Rethink Change

How does a B-17 bomber shot down over Belgium become the catalyst for one of the world's highest-caliber personality assessment tools? Meet Amy Shepley, third-generation president of Birkman International. From hand-scored Scantrons to AI-powered insights, she's turning her grandfather's war-zone revelation into a modern science of fixing people problems before they explode.

Amy brings over two decades of strategic leadership, sharpened at Fortune 500 companies and honed steering Birkman into the AI era. As president, she’s leading the rollout of the new enterprise‑wide Birkman platform, democratizing and decentralizing personality insights so every level of an organization can tap into behavioral science, not just the C‑suite. Her mission? Empower every individual to bring their whole self to work. In this episode, Amy unpacks how she’s scaling a 70‑year‑old legacy through modern tech, reimagining conflict resolution, and lighting the path for workplaces to truly see and leverage what makes us all different. 

https://birkman.com/

Ever wonder how the kid who swore he’d never sell a thing became the CEO who fires up 3,400 people to out-hustle the market and draft a blueprint to be the next Westinghouse? Meet Brett Cope—ex-ABB deal-maker turned Powell Industries power-broker who bet big on innovation, ditched customers from hell, and made culture his secret weapon. Hold on — change is his comfort zone. 

Brett is Chairman and CEO of Powell Industries—the Houston-based maker of high-reliability power-control gear for energy, utility, and data-center projects. Brett joined Powell in 2010 after two decades with ABB, rose from VP Sales to COO, and has run the company since 2016, steering it to record growth. Few leaders know the global switchgear game like Brett, and he’s here to talk electrification, leadership, innovation, and scaling a 75-year-old brand for the next energy cycle.

https://www.powellind.com

What happens when a geoscientist-turned-executive carves $1 billion from a super-major’s budget in six months, turns helicopter chaos on four continents into record margins, and converts the loudest anti-sponsors into frontline evangelists? Meet Maggie Montaigne - the strategist who treats resistance like rocket fuel. Strap in; this episode is your masterclass in profitable disruption.

Maggie Montaigne is a Houston-based strategist and board-level advisor with 30+ years of experience leading growth and transformation across E&P, oil-field services, aviation logistics, and digital consulting. She spent nearly 15 years at Halliburton, rising to Vice President of the ExxonMobil Account and Senior Director of Deepwater Solution. After steering worldwide marketing and BD at Bristow Group, she joined ConocoPhillips, where she directed global subsurface, well-operations supply chain, and IT improvement programs. Most recently, a Senior Advisor at Accenture, Maggie is a force for transformational change.

Imagine a Canadian expat who moved to Texas and started a new business by faxing a five-page proposal to Chesapeake Energy. He got a yes in 15 minutes — then leveraged that success to scale his employee benefits startup into one of the nation’s fastest-growing firms. Meet Jim Watt—turnaround addict, “ass-bailing” specialist, and killer of the long sales cycle. Watch out—benefits just went full beast mode.

Jim is the founder and CEO of Ascendent Partners and a 35-year force in employee-benefit and insurance consulting. He built Employee Benefit Solutions, sold it to EPIC while running Southwest operations, then led global distribution growth at Cigna. A former chair of the Worldwide Broker Network and active Houston philanthropist, Jim turns complex benefit strategy into bottom-line advantage. 

Learn more about Ascendent Partners. 

https://www.ascendent.com

Ever wonder what it takes to yank a bleeding Baker Hughes division out of the mothership —in the middle of Covid—flip it to profit in four months, and then aim the same playbook at nuclear energy? Meet Sam Veselka: corporate insider-turned-private equity sharpshooter who runs toward chaos, scales founder-run firms, and proves culture beats capital – every time. Buckle up — change just got weaponized.

Sam is the Managing Director at Pelican Energy Partners. Since joining Pelican in 2018, Sam has orchestrated multiple buy-and-sell transactions and now sits on numerous boards and several other portfolio companies. Before private equity, he steered Cameron’s North-American aftermarket business for the Valves & Measurement division and cut his teeth helping scale a Houston-based manufacturing firm.

Learn more about Pelican Energy. 

https://www.pelicanenergypartners.com

Think transformation is just a buzzword? Not here. Rethink Change is where battle-tested leaders spill what really works when culture’s a mess, the brand’s adrift, or the board wants magic by Monday. No fluff. All results. Hosted by CEO Ward Pennebaker and President Matt Pennebaker.