The Matt Baxter Show

A veteran of the retail industry with more than 30 years of leadership across retail, marketing, sales and product, Kevin Bailey was appointed to lead Vans as its Global Brand President in March 2022. In his role, Bailey oversees the strategic direction of Vans’ global business, while also enabling regional teams to deliver local strategies to drive continued international growth. In addition to this, Bailey also currently serves as the Executive Vice President for the Asia Pacific region of Vans’ parent company, VF Corporation.

Throughout his 17 years within VF, Bailey has held a series of roles with increasing responsibility across the organization. He most recently served as President, Asia-Pacific Region and Emerging Brands for VF and was responsible for leading VF’s Asia-Pacific regional platform as well as VF’s global Emerging Brands platform of brands such as Altra®, JanSport® and Smartwool®. Prior to this, Bailey served as President of VF’s Action Sports Coalition, and the company’s Canada, Mexico, and Central/South America businesses.

As a long-time retail leader with vast industry knowledge, Bailey returns to Vans where he previously served as President from 2009 to 2016, during which time revenue for the brand more than doubled to $2.2 billion.

Throughout his almost three decades within the industry, Bailey has held a number of leadership roles through his career, specifically serving as the Executive Vice President of Lucky Brand, a division of Fifth and Pacific, and also the Director of Retail Operations for Nike, where he oversaw Nike’s direct-to-consumer businesses. Earlier in his career, Bailey held various retail operations and marketing roles with Early Learning Centres, Banana Republic and American Eagle Outfitters. 

Originally from the east coast of the US, Bailey attended the University of Vermont and Rutgers University. He resides in Orange County, California with his wife, and their pet dog and cat. Bailey has a strong love of art and music which started at an early age and he has an extensive guitar collection. Thank you Kevin!

Troberman leverages the company’s extensive range of content, experiences and technologies to bring brands together in new ways with consumers across all of the company’s businesses, iHeartMedia’s 859 radio stations and iHeartRadio. Troberman is a marketing innovator and visionary -- thank you for being today's guest!

Dr. Archelle Georgiou is the Chief Health Officer for Starkey Hearing Technologies, a global hearing technology company headquartered in Minnesota. She oversees the Healthable features embedded in the company’s hearing aids, and brings hearing health to the forefront of overall health. In addition to her role at Starkey, Archelle is Chairman of the Board of Directors at Children’s Hospital and Clinics of Minnesota and also serves on the Board for CaringBridge. She is an Executive in Residence at the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management. Dr. Georgiou’s extensive healthcare background includes experience as a physician, business executive, advisor, author and speaker. She was the Chief Medical Officer and a senior executive at UnitedHealth Group between 1996 and 2007. Since 2007 she has been an on-air medical expert and has covered over 2000 medical topics during her weekly segments on KSTP-TV. Based on her interactions with viewers, in 2017, Dr. Georgiou published her first book, Health Care Choices: 5 Steps to Getting the Medical Care You Want and Need (Rowman & Littlefield). Dr. Georgiou graduated from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and was board-certified in Internal Medicine. She lives in Wayzata, Minnesota and enjoys traveling, cooking Greek food for friends and family, and binge watching television shows with her husband.

Thomas Smale is the Founder and CEO of FE International. He is a serial business entrepreneur and M&A expert, having built the industry-leading firm in the $1-100M global technology sector. With experience dating back to the early 2000s, Smale offers invaluable technical, diligence and negotiation advice to early-stage and seasoned business owners alike, which has resulted in over 1,200 successful exits.

Smale can be regularly found speaking at industry events where he enjoys meeting like-minded entrepreneurs and investors.

Alongside his duties at FE International, Smale is a sought-after author and keynote presenter for leading industry events worldwide. He has been interviewed on top podcasts and blogs on a variety of topics, including business strategy, buying and selling businesses, negotiation tactics and more. He writes a business column regularly on entrepreneurship, growth, and business management for Entrepreneur.com and is a Young Entrepreneurs’ Council member. Thank you Thomas for being on today's episode!

Today I chat with Ryan Hartman about space tourism and the logistics and theory behind potential capabilities in that realm! Not only are his goals incredible, but he is a respected leader, amazing person, and an inspiration to all. Thank you Ryan for being on today's episode!

Thank you Rob for being on this week's episode!

"My journey began in College. As I attempted to play baseball at a small DII school, I experienced a Hinge moment and fell off an 80 foot cliff. The HInge is any person, event, or moment that connects who we are with who we become and tragedies are immediate, because from that moment on, everything is different. I was a knucklehead with a drinking problem and I paid for it.

I was blessed enough to discover my passion and purpose early on after my hinge moment and since I was given a second chance, I was not going to blow it.

Sport Psychology Graduate school at Temple University and The University of Tennessee followed as well as coaching professional athletes on Mental Toughness. A detour as a college professor took place for a few years until another Hinge moment. With two kids under the age of five, I left the safety of academia and went all-in with being part of the support for athletes, coaches, & teams on Mental Toughness.

It took guts, faith, and the road less traveled. And it made all the difference. I've completed 100-mile trail ultra marathon, Ironman, and dozens of ultra's. I've been fortunate enough to coach executives, whom I refer to as Corporate Athletes!" -- Dr. Rob Bell

For more information -- https://drrobbell.com/

Today I’m hanging out with Paul Kirk, an authentic, raw human being, honest about his past failures and successes. He comes alongside the BOSS Academy and BOSS Lifestyle in general to help CEOs and business owners in many ways of their lives. Thanks Paul!

Frank is the master networker, unafraid to make introductions, and deep conversation producer. I was lucky enough to be a guest on his podcast and now I’m luckier that he is on mine! Thank you Frank!

Priya has over 15 years of experience creating and implementing global product strategy in Fortune 100, mid-cap and start-ups. She has successfully built and commercialized highly technical hardware and software product solutions through direct sales & channel partners. Thank you for great conversation, Priya!

An Ann Arbor business attorney, with a focus on employment, James Reid plays a huge role in maintaining integrity and kindness in the practice. Today we chat about how we met (SHRM New Orleans!), intentionality, and life. Thank you James for being on today's episode!