Off the Rak

Walt Rakowich
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Walt Rakowich's passion to help shape a generation of leaders who lead with honesty, humility and heart inspired him to launch Off the Rak: Conversations on Transformative Leadership. Featuring rich and raw conversations with notable leaders across different industries, Off the Rak inspires curious leaders to embrace challenges, seize opportunities and become positive influences in their world.

  1. 2D AGO

    Rethinking Work in Humanity’s AI-Driven Future with Rishad Tobaccowala

    Are you prepared for the future of work? Off the Rak welcomes Rishad Tobaccowala, a global business advisor, author, and futurist, to explore what transformative leadership looks like in a fast-moving, AI-enabled world. Drawing on four decades of helping leaders reinvent themselves, Rishad shares insights from his book Rethinking Work on how leaders must evolve to thrive in a dramatically transforming modern age, and how creativity and meaningful connection become true competitive advantages. It’s more than theory; reimagining work, purpose and progress offers critical and practical actions leaders can take today to rethink how they lead and live tomorrow. About the Guest Rishad Tobaccowala is the author of “Rethinking Work: Seismic Changes in the Where, When and Why” and “Restoring the Soul of Business: Staying Human in the Age of Data.” Additional writings can be found in the “The Future Does Not Fit in the Containers of the Past” read by 30,000 leaders around the world.  Rishad most recently was the Global Strategist and Chief Growth Officeer of the 80,000 person marketing and business transformation Publicis Groupe and has been named by BusinessWeek as one of the top business leaders for his pioneering innovation and TIME magazine dubbed him one of five “Marketing Innovators.  He regularly presents keynotes at industry conferences and speaks at well-known global organizations, such as Kellogg’s, IBM, Amazon, Google, and Facebook. Links in this Episode Subscribe to Rishad’s Substack Learn more about Rishad at his website, rishadtobaccowala.com Learn more about Off the Rak and watch past episodes at waltrakowich.com/offtherak Follow @waltrakowich on Linkedin | Instagram | Facebook | X | YouTube | Threads

    48 min

  2. 12/16/2025

    Rak Rewind: Turning Adversity into an Opportunity to Help Others with LPGA Pro Stacy Lewis

    Learn what it’s like being a professional female athlete from the recently retired LPGA golfer and two-time U.S. team captain. Lewis announced that she will be stepping away from full-time competitive golf at the end of the 2025 season — let's look back at her conversation.  Can adversity help you find your greatest strengths? That’s just one of the topics we’re exploring as I welcome one of my favorite professional golfers, Stacy Lewis! The LPGA golfer and two-time Solheim Cup captain is here to talk team leadership and managing success, women in professional sports, and the transformative influence we can have on communities, in our backyard and around the world. Golf is not a game of perfect — neither is being a leader — but we can still train to be great. And it’d be great if you joined us! About the Guest Stacy Lewis is an American professional golfer in the U.S.-based LPGA Tour. She has won two major championships: the Kraft Nabisco Championship in 2011 and the Women’s British Open in 2013. She has ranked number one on the Women’s World Golf Rankings for 25 weeks throughout her career, and has 13 career wins. Lewis was diagnosed with Scoliosis when she was 11 and was treated with a spinal fusion when she was in high school, missing her first collegiate golf season to recover.  Lewis was a decorated All-American at the University of Arkansas and redshirted her first year while in recovery. She won the Southeastern Conference Tournament and was named SEC Freshman Golfer of the Year.  Lewis turned professional in 2008 and has played in nearly 400 tournaments throughout her career, including the 2016 Rio Olympics. Links in this Episode Stacy Lewis’ LPGA profile Learn more about Off the Rak and watch past episodes at waltrakowich.com/offtherak Follow @waltrakowich on Linkedin | Instagram | Facebook | X | YouTube | Threads

    32 min

  3. 12/02/2025

    Turning Personal Crisis into a Drive for a Cure with Dr. David Fajgenbaum

    How do you make the journey from being given last rites in a hospital bed to founding an organization that has saved thousands of lives through medical innovation? Dr. David Fajgenbaum is a physician-scientist, Castleman disease survivor, and the co-founder of Every Cure. From medical student to patient to leader, David shares how he turned personal health challenges into a driving force for innovative research, drug repurposing, and AI-driven discovery to help rare-disease patients. Tune in to explore what resilient leadership looks like and what future breakthroughs he’s hopeful to see on his purpose-driven mission to cure the incurable. About the Guest David Fajgenbaum, MD, MBA, MSc, is Co-Founder & President of Every Cure as well as a groundbreaking physician-scientist, disease hunter, speaker, and national bestselling author of Chasing My Cure: A Doctor’s Race to Turn Hope Into Action. Best known as the ‘doctor who cured himself’ (Doctor Cure Thyself, NY Times), Fajgenbaum went from being a beast-like college Quarterback to receiving his last rites while in medical school and nearly dying four more times battling Castleman disease. To try to save his own life, he spearheaded an innovative approach to research through the Castleman Disease Collaborative Network (CDCN) and discovered a treatment that is saving his life and others. Now, he is spreading this approach to other diseases (His method could save millions, CNN) and co-founded Every Cure in 2022 to unlock the full potential of every drug to treat every disease possible. He has advanced 14 repurposed treatments for diseases they weren’t initially intended for. Fajgenbaum also continues to share lessons he learned about life, hope, and resilience from nearly dying through his national bestseller, Chasing My Cure, which has been profiled by Good Morning America, CNN, NPR’s Fresh Air, and BBC News, among others, translated into over five languages, and named one of the “Best Non-Fiction Books.” Links in this Episode Donate to Every Cure at everycure.org Watch David'd TedTalk here at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sb34MfJjurc Learn more and connect with David at davidfajgenbaum.com Learn more about Off the Rak and watch past episodes at waltrakowich.com/offtherak Follow @waltrakowich on Linkedin | Instagram | Facebook | X | YouTube | Threads

    28 min

  4. 11/25/2025

    Rak Rewind: Fostering More Human Connection and Empathy Through Leadership with Michael Lee Stallard

    Michael Lee Stallard is president of E Pluribus Partners, and a speaker, teacher, and consultant on leadership, employee engagement, productivity, and innovation. He is the primary author of "Fired Up or Burned Out: How to Reignite Your Team's Passion, Creativity and Productivity" and a contributor to The ASTD Management Development Handbook. He joins me to discuss how leaders must fostering more human connection and empathy, and humanity in the workplace: why we need it and how to foster more human connection and empathy through leadership. About the Guest Michael is an author, thought leader, speaker and a widely recognized expert on how effective leaders boost human connection in cultures to improve the health and performance of individuals and organizations.   He is the author of Connection Culture: The Competitive Advantage of Shared Identity, Empathy and Understanding at Work and Fired Up or Burned Out: How to Reignite Your Team’s Passion, Creativity and Productivity, and a contributor to other books. Articles by or about Michael’s work have been in the media worldwide including The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Leader to Leader, Entrepreneur.com, Forbes.com, FastCompany.com, HR Magazine, Human Resource Executive, Talent Management, SmartBrief, Rotman (Canada), Shukan Diayamondo (Japan), Developing HR Strategy (UK), The Economic Times (India),LiveMint (India), Outlook Business for Decision Makers (India), Smart Manager (India), and Capital (Dubai). Michael has spoken at many organizations and conferences including the Association for Talent Development, Center for Creative Leadership, Costco, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, General Dynamics, General Electric, Google, Johnson & Johnson, Lockheed Martin, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, NASA, Northwestern Medicine, Qualcomm, Turner Construction, University of Virginia’s Darden Graduate School of Business, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and U.S. Department of Treasury. He is a faculty member at the Institute for Management Studies. Texas Christian University created the TCU Center for Connection Culture to advance Connection Culture at TCU and in higher education generally. Prior to founding E Pluribus Partners, Michael was a managing director on Wall Street. Earlier in his career he worked in the technology sector. Michael is married to Katharine Stallard. They have two grown daughters. Links in this Episode https://www.michaelleestallard.com http://connectionculture.com/book Learn more about Off the Rak and watch past episodes at waltrakowich.com/offtherak Follow @waltrakowich on Linkedin | Instagram | Facebook | X | YouTube | Threads

    40 min

  5. 11/04/2025

    Coaching Leaders to Flourish in Life and Work with Steve Graves

    Ready to discover what separates truly effective CEOs from those who just look good on paper? Seasoned CEO advisor Steve Graves shares hard-won insights from three decades of coaching executive leaders. With 20 books on strategy and leadership under his belt, Steve has developed over 100 frameworks specifically designed for CEOs navigating the complex intersection of personal growth and professional demands. In this episode, Steve breaks down leadership through his unique lens of age, miles, and address, introduces his “three H’s” framework for sustainable leadership, and reveals his reverse-engineered approach to the five essential CEO tasks. Tune in for Steve’s battle-tested frameworks that could transform your leadership approach. About the Guest Steve Graves is a strategist, CEO advisor and author. At any given time, Steve is working with a handful of remarkable executives leading large global organizations and young, hungry entrepreneurs just starting out. He has authored twenty books and worked with thousands of leaders weaving themes of strategy, leadership and faith hoping to help people flourish in their life and work. Additionally, he co-owns a half-dozen companies ranging from next gen travel to sports media to consumer goods (CPG) ventures. When Steve is not steering notable leaders or creating fresh content and frameworks, you might find him back-casting in the cold clear rivers of Northern Arkansas or chasing an epic fishing adventure somewhere on the planet. Links in this Episode Connect with Steve:stephenrgraves.comFacebookLinkedInRead SteveOn his blogGet his booksLearn more about Off the Rak and watch past episodes at waltrakowich.com/offtherak Follow @waltrakowich on Linkedin | Instagram | Facebook | X | YouTube | Threads

    49 min

  6. 10/21/2025

    Rak Rewind: What Does the Future Hold? Higher Education, Loyalty, and Impact with Neeli Bendapudi

    “When I think about the value proposition of higher education… I think about the essence of leadership where they call it the knowing, being, and doing.” Featuring the first female president of Penn State University, Neeli Bendapudi, we discuss what it means to be a Nittany Lion, how to create “customer” loyalty, and three time-tested leadership practices that have served my guest well at organizations like Proctor & Gamble, the U.S. Army, and, of course, Penn State. About the Guest As Penn State’s first woman president, Neeli serves the University’s modern land-grant mission of teaching, research, and public service across 24 campuses and the online Penn State World Campus. She has built a 30-year-career in higher education and business bolstered by her purpose-driven, people-first leadership style. She’s committed to student success, academic excellence, and creating opportunities for students, faculty, and staff to thrive. Even as a child, Neeli always valued education. For her family, like so many others, education is so much more than a degree—it’s a pathway to a better life. She’s delighted to have the opportunity to help every Penn State student succeed academically, begin a meaningful career, and benefit their family and community. After earning her bachelor’s degree and MBA from Andhra University in India, Neeli came to the U.S. to pursue her doctorate in marketing from the University of Kansas (KU). She launched her teaching career and is proud to have earned national and university recognition for her contributions in the classroom. Prior to coming to Penn State, Neeli was president of the University of Louisville. She has also served as provost and executive vice chancellor at KU, dean of the School of Business at KU, and as founding director of the Initiative for Managing Services at The Ohio State University. Her research—focused on how organizations can best serve their customers—has appeared in Harvard Business Review, Journal of Academic Medicine and Journal of Marketing, among other publications. With a background in customer loyalty and consumer behavior, Neeli has consulted some of the world’s largest companies and organizations—from Procter & Gamble to the U.S. Army—and became the executive vice president and chief customer officer for Huntington National Bank. Links in this episode Dr. Bendapudi's profile on LinkedIn Penn State profile Learn more about Off the Rak and watch past episodes at waltrakowich.com/offtherak Follow @waltrakowich on Linkedin | Instagram | Facebook | X | YouTube | Threads

    36 min

  7. 10/07/2025

    Eradicating Entitlement: A Path to Higher Purpose with Dr. Joe Sanders

    Let's tackle a broader disease that needs eradicating: entitlement. Joe Sanders is a thoughtful and focused leader who brings a wealth of experience serving youth to Colorado Uplift as its CEO. Not only is he a retired Air Force Colonel and Director of the Air Force Academy’s Leadership and Character Development activities, but he has also shaped the moral and ethical growth of more than 13,000 cadets and staff. He joins Off the Rak to talk about his new book,  Unreasonable Responsibility: Eradicating the Disease of Entitlement. His new project is here to help free us from the traps of our self-focused desires that blind us to the higher purpose opportunities right in front of us. About the Guest Joe Sanders is a renowned character leadership development expert. He is a retired Air Force Colonel and the former Director of the Center for Character and Leadership Development, United States Air Force Academy. Joe earned his PhD in Leadership and Human Resource Development from Colorado State University in 2003. He has authored and published several articles and book chapters on topics ranging from transformational leadership and servant leadership to organizational spirituality and moral development. In addition, Joe has delivered over 2,000 lectures and workshops on these topics to a variety of audiences. Joe has served his community in multiple capacities. In addition to currently serving as CEO of Colorado UpLift, Joe is an adjunct professor at UCCS. He is also the founder of Touchstone Leadership Academy, which focuses on creating new possibilities for current and future leaders in underserved communities. He has regularly hosted and keynoted church conferences and retreats, taught Bible classes, and led a local ministry for the homeless in Colorado Springs, CO. However, Joe’s most significant contribution to the community is his family. He and his wife, Lourdes, are the proud parents of Isaiah, Jasmine, and Josiah. Links in this Episode Visit Joe Sanders website at www.drjoesanders.com Order Joe’s new book, Unreasonable Responsibility, on Amazon Learn more about Colorado Uplift at coloradouplift.org Learn more about Off the Rak and watch past episodes at waltrakowich.com/offtherak Follow @waltrakowich on Linkedin | Instagram | Facebook | X | YouTube | Threads

    35 min

  8. 09/18/2025

    Off the Rak Rewind Minisode: LPGA Pro Stacy Lewis

    In honor of Stacy Lewis' retirement at the end of the 2025 LPGA season, Off the Rak rewinds to a special minisode from September 2024 honoring TEAM USA's win in the Solheim Cup — the first since 2017! You don't want to miss these two inspirational stories from a Season 3 episode about success and influence with team captain Stacy Lewis — LGPA pro and leadership role model. About the Guest Stacy Lewis is an American professional golfer in the U.S.-based LPGA Tour. She has won two major championships: the Kraft Nabisco Championship in 2011 and the Women’s British Open in 2013. She has ranked number one on the Women’s World Golf Rankings for 25 weeks throughout her career.  Lewis was diagnosed with Scoliosis when she was 11 and was treated with a spinal fusion when she was in high school, missing her first collegiate golf season to recover.  Lewis was a decorated All-American at the University of Arkansas and redshirted her first year while in recovery. She won the Southeastern Conference Tournament and was named SEC Freshman Golfer of the Year.  Lewis turned professional in 2008 and has played in 341 tournaments throughout her career, including the 2016 Rio Olympics. Learn more about Off the Rak and watch past episodes at waltrakowich.com/offtherak Follow @waltrakowich on Linkedin | Instagram | Facebook | X | YouTube | Threads

    10 min
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About

Walt Rakowich's passion to help shape a generation of leaders who lead with honesty, humility and heart inspired him to launch Off the Rak: Conversations on Transformative Leadership. Featuring rich and raw conversations with notable leaders across different industries, Off the Rak inspires curious leaders to embrace challenges, seize opportunities and become positive influences in their world.

Information

  • Creator
    Walt Rakowich
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    25
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Transfluence LLC
  • Show Website
    Off the Rak