Leeds Business Insights Podcast

Season Three: Schedule and Featured Guests

The Leeds Business Insights podcast is back for its third season, offering listeners even more thought-provoking conversations with Leeds alumni, faculty and friends. New episodes of Leeds Business Insights are released every other week on Wednesdays.

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Brian Higgins

Teaching Assistant Professor, Leeds School of Business

Brian Higgins joins host Amanda Kramer to talk about misperceptions many have about working in sales, the art of a good conversation, surprising skills taught in sales courses at Leeds, and the unique mentorship opportunities available here. Listen now.

Brock Weatherup

Operating Partner, MidOcean Partners

Brock Weatherup is a Leeds alumnus and consumer growth board executive, three-time Exit Startup CEO founder, multi-billion dollar C-suite leader, and an active early stage investor. He sits down with host Amanda Kramer to discuss his accomplishments, reflect on getting diagnosed with multiple sclerosis just 18 months ago, finding comfort in risk, and diving into opportunities even if you don't feel 100% prepared. Listen now.

Alixandra Barasch

Associate Professor of Marketing, Leeds School of Business

Researcher Alix Barasch discusses what makes customers enjoy their experiences, how companies can then create experiences that make consumers more immersed or more engaged in the moment, the pros & cons of 5G and more immersive content, as well as posting posed vs candid photos. Listen now.

Ethan Poskanzer

Assistant Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship, Leeds School of Business

Ethan Poskanzer studies how organizations can select and connect people to develop innovative ideas and how the opportunity to innovate can be democratized and made more inclusive. He joins us to discuss the science behind matching entrepreneurs and mentors, some striking data in how gender factors into mentor/mentee relationships, and what we can learn from pitch evaluation & sequencing. Listen now.

Case Swenson

President/CEO, SWENSON

Case Swenson, alumnus and president/CEO at Swenson in the San Francisco Bay area, joins us to talk about the dynamic and ever-growing commercial construction and real estate development industry. He shares the trends and challenges he is seeing in the construction and real estate space, so-called “green building,” the skillset needed to enter this industry, and what he's learned from scaling a 4 generation family-owned business. Listen now.

Gloria Urrea

Assistant Professor of Operations Management, Leeds School of Business at CU Boulder

Gloria Urrea studies operations of humanitarian organizations (HOs), whose mission is to alleviate human suffering and improve the quality of life of the most vulnerable population. She joins host Amanda Kramer to discuss crowdfunding in emergency support situations, mobilizing donors without burning them out, weighing volunteer experience, and the power of transparency. Listen now.

Richard Wobbekind

Leeds School of Business Associate Dean for Business & Government Relations, Senior Economist and Faculty Director of the Business Research Division

Brian Lewandowski

Executive Director of the Business Research Division, Leeds School of Business

Leeds Business Research Division's Richard Wobbekind and Brian Lewandowski join us for a discussion about the economy and a look ahead that touches on the current status of inflation and interest rates on a national and state level, the status of labor shortages and where cryptocurrency fits in the economy. Listen now.

Ashish Kothari

Founder, Happiness Squad, and Author, "Hardwired for Happiness"

Ashish Kothari joins host Amanda Kramer to debunk myths surrounding happiness & success, help us find happiness in our work, job crafting, and how we can integrate more happiness, gratitude and good habits into our own lives. Listen now.

Shaun Davies

Associate Professor and Research Director of the Burridge Center for Finance, Leeds School of Business

Silicon Valley and Signature Bank are two of the top three largest bank failures in American history, both in terms of dollars, but also on an inflation-adjusted basis. And they happened just a few days apart. To get more insight on this incredible financial event, we sat down with Shaun Davies. Listen now.

Alexis Walsko

Owner and Founder, Lola Red PR

Alexis Walsko is a Leeds alumna and founder of Minneapolis-based agency Lola Red, starting the company when she was just 22 years old. This episode dives into all things PR and strategy, touching on the history of traditional PR and the rise of the influencer, what to look for in an influencer and how to evaluate their effectiveness in your campaigns, micro vs macro influencers, and Alexis’ work in the early days of Love Your Melon. Listen now.

Season Two: Schedule and Featured Guests

The second season of Leeds Business Insights featured conversations with CEOs, venture capitalists, economic forecasters and thought leaders plus discussions with other influential members of the CU Boulder community.

Lawrence Williams

Associate Professor, Leeds School of Business

In his research, Dr. Williams examines the subtle influence of environmental cues on consumer behavior, the impact of psychological distance on consumers’ emotional judgments, and the mechanisms of self-regulation and self-control. In this episode, Lawrence discusses the importance of self-expression, intrinsic and extrinsic rewards of consumption, and where purpose-driven branding & products fall into the mix. Listen now.

Jeff York

Research Director, Leeds School of Business Deming Center for Entrepreneurship

Brad Werner

Teaching Assistant Professor, Leeds School of Business; Teaching Director, Deming Center for Entrepreneurship

Jeff and Brad discuss how they meld their research with real-world experiences and what practical insights they have to share with new entrepreneurs. Listen now.

Jennifer Forman

Corporate Social Responsibility Instructor, Leeds School of Business

Jennifer Forman coaches businesses and individuals on social responsibility and sustainability practices through the Leeds School of Business Certificate of Corporate Social Responsibility program. In this episode, Jennifer outlines what she calls “Big Sustainability” and shares advice for connecting your company's culture and values with causes where they can make a positive difference. Listen now.

Erick Mueller

Executive Director of Deming Center for Entrepreneurship and Adjunct Professor, Leeds School of Business

A lifelong entrepreneur, Erick is dedicated to helping new entrepreneurs, and business owners start and grow their businesses. In this episode, he talks about how to apply the lessons he’s learned to the current moment and business landscape. Listen now.

Mike DelPrete

Scholar-in-Residence, Leeds School of Business

Mike DelPrete is an internationally recognized expert and thought-leader in real estate tech. This episode, he shares some of the most exciting innovations in real estate—including iBuying—as well as the unintended ways these new models are impacting property markets. Listen now.

Sloan Speck

Associate Professor of Law, University of Colorado Boulder Law School

Are you election ready? This episode, Sloan Speck joins us to talk about tax law and the many policies that Congress will have to deal with after the 2022 midterm elections. Listen now.

Ovunc Yilmaz

Assistant professor of Operations, Leeds School of Business

If you’ve ever bought tickets to a concert or sporting event, you know what it’s like to watch prices rise and fall – and to sweat over finding the perfect seats for your budget and enjoyment. Ovunc Yilmaz is an expert in the dynamic market of live events ticketing, and joins us to offer his insights into a $20 billion industry. Listen now.

Richard Wobbekind

Leeds School of Business Associate Dean for Business & Government Relations, Senior Economist and Faculty Director of the Business Research Division

Brian Lewandowski

Executive Director of the Business Research Division, Leeds School of Business

Leeds Business Research Division's Richard Wobbekind and Brian Lewandowski offer glimpses of what to expect in Colorado’s economy heading into 2023. Today’s episode takes listeners on a deep dive into employment rates, inflation, the pandemic’s lasting economic impacts, and more. Listen now.

Jaclyn Freeman Hester (MBA'14)

Partner, Foundry Group

How do venture capitalists recruit and fund new talent? Jaclyn Freeman Hester, partner at the Foundry Group and Leeds alumna, shares her experience and what entrepreneurs should consider when it comes to VC funding. Listen now.

Michael Huseby (Bus'76)

CEO, Barnes & Noble Education

Michael Huseby is a CU alumnus who has been managing the challenges of digital transformation in a number of industries, including retail communications, and now education as CEO of Barnes & Noble Education. Listen now.

Inaugural Season: Featured Guests

The inaugural season of Leeds Business Insights looked at trending topics in a business world coming out of a global pandemic that changed the way we live and work. Leeds faculty, alumni and friends—representing industries such as finance, travel and tourism, operations, and marketing—examined developments like the supply-chain crisis, the hospitality sector's rebound, scaling and selling a business and accelerating demographic changes, with an eye to useful takeaways for listeners.

Sabrina Volpone

Professor

What makes diversity work at work? And how has the value of DEI changed in hybrid and remote settings? Sabrina shares insights from her research that will have you rethink the way your teams operate. Listen now | Read more

G. 'Ravi' Ravishankar

Professor

A veteran of supply chain, lean transformation, product innovation strategy and technology transfer, Ravi discusses the current supply-chain crisis and offers a long-term outlook on when to expect improvements. Listen now | Read more

Clark Jones (Acct'91)

Senior vice president, Disneyland Resort Finance & Special Events

Clark's team is responsible for building the Disney brand and maintain Disneyland Resorts' financial plans. He talks about how he managed to provide memorable experiences for guests during a pandemic. Listen now | Read more

Sarah Zechman

Professor

An expert in financial communications and disclosures, Sarah shares her insights into SPACs (special purpose acquisition companies) and what makes a SPAC successful from a public-launch perspective. Listen now | Read more

Jane Miller

Leeds Advisory Board member; co-founder, Haevn

Jane Miller has more than 35 years' executive experience in the food industry, working with startups and the Fortune 500. She was most recently CEO of Lily's Sweets and has extensive experience in the natural and organic industry. Listen now | Read more

Peter McGraw

Professor

Businesses need to pivot as more people embrace the single life. Peter explains this demographic phenomenon and the adjustments businesses need to make. Listen now | Read more

Sanjai Bhagat

Professor

The war in Ukraine is devastating, in human terms. Less dire is the economic angle, but it's still worth considering. Sanjai discusses the interconnected global energy markets and what the long game looks like for the United States. Listen now | Read more

Philip Fernbach

Professor

An expert on overconfidence and what he calls the knowledge illusion, Philip shares how people overestimate their understanding of the world—and the consequences that has for everyone. Listen now | Read more

Jim Packer (Bus'85)

President, Worldwide TV and Digital Distribution, Lionsgate
The movie industry wasn't alone in being disrupted by technology and the pandemic. Jim shares what he learned watching his industry grapple with seismic change—and how those lessons apply in every industry. Listen now | Read more

Heather Kennedy

Professor

Boulder has become a home base for the natural and organics products industry. Does that mean you should jump right into the market with your organic hummus recipe? Listen now | Read more