#196: Lisa Lutoff-Perlo is the former CEO of Celebrity Cruises. She is a recognized global business powerhouse and recipient of numerous awards including the South Florida Business Journal and Forbes Travel Guide Lifetime Achievement Awards. 

Most recently, Lisa served as President & CEO of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Miami Host Committee, where she led the strategy, fundraising, fan activations, and operations for the seven Miami matches of this globally significant event. During her time in this role, her dedication to excellence and innovation helped position Miami—a world-renowned sports and entertainment destination—as a standout host city for the matches and a city that expects over 700,000 visitors and close to two billion dollars in economic impact during the tournament. 

Prior to her role with FIFA, Lisa spent 40 years in progressive leadership positions at the Royal Caribbean Group where she made history as the first woman to serve as President and CEO of one of the company’s multibillion-dollar subsidiaries, Celebrity Cruises (2014–2023). During her tenure as CEO of Celebrity she redefined the luxury cruise industry with groundbreaking ship designs, innovative services, and a commitment to leadership. 

She also transformed the financial performance of the Brand to historic levels. Before leaving the Royal Caribbean Group, she held the role of Vice Chairman, External Affairs for the Royal Caribbean Group, where she strengthened industry partnerships and advanced company strategy across its global portfolio of three Brands. 

A trailblazer in the global hospitality industry, Lisa has received numerous accolades for business transformation, leadership, and now serves on corporate Boards as Chairwoman of the Board of the Hornblower Group, where she oversees the strategic direction of this industry leader in transportation and experiential travel, the Board of Directors for Fortune 500 company AutoNation (NYSE: AN), the Advisory Board of AHC Group, and the Board of Directors of Amerant Bank (NYSE: AMTB).

Lisa shares her inspiring journey and leadership insights in her best-selling book, Making Waves: A Woman’s Rise to the Top Using Smarts, Heart, and Courage and through numerous public speaking engagements.  

For more on Lisa visit her website at lisalutoffperlo.com as well as all social platforms. 

Enjoy the show! 

#195: Kelley Hester is the Clemson University Women’s Head Golf. She has led Clemson to unprecedented success in her first eight seasons as Clemson’s head coach. In 2023-24 the Tigers reached match play of the NCAA National Tournament and finished fifth in the nation. She was also named ACC Coach of the Year and a finalist for National Coach of the Year.

When you look at her career it is no surprise Hester has brought the Clemson program to consistent success.  She has been successful everywhere she has coached over her 24 seasons and 234 tournaments as a head coach.

Nothing documents her success more than the fact that she is the only coach in NCAA Division I history to take four different programs to the NCAA National tournament and record at least one top 20 finish at four different schools.

Over her career, Hester has 20 wins, 42 top two finishes and 110 top fives.   That includes four top two finishes and eight top fives in 2023-24.   She has taken teams to 19 NCAA regionals, had eight top 25 national finishes, coached 37 all-conference players and 18 All-Americans.

Before Clemson she had been the head coach at Furman, Georgia, Arkansas, UNLV, and Mercer.

More importantly on the show you will hear what matters most to her and how she cares about her players on and off the course.

Enjoy the show! 

#194: Charlie Duke is a former Astronaut & Apollo 16 Lunar Model pilot who became the 10th and youngest human being to ever walk on the surface of the moon.

He has also served in many other critical historical events. On Apollo 11, the first ever moon landing, Neil Armstrong asked Charlie to serve at CAPCOM (which is the voice of Houston/mission control when they landed on the moon). He served back up on Apollo 13 working tirelessly to help safely bring back his fellow astronauts.

Charlie attended the US Naval Academy before becoming a fighter pilot in the US Air Force. After a few years in the Air Force he attended MIT and then became a test pilot with Chuck Yeager. During this time he was encouraged by Yeager and others to apply to become an astronaut and the rest is history.

Apollo 16 was NASA’s second scientific expedition on the moon. During his time on the moon he logged 20.25 hours in extra vehicular activities and collected some 213 pounds of soil and geological samples. He took the only videos of the lunar rover in action. Charlie’s stay on the moon was a record setting 71hours and 14 minutes and he was also the first person to do Moon Olympics.

On the show Charlie shares his story of growing up, becoming a fighter pilot, test pilot and then  astronauts, the many of tense stories of the Apollo landings, his own experience walking on the moon, life after NASA, the impact and influence of his wife Dotty, forgiveness, fulfillment, faith, and much more.

For more info on Charlie and his wife Dotty, as well as their books, check out charlieduke.com and dukeministryforchrist.org 

Enjoy the show! 

What God Won't Ask - Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

#193: Lance Witt is the Founder of Replenish. He has been leading churches and organizations for 40+ years.  He was the lead pastor for 3 different churches and then spent 7 years as an executive and teaching pastor at Saddleback Church in Southern California.

 During his years at Saddleback, Lance led the 40 Days of Purpose campaign.  Ultimately, both nationally and internationally, more than 25,000 churches also did the 40 Days of Purpose campaign.

 In 2007, Lance launched a ministry called Replenish, which is dedicated to “Helping people live and lead from a healthy soul.”  Over the last 15 years Lance has encouraged, challenged and equipped thousands of leaders through speaking, personal coaching LifePlanning, and writing books.

• Replenish… a resource for pastors and ministry leaders on doing ministry without losing your soul.
• High Impact Teams… a resource to catalyze teams to increased health and high-performance
• Your ONE Life… this newest book releases in 2021 and is focused on helping people own, live and love their one and only life.

For more information on Lance his books, coaching, or speaking check out replenish.net

Enjoy the show!

#192: Jim Keyes is the former CEO of 7-Eleven, Inc, and Blockbuster, Inc. which are two internationally recognized Fortune 500 companies. He is a global business leader, philanthropist, educator, artist, musician, commercial pilot, and modern renaissance man.

His other business interests cover a broad range of industries including retail, consumer products, technology, new space, energy, and advanced nuclear. He sits on several public company boards and serves as a board adviser to a venture capital firm and a number of start-up companies.

Keyes’ philanthropic initiatives, have an equally broad focus, including serving on the Board of Governors for the American Red Cross, the former Chairman of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and serving on the board of directors for institutions such as UT Southwestern Medical School, The Cooper Institute, Dallas Performing Arts Center, SMU Cox School of Business, Columbia Business School, and his alma mater, College of the Holy Cross.

He has had a lifelong commitment to education, serving as a founding director of the Dallas Education Foundation and is the founder of the Education is Freedom Foundation. A personification of the American Dream, Keyes came from his humble beginnings and was inducted in 2005 as a member of the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans. In 2024 he received the Robert S. Folsom Leadership Award, presented by Methodist Health System Foundation to recognize demonstrated community leadership.

Jim recently released his new book Education is Freedom, which can be found on Amazon and the links below.

For more info on Jim check out jameswkeyes.com 

Enjoy the show! 

Book:

https://www.amazon.com/Education-Freedom-Future-Your-Hands/dp/B0CH6X6BVB 

#191: David Pollack is a college football analyst, author, speaker, and host of the Family Goals Podcast.

A former NFL player and University of Georgia standout, David joined ESPN in 2009 as a college football analyst and was quickly elevated to College GameDay.
Pollack was also a contributor to ESPN’s daily college football news show College Football Live and several additional shows throughout the season. He was previously an analyst on ESPN’s Thursday Night College Football and co-host of Palmer & Pollack. He started his broadcasting career in 2008 hosting a sports radio talk show in Atlanta for 790 The Zone.

As a defensive end at the University of Georgia, he was just the second Bulldog to be named a three-time All-American. The other being Hershel Walker. During his time at UGA he was awarded the 2002 & 2004 SEC Player of the Year honors, 2003 & 2004 Ted Hendricks Award, 2004 the Lombardi Award, Lott Trophy, & SEC Defensive Player of the Year Award.

In the 2005 NFL Draft, he was a first round draft pick taken 17th overall by the Cincinnati Bengals. His NFL career was cut short, however, after he broke a cervical vertebra in a game versus the Cleveland Browns in the second game of the 2006 season. The Bengals announced Pollack’s retirement before the 2008 season.

On the show David shares his story, building resilience, parenting on purpose, identity, faith, being all in, intentionality, never quitting, marriage, faith, and much more.

For more on David be sure to check him out on social, as well as the Pollack Family Foundation at pollackfamilyfoundation.com and the  Family Goals Podcast on all podcast platforms.

Also, check out his new book “The Won’t Quit Kid” which is out now and can be found at bravebooks.us and amazon. 

Enjoy the show! 

Book link:

https://bravebooks.us/products/the-wont-quit-kid?srsltid=AfmBOooGqXQR8lZga_svq5RjGCvlKVPdhbx8W2ngtzOplS9eEJ8j3t3K

https://www.amazon.com/Wont-Quit-Kid-David-Pollack/dp/1955550824?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&psc=1&smid=A10YDWL6MSY05I 

Family Goals Podcast

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/family-goals-with-david-pollack-and-pastor-j/id1585214791 

#190: General Robert F. “Bob” Dees served for 31 years in the U.S. Army in a wide variety of command and staff positions culminating in his last three assignments as Assistant  Division Commander for Operations, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault); Commander,  Second Infantry Division, United States Forces Korea; and as Deputy Commanding General,  V (US/GE) Corps in Europe, concurrently serving as Commander, US-Israeli Combined Task  Force for Missile Defense.

Bob is a graduate of numerous military schools including the  Command and General Staff College, the Naval Postgraduate School, the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, and the Royal College of Defence Studies in London. He has authored and taught Management Science topics in the Department of Engineering at West Point, as well as multiple Resilience courses at Liberty University.

Following military retirement in January 2003, Bob served as a Microsoft Corporation executive; followed by leadership of a non-profit outreach to the military. He authored the  Resilience Trilogy (Resilient Warriors, Resilient Leaders, and Resilient Nations) and pioneered resilience programs for the military as Vice President for Military Outreach at Liberty University.  In the 2016 Presidential cycle, Bob served as National Security Advisor and Campaign Chairman for Dr. Ben Carson. Bob now heads Resilience God Style, a national movement to restore resilience to every area of American life, including recent publication of the Resilience  God Style book, study guide, video series, and training game (www.ResilienceGodStyle.com).

Bob is a senior advisor for the newly formed Faith-based Veterans Support Alliance (FBVSA). Bob is also President of the National  Center for Healthy Veterans (www.HealthyVeterans.org) with the mission of “Returning Healthy  Veterans to America.” This broad and comprehensive Healthy Veteran initiative ranges from trauma recovery using best practices, faith-based programs to veteran microbusinesses which afford dignified work, skills training, and economic opportunity. Community is a critical element of the initiative, including veteran tiny home villages for formerly homeless Veterans and others.  While the Healthy Veteran initiative will help Veterans, the real winner is America with Healthy  Veterans positively impacting culture as role models for our youth, as experienced leaders in business, and as standard bearers in every walk of life.

Bob speaks at numerous seminars and conferences, as well as commentary on national security, leadership, and resilience in a wide array of media, military, business and church venues. He was featured as one of 30 “Master Leaders” in America by noted author George  Barna and was awarded the Council for National Policy George Washington Military  Leadership Award in 2018. 

For more on General Dees check out www.ResilienceGodStyle.com as well as www.HealthyVeterans.org 

Enjoy the show 

#189: Roland Thornqvist is the University of Florida Women’s Tennis former head coach and 4X National Champion. Thornqvist owns a remarkable 582-157 head coaching record in 28 years, including a 507-107 mark at Florida.

In 20+ years with Thornqvist on the sidelines, some of Florida’s more significant highlights include four NCAA Team National Championships (2003, 2011, 2012, & 2017), as well as 11 SEC regular-season titles (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015 & 2016) and 10 SEC Tournament crowns (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 & 2016).

Individually, Thornqvist has been honored as the ITA National Coach of the Year (2011), the ITA Southeast Region Coach of the Year (2010 & 2012) and the Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year (2004, 2006, 2010, 2013 & 2016).

The Sweden native climbed the charts in 2022, in terms of NCAA historical success as he ranked top 10 all-time in Division I winning percentage (8th, .808) and top 20 in all-time wins (12th, 512). In July 2020, Thornqvist was among the top NCAA Division I active head coaches carrying the fourth-highest winning percentage and the eighth-most victories. 

He has guided Florida to 11 NCAA ‘final four’ appearances, with four culminating in titles and two as national runner-up (2002 & 2010). Before arriving in Gainesville he was the head coach at UNC and KU. Thornqvist also played professional tennis for one year after completing his collegiate eligibility, attaining a world ranking of No. 290 in singles.

Thornqvist established himself as one of the top players in the history of the ACC during his collegiate career. He was a three-time first-team All-ACC selection, the 1993 ACC Player of the Year, a 1992 and 1993 first-team All-American and a 1992 and 1993 NCAA Tournament quarterfinalist in singles. In 1992, he led the Tar Heels to the ACC Championship and to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament.  The Tar Heels also made the NCAA Tournament during his senior season, advancing to the round of 16.  Thornqvist won the 1993 Rolex National Indoor Singles Championship as a senior. In both 1992 and 1993, he won the ITA’s Rafael Osuna National Sportsmanship Award. He is the only college player in history to win that award twice. Thornqvist was the No. 4-ranked collegiate singles player in the country his senior year.

A native of Stockholm, Sweden, Thornqvist received his bachelor’s degree in economics from UNC in 1996. He played for the Tar Heels from 1990-93, transferring from Elon College, where he played one year and won the NAIA singles and doubles championships as a freshman in 1990. He also led Elon to the NAIA team championship that year. More importantly you will see how he has been able to build and sustain success. Enjoy the show! 

#188: Matt Pinnell is the Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma. Pinnell is President of the Oklahoma State Senate and serves on multiple constitutional boards and commissions, including serving as Chairman of the Oklahoma Tourism Commission and Route 66 Centennial Commission. He has set his Lt. Governor agenda focused on workforce and economic development issues.

Pinnell is the chief marketer of Oklahoma and spends much of his time promoting Oklahoma. In partnership with the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, he launched a talent recruitment campaign targeting the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. He also works to retain and attract companies to the state by hosting events throughout the year, including the annual Lt. Governor’s Turkey Hunt, a two-week event that showcases Oklahoma to prospective out-of-state companies and site selection representatives.

As an entrepreneur himself, Pinnell champions small business growth. He advises the Oklahoma Department of Commerce on small business growth, entrepreneurship, and workforce development. In 2022, he launched ‘A Look at Oklahoma CareerTech,’ a video interview series that showcases the education and employment opportunities the state’s CareerTech system provides.

Pinnell launched a statewide rebrand in 2020, a campaign that has streamlined state agency processes and saved taxpayer dollars.

On the show you will get to hear more of these things as well as, the importance of discipline, courage, overcoming criticism, decision making, leadership, family, and much more.

For more on Lt. Governor Pinnell check out oklahoma.gov as well as mattpinnell.com 

Enjoy the show!