CEOs and ABCs

Kevin Rice
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CEOs & ABCs is the podcast for high performers who lead at work and show up at home. Hosted by Kevin Rice, this show features candid conversations with executives, founders, and rising leaders about how they’ve advanced their careers while staying present for the moments that matter most... raising kids, building strong partnerships, and prioritizing their health. Each episode dives into executive career advice, leadership development, work-life balance, and the realities of parenting while managing demanding professional lives. Whether you’re navigating promotions, team growth, toddler tantrums, or time management, you’ll find insights and inspiration to lead with intention - both at work and at home. ️ New episodes weekly Topics: Career growth, executive mindset, parenting, burnout prevention, productivity, and more ‍‍‍ For working parents, driven professionals, and leaders building meaningful lives Subscribe now and join the journey from "boardrooms to bedtime stories."

  1. 3d ago ·  Video

    Isabelle Brenton (IPG Media Brands, Meta & Razorfish) A Conversation on: How to Navigate Professional Growth While Embracing Personal Identity and Resilience.

    In this episode of CEOs & ABCs, Kevin sits down with Isabelle Brenton, former Chief Communications Officer at IPG Mediabrands and recipient of the 2026 Working Mother of the Year award from She Runs It, to explore what it actually costs to hide a part of yourself at work and what becomes possible when you finally stop. Isabelle spent the early years of her career in fast-paced agency and media environments, motivated by external validation and driven to prove herself at every level. When she became a mother, she did not slow down. She had two children 20 months apart, returned from both maternity leaves as quickly as she could, traveled to Asia when her son was five months old, and spent years removing her wedding ring before job interviews and moving family photos out of her background on calls so no one could tell she had children. She was not hiding her family because anyone told her to. She was hiding them because of a story she was telling herself about what ambition was supposed to look like. The shift came slowly, then all at once. A culture change at Meta where colleagues openly led meetings by talking about their kids. Then COVID, which put her children literally in the background of every Zoom call and made concealment impossible. Then a layoff, right after receiving one of the most meaningful professional honors of her career, which forced a different kind of reckoning entirely. Kevin and Isabelle trace the full arc: from people-pleaser to senior executive, from compartmentalized mother to someone who told her kids she was laid off the same night it happened, cried through the conversation, and made it a lesson in resilience. This is a conversation about identity, the hidden cost of not bringing your whole self to work, and what it means to model the things you most want your children to learn. In This Episode, You'll Learn: Why high-achieving women often feel pressure to conceal their identity as parents and what that concealment actually costs How external validation drove Isabelle's early career and why the shift to intrinsic motivation changed everything What it was like to step into one of the most senior roles of her career at the same moment she was becoming a mother Why the culture at Meta became a turning point in how she saw herself as a working parent How COVID made it impossible to keep her two identities separate and why that turned out to be a gift What she told her children the night she was laid off and why her husband told her she did not have to How she is using her career transition to model resilience, self-worth, and healthy decision-making for her kids Why being present is not about being available, it is about actually listening when you are in the room What she is looking for in her next role now that she is no longer willing to leave her whole self at the door Why parenthood became her greatest professional asset once she stopped treating it as a liability Top Takeaways: Hiding your identity as a parent does not make you look more committed. It just means you are carrying the weight alone. The shift from external to intrinsic motivation is when careers stop feeling like performance and start feeling like purpose. Parenthood made Isabelle more ambitious, not less. Embracing it is what accelerated her career, not what slowed it down. Your kids do not need you to be perfect. They need to see you navigate something hard and come out the other side. Being present is a choice you make in the small moments. Your daughter knows whether you heard what she just read to you. A layoff is not just a professional event. It is a parenting moment. How you handle it is what your kids will remember. Culture change happens in the opening of a meeting. When l... Chapters (00:00:00) - Navigating Career and Motherhood(00:12:42) - The Pressure of Professional Expectations(00:23:44) - Embracing Authenticity at Work(00:25:37) - Navigating Career Changes During COVID(00:28:59) - Recognition and Resilience in Parenting(00:34:54) - Intentional Parenting and Community Engagement(00:37:37) - Criteria for Career Advancement(00:39:50) - Being Present with Children(00:42:06) - Parenthood as a Career Asset

    Isabelle Brenton (IPG Media Brands, Meta & Razorfish) A Conversation on: How to Navigate Professional Growth While Embracing Personal Identity and Resilience.

  2. Jul 6 ·  Video

    Anthony Valletta (Bartaco, Birdcall, Del Frisco's) The Cost of Travelling 240 Nights a Year and What It Cost Him to Come Back Home #40

    In this episode of CEOs & ABCs, Kevin sits down with Anthony Valletta, CEO of BarTaco, to explore what two decades in hospitality taught him about making people feel like a priority, and how long it took him to bring that same thinking home. Anthony has built his career across Michelin-starred dining rooms, fast casuals, and everything in between. Today he leads BarTaco with a single filter: does this decision make the guest feel like we're thinking about them first? It is a deceptively simple question that runs through every menu decision, every hire, and every conversation in the business. But getting here cost something. Anthony spent two years as a COO living in hotels 240 nights a year, missing his son's first steps, and coming home to a five-year-old who had learned not to get too excited when dad walked through the door. He describes standing in his own driveway on the verge of tears before driving back to the airport, knowing something had to give. Kevin and Anthony trace what it actually took to rebuild that connection, one blocked calendar entry, one bedtime affirmation, one bouquet of flowers at a gymnastics meet at a time. They get honest about the Disneyland Dad trap, the impossibility of disciplining kids you barely see, and why presence is not about volume of time. It is about not being in two places at once when you are in one of them. This is a conversation about career ambition, the cost of getting it wrong, and the small rituals that quietly add up to a life. In This Episode, You'll Learn: Why the guest-first filter works as a decision framework in business and why a version of it belongs at home What 240 hotel nights a year actually does to a family and how long repair takes Why the Disneyland Dad dynamic is unfair to everyone, including you How to use your calendar as a values document, not just a logistics tool Why Anthony deletes and rebuilds his entire calendar every three months What it means to coach your own kids and what six-year-olds in full lacrosse pads will teach you about leadership Why the five minutes before a child goes to sleep are the most impressionable of their day How working for someone who does not share your values about family will quietly shape the choices you make Why time is not something you find, it is something you design What return on time means and why it matters more than return on investment Top Takeaways: Every yes is a no to something else. The clearer you are about that trade-off, the better your decisions get. Your kids are going to grow whether you're present for it or not. That window does not wait. Being physically home is not the same as being present. If you are on your phone, they see it. The moments that matter most are not the big ones. They are the repeated small ones your kids start to expect and protect. Working for someone who does not value what you value will cost you more than a better title or a bigger salary is worth. Discipline is not punishment. It is teaching. And you cannot teach a child you are not connected to. Return on time is the only metric that actually compounds in both directions. About Anthony Valletta: Anthony Valletta is CEO of BarTaco, a fast-casual hospitality brand known for its guest-obsessed culture. He has spent two decades in the industry spanning Michelin-starred dining to fast casuals, building a career around the belief that a guest-first business is the only sustainable kind. He lives in Connecticut with his wife and three kids, coaches all three of them across multiple sports, and is still working on leaving the calendar blank long enough to think. If this episode made you rethink leadership, career growth, work-life balance, or work... Chapters (00:00:00) - Career Journey in Hospitality(00:03:09) - Traits of a Successful CEO(00:05:55) - The Challenge of Leadership(00:08:18) - Guest-First Philosophy in Business(00:10:53) - Balancing Family and Career(00:13:48) - Coaching and Parenting Dynamics(00:16:18) - Navigating Career Demands and Family Life(00:21:44) - Navigating Parenting Challenges(00:24:41) - The Shift from Executive to Parent(00:29:42) - Balancing Work and Family Life(00:34:38) - Intentionality in Parenting(00:38:48) - The Importance of Reflection and Adaptation(00:43:06) - Valuing Time with Family(00:45:17) - Creating Memorable Moments with Kids

    Anthony Valletta (Bartaco, Birdcall, Del Frisco's) The Cost of Travelling 240 Nights a Year and What It Cost Him to Come Back Home #40

  3. Jun 30 ·  Video

    Desiree Motamedi (Meta, Shopify, Google & Salesforce) How to Implement AI into your Business and Home Life & How to Create AI Safety for your Children at Home #39

    In this episode of CEOs & ABCs, Kevin sits down with Desiree Motamedi, Chief Marketing Officer of Salesforce's NextGen platform, to explore what happens when AI stops being a work tool and starts becoming a way of life, at the office and at home. Desiree has built her career across Adobe, Google, Meta, and Shopify before landing at Salesforce, where she now oversees a 12 billion dollar portfolio and is building the infrastructure to scale AI agents safely across her entire organisation. She walks Kevin through what AI maturity actually looks like beyond a chat interface: governance, hosting, access controls, and the discipline required to keep experimentation from becoming chaos. But the real heart of this conversation is what happens when that same curiosity comes home. Desiree built her own personal operating system, uploading her bloodwork, her finances, and her calendar into an AI agent that nudges her to drink water and caught a missing beneficiary on her retirement accounts. Her 12-year-old son built a paper trading agent with a college mentor and turned 100,000 dollars into 168,000. Together they are building an AI-generated YouTube channel about cereal box characters. Kevin and Desiree also get honest about the harder parts: the early-career fear of stepping away during maternity leave, the boundaries she had to learn the hard way, and the one thing she insists AI will never replace, the simple act of looking another person in the eye. This is a conversation about curiosity, governance, and what it means to raise kids who are fluent in AI and still deeply human. In This Episode, You'll Learn: Why "are you a doctor, are you saving lives" became the mental model that changed how Desiree set boundaries at work What she wishes she had done differently during her second maternity leave, and the advice she now gives her own team How Salesforce is building governance, hosting, and feedback loops to scale AI agents safely across a large organisation Why context, not the prompt itself, is what separates a generic AI output from a genuinely differentiated one What it looks like to build a personal AI operating system for your health, finances, and calendar How a 12-year-old built a real paper trading agent with a college mentor and grew it 68 percent Why human connection is the one skill Desiree is most deliberate about protecting in her sons How becoming a parent made her more structured at work, not less ambitious What the shift to headless platforms and natural language interfaces means for the future of marketing work Simple ways any marketer can start building real AI skills beyond a chat window Top Takeaways: You are probably not saving lives. Most things can wait until tomorrow, and treating everything as urgent only trains your team to expect the same from you. The advice Desiree gives every parent on her team now: take the time. The work will still be there. The moments with a newborn will not. AI is only as good as the context you give it. A two-paragraph prompt with real history will always outperform a generic brief. Building governance and infrastructure before scaling is what separates safe experimentation from real exposure. A personal AI operating system can catch what busy humans miss, from hydration to unassigned retirement beneficiaries. Curiosity-led learning, whether it is a trading agent or a YouTube channel, builds skills no curriculum can replicate. No amount of technology replaces eye contact, a handshake, and genuinely asking how someone is doing. About Desiree Motamedi: Desiree Motamedi is Chief Marketing Officer of Salesforce's NextGen platform, where she leads a 12 billion dollar portfolio and is building the company... Chapters (00:00:00) - Introduction and Personal Background(00:01:33) - Career Journey and Leadership at Salesforce(00:37:12) - Lessons Learned from Parenthood and Career(00:43:02) - Innovative Projects with Kids and AI(00:47:43) - Preparing Kids for an AI-Driven Future(00:49:29) - Getting Started with AI for Marketers(00:51:20) - Closing Remarks and Future Outlook

    Desiree Motamedi (Meta, Shopify, Google & Salesforce) How to Implement AI into your Business and Home Life & How to Create AI Safety for your Children at Home #39

  4. Jun 23 ·  Video

    Jennifer Kattula (Microsoft, Meta, & America Express) A Conversation on: Spearheading AI at Work and at Home, Bringing Workplace Systems into the Home & Creating an Intentional Life #38

    In this episode of CEOs & ABCs, Kevin sits down with Jennifer Kattula, Global CMO of Microsoft Advertising, to explore what happens when a systems thinker applies the same rigour she uses to lead AI transformation at scale to the way she designs her family life at home. Jennifer's path to one of the most senior marketing roles in tech started in chemical engineering, wound through the early days of Meta, and landed at Microsoft, where she is now leading one of the most ambitious AI adoption programmes in enterprise marketing. But the more interesting story is what happened when she became a mother. She did not plateau. She accelerated. And she has a clear theory about why. Kevin and Jennifer dig into how she is building AI agents that save her team hundreds of hours a week, why she never starts her morning in email, and what it actually means to spend your time only on the things only you can do. Then the conversation turns to something equally ambitious: the family brand. Jennifer and her husband wrote a one-pager before they even got married, run a yearly family visioning session with wine and spreadsheets, and have built five house rules their kids can actually recite. She has since turned that entire framework into an application called House Rules, designed to help any family build their own manifesto with intention. This is a conversation about AI, ambition, design thinking, and what it looks like to treat your family with the same strategic seriousness you bring to work. In This Episode, You'll Learn: - Why the only thing that prepares you for AI disruption is getting your hands dirty with the tools now - How Jennifer is leading AI transformation at Microsoft Advertising and what enterprise adoption actually requires beyond usage numbers - What it means to spend your time only on what only you can uniquely do, at work and at home - Why becoming a mother made Jennifer more focused, not less, and how ambition and parenthood can compound - How she and her husband built a shared family vision before they got married and why they still revisit it every year - What a family brand actually is and how to build one using the same frameworks that make companies great - How the House Rules app works and why the people who have used it say they feel seen - Why structure and frameworks create more freedom, not less, especially at home - How Jennifer thinks about AI and kids: what she is protecting, what she is introducing, and what she does not have figured out yet - What robots cannot replace and why leaning into your weirdness is a genuine competitive advantage Key Takeaways: - Spend your time on what only you can uniquely do. Everything else is a delegation or outsourcing decision. - AI adoption does not equal AI effectiveness. Role-specific solutions and clean data underneath are what make it actually work. - Becoming a parent forced a focus that ambition alone never did. Constraints, used well, are a creative advantage. - Families need a brand: a mission, values, operating principles, and a shared sense of how you show up in the world. - Structure is not the enemy of presence. It is what makes presence possible. - You cannot lead a transformation you are not personally inside of. Model the behaviour, do not just mandate it. - The best question in any interview right now: what are you building? About Jennifer Kattula: Jennifer Kattula is Global CMO of Microsoft Advertising, where she leads brand, demand generation, and AI transformation across one of the world's largest advertising platforms. Before Microsoft, she spent nearly 12 years at Meta, building and scaling marketing functions from the ground up across a range of disciplines. A trained chemical engineer turned marketer, Jennifer brings systems thinking to everything she touches,... Chapters (00:00:00) - Introduction and Jennifer's Career Journey(00:02:22) - From Chemical Engineering to Tech Marketing(00:06:25) - Learning and Building at Meta(00:09:41) - Leveraging AI for Career Growth(00:19:50) - Teaching my Kids AI(00:33:51) - Creating Family Vision and Intentionality(00:40:02) - Family as a Brand: Values and Identity(00:43:38) - Using AI at Home and in Parenting(00:43:39) - Building the House Rules App for Families(00:47:13) - Ambition, Motherhood, and Focus(00:53:30) - Closing Remarks and Future Aspirations

    Jennifer Kattula (Microsoft, Meta, & America Express) A Conversation on: Spearheading AI at Work and at Home, Bringing Workplace Systems into the Home & Creating an Intentional Life #38

  5. Jun 15 ·  Video

    Becca Chambers (LinkedIn Top Voice & Scale Venture Partners), A Conversation on Overcoming Imposter Syndrome, Creating Safe Team Environments & Supporting Children's Unique Values #37

    In this episode of CEOs & ABCs, Kevin sits down with Becca Chambers, Chief Marketing Officer of Scale Venture Partners and one of LinkedIn's most followed voices on authentic leadership, to explore what happens when you stop trying to fit a mold that was never made for you. Becca opens with a story most high-performers will recognise but rarely say out loud: she started her career with a failed startup, a falling out with her co-founder, and a chip on her shoulder that quietly became her fuel. From there she built some of the highest-retention teams in the industry, not through metrics and mandates, but through psychological safety, a no-assholes rule, and the willingness to absorb the hard stuff so her team never had to. What makes this conversation different is where that instinct came from. Becca went to a progressive Bay Area elementary school that invented the concept of EQ and taught emotional intelligence from kindergarten on. That foundation shaped everything: how she leads, how she parents a neurodivergent son who is now one of the most self-aware kids you will ever meet, and how she thinks about building environments where people can actually show up as themselves. Kevin and Becca also get honest about the season she is in right now: too much on her plate, not enough in the tank, and still finding the pockets of presence that will actually matter. No tidy resolution. Just real. This is a conversation about authenticity, emotional intelligence, and the quiet power of building a world where round pegs do not have to apologise for being round. In This Episode, You'll Learn: Why imposter syndrome is a signal that you are in exactly the right place How psychological safety gets built in practice, not in theory What a no-assholes policy actually looks like when it gets tested Why emotional labour is a leadership skill that rarely gets named or credited How one progressive elementary school taught EQ from kindergarten and why it changed everything What to do when your child's struggles force you to rethink how you define success Why neurodivergent kids, and leaders, often outperform when the environment finally fits them How to give your team and your kids autonomy without losing the guardrails Why context switching is one of the most underrated skills you can teach a child How to stay present as a parent when you are in a grinding season professionally Top Takeaways: Imposter syndrome means you are learning while doing. That is the goal. When it goes away, it is time to go bigger. Functional teams do not show up for shareholder value. They show up for each other. The shareholder value follows. Psychological safety is not a feeling. It is a decision you make every day about what you allow and what you absorb. Emotional intelligence starts with knowing yourself. Everything else is downstream from that. Your kid is not who you want them to be. They are who they are. Your job is to help them become the best version of that. Presence is not about volume of time. It is about the quality of the pockets you protect. When I say no, they know it means something. That only works if you are not saying no all the time. About Becca Chambers: Becca Chambers is Chief Marketing Officer of Scale Venture Partners and a LinkedIn Top Voice known for candid, high-engagement content on authentic leadership, psychological safety, and showing up as your whole self at work. She has built and led some of the highest-retention marketing and communications teams in the industry across cybersecurity, enterprise tech, and venture. She lives in the Bay Area with her husband and two kids, and is a vocal advocate for neurodivergent employees and... Chapters (00:00:00) - How to Win at Work With Imposter Syndrome(00:00:19) - CEO & ABCs: How to Build Confidence After Failure(00:01:22) - CEO and ABCs: Becca's Life(00:02:06) - You're a Round Peg in a Square Hole(00:05:19) - In the Elevator With Tim Draper(00:10:44) - Rebuilding Your Career With a PowerPoint Class(00:13:27) - In the Elevator With Impressions(00:18:50) - How to Become a Leader of People(00:24:40) - One of the Leaders' Quotes(00:27:51) - The First Priority of a Leader's Life(00:32:02) - No Hassles for Teams(00:35:17) - High EQ in the Workplace(00:41:26) - How to Get Through That First Year Of Anxiety(00:44:15) - How to Develop Your EQ Skills(00:46:34) - How To Prioritize Everything For Your Kids(00:51:27) - What Do You Want Your Kids To Remember About You?(00:53:10) - A Parent's Talk About Connecting To Himself

    Becca Chambers (LinkedIn Top Voice & Scale Venture Partners), A Conversation on Overcoming Imposter Syndrome, Creating Safe Team Environments & Supporting Children's Unique Values #37

  6. Jun 9 ·  Video

    Shachar Orren (Co-Founder EX.CO & Playbuzz) The Personal and Professional Sacrifices of Building a Start-Up & Choosing To Delay Family #36

    In this episode of CEOs & ABCs, Kevin sits down with Shachar Orren, co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer of EX.CO, to explore what it really costs to build something from nothing and what becomes available when family arrives after you have already built yourself. Shachar spent over a decade growing EX.CO from six people to a 115-person global company, helping publishers and media companies survive and grow in an industry being reshaped by AI. That journey required years of pivots, a full rebrand, and the kind of relentless focus that leaves little room for much else. She describes EX.CO as her first child and means it. But the story behind the story is harder to tell. A marriage, a divorce, a move back to Tel Aviv, a new relationship, becoming a bonus mother to a seven-year-old, and then having her son Max at 40 while navigating a company at full tilt and a war breaking out in Israel the day after she flew home from receiving a Working Mother of the Year award. Kevin and Shachar trace the real cost of ambition, why the hustle years actually gave her something, what maternity leave forced her to confront about her leadership, and what it means to build a life on your own timeline when the world has a different plan in mind. This is a conversation about reinvention, timing, and the unexpected gift of doing things out of order. In This Episode, You'll Learn: Why building a startup and building a family require the same emotional infrastructure What years of searching for product-market fit actually does to a leadership team How to know when to pivot, when to adjust, and when to stay the course What maternity leave reveals that no leadership audit ever will Why becoming a mother later gave Shachar something earlier motherhood could not have How to lead with vulnerability without losing your team's confidence What bonus motherhood teaches you about earning trust that biology does not automatically grant Why the best version of yourself as a leader and as a parent is often the same version How to carry something difficult at work without making it everyone else's problem What it looks like to build a family that does not follow the expected sequence and still works Top Takeaways: Product-market fit announces itself. When 80 to 90 percent of your calls end in yes, you have found it. Until then, keep moving. Hustle years get a bad reputation. For some people, they build the career and the confidence that makes everything else possible. A great manager makes themselves unnecessary. If everything falls apart when you leave, that is not leadership. That is dependence. Maternity leave is the most honest executive audit you will ever have. You find out what only you can do, what others can handle, and what never needed to exist. Vulnerability in leadership is not about falling apart. It is about giving people context so they can trust what they are seeing. Doing things out of order is not failure. For some people, it is the only order that was ever going to work. Confidence is what makes presence possible. Shachar could enjoy motherhood more because there was less fear underneath it. About Shachar Orren: Shachar Orren is co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer of EX.CO, a video and revenue platform helping publishers and connected TV companies grow in an AI-driven media landscape. She joined the company as employee number six and helped lead the pivot and rebrand that defined its current identity. Before a decade in tech, she was a senior journalist at two of Israel's largest newspapers. She was recently recognized as Working Mother of the Year by She Runs It and splits her time between New York and Tel Aviv. Chapters (00:00:00) - Introduction(00:02:24) - Winning Working Mother of the Year(00:05:34) - Behind The Scenes Building EX.CO(00:11:59) - The Personal Story Behind Building a Start-up(00:16:18) - Transitioning from Journalism to Tech(00:26:30) - Personal Sacrifices and Building a Family(00:29:39) - Navigating Showing Up Fully in Difficult Times(00:34:24) - Taking Maternity Leave as a Co-Founder(00:39:30) - How Motherhood Shapes You(00:42:29) - Building a Modern Family(00:47:27) - Advice for Aspiring Executives

    Shachar Orren (Co-Founder EX.CO & Playbuzz) The Personal and Professional Sacrifices of Building a Start-Up & Choosing To Delay Family #36

  7. Jun 1 ·  Video

    Matt Eisenacher (First Watch, The Piada Group, Abbott Nutrition): Modelling Priorities for Your Team, Embracing Adversity & Individualized Leadership and Parenting #35

    In this episode of CEOs & ABCs, Kevin sits down with Matt Eisenacher, Chief Brand Officer at First Watch, to explore what it actually takes to become a leader of leaders and why the hardest part isn't learning new skills, it's letting go of old ones. Matt opens with a story most high-performers will recognise: the moment you realise your presence in the room is the problem. From removing himself from creative meetings to learning when not to give the answer, Matt shares how the leap from operator to executive demands a fundamentally different relationship with control, credit, and trust. He explains why the strongest vision is the one that makes your team feel empowered enough to fail and why stepping back is sometimes the most powerful leadership move you can make. But this conversation goes deeper than the boardroom. Matt and Kevin trace the same instinct across parenting three kids at wildly different stages, a cross-country move that upended a near-perfect life in Ohio, and a spouse who, more than once, saw what he couldn't. Whether it's reading a 17-year-old's need for space or a direct report's need for acknowledgement, Matt's core insight is the same: the people around you need different things, and your job is to figure out what that is before you try to lead them. This is a conversation about presence, permission, and the quiet discipline of knowing when to speak and when to listen. In This Episode, You'll Learn: - Why removing yourself from creative decisions is one of the most powerful leadership moves you can make - How to build psychological safety without losing accountability - The difference between setting a vision and steering the outcome - What the Florida move taught one family about adversity, resilience, and what comfort really costs - How youth sports becomes one of the best leadership classrooms available - Why the same DISC framework that shapes your team management applies directly to parenting - What modelling behaviour actually looks like and why your team is watching more closely than you think - How to read what your kids need versus what they're asking for - Why the 9 o'clock conversation is the one that matters most - What it means to let someone fail, at work and at home, and when to step in anyway Top Takeaways: - When you become a leader of leaders, your job is enabling, not doing. Most people know that. Few make the change. - If you constantly step in, the problem is usually your vision, not your team's capability. - Hide your own failures and your team has no permission to have theirs. - Your team won't follow your words. They will follow your choices. - Observe before you act. The parent and manager who does this will always outperform the one who leads with solutions. - Adversity is a gift you can give your kids. Comfort has a cost that doesn't always show up until later. - At home, efficiency is a liability. The conversation your child needs to have will not happen on your schedule. - Hard limits and guardrails are not the same thing. Knowing which one a moment calls for is most of the job. About Matt Eisenacher: Matt Eisenacher is Chief Brand Officer at First Watch, the daytime dining brand he has helped grow from 200 to over 500 locations, including through a successful IPO. Before First Watch, Matt held senior marketing and brand roles across the restaurant and food industry, building high-performing creative teams grounded in trust, clarity, and culture. Known for his directness, his instinct for talent, and his commitment to family, Matt brings the same values to his team in Bradenton that he brings home to his wife Brooke and their three children. Chapters (00:00:00) - How to Get the Team to Think Creatively(00:00:17) - How to be a Leader of Leaders(00:01:39) - First Watch's Chief Brand Officer on the Company's Growth(00:04:47) - Are You a Different Leader Today?(00:07:08) - Grow as a Leader:(00:12:18) - How Sports Affects My Daughter's Life(00:17:58) - Married Couple on The Florida Move(00:22:43) - How to Manage People's Lives(00:25:56) - Top Executives on Parenting(00:30:28) - Employees Share Their Values at First Watch(00:35:06) - Dad on How to Parent Different Kids(00:41:14) - Senior Leaders: Model the Behavior(00:46:36) - The Importance of Family Time(00:47:32) - How Do You Want Your Kids To Feel About You?(00:51:18) - CEO and ABCs: Balancing Work and Family

    Matt Eisenacher (First Watch, The Piada Group, Abbott Nutrition): Modelling Priorities for Your Team, Embracing Adversity & Individualized Leadership and Parenting #35

  8. May 26 ·  Video

    Eliot Hamlisch (Amtrak, AMC Theatres & Wyndham Hotels) How To Be Promoted Every Two Years, The Cost of Comfort Zones & Staying Connected with Family During Travel Seasons

    In this episode of CEOs & ABCs, Kevin sits down with Eliot Hamlisch, Chief Commercial Officer at Amtrak, to explore what it really means to lead with humanity, at work and at home. From transforming customer experience at some of the world’s biggest brands to raising two children while balancing a demanding executive career, Eliot shares the mindset shifts, rituals, and values that have shaped both his leadership and fatherhood. Together they unpack why success without happiness isn’t success at all, how to compartmentalize work to become more present with family, and why some of the best leaders are simply great listeners. Eliot also reflects on career-defining moments that pushed him far beyond his comfort zone, including being unexpectedly asked to lead teams and functions he’d never managed before. This conversation is a masterclass in leadership, optimism, parenting, resilience, and building a life you actually enjoy living. In this episode: Why customer experience starts with understanding human psychology The surprising rituals Eliot uses to stay connected to his children while travelling How to compartmentalize work and be fully present at home The importance of helping children build resilience through adversity Why making your boss’s life easier accelerates career growth Lessons from leading transformation at legacy brands like Amtrak The power of optimism and choosing happiness as a measure of success How ambitious professionals can pursue balance without sacrificing family Key Takeaways: The work will always be there. Presence with family won’t. Happiness may be the most important definition of success. Growth often comes from saying yes before you feel fully ready. Children learn values less from what we say and more from what we consistently model. Leadership at home and leadership at work require many of the same skills: listening, patience, empathy, and resilience. About Eliot Hamlisch: Eliot Hamlisch is the Chief Commercial Officer at Amtrak, where he is leading a customer experience transformation rooted in hospitality and human connection. Throughout his career, including leadership roles at American Express, Wyndham, AMC Theatres, and Deloitte, he has built a reputation for understanding consumer psychology, driving growth, and leading through change. Chapters (00:00:00) - Guest Background and Introduction(00:02:29) - Customer-Centric Leadership at Amtrak(00:08:22) - Navigating Career Growth and Promotions(00:11:13) - Balancing Work and Family Life(00:13:32) - Compartmentalizing Work and Family(00:23:24) - Preparing Children for Success(00:28:26) - Career Growth and Mobility(00:33:52) - The Source of Drive and Ambition(00:39:57) - Instilling Values in Children(00:42:54) - Self-Care and Maintaining Optimism(00:46:41) - Finding Balance in Life

    Eliot Hamlisch (Amtrak, AMC Theatres & Wyndham Hotels) How To Be Promoted Every Two Years, The Cost of Comfort Zones & Staying Connected with Family During Travel Seasons
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About

CEOs & ABCs is the podcast for high performers who lead at work and show up at home. Hosted by Kevin Rice, this show features candid conversations with executives, founders, and rising leaders about how they’ve advanced their careers while staying present for the moments that matter most... raising kids, building strong partnerships, and prioritizing their health. Each episode dives into executive career advice, leadership development, work-life balance, and the realities of parenting while managing demanding professional lives. Whether you’re navigating promotions, team growth, toddler tantrums, or time management, you’ll find insights and inspiration to lead with intention - both at work and at home. ️ New episodes weekly Topics: Career growth, executive mindset, parenting, burnout prevention, productivity, and more ‍‍‍ For working parents, driven professionals, and leaders building meaningful lives Subscribe now and join the journey from "boardrooms to bedtime stories."

Information

  • Creator
    Kevin Rice
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    41
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2025
  • Show Website
    CEOs and ABCs

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