Leaders24x7 Podcast

In this show Jennifer Smith, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Zions Bancorporation, joins us to discuss four important topics:

• Developing yourself as a leader.
• Understanding how diversity and inclusion improves business outcomes.
• Effective leadership for the modern age.
• What you will need to succeed in the future.

Jennifer Smith is Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer of Zions Bancorporation. Smith previously served as director of Enterprise Operations and her responsibilities include executive leadership for the Customer Care Centers, as well as all Deposit, Treasury, and Lending Operations for Zions Bancorporation. Before joining the Enterprise Operations team, Jennifer was Zions Bancorporation’s Director of Internal Audit reporting directly to the audit committee of the board of directors.  

Prior to joining Zions in 2006, she held various positions at Wells Fargo & Company from 1995-2006, including Senior Vice President Operations Risk Management and Senior Vice President and Director of Technology and Operations Audit.  She holds an honors B.A. degree and M.S. degree in economics from the University of Utah.  Jennifer has received several business honors, including being named one of the top “40 Business Leaders under 40” by Utah Business magazine in 2010.  In 2011, she was named as a member of 1 of 4 top U.S. banking teams, in American Banker’s “25 Most Powerful Women in Banking” edition and one of the top “30 Business Women to Watch” by Utah Business magazine in 2012.  In 2012, she was named an International Women’s Forum leadership fellow. 

Jennifer has a commitment to community service.   She has been an active leader in United Way's collective impact initiatives creating improved community outcomes in education, health, and income.   She is a member of the YWCA of Utah’s Board of Directors and has previously held positions on the United Way's board of directors and as a chair of their Women's Leadership Council. She is an active Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Utah mentor.  In 2011 she received the Women’s Philanthropic Network’s Member of the Year award, and United Way’s Heart and Hands award.  Jennifer, her husband, 17 year old daughter, and 14 year old son live in the mountains of Salt Lake City, Utah.

We welcome Jennifer Smith to Leaders247.

In this show Eileen Kunze, Vice President of Human Resources at A-dec Inc., joins us to discuss three important topics:

• Creating a business led and aligned human resource organization.
• Developing new leaders.
• Issues facing women in leadership and crafting a diverse organization.

Eileen has had a long and successful career in human resource leadership. For over 25 years she has made HR a competitive advantage for A-dec. Headquartered in the beautiful Willamette Valley in the picturesque town of Newberg, Oregon, A-dec is a global leader revolutionizing dental equipment since 1964.

I first met Eileen in 2007 doing leadership research in my doctoral program at George Fox University. I was fascinated, at that time, by the advanced thinking she provided in the area of people development, and specifically, in developing emerging leaders. I decided to check back in with her almost a decade later to find that all of her visionary ideas, and then some, had been implemented. As a result of Eileen’s business leadership, A-dec enjoys a comprehensive people development program that uniquely aligns with their business strategies. Eileen and A-dec combine for a text-book case study on how to do HR.

Eileen holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Linfield College, and has completed the Executive Management Program at Stanford University.

We welcome Eileen Kunze to Leaders247.

In this show Dr. Susan R. Madsen joins us to discuss issues dealing with emerging leaders, women in leadership, and ethical issues of leadership.

Dr. Susan R. Madsen is the Orin R. Woodbury Professor of Leadership and Ethics in the Woodbury School of Business at Utah Valley University. She is also a Visiting Fellow of the Faculty of Economics and Business at the University of Zagreb (Croatia), a Distinguished Visiting Fellow of the Lancaster Leadership Centre in the U.K, and a Fellow of The Leadership Trust Foundation in Ross-on-Wye, England. 

Dr. Madsen has been heavily involved for the last decade in researching the lifetime development of prominent women leaders. She has personally interviewed a host of women university presidents, U.S. governors, and international leaders, as well as studying many aspects of women and leadership more broadly. Susan has conducted related research in the U.S., the six Arab Gulf countries, China, and Eastern Europe.

Overall, Susan has authored or edited five books and has published well over 100 articles, chapters, and reports. She is a globally recognized speaker in local, national, and international settings. For example, she has presented at United Nations NGO sessions, The New York Times, the Argentina Parliament Palace, the House of Commons in England, and in many countries around the world. Susan is the founder of numerous successful networks, including the International Leadership Association’s (ILA) Women and Leadership Affinity Group, and she serves on many nonprofit, community, and association boards and committees.

She has received numerous awards for her teaching, research, and service. She is the lead co-editor of the Women and Leadership Book Series and co-edited the first three volumes. Susan received her doctorate from the University of Minnesota in human resource development. 

This interview references an important Opinion piece Dr. Madsen wrote for the Salt Lake Tribune: We must act locally and globally to improve women’s lives. We encourage our listeners to read this important article.

You can learn more about Dr. Madsen at these sites:

Utah Women & Education Initiative

Women’s Leadership Institute

Utah Women & Leadership Project

We are pleased to present Dr. Susan R. Madsen on our Leaders247 podcast series.

Our guest today is Tim Rahschulte, Chief Learning Officer at Evanta. Tim is also a Professor at George Fox University’s School of Business. He is also a prolific author on topics of leadership, organizational change, and strategy.

Tim has a diverse background and a wealth of leadership experience in both the for-profit and non-profit world. Tim started in corporate finance managing the cash and investment activities for a $3 billion company, dozens of bond indentures, and average daily investments of $200 million.

After earning an MBA, Tim entered the consulting field and that led to a couple of venture funded start ups. Following his startup experiences, Tim began his teaching career and at the same time consulted for the government, where he served as a principal executive manager leading large-scale system change initiatives and business transformations.

Important leadership lessons from this show include:

• The importance of recognizing leadership is a social journey
• Techniques and tips for leaders early in their career
• The art of leadership and how to improve the entire ecosystem
• How to distinguish yourself as a potential up and coming leader
• Leading global project teams
• Non-profit vs. for-profit organizational leadership differences

We are pleased to have Tim Rahschulte as a guest on our Leaders247 leadership series.

How can you determine if you are an effective leader? 

You do not need expensive or complex tools.

In this short microcast I provide a simple way to observe yourself, and to quickly and accurately assess where you stand as a leader.

Our guest today is Hal Halladay. Hall is the Chief People Officer at Infusionsoft – a fast-growth people-focused company. In this interview he provides powerful insight on the art of leadership as both a people function and an organizational function. Hal has a wealth of knowledge on leading organizations, leading start-ups, and leading people.

He has been a top officer and founder of several start-ups and has been responsible for helping many companies get both their startup capital as well as startup leadership.

Hal is a visionary strategic leaders. But he is quite unique in that he stays grounded and understands what it takes to lead people of all types and at all levels through a successful venture. You will find amazing credentials on his Linkedin page.

Some of the things you will learn in this podcast include:

We are pleased to present Hal Halladay on our Leaders247 podcast series.

Our guest today is Enrique Washington, a founding partner of the Generator Group. I first met Enrique when he was working at Nike finding great talent for a great company. Enrique says his most meaningful work is to help individuals and organizations achieve their full potential. He has been instrumental in creating and implementing leadership acquisition and development strategies, with a focus on diversity within organizations. I count Enrique as one of my personal friends and a great mentor who, through his way of living life and conducting business, has demonstrated the right way to do things.

A few things you will learn in this podcast:

In the podcast Enrique refers to an article he published in Diversity Executive entitled, “Diversity Is Not a Numbers Game.”

Our guest today is Niel Nickolaisen, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at O.C. Tanner, ranked on the Fortune 100 “Best Companies to Work For” list.

In this interview Niel offers a laser-focused perspective on the art of leading people and building capability in others. Niel has a passion for the development and delivery of innovative technology, providing exceptional customer service, and building great teams. He loves nothing better than seeing his IT teams grow and succeed.

Niel has a long career specializing in leadership positions, typically in turnaround roles. His strategic and tactical alignment model significantly improves returns on technology and business initiatives. He has a passion for helping others deliver on what he calls the dual role of enterprise IT: 1) Enable strategy and 2) Achieve operational excellence.

Niel’s degrees include:

He writes an enterprise CIO column for SearchCIO and is a contributor to CIO Magazine. Niel is also a co-author of The Agile Culture and Stand Back and Deliver.

Some of the things you will learn in this podcast include:

We are pleased to present Niel Nickolaisen on our Leaders247 leadership series.

Our guest today is Kevin Crandall, Vice President at Xactware Solutions, Inc., located in Utah Valley just south of Salt Lake City. Kevin has been with Xactware since 2004, and over this time he has held positions of General Manager; Assistant Vice President of Implementation; and now Vice President of Quality and Claims Solutions. Kevin is one of those people you just like to get to know. He’s been highly successful everywhere he has been, and it doesn’t take long to learn that Kevin cares about the people he works with.

For those who don’t know about Xactware, let me explain. This is a unique company that develops software for estimating the cost of building and repair. 22 of 25 U.S. property insurance companies use Xactware Solutions.

In this interview you will learn:

We are pleased to host Kevin in our Leaders247 Leadership Series.

Our guest today is David Stirling, a Founding Executive, Chief Executive Officer, and President of doTERRA, a worldwide health and wellness company headquartered in the heart of Utah Valley in Pleasant Grove, Utah. David is one of the individuals responsible for having grown this company from a start-up idea to a place that now employs over 1,300 people, engages over 1 million Wellness Advocates, and enjoys many million-dollar revenue days. doTERRA is one of the fastest growing companies in history.

David’s journey is an interesting one and anyone looking to gain insights into the challenges of leading people in a dynamic international market will enjoy this particular show. In this show some of the key insights David shares include:

We are thrilled to have David kick off our leaders247 series.