ROI’s Into the Corner Office Podcast: Powerhouse Middle Market CEOs Telling it Real—Unexpected Caree...

John Case, CEO, Acumatica

John Case is the Chief Executive Officer of Acumatica.

John brings nearly three decades of industry leadership in cloud services, software product management, marketing, partner sales, digital promotion, and brand development to his role as CEO of Acumatica. Before joining Acumatica, John served as president and CEO of Unify Square, a leading provider of operations and performance management software and cloud-managed services. He also spent 16 years at Microsoft in a variety of executive-level positions, including corporate vice president of Office and Office 365, where he spurred the digital transformation of Microsoft’s most successful cloud business; and vice president of the worldwide OEM division in marketing and sales, where he jointly oversaw the global distribution and reseller channels for Microsoft.

Adam Spiegel, CEO, NorthStar Anesthesia

Adam Spiegel serves as the Chief Executive Officer of NorthStar. In this role, Mr. Spiegel oversees all aspects of growing NorthStar’s anesthesia care platform and leads the company in its commitment to delivering solutions for the hospitals and surgery centers NorthStar serves.

Mr. Spiegel brings more than 20 years of business development and operations experience within the healthcare industry. Prior to joining NorthStar, he served as Executive Vice President of Provider Growth at Optum, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group. Before his time at Optum, Mr. Spiegel spent more than 15 years at The Advisory Board Company, where he served in a number of different capacities, primarily focusing on general management, new product launches, and go-to-market strategies. Upon joining Optum following its merger with The Advisory Board in 2017, Mr. Spiegel successfully integrated the two companies’ sales and renewal organizations and managed all sales and renewals of Optum products.

Mr. Spiegel earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University and his Masters in Business Administration from the Wharton School of Business. He has more than 20 years of business development and operations experience within the healthcare industry.

Shelly Swanback, President & CEO, TTEC Engage

Michelle “Shelly” R. Swanback serves as President of the Company and chief executive officer of TTEC Engage. She joined the Company in May 2022 as the chief executive officer of TTEC Engage and was named President for TTEC Holdings, Inc. in November 2022. With a proven track record driving growth in the digital environment, Shelly is both a market maker and a strong cultural leader with over 30 years of experience in digital transformation, strategic consulting, technology, services, analytics and M&A.

Prior to TTEC, Ms. Swanback lead Accenture Digital, building it into a global transformation powerhouse with more than $20 billion in annual revenue. As President of Product and Platform at Western Union (WU), she led the company’s digital transformation journey, evolved the business model to a customer-centric platform and doubled the WU digital business to $1 billion.

Shelly is currently a board member of Willis Towers Watson (NASDAQ:WTW). Ms. Swanback holds bachelor’s degrees in Finance and Computer Information Systems from Colorado State University.

Jeff Oravitz, CEO, Seal For Life Industries

Jeff Oravitz is the Chief Executive Officer of Arsenal Capital Partners’ coatings platform, Seal For Life Industries, where he also serves on the platform’s Board of Directors.  He formerly was the Vice President of PPG Coatings Services and the President of MetoKote Corporation, based in Lima, OH, from July 2016 to March 2019.  He previously served as President and Chief Executive Officer and Board of Directors member of MetoKote from December 2011 through June of 2016, when he lead the process to sell the company to PPG Industries.  He joined MetoKote in 2005, when he was named Vice President, North American In-Plant Businesses.  

Prior to his tenure at MetoKote, Jeff enjoyed a twenty-year career with PPG Industries, Inc., where he served in a variety of technical, commercial, and management roles with increasing responsibility in a number of the company’s coatings businesses, including Automotive OEM, Automotive Refinish, General Industrial, and Packaging Coatings.

Jeff is a native of Pittsburgh, PA, and has received a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Chemistry and an MBA, both with honors from the University of Pittsburgh.

He is a 2010 recipient of the prestigious Brewer Award from the Electrocoat Association, where he formerly served as Vice President and as a member of the Board of Directors.  He previously has served as President of the Shawnee Country Club, Chairman of the Governance Board of Lima Central Catholic High School, Vice Chair of the Lima/Allen County Chamber of Commerce, the Board of Trustees and Executive Committee of Tiffin University, and served on the Board of Directors for the Hunt Valve Company (Salem, OH).  He was recently elected Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Ohio Manufacturers Association.

Jeff and his wife Cindy reside in Cincinnati.  Their oldest daughter, Ashley, graduated from the University of Dayton and is employed in the advertising field and lives in Cincinnati.  Their son, Austin, graduated from Ohio Dominican University, where he was a two-time academic All-American and captain of the men’s golf team, and is employed in the finance field in Cincinnati. Their youngest daughter is attending the University of Dayton where she is majoring in Business.  

Kevin Miller, President & CEO, Travis Credit Union

Kevin Miller is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Travis Credit Union. He brings more than 18 years of experience in the financial services industry. Kevin has held a variety of senior and executive roles within regional banks and most recently was the Chief Growth Officer of a FinTech focused on empowering the underserved consumer to improve their credit and financial wellbeing.

He serves on the Board of Directors for the Solano Economic Development Corporation and Travis Credit Union Foundation and is on the Advisory Board for the Global Retail Marketing Association

Kevin holds a Master of Science in integrated marketing communications from Northwestern University and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of South Florida.

Mike Snyder, Partner, RaptorUSA

Mike Snyder is a partner with RaptorUSA, a marketing consulting firm whose principals have worked with hundreds of middle-market companies nationally. He previously co-founded RSM Marketing, a firm providing an Outsourced Marketing Department to companies across all industries nationwide. Mike was CEO of a Kansas ad agency serving larger clients such as Cargill and Cox Communications. Mike founded and sold a technology company. He is a retired Marine Corps lieutenant colonel who served as a public affairs officer in New York City, the Pentagon and NORAD where he led media relations in the aftermath of 9/11. Mike is a graduate of Marine Corps Command and Staff College. He has worked in the accounting and nonprofit industries. Mike has a master’s degree in marketing communication from the University of Kansas and taught strategic marketing for years in an MBA program where his unorthodox approach to marketing and instruction earned him the highest student scores within the program. In his work Mike helps business owners escape fruitless efforts in endless tactics and marketing spends that produce little to no ROI. Instead, he helps owners and their teams focus on making big strategic leaps that unify marketing efforts as well as management teams, all to produce long-term, unfair competitive advantages. The goal, as he says, is to build a moat around your business filled with sharks with laser beams.

Matt Charlson, President, DataBank IMX

Matt Charlson loves helping people grow, taking on new challenges, and seeing the company evolve every day into a place where teammates can thrive. His path to leadership at DataBank began with launching and co-running a successful technology consulting firm. Outside of work you’ll find him spending time with his two daughters, Abigail and Elizabeth, and their Lab mix rescue, Simba. If it involves boating, golfing, the outdoors, or the Minnesota Vikings, he’s interested.

Micalyn Harris, Former President and CEO, ELPRO Services

In 2017, Micalyn became President and CEO of ELPRO Services, Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of Swiss-based ELPRO Group.

Leveraging experience in organizational change and business strategy, Micalyn positioned the company to disrupt a competitive and growing market by completely redefining the subsidiary’s organizational and financial focus, doubling staff and revenue in the short term. During her tenure with ELPRO, Micalyn has negotiated strategic selling partnerships to expand the company’s sales and service footprint in the US, and spearheaded numerous continuous improvement initiatives.

“Within ELPRO USA, I saw the opportunity to reshape the company from the ground up. The most fulfilling part of that journey was redefining our culture and aligning with profitability,” Micalyn said.

Micalyn also leads projects to engage employees in community fundraisers. She has a passion for fostering the growth of women in business leadership roles. Micalyn is a member of the Entrepreneurship Advisory Board at Marietta College where she received her B.S. in Biochemistry. Micalyn holds an MBA from New York Institute of Technology.

Dave Witsken, CEO, Universal Engineering Sciences® (UES)

Dave Witsken in the CEO of Universal Engineering Sciences® (UES), a leading national engineering and consulting company. UES, recognized as the fastest-growing AEC firm in the U.S. and Canada, continues to expand its operations nationally, with 67 branches in nearly 20 states and more than 3,100 professionals today.

Most recently, Dave served as the President of BrandSafway's Industrial, Energy, and Commercial business for the United States, Canada and Mexico. BrandSafway is a provider of services and products to the industrial, commercial and infrastructure end markets worldwide. Dave worked in various global executive leadership roles throughout his 17 years at the company, including M&A, Sales, and General Management. During his tenure, BrandSafway completed 30 successful acquisitions and grew from $300 million in revenue in 2005 to $5 billion today. Previously, Dave spent 18 years at General Electric in various leadership positions. He received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Cincinnati and an MBA from Westminster College, where he currently serves as an Advisory Board member.

Re-Release: Tim Bessell, Founder & CEO, Bessell Surfboards

Tim Bessell loves his job. He combines lifelong surfing experience with expert craftsmanship to create some of the best custom surfboards in the world. Surfboard shapers and surfers alike, from all over the world, know the name, Tim Bessell. From world-class professionals to weekend warriors, ask anyone who knows him and they'll tell you the same thing: Tim is more than a shaper, he's an artist.

History of Bessell Surfboards

At a very young age, Tim Bessell was exposed to the infectious world of art by his mother. As A result, Tim gained an interest and appreciation for the sub-culture that would coincidentally influence and shape his future to come.

Tim began his professional surfboard shaping career when he began working at Sunset Surfboards. By the age of thirteen, Tim began shaping surfboards from the beautiful town known as La Jolla, California. He was one of the youngest surfboard shapers in the industry, but he was already making a name for himself as a surfer and as a shaper in and around his home break of Windansea Beach in La Jolla, California.

A Surfboard Shapers Journey

Three years later Tim moved to Hawaii to prove he has what it takes to be a shaper on the North Shore. He began shaping custom surfboards for Lightning Bolt, one of Hawaii's premier surfboard manufacturers known for the infamous lightning gun shape of the 70's ridden by legendary Gerry Lopez. In fact, Tim Bessell would later become one of the few shapers allowed to manufacture surfboards under the Lightning Bolt name.

After legitimizing himself as a shaper, Tim returned to San Diego, California to open Bessell Surfboards. By 1987, Bessell Surfboards had grown into one of the largest surfboard manufacturers in Southern California. Tim also made a name for himself as an artist, with exhibitions as far away as Japan.

Tim branched off into the world of apparel when he started his own clothing line in 1992. He designed every item himself, and his unique touch of style was an instant hit. Tim even helped design styles for other clothing companies such as Hurley, T&C Hawaii, and Billabong.

In 1997 Tim decided to focus once again on surfboards when he returned to the shaping room to reinvent Bessell Surfboards. He built primarily custom-shaped boards for surfers who demanded more than the typical cookie-cutter shapes typically offer. Tim's willingness to work individually with each customer has helped build a reputation few surfboard shapers can match.

To date, Tim has produced over 46,000 surfboards. His boards have graced the covers of Surfer Magazine, Surfing Magazine, Beach Culture, and countless other surfing magazines. Many world-class surfers have ridden Bessell Surfboards including Peter King, Luke Egan, Jon Roseman, Glen Winton, Brad Gerlach, Vetea David, Ricky Irons, David MacAulay, Saxon Boucher, Debbie Melville Beacham, Ryder Mackey, Chris O'Rourke, Billy Choe, Simon Law, Juston Postin, David Eggers, Davie Miller, Richard Kenvin and more.

Bessell Surfboards are currently sold throughout the world with distributors in Japan, South America, and Europe. If you're lucky enough to visit Tavarua Island, you'll notice Tim's trademark guns are standard equipment on the island. Wherever you end up, chances are there is someone riding a Bessell.

Currently, Tim and his team at Bessell surfboards are starting many new exciting projects. These projects include Watershed Productions, a new film production company that is focusing on cutting-edge surf films. Most notably Tim Bessell has teamed up with the Warhol Foundation to reconnect the much-forgotten love that Andy Warhol had for surfing and the surfing counter-culture. “How I Met Andy”, is a short film that tells the story of how Tim met Andy Warhol and why his artistic inspiration never left him and how eventually this became the "Bessell Warhol Project.” In this project, Tim has created an extensive collection of surfboards with licensed Warhol art imposed on his signature surfboard shapes. This has created an international buzz once again and many of these boards can be found in art galleries and collector homes all over the world.

With the love for shaping boards Tim gained when he was thirteen combined with the experience, inspiration, and reputation he has gained along the way, Bessell Surfboards remains one of the top custom surfboard manufacturers in the world.