ChairWaves

What does a college basketball coach know about business?

Matt Doherty gets that question a lot. But once he lays it out—recruiting, training, budgeting, board management, media relations—it’s clear the overlap is bigger than people think. In this episode, Matt unpacks how leading high-performance teams on the court prepared him to guide business leaders in the boardroom.

From playing alongside Michael Jordan at UNC to being named National Coach of the Year, Matt's journey is full of highs, setbacks, and serious leadership lessons. After being asked to resign from his dream job at North Carolina, he went on a deep dive into executive coaching, emotional intelligence, and the power of culture. Now, as a Vistage Chair, he uses those hard-earned insights to help CEOs navigate their own leadership challenges.

This one’s for anyone who’s ever had their leadership questioned, and came back stronger.

The best way to contact Matt is via email at [email protected] 

Some people crumble in adversity. Others discover a kind of fuel. For Heatherann Antonacci, that fuel has always been an inner spirit, a quiet resilience she believes everyone has, even if they haven’t tapped into it yet.

In this episode of Chairwaves, Heatherann shares her journey from a career on the business side of academia to leading four Vistage groups in Orlando. From guiding students to guiding CEOs, she’s learned that strong leadership doesn’t come from being the smartest person in the room—it comes from curiosity, humility and the courage to grow. She also breaks down how she vets potential members and the value of personal development in shaping better leaders.

The best way to reach Heatherann is through her LinkedIn profile.

Sarah Castle spent 15 years at Amazon, helping launch products and lead technical teams, but today she’s focused on something very different: creating space for business leaders to think, grow, and challenge themselves. As a Charleston-based Vistage Chair, Sarah brings a balanced combination of enterprise experience and coaching expertise. In this episode of Chairwaves, we talk about her passion for teaching, the challenges of inheriting a well-established group, and how she keeps her corporate lessons relevant without turning every conversation into an Amazon case study.

Connect with Sarah via email at [email protected] or learn more on her website.

Rob Halverson has spent his career in the trenches with small business owners, from supporting Snap-on Tools franchisees across the country to leading peer groups in Omaha, Nebraska. As a Vistage Chair, he leads a Small Business group that gives smaller-scale entrepreneurs the peer community and strategic insight they’ve often been missing.

In this episode, Rob shares how his background prepared him to guide Omaha’s small business founders, why retirement didn’t stick, and how he’s building a true incubator for small businesses that often face big challenges without a strong peer network. If you’ve ever felt like small business owners are left out of the conversation, this one’s for you.

Connect with Rob using his Vistage email: [email protected], on LinkedIn, or via his website.

Jeff Oak spent his career fixing what others broke, leading complex turnarounds at massive health systems where ethics weren’t just an HR talking point—they were the whole strategy. Now, as a Vistage Chair, he brings that same clarity to business leaders who want more than just better numbers.

In this episode, we talk about why integrity is more than a checkbox and how culture, not just strategy, determines whether a company sinks or survives. Jeff also shares how his work connects deeply to purpose and legacy. And yes, we get into his cool side hobby of growing oysters on Long Island.

Feel free to reach out to Jeff through his website. 

Before becoming a Vistage Chair, Howard Alt played key leadership roles in growing and selling businesses in the plastics industry—including one that manufactured massive paper tubes. He also spent eight years as a Vistage member, doubling his company’s size, increasing profitability, and ultimately setting himself on a path to guide others.

Now 18 years into chairing, Howard reflects on what makes a great group tick. He shares about the early days of being a Chair, how he creates a culture where trust runs both ways, and how his members are quick to open up and work through personal and professional roadblocks. Howard leads by example and sets the tone for a group that stays engaged and invested. 

To contact Howard, visit his website or email him directly at [email protected]

Cindy Cornell’s leadership journey includes global corporate finance, executive coaching at top universities, and a commitment to personal development that shows up both in the boardroom and on the water, where she spends her free time racing sailboats. As a Vistage Chair, she’s focused on helping members make smarter decisions by creating space for deep conversations and peer accountability—bringing a unique perspective shaped by her finance background and years of coaching senior leaders.

In this episode, we explore how her financial background shapes her approach to coaching CEOs, how she’s building a thoughtful and diverse peer group in Connecticut, and how Vistage tools are helping her members navigate growth and complexity. Her insights are grounded, practical, and immediately applicable.

You can connect with Cindy through her Vistage website or through her LinkedIn profile.

Tom Klein has opened luxury hotels around the world—and now he leads CEOs in San Francisco. In this episode of Chairwaves, Tom shares lessons from decades leading teams at top hotel brands like Ritz-Carlton and Fairmont, where he served as regional VP overseeing eight hotels. He also breaks down what it really takes to build a high-performing team, from hiring the right people to creating a culture of ownership, trust, and accountability. Now, as Chair of a CE and Key Executive group, Tom leans on that global perspective to create a room where authenticity and personal growth are non-negotiable. We talk about the hard shift from operator to facilitator, the art of culture-building, and why—after every meeting—he drives the seven hours home from San Francisco with a big smile on his face.

The best way to contact Tom is at [email protected].

Spending over three decades at Ford taught Dave Alden how to thrive in large organizations—and how to navigate change. That experience paid off when he moved from Detroit to Philadelphia and rebuilt his entire Vistage Chair practice from the ground up. His method? Coffee with one new person every day.

In this episode, Dave shares what it was like stepping into a group built by another Chair, the key differences between running a CE group and a Vistage Inside group, and how he earns trust in complex organizational settings. Whether he's talking with business owners or leadership teams, Dave brings the same steady, grounded approach that defined his corporate career.

The best way to contact Dave is by email at [email protected] or you can also connect with him on LinkedIn. 

Leadership isn’t always lonely, especially when you’re co-chairing with someone who pushes you to grow.

In this episode of Chairwaves, Vistage Chairs Daron Shepard and Mike Tetreau break down how they built a successful co-chairing partnership and what it’s teaching them about leadership. They explore the mindset shifts required to move from solo to shared leadership, the pressure points in small businesses right now, and how football influences their coaching practices.And just when you think the conversation’s winding down, it goes deeper. They end with the kind of moment that reminds you why this work matters—and why the right Chair can shift more than just your business.

You can contact Daron and Mike via email at [email protected] and [email protected].