Leadership looks decisive from the outside. Behind the scenes, it’s different. Growth stalls. Execution slips. The stakes rise, and every decision carries weight.

Listen to candid discussions with CEOs and founders about the moments that test leaders most. These are the turning points that shape companies and define leadership. If you’re building something meaningful, leading through uncertainty, or preparing for the CEO seat, these stories are for you.

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Guest: Peter Platten, Chief Revenue Officer of Protos Security. Peter joined the company in 2020 and has helped lead its transformation from a $150 million organization to a $750 million revenue firm today.

Overview: Private equity doesn't reward incremental thinking. It rewards leaders who can scale under pressure, build systems that outperform, and push past what most teams believe is possible to Make BIG Happen. 

On today's show, Peter Platten explains his four-move framework to grow fast in a private equity environment. He also discusses how to build teams that overshoot goals instead of simply meeting them and why systems-thinking -- not siloed optimization -- is the real key to exponential success.

Guests: Jerry Vance, the Founder and Managing Partner of Preferred CFO, and Scott Crawford, a Partner at Preferred CFO focused on client prioritization and new business development.

Overview: A CEO who's led their company past the "I'll Do Everything" stage needs a true financial strategist at their side to stop surviving and start scaling. But the CEO also needs clarity on what kind of financial expertise their company truly needs at various stages of growth. Paying a full-time CFO to act like a glorified bookkeeper isn't going to accelerate your trajectory. And a "CF-No" who builds a moat around your cash might not share the CEO's bold vision for BIG. 

On today's show, Jerry Vance and Scott Crawford explore the state of the fractional CFO industry and why forecasting and five-year planning are strategic leadership tools, not just accounting exercises.

Guests: Tim Kreytak, CEO and Co-Founder of Ironside, one of North America's leading analytics and data consulting firms and a multiple Inc. 5000 honoree.

Jason Breazeale, Vice President of Technology at Burn Boot Camp, a rapidly growing fitness franchise with nearly 400 locations.

Overview: Yes, your company needs to be using AI. But before you start buying subscriptions and upgrading your tech stack, you need to understand what actually drives successful AI integrations: a bedrock of solid data. Without clean, accessible, and trusted data, even the most advanced AI tools will fail to deliver results.

On today's show, Tim Kreytak and Jason Breazeale discuss why you need BIG data mastery before AI can help your company Make BIG Happen.

Guest: Jose Vergara, a coach at CEO Coaching International. Jose is a seasoned CEO, president, and operator with deep experience leading organizations across public companies, private equity-backed businesses, family-owned firms, founder-led companies, and partner-owned enterprises.

Quick Background: If AI was just a technical problem, the solutions would be simple. Upgrade your tech stack. Hire the best AI experts. Buy more bandwidth.

But the true challenge of AI is how it challenges leadership. CEOs who feel the need to "do something" often sacrifice identity and trust for speed. And in their haste, they fail to communicate a clear vision that reduces employees' anxiety around AI and transforms the company's culture.

On today's show, Jose Vergara discusses how his 5-step AI roadmap for CEOs can help companies embrace AI, improve productivity, and Make BIG Happen.

Guest: Randy Wootton, a coach at CEO Coaching International. Randy is a seasoned executive, board member, and advisor with more than two decades of experience leading companies through strategic inflection points, turnarounds, and technology shifts. Randy served 8 years in the Navy before taking senior leadership roles at companies including Microsoft and Salesforce, and working as the CEO of public and private equity-backed companies including Rocket Fuel.

Quick Background: No one pauses your climb up the corporate ladder to teach you how to be a great CEO. And yet, once you do earn the BIG job, every decision carries weight, and every mistake gets more expensive. CEOs who accelerate through leadership growing pains often lean on experienced mentors, coaches, and peer groups for expertise that helps them avoid common mistakes and Make BIG Happen.

On today's show, Randy Wootton shares the hard-earned secrets of success he's gathered over a career that took him from the cockpit of a Navy jet to the boardrooms of Silicon Valley.

Guest: Dr. Jeff Graham, a physician and the Chief Medical Officer at Wild Health, where he works with high performers to help them extend not just their lifespan but their healthspan as well.

Overview: If you ran your business the way many CEOs manage their health, you'd have to call an emergency board meeting immediately. The same successful CEOs who lead with precise data and dashboards often rely on "gut feel" when it comes to their own biology. Or, worse, they brush aside stress, exhaustion, and that funny feeling in their chest as just part of the job. 

On today's show, Dr. Jeff Graham explains why CEOs who want to perform at a high level over decades need to treat their health as a measurable, optimizable operating system. He also discusses how "precision medicine," recovery, and adaptability can help leaders stay mentally sharp, improve their health, and keep Making BIG Happen.

Guest:  Trey Mauck, founder and CEO of Integrated Insurance Solutions, one of the top one hundred insurance agencies in the United States.

Overview: The BIGGEST danger to a company's enterprise value isn't bad strategy. It's unmanaged risk hiding in plain sight. CEOs who view insurance as a "Nice to Have" need to look beyond the line item and start integrating risk management into their long-term growth plans.

On today's show, Trey Mauck discusses how strategic risk management protects valuation, reduces disruption, and can become a competitive advantage on the way to Making BIG Happen.

Guest:  Saman Samii and Mitch Slater  from UBS Wealth Management. Saman and Mitch have guided founders through countless liquidity events and helped them navigate one of the most emotionally charged transitions in business: from business owner to living off the proceeds after your BIG exit.

Overview: Sometimes in the life of an entrepreneur, Making BIG Happen is the easy part. Years of meticulous planning and exceptional leadership bring their company to a successful sale. But then they realize that they haven't put the same level of preparation into what happens after the transaction closes and the money hits their account.

 On today's show, Saman Samii and Mitch Slater discuss how to prepare yourself emotionally, financially, and structurally for the BIG moment when most of your net worth suddenly becomes liquid.

Guest:  Kevin Roy, a pioneer in digital marketing and the co-founder and CEO of GreenBanana SEO, a three-time member of the Inc. 5,000 Fastest-Growing Companies list.

Overview: If your digital marketing strategy is still focused on improving your company's SEO rankings, you're playing an outdated game. To get BIG in 2026, your company has to be the answer to the questions that customers are asking AI.

On today's show, Kevin Roy explains how the rise of AI and large language models like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude is transforming the way businesses attract leads, build demand, and Make BIG Happen.

Guest: Dr. Mario Simon, a coach at CEO Coaching International. Mario is a transformational leader who has a global track record of building companies and helping CEOs unlock breakthrough growth and cultural impact.

Quick Background:    If you want to 10X your company, start by 10Xing the one indispensable resource that drives everything: the CEO.

Your company's culture, its growth trajectory, its resilience, its ability to pivot, its attractiveness to top talent and potential buyers, and ultimately, its legacy, are all a reflection of you. Learning to lead from "the inside out" can help you make the most of that responsibility and Make BIG Happen.

On today's show, Dr. Mario Simon explores the three stages of a leader's evolution and how CEOs can transform their mindset and self-awareness into a competitive advantage.