Most leaders spend the early years of their career trying to accelerate forward.

Carles Farré stepped away.

Just a few years into his career at HP, he and his wife made an unconventional decision: they left the corporate world to spend several years in Latin America working with microfinance nonprofits—helping entrepreneurs in remote villages access small loans to start businesses.

S03 E04 Carles Farre

Some communities had no electricity. Getting there often meant navigating rivers, riding horses, or walking between villages.

What looked like a detour would become one of the defining leadership experiences of his life.

Carles eventually returned to HP, where he built a global career spanning engineering, research and development, worldwide operations, and commercial leadership. Today, he serves as Division President of HP Solutions Hybrid Systems, leading teams focused on building the integrated technologies shaping the future of work.

But the lesson that stuck with him from those early years isn’t about hardware, software, or AI.

It’s about people.

In this episode of Real Leadership, Carles reflects on the leadership journey that shaped his philosophy—from stepping away early in his career to leading global teams across multiple countries and business units.

He shares why culture is the true foundation of sustainable success, how leaders can build trust and empowerment at scale, and why the future of work must balance technological advancement with human connection.

In this episode of Real Leadership, we explore:

🔥 Why stepping off the traditional career path can reshape a leader’s perspective 🔥 The leadership lessons learned from working in remote communities across Latin America 🔥 Why culture is the bedrock of successful organizations 🔥 How trust and care inside teams drive speed, agility, and results 🔥 The balance leaders must strike between AI-powered productivity and human connection

03:02 — Introducing Carles Farré and HP’s evolving mission 06:20 — Measuring employee experience and human connection at work 11:31 — The future of collaboration and ambient technology 16:45 — Early leadership influences and personal values 19:31 — Leaving corporate life to work in Latin America 24:54 — The leadership lessons that experience created 27:43 — Why culture becomes the bedrock of organizations 33:10 — AI, productivity, and protecting human connection 37:01 — Advice for the next generation entering the workforce

• Carles Farré — LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carles-farre-hp/
• HP — Website: hp.com/
• HP — LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hp/
• HP Careers: jobs.hp.com/
• Jim Weaver — LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jim-weaver-36457418 Real Leadership Podcast: realleadership.oningroup.com
• Real Leadership — LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/104897916/

The Ōnin Group: oningroup.com/clients

Shawn Khan’s entrepreneurial journey started from the ground up in a way most founders never experience.

He didn’t inherit a company, raise venture capital, or even understand the industry he was stepping into.

Shawn bought a one-truck furniture delivery operation in New York City, rented the truck every morning, and learned the business by riding in the back making deliveries himself.

Two years later, he was ready to shut it down.

What changed everything wasn’t a new strategy. It was mentorship, perspective, and the willingness to stay in the fight long enough to evolve.

Today, Shawn leads Metropolitan Warehouse & Delivery, a company with 47 facilities nationwide, 3 million square feet of warehouse space, and partnerships with retailers like Costco, Amazon, Walmart, and Target.

But if you’re a leader, this episode isn’t just about logistics. It’s about:

• How businesses actually scale.
• Surviving the early years when the numbers don’t work.
• Knowing when to expand and when expansion will hurt before it helps.
• Shifting from being the operator to building the system.
• Turning labor challenges into ownership opportunities.

01:37 – The search for a business

03:42 – The near-failure and the partner who changed everything

06:06 – Riding the e-commerce wave with Costco and Anthropology

07:56 – Doubling the business during the chaos of COVID-19

16:27 – Turning drivers into business owners through the contractor model

25:29 – Why logistics is now a technology business

Shawn’s Company: GoMWD.com

• Metropolitan Warehouse Website: https://www.metropolitanwarehouse.com/
• Shawn’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawn-khan-38711187/
• Metropolitan Warehouse & Delivery LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/metropolitan-warehouse-delivery-corp/
• Jim Weaver — LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jim-weaver-36457418 Real Leadership Podcast: realleadership.oningroup.com
• Real Leadership — LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/104897916/
• The Ōnin Group: oningroup.com/clients

Zac Elkins didn’t wait for the supply chain to fix itself. He built his own.

As COO of LFG Manufacturing, Power Design’s specialty manufacturing division, Zac is leading one of the boldest vertical integration bets in the electrical industry. When COVID-era backlogs pushed switchgear lead times from 12 weeks to nearly two years, most contractors adjusted. Zac and the LFG team invested millions, bought the equipment, stocked two years of copper and steel…and started manufacturing their own.

LFG stands for “Let’s Freaking Go.” And it’s more than a name—it’s the mindset behind a company that refuses to blame the market.

In this episode of Real Leadership, Zac shares how a billion-dollar “mom and pop shop” is disrupting the electrical supply chain, why apprenticeship programs are the future of skilled labor, and how a scarcity mindset is the fastest way to lose.

In this episode, we cover:

🔥 Turning a 90-week supply chain crisis into a manufacturing company 🔥 Why holding two years of inventory isn’t risk—it’s opportunity 🔥 The data center boom and what it’s doing to construction economics 🔥 Reinventing apprenticeships (and cutting dropout rates from 80% to 20%) 🔥 Lessons learned from burning bridges early in your career 🔥 Building competitive, culture-driven teams that don’t think small

From digging ditches in his dad’s electrical business to overseeing 85% in-house switchgear production, Zac’s story is about ownership of mistakes, of opportunity, and of the entire supply chain.

If you’re in construction, manufacturing, workforce development—or just trying to build something that lasts—this one’s for you.

07:28: The Decision to Manufacture Switchgear

10:56: LFG's Manufacturing Journey and Innovations

14:15: Inventory Management and Financial Strategy

16:39: Industry Evolution and Future Outlook

24:15: Addressing Skilled Worker Shortages

28:56: Innovative Apprenticeship Programs

31:20: Lessons from the Family Business

36:40: Cultivating a Competitive Mindset

39:42: Setting Goals in a Growing Organization

• Zac Elkins — LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zacharyelkins/
• Power Design Inc. — https://www.linkedin.com/company/power-design-inc-/
• Contact Zac: zelkins@powerdesigninc.us
• Jim Weaver — LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jim-weaver-36457418 Real Leadership Podcast: realleadership.oningroup.com
• Real Leadership — LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/104897916/

The Ōnin Group: oningroup.com/clients

Tom Shoupe never planned on a career in manufacturing. He started in public service, working in Washington, D.C., far from factory floors and production lines.

Then Honda called.

At the time, the company was still a young experiment in American manufacturing — betting that people, not just product, would determine its future. Tom said yes to the opportunity.

That decision shaped the next 33 years of his life.

Over three decades, Tom became the first American to lead a Honda manufacturing facility and ultimately served as EVP & CEO of Honda of America Manufacturing, overseeing operations that touched nearly 40,000 people across North America.

He spent years living and working in Japan, helping translate a deeply Japanese leadership philosophy into a U.S. manufacturing context — without diluting it.

But this episode isn’t about titles or scale. It’s about how leadership actually works when the stakes are real.

In this episode of Real Leadership, Tom breaks down what it takes to build organizations that last — not just through growth, but through leadership transitions, cultural strain, and constant change.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why a leader’s most important job is building an organization that can outlast them
• How “every interaction is an opportunity” became a daily leadership discipline
• What going to the gemba really looks like — and why proximity beats position
• Why leadership development fails when it becomes theoretical
• How faith, humility, and curiosity shaped Tom’s leadership across cultures

03:28 – From Washington, D.C. to Honda 06:15 – Respect for the individual and the “Three Joys” 17:08 – Leadership on the factory floor 32:41 – Every interaction is an opportunity 44:27 – Why leadership development is a CEO responsibility 53:10 – Lighting the spark

• Tom’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tom-shoupe-10a90311/
• Jim Weaver — LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jim-weaver-36457418 Real Leadership Podcast: realleadership.oningroup.com
• Real Leadership — LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/104897916/
• The Ōnin Group: oningroup.com/clients

What happens when a CHRO with an actuary’s mind, a leader’s heart, and a survivor’s grit steps into one of the world’s most complex global marine companies? You get Jill Wrobel — Executive Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer at Brunswick Corporation — and one of the most refreshing voices in modern leadership.

Jill oversees culture, talent, and operating strategy for 15,000 employees across 25 countries and 60 household-name marine brands. Under her leadership, Brunswick has become a magnet for top talent, a recognized Best Place to Work, and an engine of innovation that’s redefining what’s possible on the water. But it’s Jill’s story — from actuary to HR transformation leader to stage-four cancer survivor — that reveals the depth behind her philosophy: gratitude is a strategy, and continuous improvement is a way of life.

In this episode, Jill shares the moments that shaped her—from rolling under cars as a kid to help her dad, to navigating billion-dollar M&A chaos with humor and countdown clocks, to rebuilding her life after a medical miracle. And through it all, she shows why joy, curiosity, and data-driven decision-making might just be the ultimate leadership combination.

• How a math-and-finance brain became a superpower in the people business
• Why culture and performance aren’t opposites—they’re accelerators
• How Brunswick uses AI and advanced tech to solve real customer pain points
• The leadership lesson Jill learned from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (yes, really)
• The power of listening sessions, boat shows, and “what’s something I don’t know?”
• How surviving stage-four cancer reframed her leadership, her energy, and her purpose
• Why “Next Never Rests” isn’t just a tagline—it’s a mindset

Jill is the rare leader who seamlessly blends analytics and empathy, resilience and optimism, business strategy and human truth. Her philosophy of continuous improvement—at work and in life—offers a blueprint for leaders navigating transformation, uncertainty, or simply the next right step.

This is an episode about boats, yes. But it’s also about courage, culture, curiosity, and what it really means to lead with purpose.

07:36 - The Impact of a Math Background in HR

14:09 - Connecting Employee Experience to Business Success

18:07 - Staying Connected in a Large Organization

20:36 - The Power of Open-Ended Questions

23:03 - Leadership Lessons from the FTC Experience

24:55 - Innovative Leadership and Resilience

26:57 - Lessons from Family: A Father's Influence

31:21 - Overcoming Adversity: A Cancer Journey

38:01 - The Joy of Continuous Improvement

• Book - Lives Lost and Leadership Found: https://www.amazon.com/Lives-Lost-Leadership-Found-Somebodies/dp/1032949856/
• Jill — LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/teddy-bekele-b48219/
• Brunswick Corporation - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/brunswick-corporation/
• Brunswick Corporation: brunswick.com/
• Jim Weaver — LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jim-weaver-36457418 Real Leadership Podcast: realleadership.oningroup.com
• Real Leadership — LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/104897916/
• The Ōnin Group: oningroup.com/clients

Before Teddy Bekele ever thought about AI or agricultural transformation, he watched his father lose the family farm overnight—a moment that stayed with him from Ethiopia to Italy to an engineering career in the U.S.

That moment didn’t just change his life. It hardwired his obsession with resilience, ownership, and making sure the people who grow our food don’t get left behind in the next wave of “innovation.”

Today, Teddy is Chief Technology Officer at Land O’Lakes, a 100-year-old, farmer-owned cooperative that touches everything from seed and agronomy to animal feed, dairy, and the “invisible” ingredients in your favorite snacks.

His job? Wire this massive, farm-to-fork system for an AI-powered future without losing the soul of the farm or the voice of the farmer.

In this episode of Real Leadership, Teddy pulls back the curtain on what it really takes to evolve an iconic co-op —navigating democratic governance, global supply chains, and communities that still depend on rain, soil, and trust…in addition to technology.

In this episode, we cover:

• How Land O’Lakes actually works as a farmer-owned, farm-to-fork cooperative—and why that ownership model changes every tech decision
• Teddy’s “four buckets of AI” framework for cutting through the hype and focusing on what actually moves the needle
• How generative AI is turning decades of agronomy data into real-time, field-level insight—and giving agronomists superpowers instead of replacing them
• Tech-enabled sustainability: cover crops, reduced tillage, and carbon programs that help farmers do right by the planet and stay in business

If you care about where your food comes from, how AI lands in the real world, or what it means to lead when the stakes are literally global food security, this conversation feels less like a tech talk—and more like a front-row seat to the future of agriculture.

• Teddy Bekele — LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/teddy-bekele-b48219/
• Land O’Lakes — LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/landolakesinc/
• Land O’Lakes Inc.: landolakesinc.com/
• Land O’Lakes - recipes and more: https://www.landolakes.com/
• Jim Weaver — LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jim-weaver-36457418 Real Leadership Podcast: realleadership.oningroup.com
• Real Leadership — LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/104897916/
• The Ōnin Group: oningroup.com/clients

What happens when a CEO trades the corporate script for a hard hat…and wins?

Greg Ramfos, CEO of DURA Shiloh, is leading one of the boldest turnarounds in the automotive world. With 16 plants, 4,000 employees, and a mission to bring manufacturing back to its roots, Greg’s not following the playbook. He’s rewriting it.

Raised in poverty and foster care, Greg learned early that resilience beats pedigree. By 28, he was a millionaire. By 50, he was rebuilding a global automotive supplier—one plant, one person, one process at a time.

He believes leadership starts where the noise ends: on the factory floor. In this episode, he shares how accountability, honesty, and ownership can turn chaos into a comeback story.

• How to turn around underperforming plants—without massive capital
• Why “own it like your name’s on the building” is Greg’s leadership mantra
• The lost art of partnership between OEMs and suppliers
• How tariffs and regionalization are reshaping the auto industry
• Why the next generation of builders—not bots—will drive America’s revival
• What it takes to lead with truth, grit, and zero corporate fluff

05:41 – The state of the auto industry and the EV reality check 10:02 – Why manufacturing revival starts with people, not policy 16:48 – Building the “Ready to Work” pipeline for the next generation 23:15 – Rebuilding trust and performance, one plant at a time 29:40 – The 10-step playbook for leading a global turnaround 37:22 – From corporate conditioning to entrepreneurial accountability 45:18 – Why real leadership begins on the factory floor

• Greg’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregramfos/
• DURA Shiloh Website: durashiloh.com
• DURA Shiloh LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/dura-shiloh/
• Jim’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jim-weaver-36457418
• Real Leadership Podcast: realleadership.oningroup.com
• Real Leadership LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/104897916/
• The Ōnin Group: oningroup.com/clients

What does it take to lead real digital transformation—while keeping food on shelves across the globe?

At Schreiber Foods, that question isn’t theoretical. It’s the work of SriRaj Kantamneni, EVP & Chief Information and Digital Officer at Schreiber and the architect behind an ambitious digital overhaul in one of the most critical global industries — food and ag.

But Sri didn’t come up through Silicon Valley. He grew up under the hood of his family’s auto shop in Iowa. That beginning shaped everything: how he leads, what he builds, and why he believes transformation isn’t about chasing shiny tools. It’s about solving the hard stuff: Making food more affordable, more accessible, and more reliable on a global scale.

In this episode of Real Leadership, Sri walks us through how Schreiber is building a digital system that doesn’t break the business—and why food and ag is quietly becoming one of the most advanced tech fields on the planet.

• How to balance transforming the core and disrupting through digital without losing focus or breaking the business
• What it takes to turn internal tools into market-ready products
• How AI is becoming the great equalizer, helping food and ag leapfrog entire tech cycles instead of playing catch-up
• Why culture is the make-or-break factor in innovation and how curiosity, hackathons, and fusion teams drive lasting change
• Plus: facial recognition for cows and shrimp that signal when they’re hungry—the unexpected edge of food tech that’s getting very real, very fast.

02:50 - Digital Transformation Vision and Strategy

08:53 - Future of the Food Industry

11:58 - Local vs Global Food Production

15:01- Innovations at Schreiber Foods

17:47 - The Hive: A User-Friendly Software Solution

20:52 - Digital Adoption in Agriculture

23:47 - AI and Technology in Agriculture

26:54 - Fostering a Problem-Solving Mindset

29:59 - AI's Impact on Workforce Dynamics

32:48 - Upskilling and Navigating AI Transition

• SriRaj on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sriraj/
• Schreiber Foods Website: schreiberfoods.com/
• Schreiber Horizon: schreiberhorizon.com
• Contact Schreiber Foods LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/schreiber-foods/
• Jim’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jim-weaver-36457418
• Real Leadership Podcast: realleadership.oningroup.com
• Real Leadership LinkedIn :https://www.linkedin.com/company/104897916/
• The Ōnin Group: oningroup.com/clients