Shows
The Team GurusThe Team Gurus Podcast: Interview with Gordon Schmidt, Managing Director, Quest Talent SolutionsWelcome to the Team Guru Podcast, where hosts Mary Walter and Brian Buford engage in insightful conversations about teamwork and leadership. In this episode, they are joined by Gordon Schmidt, an entrepreneur and recruiter at Quest Talent Solutions. Gordon shares his remarkable career journey, from starting in Kmart's fashion department to leading as a VP at Target, and eventually running his successful recruiting firm.
Gordon offers practical insights from his vast experience in retail and recruitment, underscoring the importance of cultural fit and resilience in leadership roles. The discussion explores the nuances of career transitions, effective team...
2025-06-2545 minThe Team GurusThe Team Gurus Podcast: Interview with The 5 Minute Career Hack (Jamila Brown, Candyce Hunt, and Alicia Wade)The 5 Minute Career Hack (Jamila Brown, Candyce Hunt, Alicia Wade) offers organizations and individuals a full suite of organizational development and leadership solutions. From executive coaching to needs assessments, customized training, workshops, podcasts, and on-demand learning courses, we meet a challenge or need at its root and provide sustainable solutions to advance overall performance.
2022-10-2545 minThe Team GurusThe Team Gurus Podcast : Interview with Susan Goss-Brown, Chief DEI Officer + SVP Field Development, Leukemia and Lymphoma SocietyThroughout more than 25 years at Gap Inc., Susan Goss-Brown held various leadership roles across North American store operations for Athleta, Banana Republic, and the GAP brand. There, she was accountable for delivering profitable sales growth through the execution of customer and employee engagement strategies, human resources, operations, real estate, merchandising, and community engagement.
She is currently leveraging her savvy for business operations, passion for philanthropy, and lived experience in her current role at The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society where she's been a part of the team for the past year. At LLS, she is responsible for optimizing revenue a...
2022-01-1247 minThe Team GurusThe Team Gurus Podcast : Interview with Quendrida Whitmore, SVP Hospitality Industry and Executive Coach ExtraordinaireQuendrida Whitmore loves leadership! She has been in executive positions and leading teams for over 25 years. Her experience ranges from Target Corporation as a buyer, a director of loss prevention, and store operations Senior Director to a Regional Vice President with Ross Stores. She has taken on a new adventure in hospitality and real estate with WeWork as a Senior Vice President of Community, United States, and Canada. Quendrida’s passion for people inspired her to launch Quendrida Whitmore Coaching and Consulting. Where, as Coach Quen, she has helped leaders and organizations transform their futures over the last six ye...
2021-11-2939 minThe Team GurusThe Team Gurus Podcast : 5 Tips (in 10 Minutes) When You Have Too Many Meetings!Mary Walter and Brian Buford share five quick tips (in ten minutes) for when you are sacked with too many meetings, back-to-back Zoom calls, and have NO TIME!
2021-06-2510 minThe Team GurusThe Team Gurus Podcast : Interview with Nikki Harland, President of Paradies Lagardere’s Retail Division,As the President of Paradies Lagardere’s Retail Division, Nikki Harland oversees approximately $800 M in sales that contribute to the organization’s continued success and standing in the Travel Retail industry. She has leadership responsibility for Store Operations, Merchandising, Business Transformation and Human Resources. Nikki is also a founding member of the organization’s Diversity & Inclusion Council.
With over twenty-five years of business and specific HR experience, Harland has contributed to various change initiatives in her career that have propelled turnarounds and growth efforts within organizations. Her work experience includes responsibility in the dining, retail, entertainment, and professi...
2021-05-2445 minThe Team GurusThe Team Gurus Podcast : Interview with Bill Snyder, former Kansas State University head football coachGrab a chair, take a stroll, and settle in for a thoughtful and inspiring 60-minute conversation with Bill Snyder.
Bill Snyder was the head football coach at Kansas State from 1989 to 2005, and again from 2009 to 2018. He has been called “the architect of the greatest turnaround in college football history."
Coach Snyder took over a program in 1989 that was in the midst of a 27-game winless streak, but quickly advanced to 11-straight bowl games and tallied six 11-win seasons over a seven-year stretch. He is the winningest coach in Kansas State University history.
He is a...
2021-03-0658 minThe Team GurusThe Team Gurus Podcast : Interview with Melissa Wong, co-founder and CEO of Retail Zipline
Melissa Wong is a retail veteran and consumer technology expert, having spent over 10 years focusing on retail communications at Old Navy. During her time in one of North America’s largest retailers, she focused on improving the way the company communicated with the field, ultimately improving store execution and driving sales. She now serves as the founder and CEO of Zipline, a leading retail communication and store execution solution loved by tens of thousands of users.
2020-06-2247 minThe Team GurusThe Team Gurus Podcast : Interview with June Ryan, Rear Admiral, Cost Guard (Retired)Rear Admiral June Ryan is a motivational speaker, success trainer, and coach who draws upon her 35 years of military service to inspire and empower audiences across the country.
Admiral Ryan was a trailblazer achieving many historical achievements, including the first enlisted woman in the Coast Guard to rise to the rank of Rear Admiral, and the first woman to serve as the Military Advisor to the Secretary of Homeland Security. Rear Admiral Ryan also served as Military Aide to the President of the United States under President Clinton.
2020-04-211h 052020-03-2726 minThe Team GurusThe Team Gurus Podcast : Interview with Greg Hanifee, Associate Dean, Executive MBA Global Network at Kellogg School of ManagementGreg Hanifee, Associate Dean of Kellogg's Executive MBA Global Network, directs the Evanston and Miami EMBA programs and the partnerships of Kellogg's Global EMBA Network. He brings to Kellogg more than 25 years of international management experience in telecommunications, consulting and higher education. Most recently he was assistant dean of executive programs at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business.
2020-01-0656 minThe Team GurusThe Team Gurus Podcast : Interview with Derek Jenkins, former COO Fiesta Mart, Inc.Derek Jenkins is the former Chief Operations Officer at Fiesta Mart, Inc. His prior roles include SVP at Shopko Hometown Stores, EVP of Business Development at Urgent Care by TeleMD, SVP of External Relations, and SVP of Stores at Target (where he worked for 20 years). He has served on the boards of Brooklyn Academy of Music, Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation, and the Freedom Valley YMCA.
2019-07-2948 minThe Team GurusThe Team Gurus Podcast : Interview with Leah Swan, CHRO and leader of Enterprise Transformation at The Children's Place
Leah Swan is the CHRO and leader of Enterprise Transformation at The Children's Place. Leah has a track record of leading change and innovation as a senior leader at companies including Ross Stores, Gap Inc, Williams Sonoma, and the Walt Disney Company. Leah brings a unique perspective to her work, with a global vision developed as an Aussie working in the US.
2019-02-2050 minThe Team GurusThe Team Gurus Podcast : Interview with Chris Homewood, President at TriMark USAChris Homewood is President at TriMark USA, the country's largest restaurant supply company
and provider of food service supplies, restaurant equipment, restaurant supplies, and design
services. Prior to his role at TriMark, Chris motivated large teams to accomplish exceptional
results with leadership positions at Ross Stores, Target, and Circuit City. Chris served as an
Officer in the US Marine Corps and holds a BA from the University of San Diego. Chris is active
in his community, serving as a volunteer for the Los Angeles Police Foundation, the Anaheim
Family Justice Center, and the...
2019-02-0152 minThe Team GurusThe Team Gurus Podcast : Interview with Mariana Garavaglia, Director of Stores & Operations at AmazonMariana Garavaglia is the Director of Stores & Operations for Amazon Physical Retail. Mariana leads teams responsible for bringing the Amazon experience to life for customers at Amazon Books, Amazon 4-Star stores, and Amazon Pop-ups. Mariana has terrific advice for leaders, informed by her success at Amazon, her global work experience, and her MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. Join us for an enlightening discussion!
2019-01-1833 minThe Team GurusThe Team Gurus Podcast : Interview with Teri Pipe, Chief Well Being Officer/Dean of College of Nursing and Health InnovationTeri Pipe is Arizona State University's Chief Well-Being Officer and served as the Dean of the College of Nursing and Health Innovation at Arizona State University (ASU) from 2011-2018. She also is the founding director of ASU's Center for Mindfulness, Compassion and Resilience. Before coming to ASU in 2011, Professor Pipe served as director of Nursing Research and Innovation at Mayo Clinic Arizona and was an associate professor of nursing at the Mayo Clinic’s College of Medicine. In 2014 she was selected as a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Executive Nurse Fellow.
2018-12-1853 min2018-11-1225 min