Engineering – The Mentors Radio

In today’s episode, THE MENTORS RADIO host Dan Hesse talks with Marc Andreessen, the outspoken technology visionary who believes that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will save the world. In this episode, Marc shares his advice for entrepreneurs, talks about how new fields such as cryptocurrency and The Metaverse will impact our lives. After co-creating the influential Mosaic Internet browser and co-founding Netscape, Marc led a remarkable career building new companies. As co-founder and general partner of venture capital firm Andreesen-Horowitz (also referred to as “a16z”), he continues to mentor many of today’s most successful tech entrepreneurs. A lifelong innovator and creator, Marc is one of the few to pioneer a software category used by more than a billion (BILLION!) people and one of the few to establish multiple billion-dollar companies. Andreessen co-created the highly influential Mosaic internet browser and co-founded Netscape, which later sold to AOL for $4.2 billion. He also co-founded Loudcloud, which, as Opsware, sold to Hewlett-Packard for $1.6 billion. He later served on the board of Hewlett-Packard from 2008 to 2018. Marc holds a BS in Computer Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He serves on the board of the following Andreessen Horowitz portfolio companies: Applied Intuition, Carta, Coinbase, Dialpad, Flow, Golden, Honor, OpenGov and Samsara. He is also on the board of Meta.

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MARC ANDREESSEN:

In this episode of THE MENTORS RADIO, Host Dan Hesse talks with Dr. Michael Orkin, author of The Story of Chance: What’s Luck Got To Do With It? to explain the difference between skill and luck, what to play and avoid at the casino, what sports betting advice is worth paying for, and whether synchronicity exists or not.  A distinguished professor, consultant, researcher and author with a wealth of experience that offers unique insights into the concepts of chance and luck, Dr. Michael Orkin holds a BA in Mathematics and a PhD in Statistics from the University of California, Berkeley. Throughout his career, Dr. Orkin has made significant contributions to the field of statistics, particularly in the gaming industry, where he frequently serves as a consultant. His extensive research has been published in numerous academic papers, and he has delivered invited talks on these topics, including a notable presentation at Google Tech Talks. Dr. Orkin is a Professor Emeritus of Statistics at California State University, East Bay, and he currently serves on the mathematics faculty at Berkeley City College. His expertise and experience make him a leading authority on the statistical principles underlying games, chance and the role of luck in various aspects of life. Listen to THE MENTORS RADIO podcast anywhere, any time, on any platform, just click here!

MICHAEL ORKIN, PhD:

In this episode of THE MENTORS RADIO, Host Tom Loarie talks with Jeff Karp, PhD, one of the most innovative minds in medical science. Jeff is a professor of biomedical engineering at Harvard Medical School and MIT, and he leads the Karp Lab, which has pioneered bio-inspired technologies that have led to the formation of 12 companies. His groundbreaking work includes a tissue glue that can seal holes in a beating heart and a ‘smart needle’ that stops automatically upon reaching its target. 
Dr. Jeff Karp has been honored as an Outstanding Faculty Mentor at MIT and as the top graduate student mentor at Harvard-MIT. Jeff is also a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. In this episode of THE MENTORS RADIO, Dr. Karp will share insights from his discovery of Life Ignition Tools (LIT)—a toolkit that came from overcoming ADHD and put him on a path for doing great things with his life. Jeff will explain how this toolkit can help people break free perceived constraints and/or autopilot…and it will ignite you for great things as well.  Listen to THE MENTORS RADIO podcast anywhere, any time, on any platform, just click here!

JEFF KARP, PhD:

In this episode of THE MENTORS RADIO, Host Tom Loarie talks with Lt. Col. Peter Smith, USAF Ret, a seasoned fighter pilot, about his harrowing, F-16 Fighter crash, the discipline and training that saved his life and the lessons he learned, including what matters most in life — in anyone’s life, in your life. Close your eyes and imagine what it would be like to experience spatial disorientation (you can’t tell up from down) in an F-16 Fighter Jet while locked into a Death Spiral at 6,000 feet, traveling at 1,000 ft per second. Now imagine ejecting from that nightmare–all happening so fast–Imagine hitting the ejection button barely 0.8 SECONDS before it was too late… and surviving. Few live to tell the tale. Former combat fighter pilot, Lt. Col. Peter Smith USAF (ret.) joins The Mentors Radio Host Tom Loarie to reflect on the OODA Loop Training that contributed to his survival. He also shares lessons he learned on what matters most in career and life. Listen to radio show below or on ANY podcast app. (The podcast posts after each episode airs on Salem Radio in San Francisco with live-streaming anywhere in the world on iHeart Radio and Tune-In). Listen to our radio podcast anywhere, any time, on any platform, click here

In this episode of THE MENTORS RADIO, Host Tom Loarie talks with Ram Charan, Fortune Magazine’s “most influential global consultant alive,” whose client list is literally a Who’s Who of well-recognized global innovators and business titans. His 30 books have sold more than 4 million copies, in more than a dozen languages. As a world-renowned business consultant, author and speaker, hailed by The Economic Times as the world’s most influential business consultant and with a career spanning more than 40 years, Ram continues to provide unparalleled insights and practical solutions globally to top companies, CEOs, and boards, including Toyota, Bank of America and Novartis. Known for his ability to cut through complexity and address core business issues, Ram’s real-world advice is not only relevant but also actionable from Day One. In this episode we delve into Ram’s vision for businesses navigating today’s chaotic landscape, drawing from his extensive experience and unmatched expertise. In this episode you will learn:

RAM CHARAN:

In this episode of THE MENTORS RADIO, Host Tom Loarie talks with Daniel Hawkins, inventor of intravascular lithotripsy and visionary founder of Shockwave Medical Inc. As the company’s founding CEO for nearly 11 years, Daniel led Shockwave through a remarkable journey that culminated in 2024 with an acquisition by Johnson & Johnson for an astounding $13 Billion; the largest acquisition of a medical technology company in history! With a track record that includes being the #6 employee at Intuitive Surgical and driving the first-ever sale of the DaVinci surgical robot, Daniel is a true pioneer in the medical technology field. Join us as we delve into the brutal backstory of creating breakthrough medical technologies, and the personal and professional challenges that come with it. Listen to the show on Salem Radio in San Francisco or via live-streaming on iHeart Radio worldwide… You can also listen on ANY podcast platform, including Apple podcast, iTunes, Spotify, TuneIN, Stitcher, Google Play and all the others. Sign up for the podcast here.

DANIEL HAWKINS:

In this episode of THE MENTORS RADIO, Host Tom Loarie talks with Alan Mulally, former Boeing and FORD CEO, regarding his management philosophy which led to the development of the triple seven luxury liner and the transformation of Ford into one of the world’s leading automobile companies!  

Alan served as President and CEO of the Ford Motor Company, where he led the Ford transformation into one of the world’s leading automobile companies and the #1 brand in the United States. Prior to this, he served as President of Boeing Information, Space and Defense Systems at the Boeing company, where he oversaw the development of commercial and military aircraft, including the 777.

Widely recognized for his many contributions and leadership mastery, Alan Mulally has been named as one of the world’s greatest leaders, one of the 30 world’s best CEOs, and as one of the world’s most influential people. Mulally’s success in both his career and life is rooted in the lessons his parents taught him. These lessons provided the foundation for what became his philosophy of work and life, embodied in his “Working Together” practices and principles, which you’ll learn in this episode…and more!

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ALAN MULALLY:

In this episode of The Mentors Radio, Host Tom Loarie talks with Ed Kopetsky, retired CIO for Stanford Health, to discuss the critical issue of addiction, a major career and family derailer today. Ed, who lost his son to an opioid overdose, shares 17 years of frontline experience, sharing invaluable insights on addressing addiction within families and communities. There is no one I know who is better to provide guidance on dealing with addiction within a family. He has been on the front lines of the addiction battle for 17 years. He lost his 31 year old son, Tim, to an overdose in 2017. Before he retired, he served as the Chief Information Officer at Stanford Health’s Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital and Stanford’s Children’s Health. He has served as the Board Chair for the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) and he is the founder and serves today as the Co-Chair of the CHIME Opiod Task Force. He was awarded the John Gall “CIO of the Year Award” awarded by CHIME and HIMSS. CHIME CEO Russell Branzell has called Ed “one of the most courageous people I know.” Kopetsky is now focused on mentoring families whose lives have been turned upside down with drug addiction.

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ED KOPETSKY:

In this episode, The Mentors Radio Host Tom Loarie talks with Al Pisano, Dean of the University of California San Diego (UC San Diego), Jacobs School of Engineering, about technology, trends in technology, trends in STEM education and where the demand for engineers will be the greatest over the next decade. Dr. Pisano, a highly accomplished mechanical engineer, has been in the UC system for more than 41 years, the last 11 years as Dean of the Jacobs School of Engineering. Under Dr. Pisano’s leadership the school exploded in growth from 5,800 students to 9,000, making it one of the largest public engineering school in the nation—the largest public engineering school in California—and ranked as one of the best engineering programs in the country.  He raised nearly $400 million for the school and expanded its research from computer chips to earthquake-proof buildings, to flying taxis. Pisano is listed as a co-inventor on more than 20 patents, has authored or co-authored more than 190 archival publications and founded and co-founded 10 start-ups in Medtech and Tech. A co-founder of 10 companies, Pisano is dedicated to translating engineering breakthroughs for the benefit of society. In 2000, for example, he co-founded Mercator MedSystems with UC Berkeley doctoral student Kirk Seward in order to commercialize their MEMS-enabled breakthrough in medical device design and manufacturing. Today, the company’s medical devices are used around the world to deliver drugs, stem cells and other therapies to tissues at precise locations deep with the body. What’s next? In this episode Dr. Pisano talks about the future of engineering, key trends in technology and cutting edge technology. For those considering a career in engineering, the future looks bright, plentiful and fascinating! For the rest of us, there’s plenty to glean from this lively, innovative conversation.

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AL PISANO, PhD:

In this episode of THE MENTORS RADIO, Host Tom Loarie talks with Navy fighter pilot and test pilot, Tom Burbage about Burbage’s remarkable rise to Executive Vice President and General Manager at Lockheed Martin, and then going on to lead the world’s most complex and ambitious aerospace endeavor ever; the development of the F-35, Lightning II. Burbage was also the long-term leader of both the F-22 Raptor development program. In the episode, Burbage shares his insights and tips on leading and managing “the RUBIKS Cube of all weapons development program,” the F-35. It is a fascinating and inspiring saga indeed! From the inception of the F-35 Lightning II as a near-impossible dream, its long and troubled gestation, the building of an international partnership and its current standing as the West’s frontline fighter world wide, this is a hang-on-to-your-seats, master mentoring conversation, crammed with take-away tips and insights no matter what your business, work, passion or life ambitions. You’ll also learn from Tom Burbage, a man who has served his country nobly for his entire life, how service can transform each of us and the society in which we live. Exceptional episode!

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TOM BURBAGE: