neighborhood, not into a Division I lockerroom, and definitely not to a tech IPO. But he’s never followed the script. A former University of Hawai‘i football player, Jason is now a Sales Leader, speaker, coach, and author of Nobody’s Legend, a self-help memoirrooted in truth, pain, and resilience.Raised in West Los Angeles, Jason faced violence, loss, and long odds. Football became his escape, and his obsession. Despite being undersized, he earned a full-ride scholarship through grit, vision, and relentless work. But when injuries ended his career, the identity he’d built crumbled, and he spiraled into addiction behindclosed doors. Jason’s journey is one of rebuilding. From silence to significance. Today, he’s a Director ofSales at ServiceTitan, where he helped scale the company through its hypergrowth years and successful IPO. He also coaches early-stage tech founders, helping them build high-performing revenu

NYT bestselling author Shaka Senghor talks with Derek Champagne about his personal story and his powerful new book, How to Be Free: A Proven Guide to Escaping Life’s Hidden Prisons."I love this book—because it teaches you how to manifest freedom in your own life and how that work allows you to rise to your greatest glory." —Oprah Winfrey, The Oprah PodcastAfter 19 years in prison—7 of them in solitary—Shaka emerged not just with a story, but with a methodology. In this book, he distills the inner work that helped him survive, heal, and grow into practical tools that anyone can apply to their own life.Because not all prisons have bars. We all live inside systems, stories, and cycles that can hold us back—doubt, fear, disconnection. And for men in particular, a flawed definition of manhood—emotional suppression, isolation, performative strength—can quietly destroy us. Shaka challenges that directly and offers a radically honest path to healing, self-trust, and real leadership.Each chapter blends hard-won wisdom

Derek Champagne talks with Terry Healey, author of The Resilience Mindset: How Adversity Can Strengthen, Individuals, Teams, & Leaders.A survivor of a permanent facial difference and life-threatening cancer, Terry Healey is anauthor, keynote speaker, and business strategist. Healey challenges audiences to face theiradversities and apply his framework of four key principles to gain confidence, build resilience,and find joy in their personal and professional lives.Having endured more than thirty surgical procedures to reconstruct his face while in his earlytwenties, Healey discovered tools that could help him transform his changed life. He sharesways to take control, overcome challenges, build trust and teams, embrace change, and learnthe value of acceptance and tolerance. He views the lessons he learned as gifts, and believeshis greatest reward is being able to teach others how to overcome any kind of adversity andcelebrate life.His experience led him to a successful thirty-five-year career as a high-tech

 In this episode Derek talks with Melissa Proctor, Executive Vice President & CMO of the Atlanta Hawks. Melissa, the author of the book “From Ball Girl to CMO”, shares her inspiring personal story and recipes for ongoing success.BiographyMelissa Proctor began her NBA experience in highschool as the first ball girl for the Miami Heat. After highschool, she attended Wake Forest University where she got her Bachelor’s degree in communications and her masters degree in design studies/branding from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design at The London Institute. After obtaining her degree, she went on to work for Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. serving in senior brand development and strategy leadership positions. Proctor was with Turner for 9 years before moving on to the Atlanta Hawks as VP of brand strategy. She quickly made her way up and is now the executive vice president and chief marketing officer.Order Melissa’s new book here: https://melissamproctor.com/Business Leadership Series Intro and O

Derek Champagne interviews Quang X. Pham. Quang is a biotech executive, war veteran, author, speaker, and community leader with a remarkable journey shaped by resilience, service, and entrepreneurship. He made history as the first Vietnamese American to earn naval aviator wings in the Marine Corps and lead an initial public offering (IPO) on Nasdaq.His inspiring American underdog journey, told in first person, is unlike any other. Born in Saigon, South Vietnam, Quang and his family fled as refugees when he was 10, while his father, a Republic of Vietnam Air Force pilot,remained and was imprisoned for more than a decade. After earning a degree from UCLA, Quang served seven years on active duty, flying CH-46 helicopters in the Persian Gulf War, Somalia, and the Reserves. Following his military career, Quang transitioned into business, founding multiple pharmaceutical companies. In 2000, he launched MyDrugRep.com (which became LathianSystems), an innovative online platform for physician marketing engagements, wh

Derek's guest this week is Whitney Johnson: Innovation and disruption theorist, keynote speaker, best-selling author, executive and performance coach.Whitney shares her unique journey and key concepts about how to motivate your employees from her book "Build an A Team: Play to Their Strengths and Lead Them Up the Learning Curve".Whitney Johnson was named one of the world's fifty most influential management thinkers by Thinkers50 in 2017.She is the author of the bestselling Build an A Team (Harvard Business Press, 2018), a Financial Times and CEO Read, Book of the Month, and the critically-acclaimed Disrupt Yourself: Putting the Power of Disruptive Innovation to Work (2015). Publisher's Weekly described it as "savvy...often counter-intuitive...superb" while the Boston Globe called it the "'What Color is Your Parachute?' career guide for the entrepreneurial age."Through writing, speaking, consulting and coaching, Whitney works with leaders to retain their top talent, to build an A team, and to help them earn th

Derek Champagne talks with Rich Horwath. Chief Executive Magazine describes Rich as "The world’s foremost expert on strategic thinking.” Rich has been featured on ABC, NBC, FOX, CBS, CNN, and CNBC, and has worked with organizations such as ESPN, Google, Intel, FedEx, Bank of America, and many more. Rich is the founder and CEO of the Strategic Thinking Institute where he facilitates strategy workshops to help leadership teams think, plan, and act strategically to set direction, create advantage, and maximize their leadership performance. He is a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of eight books on strategic thinking, including his newest book: STRATEGIC: The Skill to Set Direction, Create Advantage, and Achieve Executive Excellence.For free resources and to order STRATEGIC visit: https://www.strategyskills.com/Business Leadership Series Intro and Outro music provided by Just Off Turner: https://music.apple.com/za/album/the-long-walk-back/268386576

Derek Champagne chats with Michael Dweck. Michael, the co-founder of Basic Outfitters, was named to Forbes 30 under 30 list and has appeared on the ABC hit t.v. show Shark Tank. He talks with Derek about his entrepreneurial journey, defining success, and his experience in "the tank".In 2014, Basic Outfitters co-founders Laura and Michael Dweck married and moved into a cozy apartment in NYC. It was quickly obvious whose clothing collection would take precedence in their precious and limited closet space. Michael’s eclectic and long-time accumulated sock and underwear assortment would have to go and be replaced by a fresh, new and curated collection of basics.When it came time to refill his drawers, Michael was faced with the choice of expensive designer products or cheap, generic and poorly made basics, both of which would entail a stressful shopping experience. Michael and Laura recognized the overwhelming need for superior and affordable men’s essentials offered to customers in a convenient, easy-to-use way.

Derek Champagne talks with Lou Shipley, author of Unlikely Entrepreneurs.Lou brings more than three decades of experience in enterprise software as an executive, entrepreneur, and sales leader. Previously, Shipley was President and CEO of Black Duck Software, where he repositioned the leader in open source license and compliance software into an open source security company which led it to a successful acquisition by Synopsys. Prior to Black Duck, Shipley served as President and CEO of Turbonomic (acquired by IBM), and Reflectent Software (acquired by Citrix Systems). Shipley serves on the boards of Wasabi, Fairmarkit and CustomerGauge. He serves on the advisory boards of Exodigo, Teamworks, RapidSOS, SpoilerAlert, Tomorrow..io and Logz.io.Shipley holds a degree in Economics from Trinity College-Hartford (where he also a Trustee), and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He is currently a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School where he teaches four separate classes in Entrepreneurial Sales and go to marke

Derek Champagne talks with Robin Farmanfarmaian. Robin  is a futurist, health technologist and author of the new book “The Patient as CEO” (available now.) She is a highly-sought public speaker and business leader who is passionate about her message that “Technology is Hope.” As a teen, Robin was misdiagnosed with an autoimmune disease that led to forty-three hospitalizations and six major surgeries – many of them ultimately unnecessary. She has literally had to fight for her life on a regular basis and has made it her mission to improve health, wellness and medicine through technology.As an entrepreneur, Robin has worked on more than 10 early-stage start-up companies all dealing with cutting-edge technology, most in medicine and biotech. In “The Patient as CEO” she reveals the growing number of breakthroughs in biomedical technology, including wearable sensors, 3D printing, artificial intelligence, robotics and more, all set to fundamentally change healthcare and wellness. Learn more at www.robinff.comBusine

In this episode Derek Champagne, CEO of The Artist Evolution, interviews Melissa Lay.Melissa shares how she started her unique clothing company, her experience when she found her product in Target stores nationwide, being on Shark Tank, and growing her national lifestyle brand.Learn more at www.sandilakeclothing.comBusiness Leadership Series Intro and Outro music provided by Just Off Turner: https://music.apple.com/za/album/the-long-walk-back/268386576

In this week’s interview, Derek Champagne talks with Shark Tank veteran Steven Sashen. Steven talks with Derek about building an international business, stepping in the Shark Tank, and even his days of stand up comedy.Steven is the developer and CEO of Xero Shoes • Your Original Barefootware – www.XeroShoes.com. Steven and his wife, Lena Phoenix, started the “Barefoot… PLUS!” sandal business in late 2009; he had returned to sprinting 2 years earlier, at age 45, and experienced almost continuous injuries. An experiment with running barefoot cured the injuries and improved his times. Knowing about the Tarahumara indians in Mexico, who run hundreds of miles in sandals made of tire scraps lashed to their feet, Steven created a high-tech upgrade of that product and launched it online.With nothing but Search Engine Marketing and Social Media Marketing, Xero Shoes has become the best-selling running sandal in the world.Steven’s commitment is to making footwear that lets customers connect with the ground and “Feel Th

In this episode, Derek interviews Shark Tank veteran Ben Zvaifler. Ben is the co founder and CEO of PupBox. PupBox landed a deal with Shark Tank personality and entrepreneur Robert Herjavec. Ben talks with Derek about his entrepreneurial journey, and how they landed a deal on Shark Tank.Learn more at www.Pupbox.comBusiness Leadership Series Intro and Outro music provided by Just Off Turner: https://music.apple.com/za/album/the-long-walk-back/268386576

In this episode Derek Champagne interviews Siphiwe Baleka. Fox Sports won an Emmy for Changing Lanes: The Siphiwe Baleka story.Siphiwe Baleka is the founder of Fitness Trucking, LLC and serves as the DriverHealth and Fitness Coach at Prime Inc., one of America’s largest trucking companies.His innovative, on-the-go wellness program has helped thousands of truckdrivers lose weight and reclaim their health (69% of truck drivers are obese; thetrucking industry is the least healthy of any industry in the country).His premise is that ANYONE with 4 minutes can get fit. What works for truckers can workfor any sedentary person! Formerly, Baleka served as the Driver Health Editorfor both Road King magazine and The Trucking Network magazine. After beingraised in Chicago by a single dad, he graduated from Yale University and is thefirst African American ever named to the First Team All-Ivy League Swim Team.He missed qualifying for the 1992 Olympic Swimming Trials in the 100 freestyleby just 0.8 seconds! He is the author

Derek Champagne interviews Mike Caprari. In addition to being the stars of a highly watched episode of MSNBC's popular tv show The Profit, Mike Caprari is a passionate musician and entrepreneur. Mike is the SVP of Marketing and Co Founder of SJC Custom Drums. His product is played and endorsed by some of the world's top musicians and bands.Mike talks with us about his journey of building his business, his experience on The Profit, learning from mistakes, developing authentic customer relationships, engaging with customers on social media, and building the right team. Learn more at www.sjcdrums.comBusiness Leadership Series Intro and Outro music provided by Just Off Turner: https://music.apple.com/za/album/the-long-walk-back/268386576

Derek chats with entrepreneur, author, and consultant Marissa Levin about highlights from her entrepreneurial journey and how to build an amazing culture.As a 25 year CEO and Entrepreneur of a multi-million dollar business, she has taken on the challenge to “educate, equip, and empower” 100 million fellow entrepreneurs and leaders across the globe. Throughout her career Levin has been named a SmartCEO three times, named one of Washington’s Top 100 Technology Titans in 2009, and serves on the Global Communications Committee of Entrepreneurs Organization (the largest global organization of entrepreneurs with 13,000 members). She is also the author of a number 1 best selling book, “Built to SCALE: How Top Companies Create Breakthrough Growth Through Exceptional Advisory Boards”.SCI is a global corporate culture consultancy that leads organizations undergoing significant transformation through a proven model to define, stabilize, and strengthen organizational cultures. SCI also works with emerging companies to he

Derek Champagne talks with Kyle Austin Young. Kyle Austin Young is an award-winning strategy consultant for high achievers, entrepreneurs, and leaders ina wide range of fields. This work has allowed him to develop and refine a powerful system for accomplishingbig, meaningful goals that focuses on understanding and changing your odds of success. Kyle is a popularwriter for Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, The Boston Globe, CNBC, Psychology Today, Forbes,and Business Insider. His new book, SUCCESS IS A NUMBERS GAME: Achieve Bigger Goals by Changing the Odds (Hay House Business, November 2025), details this system. In the context of a single goal, it could be the secret advantage that changes your outcome. Over the course of several goals, it could transform the trajectory of your career. Appliedto a lifetime of goals, it can level up your legacy.Business Leadership Series Intro and Outro music provided by Just Off Turner: https://music.apple.com/za/album/the-long-walk-back/268386576

Derek Champagne talks with Rohit Agarwal, CEO of The Weather Company. Rohit Agarwal is the CEO of The Weather Company, the world’s most accurate forecaster. In this role, Rohit is responsible for setting the strategic vision that spans the company’s digital consumer properties, including The Weather Channel app and weather.com, as well as its enterprise business across media,advertising, aviation, defense, and a variety of other industries. He stands behind the belief that high-performing teams are critical to innovation, growth, and impact, and diverse backgrounds and thinking benefit the end customer.Prior to joining The Weather Company, Rohit was the chief product and revenue officer at SoundCloud, the world’s largest online community of artists, bands, DJs, and audio creators, where he led the vision, strategic execution, and revenue. This included overseeing business and product strategy, delivery and operations, design, product marketing, and growth. Through Rohit’s leadership, SoundCloud refactored the

Derek Champagne talks with Marvin Alballi, a globally recognized leader in the food and beverage industry, acclaimed for authoring the world’s highest-rated restaurant and F&B book, Restaurant Excellence: The Ultimate Guide to Success in the Food and Beverage Industry, available on Amazon. His book was purchased by top hotel and restaurant companies and endorsed by global chefs and CEOs.A recipient of the prestigious Fortune 500 Brinker International “Operator of the Year” award, Alballi has established a reputation as a transformative force in hospitality, with a proven record of turning around struggling businesses and driving sustained growth.With extensive experience across luxury, lifestyle, upscale, mainstream F&B and the restaurant franchise industry segments, Aballi has worked in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. His career includes consulting for celebrity chefs, Michelin-starred restaurants, and award-winning establishments, including MENA’s 50 Best #1 restaurant. In