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

Jeff Weinstein, CEO, Wise Sons Jewish Delicatessen

Jeff Weinstein grew up in the Detroit Metro area with a big extended family.  His earliest work experience started at 13, answering phones and doing clerical work during tax season for the accounting firm where his father was a partner.  He gained his first leadership experience as a founding member, chapter president and regional vice president of B’nai B’rith Youth Organization in Michigan.

He has over 30 years of experience in the food and beverage business, beginning with full service restaurant and cafe work while he studied Philosophy at the University of Michigan.  His knowledge of the business comes from working on the job.

Jeff spent 12 years with Peet’s Coffee & Tea in the San Francisco Bay Area where he played every role they would allow him, from serving coffee, managing a store, running a district, building an operations services department and creating wholesale programs.

After time with Dean & Deluca and Starbucks—both great learning opportunities—he joined Jamba Juice where he led operations services for over 800 domestic and international locations.  In 2015, Jamba sold most of their corporate units to franchisees.  Jeff led operations for Vitaligent—Jamba’s largest franchisee with shops in Northern California and Washington—and eventually became CEO of the 96-unit restaurant group.

In 2022, Vitaligent was successfully acquired by an even larger restaurant group called Sizzling Platter.  After supporting the transition, Jeff joined Wise Sons Jewish Delicatessen as CEO.  Wise Sons operates six delis in San Francisco and Oakland, in addition to a scratch bakery, commissary and wholesale business.  

Following the recent college graduation of their daughter, Jeff and his wife of 30 years moved to the Sonoma Valley where they serve multiple non-profit organizations.  

Jordi Ferre, Experienced CEO and Sponsor, CIBUSNET

Jordi Ferre is an accomplished C-suite business leader with a strong commercial and operations background in the food sector including B2C (business to consumer) as well as the value-added food ingredients and agritech sectors. He holds dual citizenship in the United States and Spain, having lived and worked in the U.S. for over two decades, as well as Europe (France, Germany, Norway) and Asia (Singapore, Malaysia). 

Mr. Ferre was CEO at Alvinesa Natural Ingredients through 2023 based in Madrid. Prior to Alvinesa he was the CEO of Nasdaq-listed AgroFresh Solutions, the global leader of post-harvest solutions to extend the shelf life of fresh fruits and vegetables. Other positions include Chief Operating Officer at PureCircle, the leading producer, innovator and marketer of high-purity stevia ingredients, Vice President, Sales & Marketing SPLENDA® Sucralose at Tate & Lyle; as well as ovarious B2C positions at Wise Foods, Chupa Chups and Warner Lambert. 

In 2023 he launched Launch CIBUSNET®, a selective network of multi-discipline professionals across the global food industry providing identification of potential investor/partners, new technology advisory, go-to-market strategy, due diligence, and board/advisory roles. Through Cibusnet he has assisted a number of companies in the ready-to-eat meals, ingredients and precision fermentation industries. Since October, he is the interim CEO of HTBA USA, a leading manufacturer of flavonoids used in the food and beverage industry. 

Mr. Ferre holds a BBA-MBA degree from Esade Business School and completed the PMD program at IESE Business School both based in Barcelona, Spain as well as a number of leadership programs at MIT, Drexler and IMD business schools. 

Gregg Florentin, CEO, TriCity Cardiology

Gregg R. Florentin is a 30-year visionary leader who has consistently driven innovation, operational excellence, and strategic collaborations in the healthcare industry. 

Prior to TriCity Cardiology, Florentin served as the President and CEO of Ahart Healthcare Solutions International in Dubai UAE and Houston Texas for eight years. During his tenure, he forged strategic partnerships with notable institutions such as Inova, Children's National, and SEHA. 

Under Florentin’s leadership, AHART grew to over 500 employees where he was instrumental in holding various global interim executive leadership roles for 60 different specialties with mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, private equity, and financial growth.  These experiences were innovative, leveraging Lean techniques, artificial intelligence, predictive analytics, and patient and employee satisfaction to enhance safety, quality, and cost.

Florentin also held various executive leadership roles with Willamette Group, Group Health, Providence Medical Group, and Meritus Healthcare before his move to AHART. His illustrious career began at Community Tissue Services, one of the Nation’s Premier Organ and Tissue Banks. 

Florentin has many accolades including:

Health Professional of the Year Award, Washington State Volunteers Society

3 Time Who’s Who In Healthcare Executive

Distinguished Leadership Award, Medford Oregon Community Executives 

AHART Executive Award for outstanding leadership in business and education partnerships. 

COO of the Year Providence

CEO of the Year AHART

Diamond Executive Award for Service Excellence, Dubai Healthcare 

3 Time Lean Six Sigma Innovation Award

 

Florentin’s leadership philosophy emphasizes transparency, rounding for authenticity, kindness, and collaboration. He firmly believes that prioritizing team members’ overall happiness and satisfaction leads to positive outcomes for both the team and patients.

In summary, Gregg R. Florentin exemplifies excellence and enjoys sharing his vision as an invited speaker at numerous national and international conferences in the past 8 years sharing his knowledge on innovative healthcare to improving the patient experience, employee engagement, and the future of healthcare.

 

Robb Munger, Founder, Exodus Place

Robb Munger, founder of Exodus Place, champions transitional housing for homeless men. With a background in finance, where he established a leading financial company in manufactured housing, Munger’s journey took a pivotal turn when he joined the board of Guiding Light Mission. There, he propelled a struggling rescue mission into prominence and transformed a former state corrections facility into Michigan’s largest non-governmental transitional housing, offering new beginnings to those in need. 

A former Army Officer, Munger’s commitment to service shines through his philanthropic work and innovative solutions in community development. His collaboration with the Salvation Army and Goodwill in a small town within American City has showcased an innovative approach to addressing homelessness, demonstrating the impactful change that results from combining compassion with action. This initiative, with Munger at the helm, has become a testament to the power of collaborative community efforts in making a tangible difference in people’s lives.

Jeff Bell, past CEO, LegalShield

Jeff Bell is the past CEO of LegalShield, North America’s largest legal subscription service for households and small business. Jeff grew this business from a $650m valuation in 2014 to over $2.4b in 2022 when he retired. Presently, Jeff serves as an Operating Partner on the MidOcean Partners Private Equity Investment Team. Prior to LegalShield, Jeff served as the Microsoft Corporate Vice President for Xbox. He is known for launching Halo 3, Gears of War, Rock Band and Netflix on Xbox Live. He spent 5 years at DaimlerChrysler as the Vice President and General Manager of Chrysler and Jeep Divisions. He is credited with development and launch of the the Jeep Rubicon and 4-door Wrangler, as well as the Chrysler 200, among others. Jeff served Ford Motor Company for 12 years, including as Managing Director of Ford Spain. He serves on the Board of his alma mater, Johns Hopkins-SAIS, and has served on the Kenyon College and National Multiple Sclerosis Board of Trustees. 

 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffbell801/

Re-Release: Cheryl Bachelder, Board Member, Director & Author

Cheryl Bachelder is a passionate, purpose-led business leader -- the former CEO of Popeyes® Louisiana Kitchen, Inc. Cheryl is known for her crisp strategic thinking, a franchisee-focused approach, and superior financial performance.  Guided by the servant leadership thinking of Robert Greenleaf, she believes highly caring, collaborative leaders with big ambitions for the enterprise, not themselves, generate the conditions for people to perform their best work.

Cheryl Bachelder served as CEO of Popeyes® Louisiana Kitchen, Inc., a NASDAQ traded company with over 2,600 restaurants in 26 countries, from 2007 to 2017. The story of Popeyes success is chronicled in her book, Dare to Serve: How to drive superior results by serving others. During her tenure, Popeyes’ stock price grew from $11 to $61, at which time the board sold the company to Restaurant Brands International Inc. for $1.8 billion dollars or $79 per share in March, 2017.

Cheryl’s earlier career included brand leadership roles at Yum Brands, Domino’s Pizza, RJR Nabisco, The Gillette Company and Procter & Gamble.  

Cheryl serves as a director on the boards of Pier 1 Imports, Inc. (PIR), US Foods Holding Corp. (USFD), and Chick-Fil-A, Inc. She sits on the advisory board of Procter & Gamble’s franchising venture, Tide Dry Cleaners. She is a board member of CEO Forum, an organization that encourages and develops leadership capability in CEOs and senior executives.

Cheryl holds a Bachelor’s and Masters of Business Administration degree from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. She is married 38 years to Chris Bachelder and they have three grown daughters, two terrific son-in-laws, and four handsome grandsons. Cheryl and Chris reside in Atlanta, Georgia and attend Buckhead Church. They are avid learners, fans of the classical education movement, and can always be found reading a good book!

Website: Serving Performs at www.cherylbachelder.com

Former CEO, Popeyes® Louisiana Kitchen, Inc.

Director at Pier 1 Imports, Inc.

Director at US Foods Holding Corp.

Director at Chick-Fil-A, Inc.

Author, Dare to Serve: How to drive superior results by serving others

 

Kevin Akeroyd, CEO, Sovos

Kevin Akeroyd is CEO of Sovos.

From a small town in Missouri to Stanford business school and 3-time CEO, Kevin Akeroyd is not the proverbial polished CEO. A man who is not afraid to go off message and proclaims, be “overt, loud and challenging” to get things done. A CEO who declares it his mission to “keep business leaders out of jail” by helping companies traverse the complex and sometimes dangerous waters of compliance. A leader who puts his money where his mouth is and approaches diversity not with PR platitudes but by personally funding an annual college fund for underprivileged youth.​

​With countless mergers and acquisitions under his belt and having worked for small venture-backed endeavors to being a division head for industry heavyweights like Oracle and Salesforce, Kevin is a builder who works to understand where companies are stagnating, where to innovate and find their break-through potential and ultimately how to move from point solution to platform. ​

Kevin built the enterprise stack for the Chief Communications Officer at Cision, the Chief Human Resource Officer at Magnit and now is working at Sovos to deliver the global compliance system of record for the Chief Financial Officer. The Sovos Compliance Cloud is the first and only platform to bring together tax compliance and regulatory reporting into a single view for business. At Sovos he is building a new category, a new line of business for compliance, and taking the industry on a journey to conquer the complexities and challenges of compliance.​

​Kevin’s leadership philosophy is that it’s not enough to be brilliant. Transparency and communication are paramount and it’s the job of the CEO to look around corners and see what’s coming. Bad CEOs let things happen and good CEOs make things happen and at the end of the day, everything is your fault. Kevin brings this level of accountability to his customers, partners and employees. His mission at Sovos is to evolve compliance from its current state of being a painful requirement for business to being a force for growth in every company, in every industry and in every country.

Herb Coglino, Founder, Aspire Growth Advisors

Herb Cogliano leads his own advisory practice, Aspire Growth Advisors, leveraging the Scaling Up Performance Platform, described in Verne Harnish's award-winning book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits-Scaling Up.

As an International Business Coach, experienced CEO Scaling Up Practitioner, and Professor of the Scaling Up Masters Business Course, he has learned firsthand what it takes to overcome many business challenges. Herb is pursuing his passion of working with leaders of growth companies to achieve more freedom by helping them create industry leading strategies, a culture of accountability, flawless execution along with a healthy cash flow within their organizations.

Herb was formerly CEO of Sullivan and Cogliano Designers, a 53-year privately held family owned, Technology Staffing and Workforce Solutions firm and in 1993, he also founded the Sullivan and Cogliano education business.

Sullivan and Cogliano joined a select group of companies that have appeared on the Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Company list multiple times. The Inc. 5000 is ranked according to percentage revenue growth over a four-year period. This achievement puts us in a unique position, especially if you consider that over 27 million businesses are registered in the USA.

His firm was a Multiyear recipient of Boston and South Florida Business Journal Best Places to Work Award. This honor recognizes Sullivan and Cogliano achievements for changing the business landscape, in creating a positive work environment that attracts and retains employees through a combination of employee satisfaction, working conditions and company culture.

Herb serves on the Carroll School of Management Board of Advisors at Boston College. He has served as a Board of Director of the American Staffing Association. He is past president of the Massachusetts Association of Staffing Services, and previously served on the boards of Employment Resources, Inc. and Junior Achievement.

He received his BSBA from Boston College in 1987 and his MBA from University of Massachusetts (International Honor Society Beta Gamma Sigma) in 2016.

Re-Release: Jeremy Macdonald, CEO, Bonney

Jeremy Macdonald is the CEO of Bonney Plumbing, Electrical, Heating and Air where he and his team are on a mission to build the most trusted home services company in California.

Prior to joining Bonney, Jeremy worked as an entrepreneur in South Africa’s rapidly evolving telecoms industry. Jeremy moved to the US with his family 5 years ago in search of better opportunities and adventure. At Bonney, Jeremy Macdonald is focused on constantly improving company culture, hiring and developing talent and pursuing sustainable growth.

Manos Kalaitzoglou, Co-founder and CEO, Arcweave

Manos Kalaitzoglou is the co-founder and CEO of Arcweave and is a Greek founder originally from Crete, Greece. Before becoming a founder, Manos studied architecture in the National Technical University of Athens, then switched to becoming a web designer as he was always fascinated by design, tech and storytelling. He worked with various startups in design lead and consultancy roles, which eventually led him to realise he and his teams were not efficient with the existing collaboration tools for interactive experiences. He founded Arcweave to help lower the bar of game design and development and allow everyone to take their first steps in this fascinating industry.