This week we talk about why marketers often make better CEOs than CFOs, what companies get wrong when marketing to younger generations, and why focus groups can actually kill creative. We also talk about the future of membership organizations in both Seattle and nationally.

Top Stories:

1. AAA Washington - what actually is it?

2. Brooks Running to sponsor the Mariners salmon race

+Let Keta Run instagram

3. Rec Room shuts down and Columbia Tower Club closes after 41 years

About Heather Snavely — President & CEO, AAA Washington:

Heather has been President & CEO of AAA Washington for nearly five years. Before that she held marketing and leadership roles at PCC Community Markets, Brooks Running, and Microsoft where she worked on the Xbox brand. She serves on the board of KEXP and has been in Seattle since 1999.

About host Rachel Horgan:

Rachel is an independent event producer, emcee and entrepreneur. She worked for the Business Journal as their Director of Events interviewing business leaders on stage before launching the weekly podcast. She earned her communication degree from the University of San Diego.

Contact:

Email: info@theweeklyseattle.com

Instagram: @theweeklyseattle

Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.theweeklyseattle.com

This week we pull back the curtain on the business side of healthcare: how hospitals actually make money, why our bills are high yet hospitals are doing layoffs, and what it was like to step into the CEO role as an interim first. Dr. Elizabeth Wako, President & CEO of Swedish Health Services, also shares how a simple idea in the delivery room dropped C-section rates for women of color from 44% to 27%.

Top stories this week:

1. The business of hospitals

2. Starbucks signs a lease in Nashville

3. Kraken takes majority ownership of Climate Pledge Arena

About Dr. Elizabeth Wako - President & CEO, Swedish Health Care Services:

She began her career in nursing before becoming a physician and anesthesiologist, then stepped into executive leadership as Chief Medical Officer before ultimately taking the top role of President & CEO. She made history as the first woman and first Black person to lead Swedish in its 116-year history. She holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Washington and an MBA, and is overseeing the development of the new Hughes Tower, a major investment in Seattle's healthcare infrastructure.

About host Rachel Horgan:

Rachel is an independent event producer, emcee and entrepreneur. She worked for the Business Journal for 5 years as their Director of Events interviewing business leaders on stage before launching the weekly podcast. She earned her communication degree from the University of San Diego.

Contact:

Email: info@theweeklyseattle.com

Instagram: @theweeklyseattle

Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.theweeklyseattle.com

This week we're talking all about the banking industry with former CEO and current Vice Chair of Wells Fargo Commercial Banking. Mary Knell shares a jaw-dropping fraud story that cost a local company millions mid-deal, gives her honest take on what small businesses are up against right now, and her opinion on the what the Sonics returning could do for our economy. All of this and your top news stories!

Top Stories:

1. Inside commercial banking: fraud, cybersecurity, and what banks wish you understood

2. Downtown Seattle office values decline

3. Blazing Bagels closes all five locations after nearly 25 years in business

4. NBA owners expected to vote on Seattle Sonics expansion

About Mary Knell - Vice Chair, Wells Fargo Commercial Banking:

Mary Knell has over 40 years of financial services experience and is a lifelong Seattle native. She serves on the Washington CEO Roundtable Board, the Greater Seattle Partners Executive Board, and is co-president of the International Women's Forum. She also sits on the board of the Museum of Flight and is a University of Washington alumna.

About host Rachel Horgan:

Rachel is an independent event producer, emcee and entrepreneur. She worked for the Business Journal for 5 years as their Director of Events interviewing business leaders on stage before launching the weekly podcast. She earned her communication degree from the University of San Diego.

Contact:

Email: info@theweeklyseattle.com

Instagram: @theweeklyseattle

Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.theweeklyseattle.com

We're talking about how the workforce is changing and what that means for Seattle. In this episode we talk about why 40% of the American workforce is now freelance and will be 50% by 2027. We talk about how to find your first clients, what companies get wrong about blended teams, and why the "stability" of a W-2 job might be a myth. We also dig into the data on women leaving the workforce and what organizations can actually do about it. All of this and your top news stories!

Top Stories:

1. Microsoft now requires 3 days a week in office

2. Amazon invests $50 billion into OpenAI (& the government drama)

3. The future (now) of work

New federal contractor rule

Why some employees aren't taking PTO despite experiencing burnout

Hybrid Workplace Playbook by Lions & Tigers

About Brea Starmer — CEO & Founder, Lions & Tigers:

Brea started Lions & Tigers seven years ago after being laid off while seven months pregnant. She has built the company into a flexible fractional workforce firm serving everyone from startups to enterprise clients, headquartered in Bellevue, WA. She is also a former PSBJ 40 Under 40. Learn more at lionsandtigers.com

About host Rachel Horgan:

Rachel is an independent event producer, emcee and entrepreneur. She worked for the Business Journal for 5 years as their Director of Events interviewing business leaders on stage before launching the weekly podcast. She earned her communication degree from the University of San Diego.

Contact:

Email: info@theweeklyseattle.com

Instagram: @theweeklyseattle

Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.theweeklyseattle.com

This week we're talking about everything happening in downtown Seattle with the President and CEO of the Downtown Seattle Association. Jon shares the latest data on downtown recovery, plus what's coming next, including a $50 million investment in parks and changes to 3rd Ave. We also dive into how Seattle is preparing for FIFA 2026 with 700,000 expected visitors, watch parties across downtown, and new flexible alcohol laws. And we dig into the controversial public safety camera debate and why Jon believes they're working.

Top Stories:

1a. Downtown Seattle recovery update: office workers, residents, and visitor numbers

1b. FIFA 2026 preparations and economic impact on Seattle businesses

2. Public safety camera expansion debate and why DSA supports it

3. Benaroya Hall $20 million renovation closing July-September

About Jon Scholes - President & CEO, Downtown Seattle Association:

Jon Scholes is responsible for the operations and programs of the DSA, an 1,100 member association formed in 1958 to create a healthy, vibrant downtown for all. He was appointed President & CEO of DSA in November 2014 following six years as DSA's Vice President of Advocacy and Economic Development. Jon serves on the boards of Visit Seattle, the International Downtown Association, and Downtown Emergency Services Center. He is the host of Seattle City Makers, a podcast launched in 2022. He is a graduate of Leadership Tomorrow and attended University of Texas in Austin before graduating form the University of Washington.

About host Rachel Horgan:

Rachel is an independent event producer, emcee and entrepreneur. She worked for the Business Journal for 5 years as their Director of Events interviewing business leaders on stage before launching the weekly podcast. She earned her communication degree from the University of San Diego.

Contact:

Email: info@theweeklyseattle.com

Instagram: @theweeklyseattle

Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.theweeklyseattle.com

It's guys night at Rachel's house for the 100th episode AND 2 year anniversary! The very first episode was recorded at her house with Alex Halverson, so we felt it was only right to return to the living room with him. We recap the top business news stories and then at the end we bring in Nick Patri, audio engineer for the podcast and Rob Smith, the 3rd guest on the pod, to reflect on the past two years of the show.

Top Stories:

1. Seattle Seahawks are for sale

2. An old trolley might be coming back to Ballard

3. Highspot merges with competitor Seismic

4. Pacific Science Center to sell IMAX theater to Space Needle

Guests:

Alex Halverson - Tech Reporter, Seattle Times (1st guest)

Nick Patri - Audio Engineer and Podcast Consultant

Rob Smith - Executive Editor, Formidable (4th guest)

About host Rachel Horgan:

Rachel is an independent event producer, emcee and entrepreneur. She worked for the Business Journal for 5 years as their Director of Events interviewing business leaders on stage before launching the weekly podcast. She earned her communication degree from the University of San Diego.

Contact:

Email: info@theweeklyseattle.com

Instagram: @theweeklyseattle

Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.theweeklyseattle.com

We're talking about what it takes to build a media company from scratch, sell it, and figure out what comes next. We also dig into AI bias and why the data these tools are trained on matters, especially for underrepresented communities. Our guest Sherrell Dorsey founded The Plug, a tech news platform covering the Black innovation economy that became the first Black-owned publication syndicated on the Bloomberg terminal before being acquired by Impact Alpha. She shares what she would do differently, what she learned interviewing major CEOs on the TED Tech Podcast, and why storytelling is the most underrated skill in business. All of this and your top news stories!

Top Stories:

1. Seattle woman's bracelet tracking company Little Bird ships to 120,000-person waitlist

2. Seattle shipyard on Harbor Island to be acquired by French private equity firm

3. XAI and OpenAI expand office space in Bellevue

4. T-Mobile lays off nearly 400 Washington workers

About guest Sherrell Dorsey — Author, Host of TED Tech Podcast, Principal of Build for Good:

Sherrell is a data journalist and entrepreneur who founded The Plug, a tech news platform focused on the Black innovation economy. The Plug became the first Black-owned publication syndicated on the Bloomberg terminal and was later acquired by Impact Alpha. She is the author of Upper Hand and host of the TED Tech Podcast. Through Build for Good she advises early stage tech and climate founders on storytelling and messaging.

About host Rachel Horgan:

Rachel is an independent event producer, emcee and entrepreneur. She worked for the Business Journal for 5 years as their Director of Events interviewing business leaders on stage before launching the weekly podcast. She earned her communication degree from the University of San Diego.

Contact:

Email: info@theweeklyseattle.com

Instagram: @theweeklyseattle

Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.theweeklyseattle.com

The gaming industry is estimated to be over $200 billion, bigger than music and movies combined. Our guest is game designer Jordan Weisman who has had four exits including one to Microsoft and one to Disney. In this episode we talk about why we're seeing so many studios closing, how designers approach structuring games with monetization models in mind, and why VR is always almost the next best thing.

All of this and your top news stories!

Top Stories:

1. Seattle gaming software company buys market research group

2. Layoffs: Meta, Amazon, Eddie Bauer, Expedia

3. Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go stores to close

About host Rachel Horgan:

Rachel is an independent event producer, emcee and entrepreneur. She worked for the Business Journal for 5 years as their Director of Events interviewing business leaders on stage before launching the weekly podcast. She earned her communication degree from the University of San Diego.

Contact:

Email: info@theweeklyseattle.com

Instagram: @theweeklyseattle

Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.theweeklyseattle.com