For more than 12 years, Heather and Paul Christie have been helping executives and entrepreneurs accelerate change in every aspect of business. We are in the fastest changing business environment we have ever seen. Join Heather and Paul for the Evolve To Win show and stay ahead of the game. Heather Christie, who holds a Juris Doctor (JD) degree and Certified Speaking Professional (CSPS) designation, practiced law for 10 years and was partner in a prominent Chicago law firm where she concentr ...
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From Columbus Business First, Women of Influence is an interview series showcasing some of the most powerful women in the Central Ohio business community. Hosted by Eleanor Kennedy, Assistant Managing Editor.
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78. Helen Speiser, Owner & Founder, Third Street Digital
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Today we are joined by the Founder and Owner of Third Street Digital, Helen Speiser, to chat about her career journey, what inspired her to launch an agency of her own, and how she walks the walk as a people-first employer. Learn more at https://columbusbusinessfirst.com Produced by Crate Media.By Columbus Business First
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77. Heather Hiller, General Counsel and Senior Vice President, The Daimler Group
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Today's featured business leader is Heather Hiller, General Counsel and Senior Vice President at The Daimler Group. Heather illustrates her experience as a woman in a male-dominated field, surveys the shifting landscape of remote vs. office working, shares some great career advice and transports us to the new Downtown Columbus district that's earni…
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76. Brooke Minto, Executive Director & CEO, Columbus Museum of Art
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Today we're joined by Brooke Minto, the Columbus Museum of Art's new Executive Director and CEO. With over 20 years of curatorial, educational, and fundraising experience all around the world, Brooke brings a fresh approach and big goals to the 145-year-old museum on East Broad Street. We talk about her early experiences in the city and in her role…
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75. Leah McDougald, Owner, McDougald Research
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Today's guest, Leah McDougald, works in the field of design research, studying our world and people in it on behalf of Columbus's biggest brands, to innovate better experiences, products, and services. It's wide-reaching work: even as she now runs her own business, Leah remains closely involved in the firm's projects, working on her business, and w…
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74. Rehgan Avon, Co-Founder & CEO, AlignAI
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Rehgan Avon felt the time had come to start her own company. She had been thinking about it for a while, reflecting on the ways artificial intelligence was impacting businesses and the unsolved issues she saw across industries. So she made the jump, putting in her notice and readying for her next phase in February of 2020. Of course, that's when th…
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73. Julie Granillo, President & CEO, Paul Werth Associates
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Julie Granillo didn't expect to take the top job at Paul Werth Associates when she did. Her aunt and mentor, Sandy Harbrecht Ratchford, died this summer after decades running the family business. Just four years earlier, she'd suggested Julie, then living in Nashville, come back to Ohio and join her at Paul Werth. The Western native took her up on …
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72. Live from the Inaugural Women Of Influence Awards
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For nearly five years, our Women of Influence podcast has featured conversations with some of the most influential female executives in Central Ohio. This year, Columbus Business First decided to take things a step further with the launch of our inaugural Women of Influence Awards. We fielded 126 nominations, ultimately honoring 27 outstanding wome…
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When Lisa Shuneson talks about accounting, it makes you want to be an accountant. Her passion for the industry is all the more notable given her path to it — while she studied accounting in school, she took a long break to have a couple kids before finally taking the CPA exam. But in the years since she’s risen quickly, and now leads Whalen CPAs as…
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70. Christy Farnbauch, Exec. Director, Contemporary Theatre of Ohio
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Christy Farnbauch serves as executive director of the Contemporary Theatre of Ohio. If that name's not familiar to you, perhaps you might know the organization by its former brand: CATCO. The just-completed and revealed rebranding is one of the first major projects undertaken by Farnbaugh since she joined amid the uncertainty of Spring 2020. She re…
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69. Melody Birmingham, Executive VP, NiSource & Group President, NiSource Utilities
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Melody Birmingham was a bit of a “unicorn” early in her career. There weren’t many young Black women from the Midwest in management at the Rochester, New York car factory she started her career at after college. But while she did stand out during her time there and later in the utilities industry, that didn’t change anything about the way she appro…
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68. Sarah Perez, Managing Partner, Perez Morris
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Sarah Perez thinks people should be lawyers, if that’s what they really want to do with their lives. That might seem obvious, but talk to enough lawyers and you’ll hear plenty that discourage following in their footsteps. But Perez, who today leads Columbus law firm Perez Morris, says law school is the right path for someone who actually wants to p…
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67. Darci Congrove, Managing Director, GBQ Partners
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For the first time in more than 31 years, Darci Congrove isn’t spending this tax season doing taxes. The longtime Columbus CPA and managing director of GBQ Partners retired from the firm’s tax department at the end of last year. That doesn’t mean she’s not busy, of course; there’s still plenty to fill her schedule as managing director of Central Oh…
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66. Courtney Falato, VP of Global Philanthropy, JPMorgan Chase
20:41
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Courtney Falato was used to being on the side of the table asking for money. She had spent much of her career in education research, often seeking out dollars to fund that work. But in early 2020, just as the world changed, she made her way to the other side of the table. She joined JPMorgan Chase as vice president and program officer for global ph…
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65. Jasmine de Gaia, Head of Customer Data Strategy, Wells Fargo
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Today's guest is Jasmine de Gaia, Head of Customer Data Strategy for Wells Fargo. We talked about what her role entails, how she views working in male-dominated fields and how she cultivates vital mentorship relationships. Mentioned in this episode: Let Crate Media help uncover your company's story and amplify your messaging with a branded podcast.…
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64. Jane Higgins Marx, Managing Partner, Carlile Patchen & Murphy LLP
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25:29
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Jane Higgins Marx didn't spend her childhood dreaming of being a lawyer, but as she wrapped up college with an English degree in hand, she found herself searching for a way to apply it. An LSAT, law school and two decades with the same firm later, she now leads Carlile Patchen & Murphy LLP as its managing partner, a job she started in early 2021. M…
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63. Kristina Johnson, President, Ohio State University
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In some ways Kristina Johnson feels like she's just getting started at Ohio State University. She became president of the school–one of the largest in the country and the economic engine that drives central Ohio–in 2020. But the pandemic was still in full force back then, and its later waves and impacts have forced pivot after pivot in her brief te…
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62. Megan Wood, Executive Director & CEO, Ohio History Connection
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Megan Wood knows her Ohio history. She's been with Ohio History Connection for years, working in a variety of positions across the organization. This summer, she ascended to the top job at the nonprofit becoming the first female CEO in its history. She's overseeing the organization as it kicks off construction of a long awaited $17 million Collecti…
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61. Amy Acton and Jennifer Peterson, Rapid 5
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You probably remember Amy Acton from her daily press conferences back in the spring of 2020, when she used colorful language metaphors and a general sense of compassion to guide Ohioans through one of the most uncertain times in our history. But it was a challenging job for Acton, who left the role in June, 2020, and returned to her previous employ…
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60. Ola Snow, Chief Human Resources Officer, Cardinal Health
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Ola Snow is plenty comfortable in front of a microphone. As chief human resources officer of Cardinal Health, Ohio's largest public company, she regularly has to communicate with an audience of tens of thousands of employees. It's a big job, one that got more demanding when the pandemic shook up all of our work lives. Snow joined me in our Columbus…
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59. Alison Marker, President & CEO, Marker Construction
23:05
23:05
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Alison Marker didn’t grow up dreaming up working in construction. While that’s her family business, Marker herself was more interested in people than buildings. So she pursued degrees in women’s studies and psychology, starting her career as a social worker and later a psychotherapist. But eventually, the family business called. Alison visited our …
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58. Amy Taylor, president, Columbus Downtown Development Corp.
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22:44
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Amy Taylor has had an eventful couple of years. That’s true for most of us, pandemic and all, but Taylor’s list is likely longer. The Columbus Downtown Development Corp., where she serves as president, embarked on one of its most ambitious projects ever, the $500 million multi-phase redevelopment of the Scioto Peninsula. Then Covid-19 struck, sendi…
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Freedom a la Cart just celebrated a big birthday. The nonprofit, which helps victims of sex trafficking build job skills and start new chapters in their lives, opened a downtown café in April 2021. This April, I sat down with CEO Paul Haines. She talked about the work of the organization, its goals, and her own unique career path. We also chatted a…
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56. Michelle Yeager-Thornton, Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer, The Champion Companies
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From Columbus Business First, it's Women of Influence, an interview series showcasing some of the most inspiring women in the central Ohio business community. Today, we're talking to Michelle Yeager-Thornton, Co-Owner and Chief Operating Officer of The Champion Companies. Michelle leads operational efforts and day-to-day actions of the company's po…
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55. Traci Martinez, Columbus Office Managing Partner, Squire Patton Boggs
18:06
18:06
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Work looks a lot different today than it did three years ago. So, too, does mentoring. Traci Martinez, managing partner at Squire Patton Boggs' Columbus office, shared her thoughts on the evolving nature of mentoring relationships during our recent Mentoring Monday event. She also talked about her own unusual path to a legal career, taking on a new…
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54. Mary Auch, Regional President Central Ohio, PNC Bank
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Mary Auch, PNC's regional president for Central Ohio, ascended to her now top local job at the Pittsburgh-based bank following a nearly 30-year career with the organization. That's not necessarily what Mary thought things would look like when she was in high school. Mary shares how she got into banking, as well as PNC’s billion-dollar investment to…
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53. Jennifer Rittler, Senior Associate, Moody Nolan
17:31
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Jennifer Rittler sees architecture as designing for the future. But that doesn’t mean the present doesn’t have an impact. Check out the latest episode of our Women of Influence podcast to hear how the pandemic is changing the spaces the Moody Nolan senior associate designs. She also talked with us about the need for diversity in the industry, and h…
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This isn't Erandi De Silva's first epidemic. De Silva, co-founder of Grove City's Forge Biologics, grew up in Botswana. She watched as the public health community worked with the government to respond to the AIDS epidemic, and she was inspired. On our latest Women of Influence podcast, De Silva talked about that experience, and how she hopes the Co…
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51. Nancy Matijasich, Manifest Solutions Corp.
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Nancy Matijasich wasn't looking for an IT job. She was supposed to meet with someone about a new job in the pharmaceutical industry, but her contact was running late to the job fair where they were supposed to talk. One case of mistaken identity and a different conversation later, a brand-new career path was born. Today Matijasich leads Manifest So…
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Lara DeLeone didn't grow up dreaming of working in banking. It wasn't even where she thought she would end up when she graduated from college. The lifelong lover of the written word made her way from journalism to communications to government to lobbying to, as of this summer, serving as Columbus market president for KeyBank, the eighth-largest ban…
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49. Cheryl Stauffer, Crimson Design Group
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Cheryl Stauffer's business had it's best year ever in 2020. But, as with many companies, it looked a little different than the norm. Historically, Stauffer said, commercial clients represented the lion's share of Crimson Design Group's work. But as people settled in to a new normal of spending nearly every hour of every day at their homes, they rea…
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48. Vickie Thompson-Sandy, The Buckeye Ranch
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Moving, whether it be to a new house or a new office, is always overwhelming. Add in widespread business shutdowns amid a rapidly spreading pandemic, and you've got a recipe for some serious stress. That's what happened to Vickie Thompson-Sandy, who was wrapping up her first year as CEO of The Buckeye Ranch and readying to shepherd the nonprofit's …
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There were times, over the past few months, that Luconda Dager didn’t want to get out of bed. Dager is president of Velvet Ice Cream, and the Utica-based company was outsourcing ice cream production to three partners in the Midwest. The shift followed a listeria scare in April, discovered via the company’s routine testing. It’s also part of an effo…
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Lori Duncan wasn't exactly sure what to do with her fine arts degree from Ohio State University. So she went rafting. Professionally. Duncan spent her post-college years as a whitewater rafting guide in West Virginia, filling her time during the winter months working in the ski industry. After nearly a decade, she realized it was time to get a "rea…
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45. Robbie Banks, Columbus Partnership, On speaking up when you're the only woman of color at the table
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Early on in Robbie Banks' career, she grew used to being in rooms where she was the only woman, the only young person, and often, the only person of color.Banks, the new program director for diversity, equity and inclusion for the Columbus Partnership, is now helping Columbus' private sector build more racial equity inside their organizations. "My …
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44. LC Johnson, Zora's House, On building community and following your dreams
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When LC Johnson was thinking of launching her organization Zora's House, she was balancing two competing feelings.On the one hand, she was feeling burned out from years of being an entrepreneur, but being a relatively new resident to the city, she deeply desired to build a community for other Black women and women of color in Columbus. "I was reall…
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43. Elizabeth Martinez, Big Brothers Big Sisters, at Mentoring Monday
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Elizabeth Martinez knows there's more to career growth than just rising through the ranks. "I think sometimes, we when we talk about growth, there is a disservice in the conversation to exclusively focus on vertical growth," Martinez, CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Ohio, said during a recent taping of our Women of Influence podcast. "I'…
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42. Linda Swearingen, EVP & Partner, Casto
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Linda Swearingen didn't spend much time thinking about the fact that she was working with mostly men. She was early in her career, working for a real estate investment trust, and it wasn't that notable to her that out of 40 or so desks on the loan floor, only hers and one other were occupied by women. "Except one day, nobody was there," Swearingen …
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123: Time, Money & Freedom with Ray Higdon
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Ray Higdon is a two time best selling author and CEO of a celebrated coaching network. His inspiring story has made him an incredible coach and given him unbelievable success over the years. Join me this week as we chat about his latest book, "Time, Money, Freedom".By Heather and Paul Christie
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122: Virtual Annual Meeting with Terry Powell
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Terry Powell is a leadership coach, speaker, author, and entrepreneur. He founded The Entrepreneur's Source in 1984, a business coaching and advisory service. Join us this week as I talk to him about how he dealt with the pandemic, switching business practices from in-person to virtual, and more.By Heather and Paul Christie
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Do you want to reduce your stress levels and figure out who you want to be as the new year approaches? Join me this week as I take you through an exercise that could completely change your mindset.By Heather and Paul Christie
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Lauren Parker is no stranger to imposter syndrome. She questioned herself in her early days as an account executive in the high-stakes world of New York City public relations firms right out of school. Now in her early 30s and a little less than a year into her tenure as CEO of Columbus' FrazierHeiby, she's aware that she might not fit the profile …
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40. Gina Heffner, VP, Centric Consulting, On bettering business by reducing travel
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When Gina Heffner started her career, she was a typical consultant: a "road warrior," traveling all over the country week in and week out. She didn't mind and made it work, aided by the fact that her husband also traveled extensively and the couple didn't have children yet. But after a while, she found her way to Centric Consulting, a firm founded …
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Karen Hough has built her business around her improv background, but it came in handy in a way she never could have expected amid the challenges of 2020. "We proved to ourselves that we are truly improvisers," said Hough, founder and CEO of ImrovEdge, a Powell-based business that provides business training workshops "with an improv twist." Prior to…
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38. Janica Pierce Tucker, Taft's, Finds reason to hope amid an 'emotional' year
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Janica Pierce Tucker has a solid job – she's the partner in charge at Taft Stettinius & Hollister's Columbus officer. Her income is steady, her family is healthy. On the whole, things are going pretty well for her. But that doesn't mean she can close her eyes to the racial justice conversations that exploded across the country this summer. "When I …
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120: One of the best books I have read in a long time
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Limitless by Jim Kwik gave me a new perspective to looking at the power of your brain. This episode is not sponsored, I don't have an affiliate link, and I haven't even spoken to Jim. I just really love this book. Join me as I discuss one of the best books I've read in a long time.By Heather and Paul Christie
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More and more companies are asking their leaders to coach their company. And it's show that most do want a coach! But are you coaching or problem solving? This episode breaks down the difference so you can be the best leader possible.By Heather and Paul Christie
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