ChairWaves

Leadership books have a funny way of circling back to the same uncomfortable truth: you can't lead other leaders until you've done the hard work of leading yourself. This is something Denver, CO Vistage Chair Melissa Edison Barnes is navigating in real time as she builds her first Vistage CE group. 

Melissa brings a resume that spans General Mills and Harley-Davidson to early-stage startups and a successful business exit. But it's her origin story, being raised by an entrepreneur who lived through the full range of small business highs and lows, that shapes how she shows up as an emerging Vistage Chair. On this episode of Chairwaves, she talks about the discipline it takes to build a group and what she learned from her own business exit — selling an office snack delivery business just before COVID. 

You can connect with Melissa on LinkedIn or via email at [email protected].

Sometimes the biggest challenge for a CEO isn’t knowing what to do. It’s actually doing it.

In this episode of the Chairwaves podcast, Craig James, a Vistage Chair from Westwood, Massachusetts, shares one of the lessons that surprised him most about working with business leaders: even successful CEOs need accountability.

Craig also shares his journey from finance and sales to entrepreneurship, teaching at NYU, and eventually becoming a Vistage Chair. An interesting part of his story is how a Myers-Briggs assessment pointed him toward teaching, social work, and sales—three paths that seemed unrelated at the time but ended up shaping the work he does today helping leaders grow and succeed. 

The best way to connect with Craig is via email at [email protected]. 

There’s something rare about a leader who still takes the time to send handwritten birthday cards.

Quebec City TEC Chair Louis-Samuel Jacques has spent the last eight years building peer groups and intentionally investing in the leaders within them. In this episode of Chairwaves, Louis-Samuel talks about the shift from being a consultant focused on solving problems to becoming a Chair focused on helping leaders think better, challenge assumptions, and grow through the strength of the group.

He also shares how a well-kept secret in Quebec became a thriving peer advisory community, why he stopped trying to build groups of six and started building systems designed for twenty, and how asking better questions changed the trajectory of his career.

Blending the mindset of an economist with the experience of a seasoned Chair, Louis-Samuel offers practical insight for anyone leading executives, building community, or trying to create more impact in their work. 

The best way to connect with Louis-Samuel is through LinkedIn.

Great coaching isn’t always about direction. Sometimes it’s about attention.

That idea comes through clearly in the latest episode of Chairwaves featuring New York City Vistage Chair Allan Fried. In this episode, Allan shares how his background in the music industry eventually led him into coaching, meditation, and Vistage, though he admits it took hearing about the organization three separate times before he finally saw himself becoming a Chair. He also explains how listening with real attention can open the door to deeper conversations and better outcomes.

What makes Allan’s story especially interesting is the path he took to get here. From Capitol Records and entertainment startups to coaching and Vistage, Allan’s career path has been anything but conventional. This Chairwaves episode is a thoughtful conversation about leadership, self-awareness, and personal reinvention.

The best way to reach Allan is by email at [email protected].

What kind of space do you create when you walk into a room?

When Erik asked Ken Mandelbaum what he’s learned in 13 years as a Vistage Chair, Ken’s answer had little to do with tactics or process. Instead, the Northern New Jersey Chair focused on the idea of “space”: the environment leaders create through the way they listen, speak, and show up for others. In this episode of the Chairwaves podcast, Ken shares how a background that began in a family retail business eventually led him into transformational leadership work and ultimately into leading Vistage groups of his own.

Ken also talks about what makes a Vistage experience truly valuable for members, as well as his work as a best practice Chair for the Northeastern United States and Israel. This Chairwaves episode is a thoughtful look at leadership as a human experience, not just a business function. 

The best way to contact Ken is through email at [email protected]

Most people think they need to reinvent themselves to stay relevant. Mikki Williams took the opposite approach—and it worked for decades.

This Chairwaves podcast episode features Chicago, IL-based Chair Emeritus Mikki Williams, a serial entrepreneur whose career spans professional speaking, leading Vistage CEO peer groups, and now building a social media following in her 80s . When asked how to build a brand that lasts, she points to a simple but overlooked idea: your brand is built by paying attention to what makes you different and leaning into it. 

Mikki didn’t set out to become a Vistage Chair, but once she did, she built a highly structured environment that drove long-term retention and deep accountability. Now, as a Chair Emeritus, she remains an active voice in the Vistage community while continuing to evolve her own platform in unexpected ways.

You can contact Mikki through her website, via email at [email protected], or follow her on Tiktok, Instagram, Facebook or Youtube.

What actually drives performance inside a company? It comes down to how well people show up for each other.

In this episode of the Chairwaves podcast, Philadelphia, PA Vistage Chair Chris Donnelly breaks down the kind of leadership that doesn’t show up in the numbers. Drawing from his military background, Chris explains why real camaraderie, relying on the people around you to step up and deliver, has become the lens he uses to evaluate businesses and leadership teams.  His path from the Navy to investment banking to leading and exiting his family’s plumbing business shaped how he leads and makes decisions. 

Chris also reflects on stepping into leadership during personal loss, building a company that could run without him, and why pushing people, not protecting them, is what makes a Vistage group valuable.

The best way to connect with Chris is on LinkedIn. His contact info is there, and he welcomes texts. 

Fenella Kim had no network, no resources, and no roadmap when she arrived in the United States—but she figured it out anyway.

Fenella is a Long Island, NY-based Vistage Chair who went from high-voltage electrical engineer to serial entrepreneur, building and exiting multiple companies after arriving in the U.S. In this episode of the Chairwaves podcast, Fenella shares how a single mentor changed her trajectory and how that experience shaped her commitment to paying it forward. Today, she’s all in on that mission as a Vistage Chair and venture capitalist. Fenella is grounded in a belief that Vistage works—because it helps leaders grow, strengthens families, and creates real impact in the communities they serve.

This is an inspirational episode that shows what’s possible with persistence and an abundance mindset. 

The best way to connect with Fenella is via email at [email protected]

There’s a difference between having the answers and knowing how to help someone find their own.

On this episode of Chairwaves, I talk with Machen MacDonald, a Vistage Chair based in Grass Valley, California. Machen is a former financial advisor turned certified coach who works with private clients in addition to leading his Vistage group. In his work, Machen has seen a consistent pattern—leaders either don’t know how to get what they want, or they’re not fully clear on what they want in the first place.

Machen and I talk about his transition from financial advisor to coach, and what he’s learned about helping leaders get clearer on their direction. In his Vistage group, that often shows up through the idea of leading with love—creating a space grounded in trust, vulnerability, and clear thinking. It’s a shift from how most executives were wired, but it’s central to how he helps people grow.You can connect with Machen on LinkedIn, by phone at 530-906-1119, or by email at [email protected].

Most business leaders think their challenges are unique. They’re not—and that realization can change everything.

In this episode of Chairwaves, Gary Ostermueller, a Vistage Chair in New Jersey, talks about what changed for him after joining a TEC group. He noticed that even though businesses can look completely different on the surface, they’re all dealing with the same core problems. People issues, cash flow, leadership pressure—it all overlaps more than most leaders realize. That insight became a foundation for how he now shows up as a Chair.

Before becoming a Chair, Gary spent three decades in a family-run manufacturing company, and that experience allows him to relate to leaders at every level. He brings a perspective to his group that spans the shop floor to the boardroom and has built a group grounded in compassion, real care, and a willingness to challenge each other.

The best way to connect with Gary is through LinkedIn or via email at [email protected]