Tom Hale is the CEO of health tech company Oura. Producing one of the most prominent wearables out there (The Oura Ring), Oura is working to improve health and wellness through sustainable behavior change. In this episode, Hale and host Anne Hancock Toomey discuss his journey from working as a bike mechanic in Reno, Nevada, to a career spanning some of the most notable tech companies of the past 20+ years: Macromedia, Adobe, Linden Lab (creator of Second Life), HomeAway, and SurveyMonkey. He discusses the transformative impact of Oura's smart ring on his personal health, as well as his professional mission to shift healthcare towards preventative care through technology and AI. Hale also reflects on the lessons learned from his diverse career, emphasizing the importance of human-centric leadership, accountability, and ambition. The conversation offers valuable insights into the future of health tech and the power of mission-driven companies.

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Chris Spencer is a tech entrepreneur and founder of TeamQ, who today is using his decade playing in the NFL as a foundation for helping athletes across the country maximize their potential on the field and in life. In this episode, Spencer and Anne Hancock Toomey discuss his background growing up in Bentonia, Mississippi, transitioning from farm life to football. He wasn't just a football player, though. Spencer had an impressive career at Ole Miss and, following a conversation with Archie Manning, entered the draft...where he was picked in the first round (unheard of for a center) and ended up snapping the ball on the play that instantly became known as BeastQuake.

Here, Spencer shares insights into his dyslexia diagnosis and how football became both a crutch and a tool for his personal development. He digs into the lessons he learned and the needs he observed while playing that led him to his post-NFL career founding TeamQ, a performance intelligence platform aimed at empowering athletes beyond the game. The conversation covers Spencer’s leadership philosophies, the importance of relationships, and AI. Plus, the joy of driving tractors on the farm.

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This week, Anne interviews Chris Bishop about his multifaceted career in healthcare and his transition to leading in the animal health sector as CEO of Veterinary Innovative Partners (VIP). Bishop shares his journey from growing up in Tennessee, working the seafood counter, playing college basketball, working in myriad roles within healthcare and navigating the complexities of corporate leadership. He reframes "sales" as influencing behavior, discusses the importance of mentorship and highlights pivotal moments that shaped his leadership style. He also reflects on the impact of faith and the value of creating a culture of ownership within an organization. As always, stick around for the lightning round.

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From sleepaway camp to the Appalachian Trail, Jennifer Pharr Davis’s story is one of curiosity, courage and...camp. Her early desire to "keep up" rapidly transformed into a relentless drive to find her own limits, leading her to achievements few can even imagine. In this episode, Anne Hancock Toomey sits down with the former National Geographic Adventurer of the Year to talk about how lessons from the trail have shaped her life as an athlete, business owner, and leader.

Jennifer’s path began in the mountains of North Carolina and led her to set the fastest known time on the Appalachian Trail—averaging 47 miles a day over 2,200 miles—and to create the Blue Ridge Hiking Company, inspiring thousands to connect with the outdoors. Along the way, she’s learned about resilience, risk-taking, and redefining leadership through self-awareness, faith, and the power of nature.

“If you never fail,” her camp director told her, “you haven’t set your goals high enough.”

Highlights:

2:46 – Growing Up in the North Carolina Mountains

4:18 – Lessons from Summer Camp

8:30 – First Job & Early Leadership

11:00 – First Appalachian Trail Thru-Hike

15:00 – First ‘Real Job’ & the Call of the Trail

18:00 – Founding Blue Ridge Hiking Company

22:00 – Lessons in Leadership & Longevity

23:30 – Back to the AT

31:00 – Endurance, Adversity & Teamwork

35:00 – Breaking the Record

36:00 – Advocacy & the Next Chapter

38:30 – Family, Faith & Work-Life Balance

41:00 – Leadership Lessons from the Trail

43:30 – Lightning Round

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In the first episode of Season Two, Anne Hancock Toomey sits down with Scott Becker.

Becker’s name is synonymous with healthcare media and can’t miss industry conferences. The Becker’s brand is now an empire, covering every facet of the industry. And the energetic man behind the brand is a respected healthcare lawyer whose real purpose and passion is connecting people and ideas.

Anne has known Scott for years. Yet in this conversation, they cover new ground about his life’s journey and ongoing aspirations. They talk about all the advice he didn’t get. About his mentoring of a young Barack Obama. And even about the lesson he once learned about yelling in the office.

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 Ever wonder what makes great leaders tick? Well then welcome to season two of the Backstory, where each conversation is a case study in authentic leadership. Throughout her career in healthcare consulting, Anne Hancock Toomey has encountered some truly impressive leaders. Here, she sits down with them, digging into their journeys, who they are and how they lead.

The backstory is about humanizing respected leaders who are visionary, sharp, self-aware, and fiercely committed, who lift others up, own their mistakes, and share credit freely. They're not perfect, but they are genuine, and that's where greatness lives. Last season, we featured executives from top healthcare organizations across the nation, plus some investors, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders.

This time we're looking at healthcare and beyond. We'll kick it off with media mogul Scott Becker. Other episodes will feature a sports hero, a Guinness World record holder, the CEO of the fastest selling consumer wearable company, among others.

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In the capstone episode of Season One, Anne Hancock Toomey interviews healthcare entrepreneur and...her dad! Kenny Hancock is CEO of Lync Health Partners. Hancock shares his journey from working his family's small-town hardware store in Kentucky to a successful career as a serial entrepreneur in healthcare. He talks about how early setbacks in a high-pressure sales role motivated him to keep pushing and succeed, setting him up for a professional lifetime of finding ways to solve big challenges. Hancock reviews the highs and lows founding and leading companies like OrthoLink, Surgical Alliance, Meridian, and Lync Health Partners. He emphasizes the importance of relationships, authenticity, and risk-taking. Anne and Kenny also delve into the personal and familial dimensions of their journey, offering valuable insights into leadership and life lessons.

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In this episode of The Backstory, host Anne Hancock Toomey interviews Dr. David Miller, President of University of Michigan Health and incoming Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs of University of Michigan and CEO of Michigan Medicine . Dr. Miller shares insights from his career as a urologic cancer surgeon and member of the leadership team at a large academic health system. He discusses his Michigan roots, the influence of his parents, and and the surprising role the CEO of Dow had on his journey from practicing medicine to taking on significant administrative roles. The conversation delves into his leadership philosophy, which emphasizes honesty, humility, visibility and enthusiasm. Dr. Miller also talks about balancing his clinical practice with his executive responsibilities. As a physician and executive, he is well-placed to talk about the importance of earning and maintaining trust from colleagues, team members and the public.

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In this episode of The Backstory, host Anne Hancock Toomey sits down with the Global Head of Healthcare for Blackstone, Ram Jagannath, to trace the path that led him from a childhood as a first-generation American to the upper echelons of finance and healthcare investing.

Jagannath shares how his formative years shaped his perspective, weaving through early influences, first jobs, and pivotal experiences—none more striking than his time working in a Croatian refugee camp with Bosnians displaced by the war.

From navigating Wall Street to surviving the stock market crash and exploring a career in private equity, Jagannath unpacks lessons on why intellectual curiosity and purpose matter as much as strategy. And in a fast-paced lightning round, he gets personal – family, golf and a little love for Taylor Swift.

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In this episode of The Backstory, Anne Hancock Toomey sits down with Ric Ransom, CEO of University of Missouri Health Care, for a conversation that covers everything from comic books to crisis leadership. Ric’s journey started in Birmingham, Alabama, in a home filled with big personalities and even bigger aspirations. He carved out a career that spanned law and healthcare administration, helping guide major health systems like Baylor Health System (now Baylor Scott & White Health), Prisma Health and UW Health along the way.

Known for his ability to build strong teams and steer through uncertainty, Ransom unpacks lessons on resilience, communications and the influence of formative leaders – starting with his own father. Plus, he shares his approach to staying sharp (spoiler: it involves exercise and a good graphic novel).

Come for the conversation about his first job as a telemarketer, stay for the lightning round where Ransom talks about his introverted side, his go-to stress relievers and what’s on his reading list.

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