Success Beneath the Surface

John Beering, CEO of RedDOT Corporation, believes culture is a force multiplier. In the two and a half years since he joined, he has seen it show up in employee engagement and in results. RedDOT started 60 years ago as a West Seattle radiator shop and has been 100% employee-owned for more than 25 years. Deborah Fell talks with John about leading a company where every employee is an owner, why he led the work on RedDOT's cultural norms himself, and why he holds that how you get results matters as much as the results. He also talks about the father who shaped his commitment to service and integrity, the email habits that protect his time, and how he still makes room for golf with his wife and visits with his kids.   John F. Beering, Chief Executive Officer, RedDOT Corporation As CEO at RedDOT Corporation, John Beering is responsible for all sales and operations of At RedDOT Corporation, a premium provider of tailored thermal management solutions to high performance and severe duty applications.   Beering brings more than 34 years of experience and expertise in leading, growing, and improving business operations across a wide variety of companies and industries globally.   Beering has served as President, United Access, LLC | BraunAbility Arch Retail, the 2nd largest retailer of wheelchair accessible vehicles and mobility equipment in the US, as chief operating officer for Trojan Battery, LLC, and senior vice president and general manager roles with Eaton where he was responsible for several large global businesses.  He also has served in multiple sales and marketing positions at Pratt & Whitney, and in manufacturing, engineering and product management roles with Carrier Corp. In his spare time, Beering also serves on several non-profit board roles.  Beering earned a Master of Science degree in management, and a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial engineering from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind.  He and his wife, Heather have been married for 34 years.  They have two adult children, and two English Cream Golden Retrievers. Connect with John Beering on LinkedIn

John D. Smith has led turnarounds across nine industries, from consumer retail to Caesars Entertainment, where he moved from retail executive to resort CEO in under five months. Raised in the Philadelphia projects and later a Harvard Business School graduate, Smith joins Deborah Fell to trace how football discipline, McKinsey training, and firsthand experience on factory floors and casino floors shaped his leadership approach. Smith breaks down his three-to-five-year transformation model: diagnose how the business generates cash, right-size the infrastructure, then rebuild trust with frontline teams before any strategy sticks. His core belief is that organizations only transform once their people do, and leadership is a behavior, not a position. This conversation covers what it really means to show up as a leader, why he treats every employee like a volunteer, and the discipline required to do the unglamorous work no one is watching.   Takeaways Early-life adversity and constant change can become a foundation for adaptive leadership later in life. Real transformation requires sequencing: first the reason why, then mindset, then skill set, then tool set — skipping ahead only produces short-term compliance. Even high-level leadership requires deliberate, curated support systems, since the role itself is structurally isolating. Physically showing up and working alongside frontline staff builds trust and surfaces problems no spreadsheet will reveal. The strongest cultures are the ones employees are excited to be part of, not just compliant with. John D. Smith is a transformational leader with more than 25 years of experience across multiple industries and functional disciplines, he has built a reputation for driving growth, operational excellence, and high-performing teams. A lifelong athlete and competitor, Smith's drive to excel began with humble beginnings and earned him a scholarship to a prestigious private school, a Division I football scholarship, admission to Harvard Business School, and leadership opportunities with organizations including GE, Merck, IBM, McKinsey & Company, Target, and Caesars Entertainment. Throughout his career, Smith has embraced a simple leadership philosophy: organizations don't transform until people do. He is known for inspiring individuals and teams to unlock their potential, build winning cultures, and achieve extraordinary results. John has served in CEO and senior executive roles across the retail, hospitality, entertainment, and service sectors. He holds a bachelor's degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Temple University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. “John shows initiative, uses data and builds teams.  He is a talented and effective executive with great leadership skills” – CEO / Board Chairman publicly traded company “John is a unique talent.  He combines high IQ (analytical and conceptual) with high EQ (incredible ability to connect and motivate people)” – Partner, Strategic Consulting Firm / Board Member “I was drawn to invest in John because of his business acumen, intellect, leadership skills, strength as an operator, and ability to articulate his vision with clarity and enthusiasm.” – Managing Partner, Venture Capital Firm  

Ravi Venkatesan took Cantaloupe from nearly $400 million in accumulated losses to profitability in three years, grew the stock from $2.75 to $11.20, and is now completing a take-private exit. Before all of that, he tried to make it as a cruise ship chef and spent four years playing guitar in jazz bands — which, it turns out, says everything about how he thinks. On this episode of Success Beneath the Surface, Ravi and Deborah Fell get into what actually drives that track record: how he thinks about business model disruption before it arrives, why successful companies quietly stop taking the risks that made them successful, and why isolating innovation in a special department almost always backfires. They also don't avoid the hard conversation. Ravi's prediction on AI and workforce displacement is not a soft one. Neither is his advice to the CEOs listening about what leading through it actually requires. About Deborah's guest: Ravi Venkatesan was named CEO and a member of the Board of Directors at Cantaloupe in September 2022, after serving as COO and CTO. He's responsible for leadership of the company’s architecture, development, network and business operations, product teams, as well as customer success. A proven leader with extensive expertise in product development, information systems, software development and program management, Mr. Venkatesan brings more than 20 years of experience in driving innovative change within technology environments. Mr. Venkatesan graduated from Bangalore University with a degree in Electronics and completed a Postgraduate Program in Finance and Information Management at the Management Development Institute. Ravi's LinkedIn:   https://www.linkedin.com/in/ravivenkatesan/ About Cantaloupe: Cantaloupe builds the technology that powers self-service retail — from vending machines and office markets to small, checkout-free stores in places like campuses, apartments, and workplaces. Their platform brings together payments, software, and data so these businesses can operate efficiently, adapt quickly, and grow without unnecessary complexity. For consumers, that means fast, easy, cashless purchases. For businesses, it means clearer insight into what’s working and what’s next. Cantaloupe is helping modernize how self-service retail works in a more on-demand world. Learn more at cantaloupe.com.  

Nancy and Ron Bogart have been married since 1989, started their first business together in 1992, and somewhere along the way figured out something most business owners spend decades chasing: how to build something real and keep it going. Nancy is the founder and CEO of Jordan Essentials, a 26-year-old direct sales company based in Nixa, Missouri, that manufactures and ships non-toxic personal care products — lotions, scrubs, soaps, magnesium sprays — and supports thousands of independent consultants across all 50 states. Ron spent 13 years taking a sole proprietorship to an employee-owned company of 220, tripling both its size and share price along the way. Three of their four children work at Jordan Essentials. The fourth works with Ron. They are, as Deborah puts it, a power couple — not in the surface-level sense, but in the way that two people who genuinely like each other make better decisions together than either would alone. This conversation covers a lot of ground: how a children's book about lavender spray and a monster under the bed became a real business product, why Nancy doubled her revenue in a sector that is not seeing a rising tide, what the Judgment Index revealed about a hire Ron almost didn't question, and why Ron ignored a book recommendation from his wife for five years before it changed everything. Ron's new book, A Heartbeat Away, arrives in April 2026. It's a fable — mostly made up, he says, except for the parts that are true. The story behind it spans more than a decade. When Ron first took on the CEO role at his current company, the outgoing owner had a heart attack eight months into the transition, forcing Ron to take over much faster than anyone planned. He navigated that successfully. Then, eleven months before this recording, Ron had open heart surgery of his own — unplanned, and a direct test of whether his own succession systems were ready. They weren't fully ready. His argument in the book: succession plans fail not because people don't care, but because a plan that isn't embedded in a living operating system isn't really a plan at all. Ron had lived that truth from both sides of the table. If you run a business, lead a team, or are somewhere in the middle of figuring out what sustainable growth actually looks like — this one's for you. Meet Ron & Nancy Bogart: Nancy Bogart is the Founder and CEO of Jordan Essentials, a family-owned, American-made wellness and skincare company she started over 25 years ago at her kitchen table. Known for pioneering magnesium-based products and clean, non-toxic formulations, Nancy has built a thriving direct sales company rooted in integrity, faith, and empowerment. She is a passionate leader, speaker, and mentor who believes business should be both profitable and purpose-driven. A wife, mom, and CEO entreprenuer, Nancy loves encouraging others to lead with heart, resilience, and vision while building something that truly lasts. Ron Bogart is the Chief Executive Officer of Gold Mechanical. Since 2012, he has led the organization through its transition from a sole proprietorship to a 100% employee-owned ESOP. Under his leadership, Gold Mechanical has doubled in size, expanded its locations, and tripled its share value. Ron holds a Doctor of Strategic Leadership, a Master of Organizational Leadership, and a Bachelor of Business Administration—all from Evangel University—where he has also served as an adjunct professor in the Graduate Business Studies program and the College of Online Learning for nine years. An entrepreneur at heart, Ron launched his first company at age 23; it continues to operate today under its third ownership group. Since 2000, he and his wife Nancy have owned Jordan Essentials, a nationwide manufacturing and sales company that continues to thrive and grow. Ron and Nancy have four adult children, ages 28–32. After spending time building their own careers elsewhere, all four are now involved in one of the Bogart family enterprises. Nancy Bogart on LinkedIn Ron Bogart on LinkedIn Jordan Essentials Gold Mechanical A Heartbeat Away on Amazon  

Brian Garish started at 16, stocking shelves and mopping floors at a Walgreens in Indianapolis. He was not thinking about a career. He just wanted financial independence from his parents. Decades later, he is the Global Chief Client Officer for Mars Veterinary Health, overseeing more than 3,000 hospitals and 70,000 associates across the globe. The through line from then to now is not a title or an org chart. It is three things he learned early: the power of mentorship, the irreplaceable value of front-line experience, and what it actually takes to build a culture worth being part of. In this conversation with Deborah Fell, Brian unpacks what those lessons look like at scale. He talks about what happens when a leader moves faster than the team can keep up, how he gave a team member the power to hold him accountable, and why a 360 review is not something to survive but something to act on. He shares a straightforward conviction: the best strategy in the world means nothing without people who believe in it and have the conditions to execute it. And those conditions are built or broken by the leaders closest to the work, not by the people at the top of the org chart. Mars Veterinary Health is part of Mars Incorporated, which operates Banfield Pet Hospital, VCA, Blue Pearl, and emergency and specialty veterinary care across more than 30 countries. Brian has visited hospitals in all of them, and his first priority every time is to go talk to the person answering the phone at the front desk. If your company creates narratives to explain why results are not what they should be, this episode will make you think differently about where that explanation actually starts. BRIAN GARISH – CHIEF CLIENT OFFICER, GLOBAL MARS VETERINARY HEALTH  As Global Chief Client Officer, Brian leads client-facing functions across Mars Veterinary Health, including global strategic marketing, demand generation, hospital real estate and facilities management, business development, customer contact call center, and the Rapid Growth Markets (RGM) region. With more than 20 years of leadership experience, including his leadership roles as President of Banfield and President of Mars Veterinary Health International, Brian brings both a global lens and deep understanding of the veterinary care business to the MVH Global Leadership Team.   LinkedIn URL - linkedin.com/in/briangarish Mars Veterinary Health is a global division of Mars Petcare dedicated to delivering high-quality pet healthcare in service of its Purpose: A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS. The Mars Veterinary Health family of businesses—including AniCura, Banfield Pet Hospital, BluePearl Pet Hospital, Linnaeus, Mount Pleasant Veterinary Group, VCA Animal Hospitals, VES Singapore, VSH Hong Kong, Tai Wai Animal Hospital, and others—includes more than 70,000 Associates across North America, Europe, and Asia who demonstrate compassion and expertise in caring for over 10 million pets each year. As part of a family-owned business with 90 years of experience caring for pets—including more than 30 years in veterinary services—Mars Veterinary Health makes long-term investments to support its Associates and contribute to the future of veterinary medicine through clinical excellence across its connected care network. Learn more at marsveterinary.com.  

Gene Holtzman didn't start out in staffing. He started in the South Bronx, working with drug addicts and unemployed people in the late 1970s, building nonprofits and figuring out how to help people find work. When Reagan-era budget cuts pulled the rug out in 1982, he had a decision to make. He was 31 years old with two kids, and he chose to bet on himself. That bet became Mitchell Martin, a technology and healthcare staffing firm Gene co-founded on Wall Street in 1984. Today the company runs close to $180 million in revenue and employs staffing professionals, contractors, and a team of 75 in India. They've survived the 1987 crash, 9/11 (they were three blocks away and couldn't get to their office for six months), COVID, and the current market contraction. In this conversation, Gene talks with Deborah Fell about what it actually looks like to run a company for over 40 years with the heart of a social worker. He gets into the decision to become an ESOP, why he walked away from what would have been a much larger exit, how he's handling fraud detection with AI tools like Ropes AI, and where he sees the staffing industry heading as AI reshapes the job market. Gene also talks candidly about succession. His son Josh has been with the company for 15 years and is being built up to run it. The goal isn't to leave next Thursday. It's to build something that outlasts him and rewards the people who helped get it there. If you're a CEO wrestling with what loyalty to employees actually looks like in practice, or you're wondering how to stay energized when the market turns against you, this is a conversation worth hearing. Gene Holtzman Bio: Eugene Holtzman founded Mitchell Martin in 1984 with the idea that technology was the future of business.  Today, that notion still stands and has helped propel MMI in to one of the largest IT staffing firms in the US.  Gene is distinguished by his energy and creativity, guiding teams with a culture that encourages and supports continuous learning and innovation. With a passion for talent acquisition technology, Gene started Talent Tech Labs, a one-of-a-kind venture to research, validate and accelerate new TA technologies by connecting early-stage companies with forward thinkers in the industry.  Guided by his inspirational leadership, MMI continues to grow with a focus on technology and collaboration, harnessing the benefits of niche IT specializations to better serve both clients and candidates.  Gene Holtzman on LinkedIn

What does it take to build a fintech company from five people to 2,000 — entirely from scratch, then through strategic acquisition — without ever making excuses for the macro environment? David Johnson, CEO and Founder of Vervent, sat down with Deborah Fell to answer exactly that. David’s path wasn’t linear: he dropped out of high school at 16, found his way to UC Berkeley and Stanford, cut his teeth at Bain and McKinsey working private equity deals, then made the leap to build his own company in 2008 right in the middle of a financial crisis. Vervent, a leading consumer finance operating platform, now serves clients across the full FINTECH spectrum and has grown through both organic expansion and targeted acquisitions, backed by StonePoint Capital since 2019. This conversation goes deep on the habits, mindset, and cultural principles that have sustained David’s leadership across nearly two decades. He’s blunt about the loneliness at the top, honest about the team members who couldn’t scale with the company, and practical about what it actually means to act when the outcome is uncertain. If you’re a CEO navigating complexity, building a team, or wondering how to stay hungry after years in the seat — this one is for you. David Johnson Bio: David J. Johnson is the Founder and CEO of Vervent, a leading financial servicer known for precision execution and operational resilience across complex portfolios. Since founding the firm in 2008, Johnson has grown Vervent into a global organization specializing in primary loan and lease servicing, credit card servicing, and capital markets services supporting private credit and structured finance. With more than 25 years of industry experience, he is known for turning complexity into opportunity. Prior to Vervent, Johnson served as SVP of Corporate Development at Memec and consulted for McKinsey & Company and Bain & Company, advising Global 500 clients worldwide. David J. Johonson on LinkedIn

Kevin Stevick, CEO of RH Shepard, shares hard-won wisdom from 40 years in manufacturing: your people aren't a cost center—they're your competitive advantage. In this conversation with Deborah Fell, Kevin breaks down why the most successful private equity leaders treat workforce investment exactly like capital equipment purchases. Clean up the shop floor. Improve benefits. Increase wages. These aren't feel-good initiatives—they're strategic moves that lower turnover, boost productivity, and create a pipeline of candidates eager to work for you. The challenge? Most MBA programs don't teach this. Most leaders still view people through a purely financial lens. And the skilled labor shortage isn't going away. Kevin's approach is refreshingly direct: listen first, provide guardrails not micromanagement, and give people room to succeed and fail. He challenges the myth that younger generations don't want to get their hands dirty and explains how AI and robotics don't replace workers—they transform their roles from manual labor to skilled technicians. This episode is essential listening for CEOs wrestling with hiring challenges, retention issues, or leaders who've never been taught to view human resources as a strategic imperative. Kevin proves that being the employer of choice isn't just good ethics—it's good business. About Deborah's guest, Kevin Stevick: Currently the CEO of RH Sheppard, a steering gear manufacturer for commercial vehicles, Kevin has over 40 years of leadership in metals manufacturing, including 25 years as CEO of private equity-owned portfolio companies. He has successfully led turnarounds and growth strategies for various mid-market metals related companies for multiple private equity firms. This has been achieved by driving operational excellence, strategic acquisitions, and significant EBITDA improvements. Kevin holds a BS in Systems Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy and a MS Business Analytics.  Connect with Kevin on LinkedIn About RH Sheppard: R.H. Sheppard is an 88-year-old, American-manufactured leader in heavy-duty commercial vehicle steering. Based in Hanover, Pennsylvania, it is the only US based manufacturer of power steering gears for the global trucking and transportation industry. What truly sets Sheppard apart is its fully integrated model—engineering, machining, heat treating, remanufacturing, and service—all under one roof. Sheppard partners closely with OEMs and fleets to solve complex challenges, reduce lifecycle cost, and deliver unmatched reliability, performance, and technical support. When steering performance and uptime matter, customers choose Sheppard. Visit rhsheppard.com/ to learn more.

Dan Hou didn't plan to become an AI consultant by accident. After getting "professionally bamboozled" by the iPhone launch while working at Motorola, he made himself a promise: catch the next technology wave, but this time, own the outcome. That decision led to Eskridge, an AI consultancy built specifically for mid-market companies—the ones competing in the same arenas as enterprise but without McKinsey budgets or tolerance for bloat. We dig into the shift from "what is AI?" conversations in 2023 to tactical implementation pilots today, and why most companies are still treating AI adoption as a checkbox exercise rather than a competitive positioning tool. Dan breaks down the three-part framework his team uses: strategy (identifying high-value use cases), implementation (standing up pilots with measurable outcomes), and change management (the piece most engineers initially overlook). The change management conversation gets real. Job descriptions are being rewritten. Performance reviews are shifting from "how many times did you use ChatGPT this week?" to "what evidence shows you're experimenting and adapting?" Teams need budget autonomy within guardrails, not six layers of approval to try a $50/month tool. Dan also tackles the hard question: is AI actually a competitive advantage? His answer—yes in the near term, no in the long term as it commoditizes, but the proprietary context and instruction sets you feed it can sustain differentiation. We close with what's next: portable jet-turbine power generators for data centers and world models that could unlock physical robotics applications by training AI to understand three-dimensional space and physics. About Dan Hou: Dan is a founder and partner of Eskridge, an AI consultancy that deploys practical applications of AI for mid-market companies, and has worked closely with senior executives to unlock value from their AI initiatives. Previously, Dan led Amazon Ads Creative Studio, supporting advertisers through technology and scaled services. He has spent over a decade partnering with Fortune 100 clients on digital transformation initiatives at Huge, founded and successfully exited a SaaS startup and held product management roles at Microsoft and Motorola. Dan holds economics and computer science degrees from UPenn. Connect with Dan on LinkedIn

Michael Poisel left a successful venture capital career in the United States to become Executive Director of the Melbourne Entrepreneurial Centre. His mission is transforming Australia's economy through innovation and company creation. After launching 285 companies at the University of Pennsylvania, Michael brought his venture studio model to Melbourne. He helps researchers commercialize their work without becoming entrepreneurs themselves. The approach builds companies for them, finds the management teams, and handles the complex business infrastructure that turns research into viable commercial enterprises. Michael shares hard truths about global entrepreneurship—countries where business failure can land you in jail, disappearing R&D budgets at major corporations, and why universities must step into the innovation gap. He explains why 40% of Australian companies have fewer than 10 employees, how he's already started his first Melbourne company with 15 more in the pipeline, and why Australia actually has more accessible capital than the United States. For mid-market CEOs facing growth challenges, Michael offers battle-tested wisdom on staying innovative, maintaining urgency, and remembering that if you see a problem, 12 people in China probably do too.   About Deborah's guest, Michael Poisel Michael has spent almost 20 years becoming an expert in spinning out companies from universities. Currently, he's the Executive Director of the Melbourne Entrepreneurial Centre, leading efforts to scale its operations into an enterprise that meets the needs of everyone in the university ecosystem (students, staff, researchers, and alumni). Previously, Michael built entrepreneurial programs at the University of Pennsylvania for over 16 years and was responsible for creating Penn’s internal venture studio, PCI Ventures, which includes UPstart, UPadvisors, and Venture WarmUP. As part of these programs, he participated in the founding of over 280 companies that have raised over $950 million in funding.  Prior to Penn, Michael made investments in enterprise software and business services for NewSpring Capital, Apax Partners, and GE Capital, spanning more than ten years in private equity.  He began his career in manufacturing operations at General Electric/Lockheed Martin and contributed to the successful completion of several commercial and government satellite programs.   Michael graduated with honors in Mechanical Engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, holds an M.S. in Systems Engineering from The Moore School of Engineering of the  University of Pennsylvania, and has an M.B.A. in finance and entrepreneurial management from  The Wharton School of Business of the University of Pennsylvania. Connect with him on LinkedIn. About The Melbourne Entrepreneurial Centre The Melbourne Entrepreneurial Centre is situated at the University of Melbourne, the number one ranked university in Australia.  Right in the middle of the city of Melbourne, the Centre bridges the critical gap between world-class research and global impact for societal benefit.  The Melbourne Entrepreneurial Centre cultivates a vibrant entrepreneurial culture by turning ideas and technologies into companies and providing the next generation of entrepreneurial leaders.  Its collaborative programs connect entrepreneurs with leading industry experts, researchers, investors, and mentors to accelerate venture creation and impact. From ideas to global expansion, the Melbourne Entrepreneurial Centre helps innovators bring transformative ideas to life.