C-Suite Archives - Business RadioX ®

Cordelia Blake, CEO Netweavers

May 26, 2022 by John Ray

North Fulton Business Radio

Cordelia Blake, CEO Netweavers

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North Fulton Business Radio, Episode 461)

CEO Netweavers is a unique organization for current and former CEOs where they can develop a network with their peers and act on their commitment to paying it forward. Their executive director, Cordelia Blake, shared with host John Ray how the organization was founded on the notion of “netweaving,” the types of CEOs who are members, the benefits of membership, such as the Inflection Point program and mentoring, the ways members pay it forward, and much more.

North Fulton Business Radio is broadcast from the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta.

CEO Netweavers is a community of CEOs who NETWEAVE. They share their relationships, knowledge, and skills and are committed to actively Paying It Forward.

In today’s business world, it’s more important than ever to create and maintain and develop a strong network of trusted, professional contacts.

Networking is all about exchanging business cards and building connections that may or may not be beneficial in the future. Netweaving is about creating relationships with people based on helping them first to achieve their goals. It’s about building a network of people who can offer you advice, support, and opportunities and who you can do the same for.

They offer opportunities for companies and MBA & college students to grow through the INFLECTION POINT and MENTORSHIP programs, and they fundraise for their sister organization, the CEON Foundation, which offers scholarships to deserving college students.

Company Website |LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram

**Cordelia Blake, Executive Director, CEO Netweavers**

Cordelia Blake has had a diverse, entrepreneurial career. She has worked as a consultant, a community manager, an educator, and in e-commerce. In 2021, she joined the nonprofit, CEO Netweavers, as Executive Director. In this role, she helps executives connect, mentor, and raise money for scholarships.

She has spoken at multiple conferences and online including The Harvard Business Club of Atlanta, The Edge Connection of GA, and on the Decision Vision podcast.

A Philadelphia native who happily transplanted with her family to Atlanta, Cordelia is a graduate of Franklin and Marshall College. She resides with her husband, 2 sons, dog, and cat in Chamblee, GA.

Questions and Topics in this Interview:

What is CEO Netweavers?
Who does this group help?
What is Netweaving?
Who would enjoy membership?
How is this organization different from others?

North Fulton Business Radio is hosted by John Ray and broadcast and produced from the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta. You can find the full archive of shows by following this link. The show is available on all the major podcast apps, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, Amazon, iHeart Radio, Stitcher, TuneIn, and others.

Renasant Bank has humble roots, starting in 1904 as a $100,000 bank in a Lee County, Mississippi, bakery. Since then, Renasant has grown to become one of the Southeast’s strongest financial institutions with over $13 billion in assets and more than 190 banking, lending, wealth management and financial services offices in Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida. All of Renasant’s success stems from each of their banker’s commitment to investing in their communities as a way of better understanding the people they serve. At Renasant Bank, they understand you because they work and live alongside you every day.

Special thanks to A&S Culinary Concepts for their support of this edition of North Fulton Business Radio. A&S Culinary Concepts, based in Johns Creek, is an award-winning culinary studio, celebrated for corporate catering, corporate team building, Big Green Egg Boot Camps, and private group events. They also provide oven-ready, cooked from scratch meals to go they call “Let Us Cook for You.” To see their menus and events, go to their website or call 678-336-9196.

Introduction to “Workplace MVP,” with Host Jamie Gassmann

April 1, 2021 by John Ray

Minneapolis St. Paul Studio

Introduction to "Workplace MVP," with Host Jamie Gassmann

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Introduction to “Workplace MVP,” with Host Jamie Gassmann

Every day, around the world, organizations of all sizes face disruptive events and situations. Within those workplaces are everyday heroes in human resources, risk management, security, business continuity, and the C-suite. They don’t call themselves heroes though. On the contrary, they simply show up every day, laboring for the well-being of employees in their care, readying the workplace for and planning responses to disruption. This show, “Workplace MVP,” confers on these heroes the designation they deserve, Workplace MVP (Most Valuable Professionals), and gives them the forum to tell their story. As you hear their experiences, you will learn first-hand, real life approaches to readying the workplace, responses to crisis situations, and overcoming challenges of disruption. Join us as they share their stories of hope, courage, and tenacity: www.workplace-mvp.com.

“Workplace MVP” is underwritten and presented by R3 Continuum and produced by the Minneapolis-St.Paul Studio of Business RadioX®.

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting from the Business RadioX studios, it’s time for Workplace MVP. Workplace MVP is brought to you by R3 Continuum, a global leader in workplace behavioral health, crisis, and security solutions. Now, here’s your host, Jamie Gassmann.

Jamie Gassmann: [00:00:28] Hello, everyone. And welcome to episode zero of our new show, Workplace MVP. I am your host, Jamie Gassmann, and I’d like to share a story with you. Picture a large retailer in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, while other businesses have shut down, this retailer must remain open as it is considered an essential source of food and other household necessities in communities across the United States. Their employees are called upon to work amid rising COVID cases; thereby, increasing their exposure to and potential for catching the virus. Meanwhile, these same employees are dealing with mounting personal stressors, such as kids at home adjusting to distance learning, fear of losing loved ones to the virus, anxiety about bringing COVID home to family members, anxiety about not being able to care for and/or visit elderly relatives, familial job loss and much more.

Jamie Gassmann: [00:01:25] Now, in this case, the company’s HR leaders responded to the crisis and the many workplace challenges it created by intentionally and proactively putting the psychological and physical safety of their employees first. The result, employees felt heard, cared for, safer and appreciated. And in turn, those employees empowered by this support from their company stood on the front lines and served customers while stores remained open. A pandemic may have created extraordinary conditions, which received much more notice, but it’s work like this, which top HR leaders have always done, often in circumstances which don’t get much attention. These leaders hire, train, encourage, protect, advocate for and help create the conditions necessary for employees to succeed in serving customers, fellow employees and the overall company.

Jamie Gassmann: [00:02:24] Doug Conant, former President and CEO of the Campbell Soup Company, notes that the soft stuff, the essential people-focused work, which HR professionals engage in each day, is indeed the hard stuff. So, when in the marketplace, Conant once said, “You must first win in the workplace.” This podcast showcases the impact of those HR, security, risk, continuity and senior leadership professionals who propel their companies to wins in the workplace, so, in turn, their company can win in the marketplace. We call them workplace MVPs, most valuable professionals. Conscientious leaders, who put people first and work to innovatively support their employees in our complex and challenging world. It’s stories like the one I just told you, which we’ll be featuring on Workplace MVP. And they’ll be shared directly with you by the executives, HR professionals, risk managers, security directors, and other organizational leaders who’ve experienced them and had direct accountability and planning for, responding to and leading recovery efforts in the face of crisis and disruption.

Jamie Gassmann: [00:03:35] The reality is that every day, workplaces face disruption, be it the death of an employee or a leader, natural disasters, workplace violence, workplace accidents, robbery, layoffs, pandemic, civil unrest and more. And every day, there are heroic workplace MVPs who respond to those challenges by providing multilevel support and taking proactive steps to prepare for future disruption. Together, we’ll learn lessons, gain inspiration and hope exploring best practices and new approaches.

Jamie Gassmann: [00:04:09] Welcome to Workplace MVP, the source of inspiring stories and best practice approaches to preparing for, responding to and overcoming the challenges of disruption in the workplace. Thank you for joining us and make sure to subscribe, so you see our most recent episodes and supporting resources. If you’re an MVP with a story to share, please email us at workplacemvp@r3c.com. We would love to connect with you.

“Workplace MVP” Host Jamie Gassmann

In addition to serving as the host to the Workplace MVP podcast, Jamie is currently the Director of Marketing at R3 Continuum (R3c). Collectively, she has more than fourteen years of marketing experience. Across her tenure, she has experience working in and with various industries including banking, real estate, retail, crisis management, insurance, business continuity, and more. She holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mass Communications with special interest in Advertising and Public Relations and a Master of Business Administration from Paseka School of Business, Minnesota State University.

Show Underwriter

R3 Continuum (R3c) is a global leader in workplace behavioral health and security solutions. R3c helps ensure the psychological and physical safety of organizations and their people in today’s ever-changing and often unpredictable world. Through their continuum of tailored solutions, including evaluations, crisis response, executive optimization, protective services, and more, they help organizations maintain and cultivate a workplace of wellbeing so that their people can thrive. Learn more about R3c at www.r3c.com.

Connect with R3 Continuum: Website | LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter

Sean Taylor, Smith & Howard

February 2, 2021 by John Ray

North Fulton Business Radio

Sean Taylor, Smith & Howard

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Sean C. Taylor, Smith & Howard (North Fulton Business Radio, Episode 326)

Sean Taylor, Managing Partner with Smith & Howard, joined host John Ray to discuss how his firm has navigated the uncertainties of the pandemic, managing remote employees while maintaining firm culture, opportunities and challenges in 2021, and much more. “North Fulton Business Radio” is produced virtually from the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® in Alpharetta.

Sean C. Taylor, Managing Partner, Smith & Howard

Sean Taylor became Managing Partner of Smith & Howard in January 2019 after 25 years of leadership progression in the Assurance Services group. He joined Smith & Howard as an intern and was ultimately named Partner in charge of the Assurance Service group in 2010, a role he held until becoming Managing Partner in 2019. Sean will drive the vision, innovation and growth of the firm and its people through the next stage of the firm’s life.

Sean was named an Atlanta 2020 Most Admired CEO by the Atlanta Business Chronicle in recognition of his leadership. Sean is called on to present to many for-profit and nonprofit businesses, lenders, and other professional service providers. He has both served on and moderated numerous workshop and conference panels, has presented on the effects of healthcare reform, presented at Smith & Howard’s “Blueprint for Understanding Contractors” workshop to construction companies and commercial lenders, and has presented on several complex accounting principles to local and national audiences. As an Assurance professional, he has spent a career providing advisory, audit, review, attestation, and other assurance services for privately-held businesses and nonprofit organizations.

Sean co-founded and led the firm’s nonprofit practice with Marc Azar and is still an active member of the nonprofit group at Smith & Howard. Sean has been – and remains – an active participant and advocate at Smith & Howard for our mentoring program, personally mentoring many of our professional and administrative staff through career progression and advancement. Sean graduated from the University of Georgia with a B.B.A. in Accounting. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants, where he served on the inaugural Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants Leadership Academy.

Sean is actively involved as a multi-year member of various committees at Dunwoody United Methodist Church (DUMC), including Finance, Staff Parish Relations, Leadership Roundtable, Organ and Evangelism. Sean was also selected to chair the Strategic Planning Task Force for DUMC in developing the church’s current five-year strategic plan. He recently completed service as co-chairman of DUMC’s $5.6 million Moving Forward Together Capital Campaign. Sean served seven years on the Council on Finance and Administration at the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church, including time as the Vice Chair and Chair. He also serves on the Finance Committee for Wesleyan School, a private K-12 college preparatory school and began a five year term on the school’s Board of Trustees in September 2019.

With his personal time, Sean is an active volunteer in the community. He was the recipient of the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants’ 2020 Public Service Award, the organization’s annual Public Service Award that recognizes a member who has distinguished himself or herself in public service activities at the local, state, regional or national level. In 2012, Sean co-founded FoodStock, an annual food packaging event in Dunwoody, Georgia where over 1,000 community members come together annually to package over 300,000 meals in one day for children in school feeding programs around the globe. This is the largest single day food packaging event of its kind in Georgia and, to date, this event and other food packaging events in the Dunwoody community associated with FoodStock have packaged over 2.4 million meals. Additionally, Sean serves as a mentor to 13 teenage boys through a group he founded called Fit 4 Life, meeting weekly to discuss various aspects of faith and life for these 13 young men.

Company website

Questions and Topics in this Interview:

Now that we have 2020 in our rearview mirror and a month of the new year under our belts, what are your primary areas of focus in business operations for the coming year that you can share with other CEOs?
How did the pandemic and the switch to remote work impact the culture for your firm and what are you doing to maintain that during this unique time?
What advice you can give to C-Suite leaders as they kick off 2021 – any last-minute business planning tips?
What are you and other leaders of Smith & Howard most excited about in 2021?
What challenges are you anticipating for 2021?

North Fulton Business Radio” is hosted by John Ray and produced virtually from the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® in Alpharetta. You can find the full archive of shows by following this link. The show is available on all the major podcast apps, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, Amazon, iHeart Radio, Stitcher, TuneIn, and others.