The Leadership Exchange

In this episode of the Leadership Exchange podcast, Tracy Lee sits down with Atlanta-based investor, coach, and creator Von Wright for an honest conversation about purpose, transformation, and building a better future for yourself both personally and professionally. Von shares his journey from corporate success to finding deeper meaning in the “second half of life”, how personal challenges sparked radical change, and why he now focuses on impact-driven work. Von also breaks down why it’s important to invest in a healthy human economy and what he looks for in purpose-driven founders.Key points from this episode:- Von Wright shares how personal challenges pushed him to leave a successful corporate career and pursue more meaningful, purpose-driven work in the second half of his life.- He explains Zane Venture Fund’s focus on improving human health as a way to build a stronger, more sustainable economy.- He talks about creating Lifters of Men, a group that helps men through life transitions and encourages service, accountability, and support.- He describes what he looks for in founders, including a deep sense of purpose, lived experience with the problem, humility, and resilience.Chapters00:00 Trusting Yourself Over Outside Advice01:12 Meet Von Wright and the Many Roles He Plays04:47 What the Second Half of Life Really Means08:01 Futurecasting and the Pull to Create13:58 How Venture Capital Became a Path to Purpose15:43 What a Healthy Human Economy Looks Like21:04 Red Flags and Green Lights in Founders27:06 Von’s Personal Breaking Point and Reinvention32:28 The Question to Ask When You're at a Crossroads34:44 Tuning Out the Noise to Find Your PurposeFollow Von Wright on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vonwright/Follow Tracy Lee on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracyslee/This Dot Labs Twitter: https://x.com/ThisDotLabsThis Dot Media Twitter: https://x.com/ThisDotMediaThis Dot Labs Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisdotlabs/This Dot Labs Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thisdot/This Dot Labs Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/thisdotlabs.bsky.socialSponsored by This Dot Labs: ai.thisdot.co

In this episode of Leadership Exchange, Tracy Lee speaks with Karyn Mullins, a Fractional CTO, about how engineers can increase their impact by becoming more business-savvy. They unpack what it really means to “stay close to the money,” how understanding a company’s business model unlocks stronger engineering decisions, and why engineers should be involved early in strategic planning.Karyn shares practical advice for both engineers and business leaders: from how to identify a business-oriented engineer, to how cross-functional collaboration and exposure to customer needs can elevate careers and company outcomes. They also touch on AI, tech trends in healthcare, and why curiosity might be one of the most underrated engineering traits.Key takeaways from this episode:- Engineers who ask “why” instead of just “how” tend to be more aligned with business goals and create more impactful solutions.- Building relationships across departments like marketing and operations helps engineers gain context and improve decision-making.- Involving engineers early in strategic conversations leads to better outcomes, especially as AI shifts execution expectations.- Exposure to customer needs, through calls or direct feedback, helps engineers prioritize and design more valuable features.Follow Karyn Mullins on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karynmullins/Sponsored by This Dot: ai.thisdot.coChapters 00:00 – Why most AI projects fail and the need for early engineering involvement02:20 – “Stay close to the money”: what business-savvy engineering looks like06:00 – Why this mindset matters more now than ever09:18 – How to identify engineers who think like business partners13:47 – Practical ways engineers can become more business-aware14:17 – What leaders can do to support business alignment in engineering19:58 – The engineer’s role in customer experience and value delivery22:01 – Strategic engineers drive better business outcomes25:35 – A healthcare case study of early engineering impact28:13 – Three actions engineers can take this quarter30:23 – Rewarding curiosity and building inclusive cross-functional teams31:20 – Final thoughts: it’s a great time to be an engineer

Tracy Lee talks with Felicia Schwartz about how to scale AI the right way. They cover what actually works beyond the hype, how to pick the right use cases, and why getting buy-in from your team matters more than fancy models. Felicia shares her six-step framework for real AI adoption and lessons from companies that got it right and wrong.Keypoints from this episode:- Scaling AI starts with business value, not technology hype. Felicia emphasizes the need to align AI initiatives with real business goals and measurable outcomes.- Leaders must demystify AI for their teams. Success starts with education and cross-functional collaboration, especially at the leadership and middle management levels.- Start small with high-impact use cases. A clear framework helps prioritize initiatives based on feasibility and value, avoiding the trap of “just checking the AI box.”-Feedback loops and transparency drive adoption. Sharing wins, failures, and learnings openly is key to building trust and momentum across the organization.Follow Felicia Schwatz on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/felicia-schwartz/Sponsored by This Dot Labs: thisdot.co

In this episode of the Leadership Exchange podcast, Tracy Lee talks with Maria Thacker-Goethe, President and CEO of Georgia Life Sciences, to discuss the future of life sciences in Georgia and beyond. They talk about the growth of the local biotech and medtech ecosystem, the critical need for stronger innovation pipelines, and how collaborations between tech and life sciences are reshaping the industry.Maria shares insights on how AI, manufacturing, and public-private partnerships are driving change, the urgent need for federal investment to maintain U.S. leadership in biotech, and the realities of building a thriving life sciences workforce.Key Points from this Episode:- Georgia's life sciences ecosystem is growing rapidly, with strong university pipelines, a strategic location, and increasing focus on biomanufacturing—but continued collaboration and urgency are needed to stay competitive.- Cuts to NIH, NSF, and BARDA threaten the U.S.’s leadership in biotech. Maria stresses that public-private partnerships and sustained R&D investment are essential to maintain global standing.- AI, robotics, and advanced tech are transforming the sector. While life sciences move slower due to regulation, there's a growing opportunity to shorten timelines through thoughtful integration.- Life sciences is a high-risk, high-reward investment space. Scientific, regulatory, and reimbursement hurdles make returns slower and more complex than in tech, but the impact can be massive.Chapters0:00 – The risks and rewards of biotech01:17 – Atlanta’s life sciences ecosystem02:46 – What Georgia Life Sciences does05:11 – Georgia’s growth and competitive pressure07:29 – Innovation showcases and female founders10:14 – AI and emerging trends in life sciences13:07 – Biotech timelines vs tech timelines14:35 – How the US can stay globally competitive18:23 – Workforce, manufacturing, and trade policy24:02 – Investment risks in the life sciences sector30:07 – Biotech startup lifecycle and acquisition path32:43 – Where to learn more and stay connectedFollow Maria Thacker-Goethe on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariathacker/Sponsored by This Dot Labs: thisdotlabs.com

In this episode of The Leadership Exchange, Danny Thompson sits down with Mike Davey, VP of Product at Raptor Maps, to explore the impact of AI on product design, team efficiency, and the renewable energy sector. Mike shares lessons from working across fintech, adtech, and now clean tech—highlighting how AI can drive data efficiency without compromising quality. They unpack the human side of leadership, including the balance between empathy and accountability, the power of user manuals at work, and what separates good hires from great ones.Keypoints from this episode:- AI in renewable energy – Mike discusses how large language models (LLMs) can improve data quality and efficiency in industries like clean tech by reducing manual work and unlocking value from messy or incomplete datasets.- Balance between efficiency and oversight – The conversation highlights the importance of maintaining a human feedback loop when using AI tools to avoid over-reliance and ensure quality doesn’t suffer in the pursuit of speed.- Creativity vs. automation – Mike shares a cautionary tale about how auto-generated content can flatten user experiences, emphasizing that AI should amplify human value—not replace it.- Hiring in the AI era – From adding “just enough friction” to application forms to looking for outcome-oriented thinking, Mike explains how leaders can spot strong candidates and foster growth through structure, not micromanagement.Chapter0:00 – AI bios and loss of differentiation0:40 – Intro to Mike Davey2:10 – AI and data efficiency in clean tech5:03 – Over-automation risks7:05 – Human oversight in AI processes10:01 – RAG and agentic workflows12:09 – Creativity loss with AI-generated content14:29 – AI tools in product and design18:25 – AI in hiring and filtering candidates21:48 – Identifying future leaders25:23 – OKRs and outcome thinking27:01 – Empathy vs accountability29:07 – User manuals for team alignment31:12 – Soft skills and adaptability33:43 – Wrap upFollow Mike Davie on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daveymichael/Sponsored by This Dot: thisdot.co

In this episode of Leadership Exchange, Rob Ocel is joined by Eric Poon, Head of IT at Shoppa’s Toyota Material Handling, for a fascinating conversation on the future of industry, the evolving role of humans in automation, and the ethical responsibilities of computing.Eric shares his journey from Peloton and PepsiCo to leading IT at a company with bold ambitions to double in size in five years. He breaks down what Industry 4.0 brought us—edge computing, IoT, automation—and why Industry 5.0 is the next step: one where humans and machines work together, not in competition.They explore why removing people entirely from the equation doesn't work, how data strategy underpins everything from AI to operational success, and what it really means to design ethical systems. Expect stories (including a wild AI résumé rejection), real-world insights on data governance, and a call for more human-centered approaches in tech.Key points from this episode:- Industry 5.0 emphasizes human-machine collaboration: While Industry 4.0 focused on automation and efficiency through technologies like IoT and edge computing, Industry 5.0 highlights the need for humans to work alongside machines—especially for creativity, nuance, and adaptability.- You can’t automate good judgment: Efforts to fully replace human workers with robots often fail. Eric shares that human insight is still critical, particularly in tasks that require context, subtlety, or ethical considerations.- Data strategy is foundational to AI success: Rather than jumping straight to AI, organizations must first build strong data governance practices. Without clean, well-structured data, even the best AI models will produce poor results.- Ethical computing goes beyond compliance: Designing responsible systems requires more than just following the law. Eric calls for integrating philosophy and ethics into tech development—especially as AI becomes more embedded in decision-making.Chapters0:00 – Why AI needs good data2:15 – What is Industry 5.0?4:56 – Why automation alone isn’t enough10:35 – Building a data strategy before AI19:39 – Ethics and responsibility in computing27:40 – Real-world AI failures and accountability36:18 – Final thoughts and how to connect with EricFollow Eric Poon on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/epoon02/Sponsored by This Dot: thisdot.co

Join Tracy Lee, CEO of This Dot Labs, in this episode of Leadership Exchange as she sits down with Nachi Desai, a technology leader who has held CTO roles at Beckett Collectibles, Nothing Bundt Cakes, and Oriental Trading Company.In this conversation, Tracy and Nachi explore the challenges of transitioning from engineering to leadership and the importance of understanding the business side of technology. Nachi shares insights from his career, including the hard lessons learned through failure, the shift from focusing on personal success to empowering others, and the value of mentorship. He also discusses why engineers should "eat their own dog food"—immersing themselves in the products they build to truly understand user needs.Keypoints from this episode:- Transitioning from engineering to leadership requires a mindset shift. Leadership isn’t about being the smartest person in the room—it’s about enabling others to succeed. Engineers looking to step up must develop soft skills, business awareness, and the ability to drive consensus.- Failure is the best teacher in leadership growth. Nachiket shares how his biggest leadership lessons came from failures, including losing his first C-level job due to a lack of engagement with peers. True growth happens when leaders embrace failure as a learning opportunity.- Understanding the business is just as important as understanding the tech. Engineers who want to grow into leadership roles must go beyond coding and understand business fundamentals—listening to earnings calls, engaging with finance and marketing teams, and solving the right problems instead of chasing trends.- "Eat your own dog food" to build better products. A great leader and engineer should immerse themselves in their product. Whether it’s baking at Nothing Bundt Cakes or collecting trading cards at Beckett Collectibles, Nachiket emphasizes the importance of using the products you build to truly understand customer needs.Chapters0:00 – Intro: Tracy Lee & Nachi Desai on Leadership1:01 – Nachi’s Journey: From Engineering to CTO3:55 – Learning Through Failure & Coaching10:02 – Engineers vs. Leaders: Mindset Shifts13:10 – Why Business Context Matters for Engineers18:26 – Growth, Communication & Culture Lessons25:20 – Mentorship, Motivation & Endgames29:26 – Reflections & Final ThoughtsFollow Nachi Desai on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nachiket/Sponsored by This Dot: thisdot.co