CEO Coaching International Podcast

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If your digital marketing strategy is still focused on improving your company's SEO rankings, you're playing an outdated game.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.

Guest: David Desharnais, a coach at CEO Coaching International. David  is a high-impact technology CEO and enterprise operator with over 25 years of experience leading organizations through scale, transformation, and value creation across more than 20 industries.

Quick Background:   Companies don't stall because their industries are stalling, or because of tariffs, or because of AI. They slow down because the CEO doesn't have a plan to maintain growth through the good and the bad. 

When your dashboards start blinking red, you need to find ways to plug your company into a broader ecosystem of customers, products, and partnerships that can recalibrate your business' trajectory, no matter what's going on in the rest of the world. 

On today's show, David Desharnais discusses how CEOs can break out of stagnation and accelerate their growth, as well as how to build a Jim Collins-style flywheel that will keep propelling your company towards BIG.

Guest: Greg Solomon, a coach at CEO Coaching International.  Greg is a former CEO who led McDonald's South Africa for 14 years. He quadrupled the size of the business and added 300-plus new restaurants while navigating three ownership transitions, a flat economy, riots, and a global pandemic.

Quick Background:   Scaling a business isn't just about growth. It's about evolving your systems, your people, and yourself as a leader so that you can keep pace with the opportunities in front of you and create some new opportunities along the way.

On today's show, Greg Solomon explains his  four-stage model for scaling a business 10X. We also discuss how leaders can reinvent themselves and their companies to stay relevant, keep growing, and Make BIG Happen.

Guest: Michael J. Slater, a coach at CEO Coaching International.  Michael is a longtime YPO member who co-founded and served as the CEO of Nik Software, an international software startup in digital photography that he co-founded and led to a $200M+ valuation before ultimately selling to Google.

Quick Background:  Every great company begins with a dream. But turning that dream into a reality requires more than just vision. It requires a defined process and an inspired team that rallies the whole company around the leader's BIG goals. 

On today's show, Michael J. Slater explains how his process of "Dreaming Backwards" can establish the principles and strategy CEOs need to Make BIG Happen.

Guest: Sasha Kelberg, a coach at CEO Coaching International. Sasha is a Wharton-trained entrepreneur, CEO, and strategic advisor with over two decades of experience building, scaling, and exiting high-tech manufacturing and export businesses. He has led teams from lab concept to global scale with a leadership style grounded in accountability, continuous improvement, and values-based culture.

Quick Background:  It's impossible to lead your business with clarity if your identity is fused with your business. And it's impossible to achieve meaningful scale if your connection to the business is concentrating too much decision-making at the top. The best CEOs evolve beyond a start-up mindset as they learn to let go, pivot towards opportunity, and reinvent themselves as both leaders and as people. 

On today's show, Sasha Kelberg explains why learning to separate yourself from your business is one of the most overlooked keys to Making BIG Happen.

Guest: Rod Reynolds, a coach at CEO Coaching International. Rod is a seasoned global executive and three-time CEO who's led major operations across Canada, the UK, and Asia Pacific. Rod is also a world-class endurance athlete. He has completed over 15 Ironman and Ironman 70.3 events, including two World Championships. He represented Canada at the 2024 World Triathlon Championships. Rod also participates in long distance (up to 100 miles) mountain trail running races.

Quick Background: Every elite organization is powered by talent, especially in the CEO's chair. But talent alone won't get your company to BIG. Sustainable growth requires a disciplined approach to performance, accountability, and resilience. Some of the very best leaders sharpen these skills through elite training and a commitment to excellence in and out of the office.

On today's show, Rod Reynolds explains how CEOs can assemble a high-performance team and how physical discipline can build the resilience executives need to Making BIG Happen.

Guest: Scott White, a coach at CEO Coaching International.  Scott is a seasoned CEO, Chairman, and entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience building and leading high-growth companies in the real estate and finance industries. He is also a bestselling author and a sought-after motivational speaker on happiness, positivity, and performance culture. His insights help executives build thriving teams, enhance workplace fulfillment, and unlock their personal and professional potential.

Quick Background: At the start of every day, CEOs have a choice. They can bring all their personal and professional baggage into the office and lead from a place of fear and frustration. Or they can choose to lead from a place of positivity and rally the troops around an inspiring vision for success. 

On today's show, Scott White explains why the perspective we choose isn't a soft skill -- it's a leadership superpower that's essential to Making BIG Happen.