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

Gilbert Hernandez, Executive Director, San Antonio Youth for Christ

Gilbert was born in San Antonio, Texas to an alcoholic mother and a drug-addicted father, but God had a plan. Through a journey of hope and miracles God made a way. He graduated from South San West Campus. He then attended International Bible College where he graduated in 1996 and completed his Master’s in Theology. Gilbert has been in ministry since the age of fourteen and became a Youth Pastor at the age of eighteen. Gilbert always had a passion to impact young people with the life changing gospel of Jesus. His passion for Christ has opened doors for him to speak at conferences all over the United States, Central America and Europe. Gilbert is married to Hilda Hernandez his wife of 14 years and serves as the Executive Director of SAYFC. Through his leadership SAYFC has grown steady over the last 10 years to become a model for YFC ministry in large cities. Gilbert also serves on the National Youth for Christ board.

Avi Kahn, President and CEO, Hilti North America

Avi Kahn leads Hilti North America’s operations as president and chief executive officer, overseeing businesses in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean and Guam. Prior to this role, he served as president of Hilti Canada. Kahn holds a Bachelor of Business Administration, Information Technology from The Interdisciplinary Center and a Master of Business Administration, International Business from Bellevue University. He joined Hilti in 2004 as a territory sales representative for construction in San Francisco. From there, he was promoted to regional manager for San Diego and Hawaii. In 2008, Avi took on greater responsibility as the Chicago-based West Great Lakes division manager. In January 2011, Avi took an international assignment when the organization named him president of Hilti Canada. Kahn is active with the Dallas Regional Chamber, serving as a member of the board of directors and executive committee, as well as chairing the international task force. He is involved with several charitable organizations including serving as a foundation board member of Children’s Health of Dallas, a pediatric health care organization, and was on the Habitat for Humanity Canadian Leadership Council. Avi is a member of the ownership advisory group of the Dallas Stars hockey team. Since 2017, he is a Catalyst CEO Champion for Change. Kahn resides in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex with his wife Maryann and their two sons, Ethan and Adam.

Lafe Bailey, Co-CEO, the Wenger Group

Lafe Bailey is Co-CEO of the Wenger Group and is President of the Sales and Business Development division at Wenger. Lafe has been with the family firm for 30 years, and this tenure has allowed him a unique perspective on the industries which they serve, as well as transnational business and cycles of innovation. A perennial student of leadership, innovation and faith topics, Lafe consumes more than 60 books annually and several decades of these efforts have brought Mr. Bailey to the conclusion that all business and self-management books trace their origins to two foundational volumes. Mr. Bailey serves as either Director or Deacon on a number of Boards and Foundations. Believing that the stresses of Sabetha city life to be too burdensome, Lafe resides in the countryside with his wife and four children where they can enjoy horseback riding and the shooting sports.

Peter Demos, President and CEO, Demos Restaurants

Peter Demos is currently President and Attorney for Demos' Brands of Restaurants which includes Demos’ Restaurant, Peter D’s Catering, and PDK Southern Kitchen and Pantry. He is also President of D’s Seas Seasonings, a retail and food service product; President of SteakTech LLC, a technology resell company; President Demos Ventures LLC, Demos Enterprises LLC, a real estate company; and is the Past President of Toot’s Restaurant and Toot’s Franchising Inc. Peter speaks to restaurant groups, churches, businesses, and Christian groups about the restaurant industry, his late journey to faith, and how to be bold in faith. He is past chair on the board the Board of Directors for the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce, past president for the Tennessee Hospitality Association, and sits on the NFIB Leadership Council, and C12. Other experiences include Hillwood Highschool Academy Advisory Board 2018-Present, Mighty Men’s Conference Committee 2014-2015, Tennessee Food Safety Task Force 2012, Transit Alliance, 2011-2013, Citizen Transit Leadership Academy 2012, Past Chair of Rutherford County Government Affairs Council 2010-2011, Graduate of Leadership Middle Tennessee-2010, Treasurer for the Rutherford County Convention and Visitors Bureau, 2003-2009, Leadership Rutherford Council, 2006-2009, Tennessee Hospitality Transition Board, 2009 Director, Hendersonville Chamber of Commerce, 2008 Member, Graduate of Leadership Rutherford- 2006, Wilson County CVB, 2002, Co-Chair United Way’s Week of Caring, 2007, Chair of Taste of Hendersonville, 2007, Conference Center Committee 2004. He has been awarded by the DNJ as a top 20 business leaders under 40, and by the Nashville Business Journal for top 40 under 40. Leadership Rutherford Pinnacle Award 2010, Restaurateur of the Year award 2014, Christian Chamber of Commerce Chairman’s Award 2015, C12 Business Award 2015 and 2018, Living Sent Ministries Kingdom Award 2016. Author: Afraid to Trust, One Man’s Journey to the Love of God, (2019), Co-authored, The Militia in Courts, Was Walter Mitty a Freeman 28 Urban Lawyer, 631 (1996). Peter has a B.S. in Sociology from Middle Tennessee State University (1995) and a J.D. from University of Missouri, Kansas City (1998). He is married to Kristin Demos and has two children, Jamey, 17, and Karys, 15. He attends World Outreach Church.

Sean Dunn, Founder and President, Groundwire

Sean Dunn loves Jesus with all his heart and has been serving him in full-time ministry for the past 32 years. As the founder and President of Groundwire, Sean has combined his calling as an evangelist with his gifting as an innovative entrepreneur. He is focused on creatively and effectively communicating God’s Word, Love, and Purpose to every student. Through his leadership, Groundwire has grown to one of the most influential and efficient evangelistic outreaches in the US seeing tens of thousands of Millennials place their trust in Jesus every year.

David Peacock, President, Hytrol Conveyor Company

David is the President of Hytrol Conveyor Company and a member of the Board of Directors. He began his career at Hytrol as the Executive Vice President in 2014 and assumed the Hytrol presidency in 2015. He has led the company to back-to-back record years while implementing strategies to move Hytrol into the future, and was appointed to the Board of Directors in mid-2018. David has an extensive leadership background which prepared him for success at Hytrol, including serving in the United States Marine Corps from 1984 to 1996, departing with the rank of Captain. Before joining Hytrol, he spent 18 years in manufacturing management positions. He was Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer of Kalmar RT Center in Cibolo, Texas. Prior to KRTC, Peacock spent six years as a Vice President for the military equipment division of JLG Industries, Inc., a manufacturer of work lifts. He brings extensive experience in lean manufacturing, product development, engineering and marketing. Peacock holds a Bachelor’s Degree from The Citadel and a Master’s Degree from Webster University. He is married to Amye Peacock, who also served our country as a member of the United States Air Force retiring in 2010 after 22 years of service.

John Murdock, CEO, Centage

John is an accomplished technology executive with over 20 years' experience in global software and services organizations. He’s excited to see Centage lead the Intelligent Planning revolution with a cloud-based software platform that enables finance teams at small and medium sized businesses to streamline their entire planning process and make faster, more confident decisions. John was the Chief Revenue Officer at Centage for three years and is passionate about delivering an amazing experience for customers. Prior to Centage, John held senior leadership roles at Juniper Networks, Kaspersky Labs, and QuickPivot where he was responsible for various aspects of sales, channels, and customer success, both domestically and internationally. John holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Engineering from Northeastern University and pursued his MBA at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business. He’s a husband, father of two, Boston sports fan, and enjoys staying fit and active.

Ganesh Natarajan, Founder and CEO, Mindcrest

Ganesh co-founded Mindcrest in 2001 with the belief that innovation and technology would transform the legal services industry. Since then, he has fostered the growth of Mindcrest from its inception to the industry leader it is now, serving Fortune 500 corporations and major law firms. As Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Mindcrest, Ganesh is a pioneer in the legal services industry. Ganesh started his legal career as an associate and then became a partner at Gardner, Carton & Douglas (now Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP) in Chicago. His law practice was focused on international transactions, particularly in Asia. Prior to Mindcrest, he was a partner at McGuireWoods LLP, specializing in international mergers and acquisitions again with a focus on Asia. In addition to his role as CEO, Ganesh is actively involved with the Washington University School of Law, Middlebury College and a variety of charitable organizations. Ganesh was formerly a member of the U.S.-India Business Council and helped promote business relationships between India and Chicago. Ganesh holds an MBA from Brigham Young University, a JD from Washington University in St. Louis, an undergraduate degree from the University of Bombay, and a graduate degree in Management from the Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Pune.

George Greene, President and COO, Water Mission

George Greene is President and COO for Water Mission (WM) in Charleston, South Carolina. WM is a nonprofit Christian engineering ministry providing sustainable safe water solutions, through a Christian world view perspective, to people in developing countries and disasters. WM approaches all work with a sense of urgency and a commitment to excellence. The ministry’s faith and belief in the sanctity of life compel its staff to develop and implement the best technologies and community development programs so that, through the work, God will be honored and glorified and lives will be transformed for eternity. WM serves all people regardless of age, gender, race or faith. Mr. Greene’s responsibilities include oversight of WM’s three divisions (including Volunteer and Investor Partnerships, Corporate Services, and Operations). His experience over the years includes time spent working on projects in Afghanistan, Belize, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Indonesia, Kenya, Malawi, Pakistan, Peru, Sri Lanka, and Uganda.

Alex Willis, CEO, Leadership Surge

Alex Willis understands the trade industry’s underlying challenges in profitability, performance, labor and productivity and how it has the potential to derail growth. As the CEO of Leadership Surge, Willis provides a leadership development program that trains employees in the trade industry to become frontline leaders, helping push companies forward through future challenges. As Willis competed as a walk-on player for the Florida Gators at the University of Florida and member of the 1996 National Championship football team, he always felt fulfilled working as a team player. Through his hard work and dedication, he received a full scholarship and was elected team captain in 2000. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, he played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers under Coach Tony Dungy. Following his career with the Buccaneers, Alex received a master’s degree in entertainment business from Full Sail University, earning Salutatorian of his class. Willis’ passion for people lead him to a successful career in financial services, pharmaceutical sales and business development. At Northwestern Mutual, Alex ranked 3rd in sales production for the Southern Region. He ranked 5th in the nation for Eli Lilly in marketing total portfolio sales. He successfully raised over $1.5 million for startup companies and has been instrumental in creating strategy and vision for leadership within these companies. After identifying a need for frontline leadership in the trade industry, Alex has spent the last 15 years working with companies to improve leadership culture. Leadership Surge values people over process and focuses on a holistic, strengths-based approach to leadership. He has worked directly with more than 1200 foreman leaders, helping them improve in areas such as: effective communication, performance coaching, work-life balance, stress management, generational leadership, critical thinking and time management.