Making Waves at C-Level: Business Tips for Executives, Leaders, and Entrepreneurs

Joel Trammell is a successful CEO and entrepreneur with a 20-year career in IT-related software companies. He is currently CEO of Khorus, which provides a business management system for CEOs and other leaders. He is also Chair Emeritus of the Austin Technology Council and Co-founder and Managing Partner of private equity firm Lone Rock Technology Group. In addition, he serves on the boards of several public, private and nonprofit companies.

Joel’s leadership as a CEO has resulted in successful nine-figure acquisitions by two Fortune 500 companies. As CEO of network management software firm NetQoS, he delivered 31 consecutive quarters of double-digit revenue growth and nearly $60 million in revenue. CA Technologies acquired the company in 2009, generating more than 10x return on capital to its private equity investors. In 2010, he co-founded Cache IQ, a storage software company that NetApp acquired two years later.

Joel is committed to using his experience to help current and aspiring CEOs. In addition to The American CEO blog and his new book – The CEO Tightrope – he has regular columns at Forbes.com and Entrepreneur.com. In addition, he runs a CEO seminar in Austin every year in conjunction with the Rice Alliance and the Austin Technology Council.

Joel holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Louisiana Tech University and is a former instructor at the Naval Nuclear Power School.

He lives in Austin, Texas with his wife Cathy and three children.

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From the courtroom to the boardroom, Linda Byars Swindling, JD, CSP, is the premier authority in high-stakes communications, negotiating workplace drama, and influencing decision makers. Her specialty is helping people communicate powerfully so that others will listen.

Listen in on this episode as Linda shares her journey from law firm partner to solopreneur business owner.

www.lindaswindling.com

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Mike Domitrz, CSP, is an author and educator who has devoted his life to the mission of The Date Safe Project. Mike and his team provide parents, educators, middle schools, high schools, colleges, university campuses, and military installations the SKILLS for addressing consent, respect, bystander intervention, teen dating, sex education, abstinence, sexual assault (rape), and supporting survivors of sexual assault.

In the past 2 decades, Mike has spoken on 4 continents and to hundreds of educational and/or military institutions. Currently, he presents to audiences in over 75 cities each year. His clients range from local school districts and parenting organizations throughout the country to some of the nation’s most prestigious college campuses to the US Military (both stateside and overseas). 

In episode 69 of "Cool Things Entrepreneurs Do" Mike talks with Thom Singer about his entrepreneurial journey.

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Laurie Guest, CSP, is an entrepreneur at heart. She went from working in the healthcare industry to being a speaker and trainer serving a wide variety of industries. 

After eleven years as the owner of Solutions Are Brewing, professional speaking and training company she has found that all industries, not just healthcare clients, are interested in the secrets to better customer service. 

Laurie speaker all over the United States on how to attract and keep new customers and develop a team that can deliver the best service possible.

In this interview she shares her entrepreneurial journey and gives her best tips for those who want to start a business. She also talks about "Sweet Spot Pricing", a topic that is important to every business.

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Dave Lutz is one of the best connected people in the meetings and events industry. After a 22 year career with ExpoExchange (now Experient) he launched Velvet Chainsaw Consulting. He has built a team of six amazing industry experts, and together they help clients in the association and corporate world with "annual meeting improvement".

Dave believes that your network is key to success. In today's digital world he still believes the power is in face-to-face. He also knows that having the right people who bring complementary skills is how a small company will succeed. 

Listen to this episode as Thom Singer talks with Dave Lutz about his career, his entrepreneurial journey and his advice for others.

www.velvetchainsaw.com

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Shion Deysharkar is the CEO of Datafiniti, an Austin based technology company. The Datafiniti team is a group of people passionate about data. Every day data is changing how we live and work. Because of this, the Datafiniti team feel that data has the potential to transform the world. They are working to make it easier for this transformation to happen. Datafiniti makes it possible for everyone to tap into the potential of the largest source of data that exists – the Internet itself.

Listen to this episode as Thom Singer chats with Shion about his company, his entrepreneurial journey, Carnegie Mellon University, Austin, TX and advice for those looking to start their own company.

www.datafiniti.co

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Stacy Tetschner is the CEO of the National Speakers Association. These days associations need to be nimble and take risks to behave more like entrepreneurial ventures in an effort to stay relevant to their members.

Join this conversation as Thom Singer and Stacy Tetschner discuss ways associations behave like a business. Hear about how "Non-profit is our tax status, not our business strategy" and how what the NSA and New Coke have in common.

www.nsaspeaker.org

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Robert Bradford is the CEO of The Center for Simplified Strategic Planning. He has spent 27 years working with interesting clients assisting them in their growth through his unique focus on strategy.

A graduate of Princeton and Dartmouth, he joined his father's consulting business after obtaining his MBA and has never looked back. He likes being the boss because he calls the shots, but admits that it can also be lonely when you have to be in charge.

Robert works with companies all over the world, but uses his international business as an example of how long term planning takes time. He set the plan two years before the clientele appeared, but as a future thinker he knows that success requires a plan, action and patience.

Download this episode and share it with your friends and co-workers.

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Thom Singer shares his ten tips for being a master of ceremonies. Being the EmCee is very different than speaking at an event. It takes more planning and a mix of personality and event management skills. Tune into this episode and hear his advice for the next time you host a meeting, awards show, or conference.

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James Hahn II joins Thom Singer on this episode to talk about the windy road to career and life success.  

James is the Founder & CEO of Tribe Rocket. He is recognized throughout the oil and gas industry as a visionary leader of the great crew change. He began his career in the oil business working as the digital marketing manager for Drillinginfo where he increased blog traffic by over 2,000% in one month, attained over 1,900 email opt-ins in less than 6 months, and established the company as a “best in class” thought leader in the industry. 

Listen in for his insights and advice for people who want to forge their own path.

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