Derek chats with entrepreneur, author, and consultant Marissa Levin about highlights from her entrepreneurial journey and how to build an amazing culture.

As a 25 year CEO and Entrepreneur of a multi-million dollar business, she has taken on the challenge to “educate, equip, and empower” 100 million fellow entrepreneurs and leaders across the globe. Throughout her career Levin has been named a SmartCEO three times, named one of Washington’s Top 100 Technology Titans in 2009, and serves on the Global Communications Committee of Entrepreneurs Organization (the largest global organization of entrepreneurs with 13,000 members). She is also the author of a number 1 best selling book, “Built to SCALE: How Top Companies Create Breakthrough Growth Through Exceptional Advisory Boards”.

SCI is a global corporate culture consultancy that leads organizations undergoing significant transformation through a proven model to define, stabilize, and strengthen organizational cultures. SCI also works with emerging companies to help define their corporate cultures so that they can attract, hire, and retain the best talent.

Marissa and her co-founder have more than 50 years of experience helping organizations build their most engaging, productive cultures, implement supporting human resources strategies, and develop transformational leaders and teams. They share a passion for building positive, extraordinary environments where employees love to work and contribute to their organizations’ success.

Derek Champagne talks with Kyle Austin Young.

Kyle Austin Young is an award-winning strategy consultant for high achievers, entrepreneurs, and leaders in
a wide range of fields. This work has allowed him to develop and refine a powerful system for accomplishing
big, meaningful goals that focuses on understanding and changing your odds of success. Kyle is a popular
writer for Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, The Boston Globe, CNBC, Psychology Today, Forbes,
and Business Insider.

His new book, SUCCESS IS A NUMBERS GAME: Achieve Bigger Goals by Changing the Odds (Hay House Business, November 2025), details this system. In the context of a single goal, it could be the secret advantage that changes your outcome. Over the course of several goals, it could transform the trajectory of your career. Applied

to a lifetime of goals, it can level up your legacy.

Business Leadership Series Intro and Outro music provided by Just Off Turner: https://music.apple.com/za/album/the-long-walk-back/268386576

Derek Champagne talks with Rohit Agarwal, CEO of The Weather Company.

Rohit Agarwal is the CEO of The Weather Company, the world’s most accurate forecaster. In this role, Rohit is responsible for setting the strategic vision that spans the company’s digital consumer properties, including The Weather Channel app and weather.com, as well as its enterprise business across media,

advertising, aviation, defense, and a variety of other industries. He stands behind the belief that high-performing teams are critical to innovation, growth, and impact, and diverse backgrounds and thinking benefit the end customer.

Prior to joining The Weather Company, Rohit was the chief product and revenue officer at SoundCloud, the world’s largest online community of artists, bands, DJs, and audio creators, where he led the vision, strategic execution, and revenue. This included overseeing business and product strategy, delivery and operations, design, product marketing, and growth. Through Rohit’s leadership, SoundCloud refactored the product, doubled its subscriber base, and meaningfully improved its ads business, leading the company to its first profitable year in its 16-year history.

Rohit previously served as chief product and growth officer at CNN. Throughout his career, he has driven 2-3x user and revenue growth across leading companies in industries including music (Last.fm, CBS), media

(CNN/WarnerMedia, The Economist, Bild), banking (HSBC), B2B SaaS (Trustpilot, Akamai), and consumer internet (AOL). Rohit is a frequent speaker at leading conferences (Google I/O, SXSW, CES, RISE, WebSummit, Product Summit), an active advisor and investor in startups, and launched his own startup in the past. He is also a committed supporter of diverse and inclusive education initiatives – both as a board member of the Smithsonian’s Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage and as a board member of Leap Year, a unique program based in metro Atlanta dedicated to improving college access and early adolescent reading skills to under-represented youth.

Rohit lives in Atlanta with his wife and two daughters. An avid sports fan, he also enjoys playing soccer and tennis, painting, and cooking, and he acknowledges that his creative endeavors make him a better leader.

Business Leadership Series Intro and Outro music provided by Just Off Turner: https://music.apple.com/za/album/the-long-walk-back/268386576

Derek Champagne talks with Marvin Alballi, a globally recognized leader in the food and beverage industry, acclaimed for authoring the world’s highest-rated restaurant and F&B book, Restaurant Excellence: The Ultimate Guide to Success in the Food and Beverage Industry, available on Amazon. His book was purchased by top hotel and restaurant companies and endorsed by global chefs and CEOs.

A recipient of the prestigious Fortune 500 Brinker International “Operator of the Year” award, Alballi has established a reputation as a transformative force in hospitality, with a proven record of turning around struggling businesses and driving sustained growth.

With extensive experience across luxury, lifestyle, upscale, mainstream F&B and the restaurant franchise industry segments, Aballi has worked in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. His career includes consulting for celebrity chefs, Michelin-starred restaurants, and award-winning establishments, including MENA’s 50 Best #1 restaurant. In addition, Marvin Alballi has consulted for global, local brands, and franchises such as Orfali Bros, Boston Market, Café D’Arte, Famoso Pizzeria, The Great Harvest Bread Company, Peaceful Restaurants, Wing Stop, and Fusion Ceviche.

A sought-after keynote speaker, Alballi has been featured at leading conferences and platforms such as Bloomberg Intelligence (NYC), The Future Hospitality Summit, HSMAI, Breaking Travel News, The Fast Food & Café Convention, Dubai Restaurant Week, and the CET World Series convention on CX and Marketing. They are also a regular guest on Dubai Eye Radio’s Helen Farmer Show and have spoken for and guided several organizations including Couqley Restaurants, Paramount Hotels, Adyen, Radisson Dubai, Orfali Bros, and Crowne Plaza Muscat.

His insights and thought leadership have been showcased on international podcasts including Bloomberg, The Chef JPK, GotLanded (New York), Polaris (Dubai), and TwentyOne06.

In addition to creating the groundbreaking Twelve-Point Program (TPP)—the industry’s most effective F&B and restaurant performance management system, Alballi has become a trusted authority on brand reputation, guest experience, profitability, marketing, and restaurant economics. His expertise lies in crafting strategic, long-term business solutions that deliver measurable results and elevate operational excellence.

A Canadian citizen, Alballi continues to influence the global F&B landscape by driving innovation, quality, and sustainable growth. Alballi currently leads 26 countries and territories at Hilton Asia Pacific with more than 1,100 restaurants and bars in the Asia Pacific region.

Marvin's new book, Hospitality Excellence, is available on Amazon (as of February 2026).

Business Leadership Series Intro and Outro music provided by Just Off Turner: https://music.apple.com/za/album/the-long-walk-back/268386576

In this episode Derek talks with the world's #1 Bowler Jason Belmonte. Jason talks with Derek about his unique story of bowling since the age of two, how he stays motivated to continue being the best in the world, and more on his entrepreneurial journey.

Jason is known for being one of the first bowlers to gain media attention for using the two handed approach style to deliver his shot. He has won 22 PBA titles, making him one of only 15 players in history with at least 20 PBA Tour wins. His PBA Tour victories include a record 11 major championships, four of these in the USBC Masters, which is also a record. He is also a four-time PBA Player of the Year.

Learn more at https://www.jasonbelmonte.com/


Business Leadership Series Intro and Outro music provided by Just Off Turner: https://music.apple.com/za/album/the-long-walk-back/268386576

Derek talks with baseball legend Art Shamsky. Art was a prominent player with the iconic 69′ Mets World Series Championship Team.

Art captures an important part of our nation’s history: a country torn apart by war, the year of Woodstock, the year of first person on the moon, and the “lovable losers” who went from underdog to champions!

Be sure to order Art’s MUST READ book: “After the Miracle: The Lasting Brotherhood of the ’69 Mets”

Learn more at: http://artshamsky.com/

Business Leadership Series Intro and Outro music provided by Just Off Turner: https://music.apple.com/za/album/the-long-walk-back/268386576

Derek's guest this week is Jack Daly. Jack talks with Derek about his first sales job at age 7, living a life "by design", and key insights from his book "Hyper Sales Growth".

Jack Daly is a leading sales speaker and trainer with over 30 years of sales and executive experience. Jack’s track record is a testament to his real-world knowledge and extensive expertise in sales and sales management. He started his professional journey at CPA firm Arthur Andersen and rose to the CEO level of several corporations, building six companies into national firms along the way, two of which he subsequently sold to the Wall Street firms of Solomon Brothers and First Boston.

In addition to his comprehensive professional background, Jack holds a BS in Accounting, as well as an MBA, and was a Captain in the U.S. Army. Jack Daly is an Amazon Best Selling Author and has written and contributed to many books, including Hyper Sales Growth and The Sales Playbook for Hyper Sales Growth. Jack is a 15-time Ironman competitor and has completed over 93 marathons in 49 states and on six continents. He achieves these goals and lives life to the fullest by following his own Life by Design techniques.

Learn more at https://jackdalysales.com/

Business Leadership Series Intro and Outro music provided by Just Off Turner: https://music.apple.com/za/album/the-long-walk-back/268386576

n this episode Derek Champagne, CEO of The Artist Evolution, interviews Tim Sanders. Tim Sanders spent most of his early career on the cutting edge of innovation and change. He was an early stage member of Mark Cuban’s Broadcast.com, which had the largest opening day IPO in history. After Yahoo acquired the company, Tim was tapped to lead their ValueLab, and by 2001, he rose to Chief Solutions Officer. In 2005, he founded Deeper Media, which provides consulting services for leading brands. Today, he is one of the top-rated speakers on the lecture circuit.

Tim is the author of four books, including the New York Times bestseller Love Is the Killer App: How To Win Business & Influence Friends. It’s been translated into over a dozen languages and has been featured in Fast Company, USA Today, the New York Times, The Boston Globe, Christian Science Monitor and on CNN. He’s a master storyteller who offers listeners actionable takeaways that produce results right away. That’s why he’s one of the top speakers on the lecture circuit.

Learn more at www.timsanders.com

Business Leadership Series Intro and Outro music provided by Just Off Turner: https://music.apple.com/za/album/the-long-walk-back/268386576