It is our role at The CLiP to find a diverse selection of guests that lead or influence in various sectors of our communities. Curt Harnett, our guest in today's episode, offers both.  You might know him as a former Olympian, known for his cycling sprinting, or from his quintessentially 80’s hair shampoo commercial. You might have also heard his name or witnessed his leadership role as the Chef de Mission for the Canadian teams at the Rio Olympics and the Pan AM games in Toronto.  In our discussion, we talk a good deal about rebranding. One day you are an athlete, the next day you are not. How do you pick up your tool box of skills and move to the next thing, what ever that might be? This discussion is relevant way beyond athletics - all of us find ourselves in constant states of change. How do you pick yourself up to re-purpose when you need to? How do you leverage the good days when you have them? How do you harness the power of failure as you move forward?  Enjoy this and much more during this episode of The CLiP.

On this episode, we talk to Michael Redhill, author and Giller Prize winner. Michael lives in Toronto and is a published novelist, poet, and play-write. We sit with him in his home and discuss the creative process of writing, his growth and success, the changing landscape of Canadian media and book consumption, and how he works to complete a project. We are so happy to learn from a leader in a different industry and how we can draw parallels for finding success and motivation. Michael’s most recent novel Bellevue Square is the first in a trilogy, set in Toronto. Read more here.  

We are very excited to announce our guest, Martha McCabe. Two-time Canadian Olympic Swimmer, Canadian swim captain in the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics, and Founder of a new organization called Head to Head. With a huge appreciation for swimmers’ hard work, perseverance, and dedication, we were excited to hear Martha’s story. In this episode, we get into what sparks that Olympic drive, how support systems are crucial to success in any field, and the difficulty transitioning from a career as a professional athlete into the 'real world.’ Lastly, we talk about Martha’s new organization Head to Head, designed to pair Olympians with young athletes and sport teams. This provides financial support to retired Olympians as well as a mentoring outlet for young athletes.

For all episodes of The Clip visit theclip.vlaadco.com | Follow us on Twitter @Vlaadco | Subscribe to The Clip to stay up to date with Canadian Leaders and Entrepreneurs! ~ Janet Ecker is the former Minister of Finance of Ontario, and the first woman to deliver a budget in the province. She was also Minister of Education, Minister of Community and Social services and Government house leader. Before a life in politics, she had a role as a director of policy for the College of Physicians and surgeons of Ontario. She currently sits on a wide range of public and private boards, agencies and government advisory committees and is a fellow of the C.D. Howe Institute and a member of its national counsel. In 2016 she received the Order of Canada and is one of the founders of Equal Voice a national multi-partisan organization working to elect more women. We had a candid and educational interview about leadership, the difference between public and private decision making, and Canada's political position. We loved Janet's passion and energy and hope you do as well.   For up to date episodes of The CLiP follow us on twitter @VlaadCo | Please leave us a review on iTunes.

Lisa Lisson, President of FedEx Express Canada, sits down with us in this episode of The CLiP. Lisa’s life seemed perfect: she had married her high school sweetheart, applied her marketing degree to a position at FedEx Express Canada, and risen to become a Vice President, and later President, of the company. One night, after putting their four children to bed, her husband, Patrick, marvelled that their lives seemed perfectly happy. Just a few hours later, everything changed. Assumed the job first female, One moment Lisa was sleeping beside Patrick, and the next, she was kneeling on the floor beside his unconscious body frantically administering CPR. Patrick had had a massive heart attack and was in a coma, and the doctors were blunt: there was no hope. But for the next two years, Lisa stood by his side and awaited a miracle, while continuing to balance life as a high-powered executive and mother of four. In this episode, we discuss Lisa’s inspirational story about how she rose to the top in a man’s world, and triumphed over adversity to lead a fulfilling life, living each day with purpose and gratitude. For up to date episodes of The CLiP follow us on twitter @VlaadCo (https://twitter.com/vlaadco?lang=en) | Please leave us a review on iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-clip/id1203490100?mt=2).

Randy Cass is our guest in this episode of the CLiP. He is the founder and CEO of Nest Wealth, a Canadian Robo Advisor.  If you are not familiar with this term, a robo advisor is a service that uses specialized software to do the job of wealth managers or investment advisors.  It manages your money at a fraction of the cost of a traditional professional investment advisor. Nest Wealth is not a multi-billion dollar company…yet. We have a candid discussion with Randy about being an entrepreneur, his successes and failures along the way and what leadership lessons he learned.  He talks about the various iterations of his career that got him to the point of having one of the most talked about robo advisory companies in the country. For up to date episodes of The CLiP follow us on twitter @VlaadCo (https://twitter.com/vlaadco?lang=en) | Please leave us a review on iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-clip/id1203490100?mt=2).

Dominic Barton, who is near the end of his term as McKinsey and Company’s appointed Global Managing Partner, travels the world over 200 days of the year and his days are structured, efficient and jammed to the rafters.  Thus, it was a real treat to talk with him privately for nearly an hour.  At the McKinsey Canadian head office, stunningly situated amongst UofT and surrounding museums, he joins us for this episode of The Clip. Dominic is Canadian but runs a global business and is very passionate on the long term sustainability of our country and business in general. With this background, his views and ideas come from the heart but are paired with the benefit of best practices gathered from all over the planet. He has authored a long list of articles, almost as long as the list of awards he has gathered for his personal and professional contributions.  Dominic is also the co-chair of the Focusing Capital on the Long Term initiative, which we discuss in this episode. The initiative seeks to develop practical structures, metrics, and approaches for longer-term behaviours in the investment and business worlds.  We hope you enjoy this episode as much as we enjoyed the interview. For up to date episodes of The CLiP follow us on twitter @VlaadCo (https://twitter.com/vlaadco?lang=en) | Please leave us a review on iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-clip/id1203490100?mt=2).

John Bitove Jr. is our guest on this episode of The CLiP. If his name rings a bell for you, it should. Not only is he responsible for bringing Taco Bell and KFC, as well as XM Radio to Canada, he is the founder of a little NBA team called the Toronto Raptors —have you heard of them? In this episode, John tells us about his 2008 Olympic bid for Toronto, and his experiences growing up in an entrepreneurial family, and how “there’s a certain mindset…an aggressiveness.” However aggressive John Bitove has been, his success clearly stems from a well built foundation of good leadership, learnt-from-mistakes, and a passion for getting it right.   For up to date episodes of The CLiP follow us on twitter @VlaadCo (https://twitter.com/vlaadco?lang=en) | Please leave us a review on iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-clip/id1203490100?mt=2).

In this episode, we speak with General Rick Hillier, the former Chief of Defence Staff of the Canadian Forces. He commanded NATO’s Stabilization Force’s Multinational Division in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and was the commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance in Kabul, Afghanistan. In this podcast, General Hillier cites many examples of military leadership as they relate to business, community and family.

In this episode of The CLiP, we sit down with three very passionate and dynamic members of Girls 20. They describe the program and initiatives, and speak to the underlying fundamentals of diversification within boards, management, and corporate culture, and the importance of training young people to become leaders. Listen in now, and should you want to learn more, visit https://girls20.org/ (https://girls20.org/).