Welcome to Episode 1,124 of the Arete Coach Podcast with your host, Severin Sorensen, and special guest Dale Richards—executive coach, former Vistage chair, Vistage speaker, mentor, business advisor, author, and CEO of Excel Management Systems and SuccessBizNow.com.

In this episode, we delve into Dale's executive coaching and mentoring approach, tracing his career from obtaining a Chemical Engineering degree to working in the chemical and power utility industries. With a knack for deciphering numbers and using mathematics to solve problems, Dale pursued an MBA at BYU and held management positions at Utah Power and Light. Following a merger, he transitioned to helping entrepreneurs and professors in Utah actualize their visions.

Dale's work at the Wayne Brown Institute for Entrepreneurship (now VentureCapital.org) and the University of Utah led to the commercialization of over 30 groundbreaking technologies in fields such as genetic engineering, heart valves, and nanotechnology.

In 2011, Dale joined Vistage as a Chair, quickly expanding his peer group and earning the Vistage Rookie Chair of the Year Award. After chairing for eight years, he pivoted to Vistage speaking, where he has since addressed over 500 executive groups and received Vistage Top Performer Awards for Speaking in 2020, 2021, and 2022.

With "Knowledge is Power" as one of his guiding principles, Dale employs science, math, finance, and expertise to optimize businesses and increase valuations. In our conversation, we discuss business valuations, factors that contribute to higher values, contribution margins, gross margins, EBITDA multiples, and revenue multiples. We also examine the highs and lows of Dale's career, the lessons he has learned, and his most cherished priorities.

As a National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts (NACVA) Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA) Professional, Dale serves on NACVA's Quality Assurance Board. With over 25 years of executive management experience, he has successfully turned around 150+ Western US companies, showing businesses how to double or triple their revenue, profits, and value.

The Arete Coach Podcast aims to uncover the art and science of executive coaching. Learn more about the podcast at aretecoach.io.

This episode was produced on March 21, 2023.

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