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Hello, everyone.
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My name is Derek DeWinter, and
welcome to our listeners who are
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tuning into the DeWinter Difference,
an audio podcast where I spend
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a bit of time with incredible
executives I've known for years.
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And you get to listen in.
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I hope that our conversations are unique,
fun, insightful, short enough, keep your
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attention, but long enough to listen
on the way from point A to point B.
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Our goal is to have fun, sharing a few
takeaways that you can apply in your
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own career, life, and relationships.
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Today, you get to listen into a
conversation between yours truly and
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Dara Pizzano, SVP and CAO of T Mobile.
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As if being the chief accounting
officer of an 80 billion company with
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a 200 billion market cap wasn't enough,
Dara is also on the board of Lulu's,
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Self Financial, and Girls on the Run.
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Dara, I really appreciate you
tolerating me these last dozen
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or so years and joining us today.
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Thank you.
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Thank you very much for the invite.
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I appreciate it.
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It's great to catch up with you.
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Excellent.
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So for our listeners, can you share a
little bit about your career progression
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as a baseline and a couple of professional
or personal drivers that led you
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ultimately to where you are at T Mobile?
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Essentially a quick scroll
through your LinkedIn profile.
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So it's a great question.
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Actually, you know, I would say
I'll start with the drivers.
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The driver and, and drivers I
should say in my professional
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career has been a hundred percent
my family and my family situation.
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So I was married young and had two
kids and went through a divorce at 27.
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And I would say that that really.
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Sort of outlined or framed up how
it is that I approached my career.
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I found actually public accounting
surprisingly enough to be very
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accommodating for me and providing
me the flexibility that I needed to
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raise my kids as a single parent.
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Although I will say that I
had worked really hard with
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my ex husband to co parent.
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And what our divorce.
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allowed for me, which is going to sound
very strange, but It allowed me between
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the divorce and public accounting.
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When my kids were with their father it
was really easy for me to just work a lot
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and do what it is that I needed to do to
be successful in public accounting, which
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as anybody knows there's a lot of hours.
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Those are 60, 70 hour weeks,
fairly consistently, especially
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early in your career.
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And when the kids were with me, though,
it allowed me a little bit of flexibility,
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especially in the late nineties, early
2000, you started to get a little bit
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more flexibility to be able to work
from home schedule, you know, plan your
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schedule or your commutes and meetings
and meetings with clients and all of
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that around the kid's schedule and such.
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And I would choose clients that allowed
me the flexibility to like for instance,
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I had big global clients where I had
teams that were in Asia or Europe.
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Well, at those work hours, I could work
from home cause it was early in the
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morning or really late in the evening.
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And so I chose a lot of the clients that
I chose to work as well as just my career
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or profession within public accounting.
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And I guess I should state that I
worked both at KPMG as well as PWC.
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And once the kids were old enough and
went off to college, that's when it is
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that I decided to leave public accounting
and join the gap and just go out to the
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private slash, you know, public sector.
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And that was a big, that
was a big change for me.
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And I have to say, actually, as much
as I loved public accounting, My public
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accounting or my career, my time in
public accounting, I did make partner
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which was a fantastic personal goal
for me and professional goal for me.
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So when I left public accounting and
went to work at The Gap, I have to say
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that there was something that just like
a light switch that flipped for me.
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I absolutely loved really being there.
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An operator within an organization.
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So when I left as a partner at
PressWaterhouse, I joined the GAP as
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their controller and then was promoted
to, and that was a global controller role.
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So I had teams all over the world.
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As well as I guess within a pretty
short couple of years was made
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CAO which is far more operational
you know, beyond just your typical
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finance or controllership role which
was a lot of fun and I loved it.
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It's been, it's just made, you know,
the sort of the second chapter of my
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career so much more fun and something
that I really looked forward to as
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well as the gap is just, you know,
an incredible place to, to work.
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then from there, I had been recruited
or headhunted away to an organization
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called CBRE, which was a global, it's
actually the largest global asset
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management company, real estate asset
management company in the world.
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And I had a team of about 5, 000 people
across the country or across the globe.
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And spent quite a bit of time traveling
and you know, taking care of my teams
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globally and then had an opportunity
to join T Mobile that was looking to
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do a lot more finance transformation
work, which is the type of work that
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I really -started to do more CBRE.
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And I thought it would just be a
really great opportunity to stay
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a little bit more local as well
as the job, the CBRE job was going
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to require me to move to Texas.
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And I really didn't want to move to Texas.
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My whole family is here on the West coast.
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And so I'm able to fly from Santa
Rosa, which is one of my homes or at
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the time was my home before I joined.
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T Mobile and fly directly
into you know, Seattle.
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So my husband and I moved to Seattle and
it's been a great four years at T Mobile.
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Fantastic.
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Work with the Sprint and
T Mobile integration.
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And now we're working on a large
ERP sort of target operating model
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transformation as well that we
kicked off about three years ago.
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So been really challenging, a lot of
fun great to be on the other side of
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public accounting and will probably be
my last corporate stop before I retire
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and, Officially move on to board roles
more, you know, full time, full time,
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part time in a, retired capacity.
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that's awesome.
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I need to clarify one thing
that you said you had 5, 000
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people on your team at CBRE.
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5, 000 people.
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I
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And so what what's this?
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What's this current scale of team mobile?
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Okay.
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5, 000 people.
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Here at T Mobile, I think we've
got maybe 1, 800 people and that's
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partly some procurement supply
chain folks in there as well.
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And then my organization, when I
joined, my org was About 600 people.
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I picked up an I.
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T.
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Organization kicked it up to 700 people.
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We've been working through a target
operating model change, like I
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mentioned before, and have actually
set up a shared service center out in
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Overland Park, which is where Sprint's
corporate headquarter had been located.
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And So I've actually shifted a portion
of my team to report into the leadership
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there at the Shared Service Center.
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So my team now is about 300,
probably 350 folks as, as we work
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through the operating model change.
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So it's still a, it's still
a fairly large organization.
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I do have quite a bit of finance IT So
it's a little bit different than, you
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know, your typical chief accounting
officer role, or as people think
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around these numbers relatively
casually, like 5000 people is larger
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than many towns that people grew up in.
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You know, 3 or 4 or 600 people are are
significantly larger than many companies.
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Okay.
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That people work at from top to bottom.
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So it's really interesting and sort of
on that note, you know, the bulk of your
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career has been in larger organizations
and, you know, public accounting, not
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withstanding really I kind of characterize
larger corporate organizations
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like gap or CBRE or T Mobile.
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Have you had a, a knack for managing
large team, or is that a muscle that
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you have had to work on over the years?
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And if so.
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You know, what are the types of
things that you did and what would
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you encourage people to focus on
to build that professional muscle?
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Such a wonderful, thoughtful question.
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It's probably all of the above.
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Within public accounting, like I'd
mentioned, I did have teams that I
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worked with across the globe and again,
growing up in public accounting, you're
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very much focused on your entire team.
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You're part of a broader organization.
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But that teaming mentality is so strong
and is something that I really thrived in.
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I really loved being a part of the
team and ensuring that the team
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dynamics was high functioning.
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So that was something that I probably
developed more in public accounting than
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when I went out into the private sector,
far more I guess I'm just wired that way.
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So one, I've been blessed to,
no matter where I've been.
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You know, I was working, I had
just phenomenally talented teams
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that I acquired and was hired into.
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So very thankful for that.
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So I think my muscle or my maybe secret
power is going into an organization
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quickly trying to assess the team dynamics
as well as just the political energy
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and culture within an organization and
trying to figure out how do we put, how
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do we set team members up for success?
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What are certain individuals strengths
and what are their weaknesses?
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And really honing in on where it is
that people were really strong and
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making sure that as a complete team, you
know, We had a really high functioning
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team and that requires an incredible
amount of diverse thought, experience,
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training, background you know, different
working styles and all of that.
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So, you know, if you had, if I had any
sort of toxic fixed mindset people, I
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would tend to Find better or different
roles for them if, if their approach was
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not working for what it is that we as
a team or as an enterprise needed and
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then just ensure that we really brought
in you know, strong, capable people to
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help accentuate the, the existing teams.
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I would say a lot of my success is very
much based on just the incredibly talented
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people that I have been able and been
fortunate to work with over the years.
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You're probably not giving
yourself near enough credit, but
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we'll leave it at that for sure.
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So, you know, I have been doing
what I do for a long, long time.
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And which means I've met.
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Hundreds and thousands of people over
the years, and it would be it would
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be untrue to say that I remember
everybody very well and remember all
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the different places where I would
have run into people, but I do remember
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meeting you for the first time.
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So that's stuck.
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That really sticks out as, you
know, one of the, you know, the
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highlights of my professional career.
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Do you recall where that was?
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Well, I believe, well, was it a restaurant
there on the Embarcadero in San Francisco?
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I think, was it Perry's?
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Well done.
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Very well done.
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We,
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Well, we had a blast.
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We laughed so hard.
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We had a great time.
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It was a
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It was very convenient.
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It's actually kind of fun to meet
people at places, which, you know,
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zoom doesn't allow obviously so much
because I find that it kind of earmarks.
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you know, you know, whether the smells
of the sun or the location of the
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chairs or whatever really helps to
kind of galvanize where you meet folks.
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But it's sort of slightly beside
the point other than it was a
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very memorable meeting for me.
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And I recall very specifically
thinking to myself, and this goes
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back 12, 13, 14 years ago that I
haven't met a lot of people like you.
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And why I say that is it was kind of near.
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The time in the marketplace where a VP
controller role was being elevated to
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chief accounting officer in the market.
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And there weren't a ton of chief
accounting officers, particularly in the
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Bay Area, I guess I would say, and because
there weren't a lot of you in the Bay
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Area, I remember being terribly impressed.
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And I won't ask you what you thought of
me, but you know, you've been through
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this evolution of controller to C.
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A.
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O.
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And I guess I'd like you for you to
kind of comment on your view of the
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importance of that within the C.
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F.
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O.
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S.
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Organizational structure.
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Sure.
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Absolutely.
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Well, well, thank you.
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That is very kind of you.
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And I too remember our meeting
because like I mentioned I just
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remember we had a great time.
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And there was lots of laughter.
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And obviously we've stayed connected
this what last decade, decade and a half.
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So what's.
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Interesting.
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And I sort of touched on it earlier.
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I do think as, you know, the business
world changes industries change
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roles within organizations change.
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I, I left public accounting, went into
your typical global controller role,
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quickly found The, I guess the level of
change within our environment, especially
234
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from an IT perspective and as well as
our supply chain perspective, sort of
235
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back a lot of your back office functions
operationally, how things get done,
236
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how quickly things get done the immense
amount or need of of transformation
237
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sort of in that back office function
to really meet the current day, you
238
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know, pressures of whether it was like
at the Gap, you know, moving from a
239
00:14:48,722 --> 00:14:53,922
predominantly retail footprint to a
more of an online present presence to
240
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compete with all of the online retailers.
241
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I, I found the sort of the frenetic, pace
at which we had to transform back office
242
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to be incredibly compelling and exciting.
243
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And I love digging into that and working
with my supply chain folks and my folks
244
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and understanding how that impacted
our systems and processes and such.
245
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And so I found for myself, I
am very focused on people and
246
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process And technologies to drive
efficiencies and improvements.
247
00:15:30,942 --> 00:15:35,352
And that's where, I guess, like I said,
sort of a light switch flipped for
248
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me and I just really dug in and got
engaged on things more operationally.
249
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And.
250
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That's where I think CAOs today
can really make a big difference.
251
00:15:47,042 --> 00:15:48,302
And actually, that's how it is.
252
00:15:48,302 --> 00:15:49,502
I got the CAO title.
253
00:15:49,502 --> 00:15:53,202
There was a new CFO that came on
board at the Gap and, you know, she
254
00:15:53,202 --> 00:15:57,772
said, you really are operating far
more at this operational CAO level.
255
00:15:58,362 --> 00:16:00,002
You know, here, here's a promotion.
256
00:16:00,432 --> 00:16:06,212
Which again, then was a great
segue over into the CAO of CBRE,
257
00:16:06,282 --> 00:16:09,592
where, as you mentioned, 5, 000
people, it's a lot of people.
258
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I actually had all of the regional CFOs.
259
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Reporting in to me, and then I
reported into the global CFO.
260
00:16:17,822 --> 00:16:22,632
So in that role, I was deeply
embedded in the finance aspects,
261
00:16:22,632 --> 00:16:26,982
the accounting aspects but more
importantly, really the operational.
262
00:16:27,152 --> 00:16:31,282
Aspects of sort of the, you know,
the back office comings and goings,
263
00:16:31,612 --> 00:16:35,892
and I think that most CEOs at
this point are, are probably more
264
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focused on that to support the CFO.
265
00:16:39,242 --> 00:16:40,525
Uh, So.
266
00:16:40,685 --> 00:16:45,545
As much as I'm engaged with, you
know, a lot of the investor relations
267
00:16:45,765 --> 00:16:50,135
peace and working with legal, working
with all your business developers
268
00:16:50,145 --> 00:16:54,535
for merger acquisitions and such,
you've got the technical aspects
269
00:16:54,625 --> 00:16:56,295
of how to account for things.
270
00:16:56,865 --> 00:17:01,575
But it's also really
understanding, you know, the, the.
271
00:17:02,940 --> 00:17:07,620
I guess the way to think about it is
the SOX control premise, Sarbanes Oxley,
272
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really forced accountants to think more
you know, process in engineering mindset
273
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with IT thrown over the top when IT is
changing, you know, rapidly, quarterly.
274
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And so you just have to think You know,
you just have to think differently
275
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and think along the lines as your IT
brothers and sisters and work with
276
00:17:30,590 --> 00:17:35,440
them to ensure that you are addressing
any of the risks that this, you know,
277
00:17:35,810 --> 00:17:39,800
IT transformation introduces into
your financial reporting environment.
278
00:17:40,470 --> 00:17:43,300
And how do you mitigate that
risk and how do you ensure that
279
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you've got, you know, the right
folks focused on the right things.
280
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Is just changed a lot.
281
00:17:48,590 --> 00:17:52,800
peeling some of that back, probably some
sage advice to existing controllers out
282
00:17:52,800 --> 00:17:57,440
there is there's only so much muscle
you can build in your accounting chops
283
00:17:57,820 --> 00:18:02,890
that if you want to be elevated within
an organization to a CAO or other, then
284
00:18:03,300 --> 00:18:08,290
that, you know, being more involved
in that intersectionality between it
285
00:18:08,290 --> 00:18:11,350
and supply chain and transformation
and the other parts of the business is
286
00:18:11,770 --> 00:18:17,830
is how you climb to the next level as
opposed to just being a brilliant expert
287
00:18:18,090 --> 00:18:21,195
around SEC issues or, or the like.
288
00:18:21,605 --> 00:18:22,375
Absolutely.
289
00:18:22,455 --> 00:18:23,015
Well said.
290
00:18:23,225 --> 00:18:24,635
Yes, exactly.
291
00:18:25,265 --> 00:18:26,155
Well, thank you very much.
292
00:18:26,325 --> 00:18:29,425
So you and I are both no longer
in our twenties and with a little
293
00:18:29,425 --> 00:18:30,695
bit more experience in life.
294
00:18:30,715 --> 00:18:34,365
I wonder what type of lessons
you've learned along the way trying
295
00:18:34,365 --> 00:18:37,275
to manage your professional work
health and your personal health.
296
00:18:37,335 --> 00:18:41,315
I know this is, you know, an
area of importance to you, and
297
00:18:41,335 --> 00:18:44,265
I'm sure you look at things very
differently today versus yesterday.
298
00:18:44,635 --> 00:18:46,645
And I guess I'd love to take.
299
00:18:47,265 --> 00:18:51,475
To get some perspective and some
insight that you can share about
300
00:18:52,185 --> 00:18:59,405
being healthy in a demanding corporate
environment and things that you
301
00:18:59,465 --> 00:19:03,295
think about and things that you try
to do, both physically and mentally.
302
00:19:03,295 --> 00:19:03,715
Yes.
303
00:19:04,252 --> 00:19:09,942
Such a great question and super
important for all of us corporate
304
00:19:09,942 --> 00:19:12,062
athletes, as I like to put it.
305
00:19:12,602 --> 00:19:15,102
If I were to, let me kind
of phrase it this way.
306
00:19:15,102 --> 00:19:22,342
If I were to give any advice to
my 20, 30 year old self, I would
307
00:19:22,342 --> 00:19:25,331
say carve out time for sleep.
308
00:19:26,161 --> 00:19:30,881
And I know that sounds kind of
crazy, but sleep is so important
309
00:19:30,981 --> 00:19:37,621
to every aspect of your day and
your mental and physical wellbeing.
310
00:19:38,171 --> 00:19:41,941
And sleep is something that
I started to really focus on
311
00:19:41,971 --> 00:19:43,941
probably about a decade ago.
312
00:19:43,981 --> 00:19:49,151
And my guess is it was driven by all
of the global travel that I was doing
313
00:19:49,161 --> 00:19:51,071
and the fact that I was working.
314
00:19:51,516 --> 00:19:55,796
really odd hours, early mornings,
late evenings, you know, dealing
315
00:19:55,796 --> 00:19:57,776
with global teams and such.
316
00:19:58,286 --> 00:20:02,136
And I just was hitting
burnout very quickly.
317
00:20:02,356 --> 00:20:06,066
And I kept thinking, I,
you know, I love my job.
318
00:20:06,106 --> 00:20:07,746
I love my team.
319
00:20:07,786 --> 00:20:11,786
I love my work, but I am still
just constantly burnt out.
320
00:20:12,236 --> 00:20:16,011
And you know, as I hit my thirties
and forties, I just didn't have
321
00:20:16,041 --> 00:20:20,111
the same level of energy that I did
when I was younger and was trying
322
00:20:20,111 --> 00:20:23,781
to understand, you know, what is it
that I could be doing differently?
323
00:20:24,071 --> 00:20:28,931
So about a decade ago I really
started getting into this trend
324
00:20:28,931 --> 00:20:33,641
that probably some of your listeners
know, but it's called biohacking.
325
00:20:34,161 --> 00:20:38,071
And that is really where you just
start taking more control of your
326
00:20:38,071 --> 00:20:44,891
environment around you to really help
strengthen and sort of manage your
327
00:20:45,091 --> 00:20:47,371
physical and mental wellbeing better.
328
00:20:47,771 --> 00:20:51,561
And sleep was the first thing that
I attacked and it was incredibly
329
00:20:51,561 --> 00:20:55,611
important and frankly And I'll throw
this out there recognizing this
330
00:20:55,611 --> 00:20:57,141
may make some people uncomfortable.
331
00:20:57,151 --> 00:21:03,021
But as I, you know, approach to
menopause and went through menopause I
332
00:21:03,021 --> 00:21:10,611
was really amazed at what a difference
if my sleep was under control, if my,
333
00:21:10,651 --> 00:21:16,881
you know, hormone balance was under
control if my physical, you know, I kept
334
00:21:16,881 --> 00:21:21,091
up with all the physical exercise and
resistance training and all of that.
335
00:21:22,396 --> 00:21:25,656
I just feel so much better and I
can tackle and handle anything and
336
00:21:25,656 --> 00:21:30,016
everything that life is throwing at
me and certainly a lot of my travel
337
00:21:30,166 --> 00:21:36,546
and somewhat frenetic hours at
times was much more easy to manage.
338
00:21:36,961 --> 00:21:40,821
But I do really think that that's
something that we lose track of,
339
00:21:40,821 --> 00:21:42,931
especially when we're, we're younger.
340
00:21:42,931 --> 00:21:48,011
And so my advice to, to many folks
out there is really getting a handle,
341
00:21:48,031 --> 00:21:54,061
do some research on what you know,
sleep actually does for your body.
342
00:21:54,511 --> 00:21:58,621
You know, I would say at this point,
I am not a big drinker anymore.
343
00:21:58,631 --> 00:22:03,961
I recognized how much alcohol disrupted
my sleep and just how much that
344
00:22:03,961 --> 00:22:08,791
would completely, you know, ruin the
next day or the next couple of days.
345
00:22:10,196 --> 00:22:10,906
for me.
346
00:22:10,976 --> 00:22:15,536
And so I really had to, as I, as I
got a little bit older, went through
347
00:22:15,536 --> 00:22:21,476
menopause, I really started to hone in
on what is it that I need to, to be more
348
00:22:21,506 --> 00:22:27,036
optimized as a human being to really
show up for myself and my, my coworkers,
349
00:22:27,246 --> 00:22:29,316
obviously my family and my husband.
350
00:22:29,326 --> 00:22:34,856
So that's something that is just a whole
new chapter for me and something that
351
00:22:34,856 --> 00:22:39,706
I focus on quite a bit and actually
help others that are going through
352
00:22:39,866 --> 00:22:43,586
menopause or even, you know, men that
I work with that are just trying to get
353
00:22:43,586 --> 00:22:48,796
a handle on, on their health for fun,
sort of like a side passion, health and
354
00:22:48,906 --> 00:22:52,426
Are you, are you pretty vocal
about this internally at T Mobile?
355
00:22:52,961 --> 00:22:55,851
You know, am I vote?
356
00:22:56,091 --> 00:22:57,021
Yeah, probably.
357
00:22:57,051 --> 00:22:58,061
I probably am.
358
00:22:58,131 --> 00:23:02,741
You know, it's, it's a matter of trying
to balance not passing judgment on how
359
00:23:02,741 --> 00:23:07,621
people live their lives because you never
want to do that and turn people off.
360
00:23:07,701 --> 00:23:12,596
But I do have people that will ask,
you know, hey, you you know, you look
361
00:23:12,606 --> 00:23:16,006
great or you've got a ton of energy or
I don't know how you manage everything
362
00:23:16,006 --> 00:23:18,356
that you manage and things like that.
363
00:23:18,476 --> 00:23:23,516
I did for Christmas give, you know, all
of my direct reports, Peter Atiyah's
364
00:23:23,536 --> 00:23:28,086
Outlive book, because he's, he's
somebody that I think just has a real
365
00:23:28,086 --> 00:23:33,496
practical, pragmatic approach to, you
know, how to monitor and maintain, you
366
00:23:33,496 --> 00:23:35,591
know, a healthy, a healthy lifestyle.
367
00:23:35,641 --> 00:23:38,631
So yeah, people, people are pretty clear.
368
00:23:38,701 --> 00:23:41,741
I, I don't, you know, people
are drinking, I don't drink.
369
00:23:41,801 --> 00:23:46,431
So people ask me questions around
that and I'll explain sort of the, my
370
00:23:46,431 --> 00:23:48,941
health journey and path that I'm on.
371
00:23:49,021 --> 00:23:52,081
So but it's, it's really
been life changing for me.
372
00:23:52,236 --> 00:23:57,226
I asked that question because I think
it's, it's much easier to be a vocal
373
00:23:57,796 --> 00:24:03,456
SVP talking about this stuff and making
sure that people take you seriously,
374
00:24:03,456 --> 00:24:06,986
that it's a really important part
of life and how it, you know, how it
375
00:24:06,996 --> 00:24:08,916
leads to a better work product as well.
376
00:24:09,266 --> 00:24:14,466
It might be a lot more difficult if you're
28 and busy saying yes to meetings and
377
00:24:14,466 --> 00:24:16,256
yes to this and yes to that all the time.
378
00:24:16,256 --> 00:24:17,536
And I.
379
00:24:18,706 --> 00:24:22,076
I don't know that I have and this isn't,
it's more of a statement than a question.
380
00:24:22,086 --> 00:24:23,096
Like I throw it out there.
381
00:24:23,096 --> 00:24:27,196
Like that must be a, that will be a
challenging thing to navigate if it
382
00:24:27,196 --> 00:24:31,496
was something very important to you
and work was potentially part of the,
383
00:24:31,936 --> 00:24:33,556
the way that that was being compromised
384
00:24:33,556 --> 00:24:37,596
so it's a really important
conversation and I, that's where I
385
00:24:37,616 --> 00:24:41,516
think people have to be incredibly
thoughtful about where it is.
386
00:24:42,081 --> 00:24:46,661
That they work and the companies
that they join, what is that culture
387
00:24:46,701 --> 00:24:48,621
and what are those expectations?
388
00:24:49,021 --> 00:24:54,411
I will say I am really impressed
by the younger generations.
389
00:24:54,511 --> 00:25:02,421
The folks that work for me, I encourage
people to speak up and be very clear
390
00:25:02,531 --> 00:25:08,241
about what it is that they need and the
balance that they need so that they can
391
00:25:08,241 --> 00:25:14,611
show up and be their best self at work
as well as their best self at home.
392
00:25:15,361 --> 00:25:19,021
I was fortunate that I had people
that believed in me within my
393
00:25:19,021 --> 00:25:25,021
career and really supported me to
ensure that I was as balanced as
394
00:25:25,021 --> 00:25:26,191
I, you know, could possibly be.
395
00:25:26,221 --> 00:25:32,141
Probably all of the stress and
pressure that I felt when I was
396
00:25:32,151 --> 00:25:35,061
younger, a lot of that I put on myself.
397
00:25:35,461 --> 00:25:41,101
And typically, if I did reach out and sort
of talk with folks and say, Hey, I need
398
00:25:41,151 --> 00:25:45,761
X, Y, and Z to accommodate this, or can
I have some flexibility here, whatever,
399
00:25:46,931 --> 00:25:49,311
I don't believe anybody ever did that.
400
00:25:49,661 --> 00:25:54,081
said no to me now, whether or
not that held me back, there's
401
00:25:54,081 --> 00:25:58,451
a part of me that would have to
ponder that question a little bit.
402
00:25:58,511 --> 00:25:59,361
I don't believe so.
403
00:25:59,401 --> 00:26:00,271
I made partner.
404
00:26:00,581 --> 00:26:04,551
Maybe I would have made partner a
couple of years younger if I hadn't had
405
00:26:04,551 --> 00:26:07,061
kids, but my goodness, I could never.
406
00:26:07,366 --> 00:26:09,986
You know, I don't regret
that trade off at all.
407
00:26:10,476 --> 00:26:16,696
So, so today it's a very different
world and I do believe that the younger
408
00:26:16,696 --> 00:26:21,656
generations are much more confident in
asking for what it is that they need.
409
00:26:22,166 --> 00:26:29,876
And they're not as worried about, you
know they're just not as worried about.
410
00:26:29,876 --> 00:26:34,426
How people will think about them
or evaluate them which is great.
411
00:26:34,476 --> 00:26:38,236
I think that's fantastic because then
you can have a really good transparent
412
00:26:38,236 --> 00:26:45,926
conversation and make sure that you've,
you know, got the right, functioning team.
413
00:26:46,246 --> 00:26:49,546
I know I keep saying that, but
it's, it's incredibly important.
414
00:26:49,576 --> 00:26:55,036
Otherwise you're just going to burn
people out and people miss deadlines and
415
00:26:55,576 --> 00:26:57,586
make mistakes and, and things like that.
416
00:26:57,606 --> 00:27:02,376
I would just encourage folks
to be very clear about what is
417
00:27:02,476 --> 00:27:04,436
incredibly important to them.
418
00:27:05,156 --> 00:27:09,266
Your health has to be, and now I'm
going to sound like I'm getting on a
419
00:27:09,266 --> 00:27:15,286
soap box here, but You have to make
time for your health and well being.
420
00:27:15,526 --> 00:27:22,336
If you don't, sickness is going to
force you into a completely different,
421
00:27:22,626 --> 00:27:27,396
you know, framework or mindset or
lifestyle that you didn't anticipate.
422
00:27:27,816 --> 00:27:29,676
Which, who knows?
423
00:27:30,131 --> 00:27:31,451
what that can encompass.
424
00:27:31,651 --> 00:27:35,201
So make sure you're
taking the steps early on.
425
00:27:35,391 --> 00:27:39,991
And if you're in an environment
that doesn't encourage that or is
426
00:27:40,011 --> 00:27:45,126
actually harming your mental and
physical well being, you're in the
427
00:27:45,126 --> 00:27:50,246
wrong place and it's okay to leave
and go someplace else that will.
428
00:27:50,606 --> 00:27:55,686
And I don't believe the generations today
have any concern and walking away from
429
00:27:55,686 --> 00:27:58,616
an environment that doesn't support them.
430
00:27:59,516 --> 00:28:02,676
So I'm happy to see that, that shift.
431
00:28:03,066 --> 00:28:07,636
But if there's anybody out there that is
having a problem with that, really step
432
00:28:07,636 --> 00:28:09,936
back and take stock of what's important.
433
00:28:09,946 --> 00:28:16,106
And I can say as I'm, you know,
later in my career journey, looking
434
00:28:16,406 --> 00:28:23,166
back, the most important thing
to me is my family and my health.
435
00:28:23,531 --> 00:28:27,901
And I feel very fortunate that I've
had a career that has allowed me to
436
00:28:27,911 --> 00:28:33,601
grow and reach really interesting,
you know, challenging, fun positions.
437
00:28:34,201 --> 00:28:38,201
But I would never have done any of
these things if it ever jeopardized, my
438
00:28:38,201 --> 00:28:42,331
family or my health to, to the extreme.
439
00:28:42,591 --> 00:28:48,531
So however, I wish I would have
slept a lot more when I was younger.
440
00:28:49,101 --> 00:28:51,561
Now you're making me wonder if
I slept well at all last night.
441
00:28:51,561 --> 00:28:53,741
I'm thinking no I probably didn't.
442
00:28:53,861 --> 00:28:55,451
I'm gonna need to take
a little stock here.
443
00:28:56,001 --> 00:28:57,201
Do you have an aura Ring?
444
00:28:58,261 --> 00:28:58,941
no,
445
00:28:58,941 --> 00:28:59,181
I have
446
00:28:59,321 --> 00:28:59,891
your sleep?
447
00:29:00,641 --> 00:29:02,861
no, I don't.
448
00:29:02,881 --> 00:29:08,211
I have bunches of friends that do,
and you know, I know it is something
449
00:29:08,211 --> 00:29:09,441
that I should be thinking about.
450
00:29:09,551 --> 00:29:14,241
So if anything comes out of this
podcast at all, it's one more person
451
00:29:14,281 --> 00:29:17,801
saying, Derek, get your shit together.
452
00:29:17,871 --> 00:29:18,551
Let's go.
453
00:29:19,011 --> 00:29:20,911
I mean, I may just do it after this call.
454
00:29:21,091 --> 00:29:26,561
So pivoting off of a very important
topic to one that is much less
455
00:29:26,561 --> 00:29:30,941
important, but one that my daughter
would probably want me to ask is T Mobile
456
00:29:30,941 --> 00:29:34,806
recently Have you met Ryan Reynolds?
457
00:29:36,576 --> 00:29:38,126
No, I have not.
458
00:29:38,176 --> 00:29:41,616
I'm sorry to break her
heart, but no, I haven't.
459
00:29:41,636 --> 00:29:45,546
And if I did actually, I would ask
him, can I please meet your wife?
460
00:29:45,586 --> 00:29:49,126
Because I think Blake Lavely is
just like an amazing human being.
461
00:29:49,126 --> 00:29:50,906
I would love to have a
cup of coffee with her.
462
00:29:51,436 --> 00:29:53,336
But no, I have not met him.
463
00:29:53,356 --> 00:29:56,266
I've met the team and you
know, the CEO and the CFO.
464
00:29:56,316 --> 00:29:59,006
And the broader team,
but I have not met him.
465
00:29:59,096 --> 00:30:02,816
Only Mike Sievert has had the
opportunity to hug Ryan Reynolds.
466
00:30:05,141 --> 00:30:07,501
All right, so I've peppered
you with a bunch of questions.
467
00:30:07,961 --> 00:30:11,881
You have been gracious enough to
answer them all incredibly well.
468
00:30:12,231 --> 00:30:17,321
Now we get to the point of this podcast
where I let you ask me a question.
469
00:30:17,321 --> 00:30:21,661
I don't know what it is, and so I'll
do my very best to answer as well as
470
00:30:21,661 --> 00:30:24,711
I can, but you now have the stage.
471
00:30:25,311 --> 00:30:25,981
Okay.
472
00:30:26,591 --> 00:30:31,311
So first, before I ask you the
question, I am going to say, all
473
00:30:31,311 --> 00:30:36,241
right, I'm going to follow up with
you and see if you end up, you know,
474
00:30:36,311 --> 00:30:38,671
purchasing a tracker to help you.
475
00:30:39,016 --> 00:30:42,956
work through your sleep or monitor
your sleep and your health and just
476
00:30:42,956 --> 00:30:45,186
see if that's something that you do.
477
00:30:45,406 --> 00:30:51,046
If you do, I think you will be shocked
at what that data will tell you and
478
00:30:51,096 --> 00:30:55,016
how easy it is to just tweak little
things here and there to feel better.
479
00:30:55,146 --> 00:30:57,916
If that is something that is really
important to you, I don't know, because
480
00:30:57,926 --> 00:31:01,901
we haven't had a conversation truly
around you know, a deep conversation
481
00:31:01,901 --> 00:31:04,321
around that, but would love to
do that at some point with you.
482
00:31:04,691 --> 00:31:08,851
Okay, putting that aside, just
letting you know, I'm going to annoy
483
00:31:08,851 --> 00:31:10,701
you and be bothering you for that.
484
00:31:10,751 --> 00:31:12,141
But because that'll be fun.
485
00:31:12,611 --> 00:31:13,121
But no.
486
00:31:13,181 --> 00:31:14,941
So I'm curious.
487
00:31:15,001 --> 00:31:17,821
I mean, I love that you're
doing these podcasts.
488
00:31:17,841 --> 00:31:20,931
I think it's a lot of fun and
they're great to listen to.
489
00:31:20,951 --> 00:31:25,641
And I'm curious, what
podcast is your favorite?
490
00:31:25,641 --> 00:31:25,881
Okay.
491
00:31:25,881 --> 00:31:27,071
You're going to hate this answer.
492
00:31:27,071 --> 00:31:29,701
And I think everybody out there
is going to hate it as well.
493
00:31:30,201 --> 00:31:31,871
I don't listen to podcasts.
494
00:31:32,216 --> 00:31:32,466
What?
495
00:31:33,386 --> 00:31:34,276
What do you mean?
496
00:31:34,781 --> 00:31:35,291
I know.
497
00:31:35,371 --> 00:31:39,101
And I, that is the response that I
get from everybody because everybody
498
00:31:39,101 --> 00:31:42,891
has a favorite podcast and everybody
says, Derek, you should listen to this.
499
00:31:42,981 --> 00:31:44,031
Derek, you should listen to that.
500
00:31:44,081 --> 00:31:45,011
This is a great one.
501
00:31:45,291 --> 00:31:46,861
And I know they're all right.
502
00:31:47,061 --> 00:31:49,091
I am a hundred percent certain of it.
503
00:31:49,131 --> 00:31:50,941
And I know I'm also missing out.
504
00:31:51,576 --> 00:31:56,596
On opportunities to be smarter and more
engaged in lots of different things.
505
00:31:56,746 --> 00:32:02,956
And between that and the aura ring,
I've got two things to do for sure.
506
00:32:02,976 --> 00:32:06,076
And you'll be able to follow up with
me on both of those, including a
507
00:32:06,076 --> 00:32:08,146
recommendation of your favorite podcast.
508
00:32:08,646 --> 00:32:14,126
Which I will promise you, I will
listen to at least one, probably more.
509
00:32:15,036 --> 00:32:20,086
So if that's the case, maybe this will
make it a little bit easier for you
510
00:32:20,086 --> 00:32:22,596
to, you know, crack the podcast nut.
511
00:32:22,626 --> 00:32:25,166
And that is check out smart lists.
512
00:32:25,706 --> 00:32:26,796
It's hysterical.
513
00:32:26,946 --> 00:32:28,096
It's really funny.
514
00:32:28,146 --> 00:32:29,666
You will enjoy listening to them.
515
00:32:29,686 --> 00:32:37,146
It's Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, Will
Arnett, and they just Yes For you know
516
00:32:37,306 --> 00:32:44,226
an hour And they'll bring in they'll
bring in a surprise guest to every
517
00:32:44,226 --> 00:32:50,256
episode One person brings in you know
talent and surprises the other two
518
00:32:50,256 --> 00:32:51,576
and then they have this conversation.
519
00:32:51,806 --> 00:32:53,716
It's hysterical It's a lot of fun.
520
00:32:53,866 --> 00:32:56,646
You'll you'll enjoy listening to it
I mean, there's so many podcasts out
521
00:32:56,646 --> 00:32:59,606
there that are so educational and
informative and such and I have a whole
522
00:32:59,606 --> 00:33:02,691
You List as long as my arm that I'm
happy to share with you some other time.
523
00:33:02,711 --> 00:33:05,961
But smartless is just super fun.
524
00:33:05,961 --> 00:33:06,901
I think you would love it.
525
00:33:07,141 --> 00:33:09,181
I knowing you you'd have
526
00:33:09,361 --> 00:33:13,921
I have listened to a crime junkie one
that my daughter put me on to a couple
527
00:33:13,921 --> 00:33:18,311
different times on a couple road trips,
which are, which are very fun to listen
528
00:33:18,341 --> 00:33:22,781
to, but I haven't, you know, I haven't
made them a part of my my daily, weekly
529
00:33:22,881 --> 00:33:27,111
intake of information, but I, you
know, I will pivot off of your question
530
00:33:27,591 --> 00:33:32,061
and answer the, what was my favorite
podcast that I've done, even though you
531
00:33:32,061 --> 00:33:33,781
didn't ask that question specifically.
532
00:33:34,131 --> 00:33:35,031
The first thing I'll say is.
533
00:33:35,376 --> 00:33:36,376
Everyone's been great.
534
00:33:36,516 --> 00:33:37,896
Who is your favorite child?
535
00:33:37,986 --> 00:33:38,916
They're all my favorite.
536
00:33:39,246 --> 00:33:40,766
I don't love anybody more.
537
00:33:40,976 --> 00:33:47,106
However, comma I generally make reference
to one that I did with Carrie Walsh.
538
00:33:47,646 --> 00:33:52,646
One because she was so gracious
to do it without Without even a
539
00:33:52,756 --> 00:33:57,186
second of, of hesitation and I
didn't even know her that well.
540
00:33:57,526 --> 00:34:02,416
--- And I'm, I'm a volleyball dad so I kind
of did dig the whole volleyball scene.
541
00:34:02,466 --> 00:34:04,126
So that was, that was a
lot of fun to talk to her.
542
00:34:04,686 --> 00:34:05,656
That's excellent.
543
00:34:05,676 --> 00:34:07,476
Well, you did a great job too, right?
544
00:34:07,476 --> 00:34:08,406
It takes, it does.
545
00:34:08,556 --> 00:34:13,926
It's, it takes a lot to trust the person
that's asking the questions and to
546
00:34:13,926 --> 00:34:16,566
share, you know, your stories and such.
547
00:34:16,586 --> 00:34:17,556
So well done.
548
00:34:17,676 --> 00:34:17,856
Good
549
00:34:18,141 --> 00:34:20,461
Well, and you, you've talked
about your teams being so
550
00:34:20,461 --> 00:34:21,761
important as part of your success.
551
00:34:21,761 --> 00:34:27,181
I think if you pick people who are
interesting and awesome and at least
552
00:34:27,181 --> 00:34:29,421
as good, if not better than you
are, then you're probably going to
553
00:34:29,421 --> 00:34:30,641
end up with a pretty good output.
554
00:34:30,691 --> 00:34:34,291
So I've been very fortunate and
look forward to this one hitting
555
00:34:34,371 --> 00:34:35,621
hitting the podcast world.
556
00:34:35,621 --> 00:34:38,151
And, and on that note,
I get to set you free.
557
00:34:38,151 --> 00:34:38,211
Thank you.
558
00:34:39,551 --> 00:34:40,541
You've been awesome.
559
00:34:40,991 --> 00:34:42,381
I appreciate your time.
560
00:34:42,791 --> 00:34:47,491
Thank you for being an advocate of mine
professionally as well on this end and
561
00:34:47,511 --> 00:34:50,731
saying good things about me over the
years and being always so responsive.
562
00:34:50,801 --> 00:34:55,661
So you are absolutely your career
trajectory is an inspiration and you
563
00:34:55,661 --> 00:34:57,281
are personally an inspiration as well.
564
00:34:57,381 --> 00:34:58,671
So really, really
565
00:34:58,816 --> 00:34:59,066
you.
566
00:34:59,301 --> 00:35:00,141
the time there.
567
00:35:00,506 --> 00:35:01,616
Thank you so much.
568
00:35:01,636 --> 00:35:02,776
And I'm right back at you.
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:00,849
Hello, everyone.
2
00:00:00,859 --> 00:00:03,990
My name is Derek DeWinter, and
welcome to our listeners who are
3
00:00:03,990 --> 00:00:07,519
tuning into the DeWinter Difference,
an audio podcast where I spend
4
00:00:07,519 --> 00:00:10,314
a bit of time with incredible
executives I've known for years.
5
00:00:10,575 --> 00:00:11,639
And you get to listen in.
6
00:00:11,777 --> 00:00:16,167
I hope that our conversations are unique,
fun, insightful, short enough, keep your
7
00:00:16,167 --> 00:00:20,387
attention, but long enough to listen
on the way from point A to point B.
8
00:00:20,407 --> 00:00:23,884
Our goal is to have fun, sharing a few
takeaways that you can apply in your
9
00:00:23,884 --> 00:00:25,964
own career, life, and relationships.
10
00:00:26,196 --> 00:00:29,606
Today, you get to listen into a
conversation between yours truly and
11
00:00:29,616 --> 00:00:33,136
Dara Pizzano, SVP and CAO of T Mobile.
12
00:00:33,781 --> 00:00:37,551
As if being the chief accounting
officer of an 80 billion company with
13
00:00:37,551 --> 00:00:42,531
a 200 billion market cap wasn't enough,
Dara is also on the board of Lulu's,
14
00:00:43,141 --> 00:00:45,511
Self Financial, and Girls on the Run.
15
00:00:45,961 --> 00:00:48,981
Dara, I really appreciate you
tolerating me these last dozen
16
00:00:48,981 --> 00:00:50,581
or so years and joining us today.
17
00:00:51,271 --> 00:00:51,791
Thank you.
18
00:00:51,801 --> 00:00:53,301
Thank you very much for the invite.
19
00:00:53,331 --> 00:00:54,051
I appreciate it.
20
00:00:54,111 --> 00:00:55,231
It's great to catch up with you.
21
00:00:55,529 --> 00:00:56,029
Excellent.
22
00:00:56,489 --> 00:01:00,539
So for our listeners, can you share a
little bit about your career progression
23
00:01:00,599 --> 00:01:05,149
as a baseline and a couple of professional
or personal drivers that led you
24
00:01:05,199 --> 00:01:07,329
ultimately to where you are at T Mobile?
25
00:01:07,579 --> 00:01:10,379
Essentially a quick scroll
through your LinkedIn profile.
26
00:01:10,379 --> 00:01:12,019
So it's a great question.
27
00:01:12,219 --> 00:01:16,544
Actually, you know, I would say
I'll start with the drivers.
28
00:01:16,854 --> 00:01:21,804
The driver and, and drivers I
should say in my professional
29
00:01:21,804 --> 00:01:27,164
career has been a hundred percent
my family and my family situation.
30
00:01:27,214 --> 00:01:32,624
So I was married young and had two
kids and went through a divorce at 27.
31
00:01:32,624 --> 00:01:35,314
And I would say that that really.
32
00:01:35,389 --> 00:01:39,569
Sort of outlined or framed up how
it is that I approached my career.
33
00:01:39,939 --> 00:01:45,349
I found actually public accounting
surprisingly enough to be very
34
00:01:45,349 --> 00:01:49,729
accommodating for me and providing
me the flexibility that I needed to
35
00:01:49,729 --> 00:01:52,079
raise my kids as a single parent.
36
00:01:52,379 --> 00:01:56,029
Although I will say that I
had worked really hard with
37
00:01:56,029 --> 00:01:58,019
my ex husband to co parent.
38
00:01:58,369 --> 00:02:00,599
And what our divorce.
39
00:02:00,873 --> 00:02:05,933
allowed for me, which is going to sound
very strange, but It allowed me between
40
00:02:05,933 --> 00:02:07,273
the divorce and public accounting.
41
00:02:07,663 --> 00:02:14,963
When my kids were with their father it
was really easy for me to just work a lot
42
00:02:15,673 --> 00:02:21,113
and do what it is that I needed to do to
be successful in public accounting, which
43
00:02:21,213 --> 00:02:23,131
as anybody knows there's a lot of hours.
44
00:02:23,131 --> 00:02:28,157
Those are 60, 70 hour weeks,
fairly consistently, especially
45
00:02:28,187 --> 00:02:29,337
early in your career.
46
00:02:30,092 --> 00:02:35,972
And when the kids were with me, though,
it allowed me a little bit of flexibility,
47
00:02:35,972 --> 00:02:40,262
especially in the late nineties, early
2000, you started to get a little bit
48
00:02:40,262 --> 00:02:44,552
more flexibility to be able to work
from home schedule, you know, plan your
49
00:02:44,562 --> 00:02:49,072
schedule or your commutes and meetings
and meetings with clients and all of
50
00:02:49,072 --> 00:02:52,012
that around the kid's schedule and such.
51
00:02:52,102 --> 00:02:58,367
And I would choose clients that allowed
me the flexibility to like for instance,
52
00:02:58,367 --> 00:03:02,837
I had big global clients where I had
teams that were in Asia or Europe.
53
00:03:02,847 --> 00:03:06,937
Well, at those work hours, I could work
from home cause it was early in the
54
00:03:06,937 --> 00:03:09,497
morning or really late in the evening.
55
00:03:10,067 --> 00:03:17,667
And so I chose a lot of the clients that
I chose to work as well as just my career
56
00:03:17,677 --> 00:03:19,327
or profession within public accounting.
57
00:03:19,327 --> 00:03:25,537
And I guess I should state that I
worked both at KPMG as well as PWC.
58
00:03:26,147 --> 00:03:31,547
And once the kids were old enough and
went off to college, that's when it is
59
00:03:31,547 --> 00:03:36,847
that I decided to leave public accounting
and join the gap and just go out to the
60
00:03:36,847 --> 00:03:39,037
private slash, you know, public sector.
61
00:03:39,477 --> 00:03:42,137
And that was a big, that
was a big change for me.
62
00:03:42,137 --> 00:03:45,742
And I have to say, actually, as much
as I loved public accounting, My public
63
00:03:45,742 --> 00:03:50,012
accounting or my career, my time in
public accounting, I did make partner
64
00:03:50,532 --> 00:03:54,972
which was a fantastic personal goal
for me and professional goal for me.
65
00:03:55,392 --> 00:04:00,832
So when I left public accounting and
went to work at The Gap, I have to say
66
00:04:00,872 --> 00:04:06,632
that there was something that just like
a light switch that flipped for me.
67
00:04:07,102 --> 00:04:10,032
I absolutely loved really being there.
68
00:04:10,277 --> 00:04:12,957
An operator within an organization.
69
00:04:13,557 --> 00:04:19,447
So when I left as a partner at
PressWaterhouse, I joined the GAP as
70
00:04:19,497 --> 00:04:25,907
their controller and then was promoted
to, and that was a global controller role.
71
00:04:25,927 --> 00:04:28,087
So I had teams all over the world.
72
00:04:28,577 --> 00:04:32,897
As well as I guess within a pretty
short couple of years was made
73
00:04:33,027 --> 00:04:38,407
CAO which is far more operational
you know, beyond just your typical
74
00:04:38,407 --> 00:04:42,577
finance or controllership role which
was a lot of fun and I loved it.
75
00:04:42,647 --> 00:04:47,217
It's been, it's just made, you know,
the sort of the second chapter of my
76
00:04:47,217 --> 00:04:51,107
career so much more fun and something
that I really looked forward to as
77
00:04:51,107 --> 00:04:54,231
well as the gap is just, you know,
an incredible place to, to work.
78
00:04:54,465 --> 00:05:00,475
then from there, I had been recruited
or headhunted away to an organization
79
00:05:00,475 --> 00:05:06,025
called CBRE, which was a global, it's
actually the largest global asset
80
00:05:06,025 --> 00:05:09,795
management company, real estate asset
management company in the world.
81
00:05:10,335 --> 00:05:16,115
And I had a team of about 5, 000 people
across the country or across the globe.
82
00:05:16,630 --> 00:05:21,210
And spent quite a bit of time traveling
and you know, taking care of my teams
83
00:05:21,420 --> 00:05:27,700
globally and then had an opportunity
to join T Mobile that was looking to
84
00:05:27,700 --> 00:05:33,410
do a lot more finance transformation
work, which is the type of work that
85
00:05:33,410 --> 00:05:35,580
I really -started to do more CBRE.
86
00:05:36,507 --> 00:05:39,497
And I thought it would just be a
really great opportunity to stay
87
00:05:39,527 --> 00:05:44,277
a little bit more local as well
as the job, the CBRE job was going
88
00:05:44,277 --> 00:05:46,187
to require me to move to Texas.
89
00:05:46,737 --> 00:05:49,377
And I really didn't want to move to Texas.
90
00:05:49,377 --> 00:05:51,417
My whole family is here on the West coast.
91
00:05:51,467 --> 00:05:56,847
And so I'm able to fly from Santa
Rosa, which is one of my homes or at
92
00:05:56,847 --> 00:05:58,817
the time was my home before I joined.
93
00:05:59,047 --> 00:06:02,737
T Mobile and fly directly
into you know, Seattle.
94
00:06:02,877 --> 00:06:08,647
So my husband and I moved to Seattle and
it's been a great four years at T Mobile.
95
00:06:08,657 --> 00:06:09,657
Fantastic.
96
00:06:10,057 --> 00:06:13,827
Work with the Sprint and
T Mobile integration.
97
00:06:14,307 --> 00:06:18,347
And now we're working on a large
ERP sort of target operating model
98
00:06:18,357 --> 00:06:21,967
transformation as well that we
kicked off about three years ago.
99
00:06:22,157 --> 00:06:26,687
So been really challenging, a lot of
fun great to be on the other side of
100
00:06:26,707 --> 00:06:32,307
public accounting and will probably be
my last corporate stop before I retire
101
00:06:32,307 --> 00:06:37,882
and, Officially move on to board roles
more, you know, full time, full time,
102
00:06:37,882 --> 00:06:40,262
part time in a, retired capacity.
103
00:06:40,892 --> 00:06:41,512
that's awesome.
104
00:06:41,512 --> 00:06:45,402
I need to clarify one thing
that you said you had 5, 000
105
00:06:45,402 --> 00:06:46,782
people on your team at CBRE.
106
00:06:47,142 --> 00:06:48,662
5, 000 people.
107
00:06:48,772 --> 00:06:48,892
I
108
00:06:49,162 --> 00:06:50,282
And so what what's this?
109
00:06:50,502 --> 00:06:52,322
What's this current scale of team mobile?
110
00:06:52,382 --> 00:06:59,932
Okay.
111
00:06:59,987 --> 00:07:01,177
5, 000 people.
112
00:07:01,277 --> 00:07:05,687
Here at T Mobile, I think we've
got maybe 1, 800 people and that's
113
00:07:06,127 --> 00:07:09,427
partly some procurement supply
chain folks in there as well.
114
00:07:09,897 --> 00:07:15,087
And then my organization, when I
joined, my org was About 600 people.
115
00:07:15,087 --> 00:07:15,917
I picked up an I.
116
00:07:15,917 --> 00:07:16,187
T.
117
00:07:16,187 --> 00:07:18,957
Organization kicked it up to 700 people.
118
00:07:19,387 --> 00:07:21,987
We've been working through a target
operating model change, like I
119
00:07:21,987 --> 00:07:27,357
mentioned before, and have actually
set up a shared service center out in
120
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Overland Park, which is where Sprint's
corporate headquarter had been located.
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And So I've actually shifted a portion
of my team to report into the leadership
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there at the Shared Service Center.
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So my team now is about 300,
probably 350 folks as, as we work
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through the operating model change.
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So it's still a, it's still
a fairly large organization.
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I do have quite a bit of finance IT So
it's a little bit different than, you
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know, your typical chief accounting
officer role, or as people think
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around these numbers relatively
casually, like 5000 people is larger
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than many towns that people grew up in.
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You know, 3 or 4 or 600 people are are
significantly larger than many companies.
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Okay.
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That people work at from top to bottom.
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So it's really interesting and sort of
on that note, you know, the bulk of your
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career has been in larger organizations
and, you know, public accounting, not
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withstanding really I kind of characterize
larger corporate organizations
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like gap or CBRE or T Mobile.
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Have you had a, a knack for managing
large team, or is that a muscle that
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you have had to work on over the years?
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And if so.
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You know, what are the types of
things that you did and what would
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00:08:50,394 --> 00:08:54,692
you encourage people to focus on
to build that professional muscle?
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Such a wonderful, thoughtful question.
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It's probably all of the above.
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Within public accounting, like I'd
mentioned, I did have teams that I
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worked with across the globe and again,
growing up in public accounting, you're
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very much focused on your entire team.
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You're part of a broader organization.
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But that teaming mentality is so strong
and is something that I really thrived in.
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I really loved being a part of the
team and ensuring that the team
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dynamics was high functioning.
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So that was something that I probably
developed more in public accounting than
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when I went out into the private sector,
far more I guess I'm just wired that way.
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So one, I've been blessed to,
no matter where I've been.
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You know, I was working, I had
just phenomenally talented teams
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that I acquired and was hired into.
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So very thankful for that.
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So I think my muscle or my maybe secret
power is going into an organization
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quickly trying to assess the team dynamics
as well as just the political energy
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and culture within an organization and
trying to figure out how do we put, how
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do we set team members up for success?
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What are certain individuals strengths
and what are their weaknesses?
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And really honing in on where it is
that people were really strong and
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making sure that as a complete team, you
know, We had a really high functioning
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team and that requires an incredible
amount of diverse thought, experience,
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training, background you know, different
working styles and all of that.
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So, you know, if you had, if I had any
sort of toxic fixed mindset people, I
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would tend to Find better or different
roles for them if, if their approach was
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not working for what it is that we as
a team or as an enterprise needed and
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then just ensure that we really brought
in you know, strong, capable people to
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help accentuate the, the existing teams.
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I would say a lot of my success is very
much based on just the incredibly talented
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people that I have been able and been
fortunate to work with over the years.
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You're probably not giving
yourself near enough credit, but
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we'll leave it at that for sure.
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So, you know, I have been doing
what I do for a long, long time.
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And which means I've met.
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Hundreds and thousands of people over
the years, and it would be it would
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be untrue to say that I remember
everybody very well and remember all
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the different places where I would
have run into people, but I do remember
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meeting you for the first time.
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So that's stuck.
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That really sticks out as, you
know, one of the, you know, the
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highlights of my professional career.
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Do you recall where that was?
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Well, I believe, well, was it a restaurant
there on the Embarcadero in San Francisco?
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I think, was it Perry's?
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Well done.
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Very well done.
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We,
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Well, we had a blast.
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We laughed so hard.
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We had a great time.
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It was a
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It was very convenient.
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It's actually kind of fun to meet
people at places, which, you know,
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zoom doesn't allow obviously so much
because I find that it kind of earmarks.
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you know, you know, whether the smells
of the sun or the location of the
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chairs or whatever really helps to
kind of galvanize where you meet folks.
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But it's sort of slightly beside
the point other than it was a
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very memorable meeting for me.
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And I recall very specifically
thinking to myself, and this goes
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back 12, 13, 14 years ago that I
haven't met a lot of people like you.
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And why I say that is it was kind of near.
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The time in the marketplace where a VP
controller role was being elevated to
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chief accounting officer in the market.
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And there weren't a ton of chief
accounting officers, particularly in the
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Bay Area, I guess I would say, and because
there weren't a lot of you in the Bay
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Area, I remember being terribly impressed.
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And I won't ask you what you thought of
me, but you know, you've been through
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this evolution of controller to C.
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A.
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O.
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And I guess I'd like you for you to
kind of comment on your view of the
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importance of that within the C.
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F.
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O.
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00:13:27,432 --> 00:13:27,452
S.
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Organizational structure.
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Sure.
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Absolutely.
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Well, well, thank you.
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That is very kind of you.
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And I too remember our meeting
because like I mentioned I just
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remember we had a great time.
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And there was lots of laughter.
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And obviously we've stayed connected
this what last decade, decade and a half.
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So what's.
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Interesting.
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And I sort of touched on it earlier.
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I do think as, you know, the business
world changes industries change
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roles within organizations change.
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I, I left public accounting, went into
your typical global controller role,
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quickly found The, I guess the level of
change within our environment, especially
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from an IT perspective and as well as
our supply chain perspective, sort of
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back a lot of your back office functions
operationally, how things get done,
236
00:14:32,222 --> 00:14:38,402
how quickly things get done the immense
amount or need of of transformation
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sort of in that back office function
to really meet the current day, you
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know, pressures of whether it was like
at the Gap, you know, moving from a
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00:14:48,722 --> 00:14:53,922
predominantly retail footprint to a
more of an online present presence to
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compete with all of the online retailers.
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I, I found the sort of the frenetic, pace
at which we had to transform back office
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to be incredibly compelling and exciting.
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And I love digging into that and working
with my supply chain folks and my folks
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and understanding how that impacted
our systems and processes and such.
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And so I found for myself, I
am very focused on people and
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process And technologies to drive
efficiencies and improvements.
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00:15:30,942 --> 00:15:35,352
And that's where, I guess, like I said,
sort of a light switch flipped for
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me and I just really dug in and got
engaged on things more operationally.
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And.
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That's where I think CAOs today
can really make a big difference.
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And actually, that's how it is.
252
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I got the CAO title.
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There was a new CFO that came on
board at the Gap and, you know, she
254
00:15:53,202 --> 00:15:57,772
said, you really are operating far
more at this operational CAO level.
255
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You know, here, here's a promotion.
256
00:16:00,432 --> 00:16:06,212
Which again, then was a great
segue over into the CAO of CBRE,
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where, as you mentioned, 5, 000
people, it's a lot of people.
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I actually had all of the regional CFOs.
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Reporting in to me, and then I
reported into the global CFO.
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So in that role, I was deeply
embedded in the finance aspects,
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the accounting aspects but more
importantly, really the operational.
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Aspects of sort of the, you know,
the back office comings and goings,
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and I think that most CEOs at
this point are, are probably more
264
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focused on that to support the CFO.
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Uh, So.
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As much as I'm engaged with, you
know, a lot of the investor relations
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peace and working with legal, working
with all your business developers
268
00:16:50,145 --> 00:16:54,535
for merger acquisitions and such,
you've got the technical aspects
269
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of how to account for things.
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00:16:56,865 --> 00:17:01,575
But it's also really
understanding, you know, the, the.
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I guess the way to think about it is
the SOX control premise, Sarbanes Oxley,
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really forced accountants to think more
you know, process in engineering mindset
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with IT thrown over the top when IT is
changing, you know, rapidly, quarterly.
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And so you just have to think You know,
you just have to think differently
275
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and think along the lines as your IT
brothers and sisters and work with
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them to ensure that you are addressing
any of the risks that this, you know,
277
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IT transformation introduces into
your financial reporting environment.
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And how do you mitigate that
risk and how do you ensure that
279
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you've got, you know, the right
folks focused on the right things.
280
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Is just changed a lot.
281
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peeling some of that back, probably some
sage advice to existing controllers out
282
00:17:52,800 --> 00:17:57,440
there is there's only so much muscle
you can build in your accounting chops
283
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that if you want to be elevated within
an organization to a CAO or other, then
284
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that, you know, being more involved
in that intersectionality between it
285
00:18:08,290 --> 00:18:11,350
and supply chain and transformation
and the other parts of the business is
286
00:18:11,770 --> 00:18:17,830
is how you climb to the next level as
opposed to just being a brilliant expert
287
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around SEC issues or, or the like.
288
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Absolutely.
289
00:18:22,455 --> 00:18:23,015
Well said.
290
00:18:23,225 --> 00:18:24,635
Yes, exactly.
291
00:18:25,265 --> 00:18:26,155
Well, thank you very much.
292
00:18:26,325 --> 00:18:29,425
So you and I are both no longer
in our twenties and with a little
293
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bit more experience in life.
294
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I wonder what type of lessons
you've learned along the way trying
295
00:18:34,365 --> 00:18:37,275
to manage your professional work
health and your personal health.
296
00:18:37,335 --> 00:18:41,315
I know this is, you know, an
area of importance to you, and
297
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I'm sure you look at things very
differently today versus yesterday.
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And I guess I'd love to take.
299
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To get some perspective and some
insight that you can share about
300
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being healthy in a demanding corporate
environment and things that you
301
00:18:59,465 --> 00:19:03,295
think about and things that you try
to do, both physically and mentally.
302
00:19:03,295 --> 00:19:03,715
Yes.
303
00:19:04,252 --> 00:19:09,942
Such a great question and super
important for all of us corporate
304
00:19:09,942 --> 00:19:12,062
athletes, as I like to put it.
305
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If I were to, let me kind
of phrase it this way.
306
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If I were to give any advice to
my 20, 30 year old self, I would
307
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say carve out time for sleep.
308
00:19:26,161 --> 00:19:30,881
And I know that sounds kind of
crazy, but sleep is so important
309
00:19:30,981 --> 00:19:37,621
to every aspect of your day and
your mental and physical wellbeing.
310
00:19:38,171 --> 00:19:41,941
And sleep is something that
I started to really focus on
311
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probably about a decade ago.
312
00:19:43,981 --> 00:19:49,151
And my guess is it was driven by all
of the global travel that I was doing
313
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and the fact that I was working.
314
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really odd hours, early mornings,
late evenings, you know, dealing
315
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with global teams and such.
316
00:19:58,286 --> 00:20:02,136
And I just was hitting
burnout very quickly.
317
00:20:02,356 --> 00:20:06,066
And I kept thinking, I,
you know, I love my job.
318
00:20:06,106 --> 00:20:07,746
I love my team.
319
00:20:07,786 --> 00:20:11,786
I love my work, but I am still
just constantly burnt out.
320
00:20:12,236 --> 00:20:16,011
And you know, as I hit my thirties
and forties, I just didn't have
321
00:20:16,041 --> 00:20:20,111
the same level of energy that I did
when I was younger and was trying
322
00:20:20,111 --> 00:20:23,781
to understand, you know, what is it
that I could be doing differently?
323
00:20:24,071 --> 00:20:28,931
So about a decade ago I really
started getting into this trend
324
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that probably some of your listeners
know, but it's called biohacking.
325
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And that is really where you just
start taking more control of your
326
00:20:38,071 --> 00:20:44,891
environment around you to really help
strengthen and sort of manage your
327
00:20:45,091 --> 00:20:47,371
physical and mental wellbeing better.
328
00:20:47,771 --> 00:20:51,561
And sleep was the first thing that
I attacked and it was incredibly
329
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important and frankly And I'll throw
this out there recognizing this
330
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may make some people uncomfortable.
331
00:20:57,151 --> 00:21:03,021
But as I, you know, approach to
menopause and went through menopause I
332
00:21:03,021 --> 00:21:10,611
was really amazed at what a difference
if my sleep was under control, if my,
333
00:21:10,651 --> 00:21:16,881
you know, hormone balance was under
control if my physical, you know, I kept
334
00:21:16,881 --> 00:21:21,091
up with all the physical exercise and
resistance training and all of that.
335
00:21:22,396 --> 00:21:25,656
I just feel so much better and I
can tackle and handle anything and
336
00:21:25,656 --> 00:21:30,016
everything that life is throwing at
me and certainly a lot of my travel
337
00:21:30,166 --> 00:21:36,546
and somewhat frenetic hours at
times was much more easy to manage.
338
00:21:36,961 --> 00:21:40,821
But I do really think that that's
something that we lose track of,
339
00:21:40,821 --> 00:21:42,931
especially when we're, we're younger.
340
00:21:42,931 --> 00:21:48,011
And so my advice to, to many folks
out there is really getting a handle,
341
00:21:48,031 --> 00:21:54,061
do some research on what you know,
sleep actually does for your body.
342
00:21:54,511 --> 00:21:58,621
You know, I would say at this point,
I am not a big drinker anymore.
343
00:21:58,631 --> 00:22:03,961
I recognized how much alcohol disrupted
my sleep and just how much that
344
00:22:03,961 --> 00:22:08,791
would completely, you know, ruin the
next day or the next couple of days.
345
00:22:10,196 --> 00:22:10,906
for me.
346
00:22:10,976 --> 00:22:15,536
And so I really had to, as I, as I
got a little bit older, went through
347
00:22:15,536 --> 00:22:21,476
menopause, I really started to hone in
on what is it that I need to, to be more
348
00:22:21,506 --> 00:22:27,036
optimized as a human being to really
show up for myself and my, my coworkers,
349
00:22:27,246 --> 00:22:29,316
obviously my family and my husband.
350
00:22:29,326 --> 00:22:34,856
So that's something that is just a whole
new chapter for me and something that
351
00:22:34,856 --> 00:22:39,706
I focus on quite a bit and actually
help others that are going through
352
00:22:39,866 --> 00:22:43,586
menopause or even, you know, men that
I work with that are just trying to get
353
00:22:43,586 --> 00:22:48,796
a handle on, on their health for fun,
sort of like a side passion, health and
354
00:22:48,906 --> 00:22:52,426
Are you, are you pretty vocal
about this internally at T Mobile?
355
00:22:52,961 --> 00:22:55,851
You know, am I vote?
356
00:22:56,091 --> 00:22:57,021
Yeah, probably.
357
00:22:57,051 --> 00:22:58,061
I probably am.
358
00:22:58,131 --> 00:23:02,741
You know, it's, it's a matter of trying
to balance not passing judgment on how
359
00:23:02,741 --> 00:23:07,621
people live their lives because you never
want to do that and turn people off.
360
00:23:07,701 --> 00:23:12,596
But I do have people that will ask,
you know, hey, you you know, you look
361
00:23:12,606 --> 00:23:16,006
great or you've got a ton of energy or
I don't know how you manage everything
362
00:23:16,006 --> 00:23:18,356
that you manage and things like that.
363
00:23:18,476 --> 00:23:23,516
I did for Christmas give, you know, all
of my direct reports, Peter Atiyah's
364
00:23:23,536 --> 00:23:28,086
Outlive book, because he's, he's
somebody that I think just has a real
365
00:23:28,086 --> 00:23:33,496
practical, pragmatic approach to, you
know, how to monitor and maintain, you
366
00:23:33,496 --> 00:23:35,591
know, a healthy, a healthy lifestyle.
367
00:23:35,641 --> 00:23:38,631
So yeah, people, people are pretty clear.
368
00:23:38,701 --> 00:23:41,741
I, I don't, you know, people
are drinking, I don't drink.
369
00:23:41,801 --> 00:23:46,431
So people ask me questions around
that and I'll explain sort of the, my
370
00:23:46,431 --> 00:23:48,941
health journey and path that I'm on.
371
00:23:49,021 --> 00:23:52,081
So but it's, it's really
been life changing for me.
372
00:23:52,236 --> 00:23:57,226
I asked that question because I think
it's, it's much easier to be a vocal
373
00:23:57,796 --> 00:24:03,456
SVP talking about this stuff and making
sure that people take you seriously,
374
00:24:03,456 --> 00:24:06,986
that it's a really important part
of life and how it, you know, how it
375
00:24:06,996 --> 00:24:08,916
leads to a better work product as well.
376
00:24:09,266 --> 00:24:14,466
It might be a lot more difficult if you're
28 and busy saying yes to meetings and
377
00:24:14,466 --> 00:24:16,256
yes to this and yes to that all the time.
378
00:24:16,256 --> 00:24:17,536
And I.
379
00:24:18,706 --> 00:24:22,076
I don't know that I have and this isn't,
it's more of a statement than a question.
380
00:24:22,086 --> 00:24:23,096
Like I throw it out there.
381
00:24:23,096 --> 00:24:27,196
Like that must be a, that will be a
challenging thing to navigate if it
382
00:24:27,196 --> 00:24:31,496
was something very important to you
and work was potentially part of the,
383
00:24:31,936 --> 00:24:33,556
the way that that was being compromised
384
00:24:33,556 --> 00:24:37,596
so it's a really important
conversation and I, that's where I
385
00:24:37,616 --> 00:24:41,516
think people have to be incredibly
thoughtful about where it is.
386
00:24:42,081 --> 00:24:46,661
That they work and the companies
that they join, what is that culture
387
00:24:46,701 --> 00:24:48,621
and what are those expectations?
388
00:24:49,021 --> 00:24:54,411
I will say I am really impressed
by the younger generations.
389
00:24:54,511 --> 00:25:02,421
The folks that work for me, I encourage
people to speak up and be very clear
390
00:25:02,531 --> 00:25:08,241
about what it is that they need and the
balance that they need so that they can
391
00:25:08,241 --> 00:25:14,611
show up and be their best self at work
as well as their best self at home.
392
00:25:15,361 --> 00:25:19,021
I was fortunate that I had people
that believed in me within my
393
00:25:19,021 --> 00:25:25,021
career and really supported me to
ensure that I was as balanced as
394
00:25:25,021 --> 00:25:26,191
I, you know, could possibly be.
395
00:25:26,221 --> 00:25:32,141
Probably all of the stress and
pressure that I felt when I was
396
00:25:32,151 --> 00:25:35,061
younger, a lot of that I put on myself.
397
00:25:35,461 --> 00:25:41,101
And typically, if I did reach out and sort
of talk with folks and say, Hey, I need
398
00:25:41,151 --> 00:25:45,761
X, Y, and Z to accommodate this, or can
I have some flexibility here, whatever,
399
00:25:46,931 --> 00:25:49,311
I don't believe anybody ever did that.
400
00:25:49,661 --> 00:25:54,081
said no to me now, whether or
not that held me back, there's
401
00:25:54,081 --> 00:25:58,451
a part of me that would have to
ponder that question a little bit.
402
00:25:58,511 --> 00:25:59,361
I don't believe so.
403
00:25:59,401 --> 00:26:00,271
I made partner.
404
00:26:00,581 --> 00:26:04,551
Maybe I would have made partner a
couple of years younger if I hadn't had
405
00:26:04,551 --> 00:26:07,061
kids, but my goodness, I could never.
406
00:26:07,366 --> 00:26:09,986
You know, I don't regret
that trade off at all.
407
00:26:10,476 --> 00:26:16,696
So, so today it's a very different
world and I do believe that the younger
408
00:26:16,696 --> 00:26:21,656
generations are much more confident in
asking for what it is that they need.
409
00:26:22,166 --> 00:26:29,876
And they're not as worried about, you
know they're just not as worried about.
410
00:26:29,876 --> 00:26:34,426
How people will think about them
or evaluate them which is great.
411
00:26:34,476 --> 00:26:38,236
I think that's fantastic because then
you can have a really good transparent
412
00:26:38,236 --> 00:26:45,926
conversation and make sure that you've,
you know, got the right, functioning team.
413
00:26:46,246 --> 00:26:49,546
I know I keep saying that, but
it's, it's incredibly important.
414
00:26:49,576 --> 00:26:55,036
Otherwise you're just going to burn
people out and people miss deadlines and
415
00:26:55,576 --> 00:26:57,586
make mistakes and, and things like that.
416
00:26:57,606 --> 00:27:02,376
I would just encourage folks
to be very clear about what is
417
00:27:02,476 --> 00:27:04,436
incredibly important to them.
418
00:27:05,156 --> 00:27:09,266
Your health has to be, and now I'm
going to sound like I'm getting on a
419
00:27:09,266 --> 00:27:15,286
soap box here, but You have to make
time for your health and well being.
420
00:27:15,526 --> 00:27:22,336
If you don't, sickness is going to
force you into a completely different,
421
00:27:22,626 --> 00:27:27,396
you know, framework or mindset or
lifestyle that you didn't anticipate.
422
00:27:27,816 --> 00:27:29,676
Which, who knows?
423
00:27:30,131 --> 00:27:31,451
what that can encompass.
424
00:27:31,651 --> 00:27:35,201
So make sure you're
taking the steps early on.
425
00:27:35,391 --> 00:27:39,991
And if you're in an environment
that doesn't encourage that or is
426
00:27:40,011 --> 00:27:45,126
actually harming your mental and
physical well being, you're in the
427
00:27:45,126 --> 00:27:50,246
wrong place and it's okay to leave
and go someplace else that will.
428
00:27:50,606 --> 00:27:55,686
And I don't believe the generations today
have any concern and walking away from
429
00:27:55,686 --> 00:27:58,616
an environment that doesn't support them.
430
00:27:59,516 --> 00:28:02,676
So I'm happy to see that, that shift.
431
00:28:03,066 --> 00:28:07,636
But if there's anybody out there that is
having a problem with that, really step
432
00:28:07,636 --> 00:28:09,936
back and take stock of what's important.
433
00:28:09,946 --> 00:28:16,106
And I can say as I'm, you know,
later in my career journey, looking
434
00:28:16,406 --> 00:28:23,166
back, the most important thing
to me is my family and my health.
435
00:28:23,531 --> 00:28:27,901
And I feel very fortunate that I've
had a career that has allowed me to
436
00:28:27,911 --> 00:28:33,601
grow and reach really interesting,
you know, challenging, fun positions.
437
00:28:34,201 --> 00:28:38,201
But I would never have done any of
these things if it ever jeopardized, my
438
00:28:38,201 --> 00:28:42,331
family or my health to, to the extreme.
439
00:28:42,591 --> 00:28:48,531
So however, I wish I would have
slept a lot more when I was younger.
440
00:28:49,101 --> 00:28:51,561
Now you're making me wonder if
I slept well at all last night.
441
00:28:51,561 --> 00:28:53,741
I'm thinking no I probably didn't.
442
00:28:53,861 --> 00:28:55,451
I'm gonna need to take
a little stock here.
443
00:28:56,001 --> 00:28:57,201
Do you have an aura Ring?
444
00:28:58,261 --> 00:28:58,941
no,
445
00:28:58,941 --> 00:28:59,181
I have
446
00:28:59,321 --> 00:28:59,891
your sleep?
447
00:29:00,641 --> 00:29:02,861
no, I don't.
448
00:29:02,881 --> 00:29:08,211
I have bunches of friends that do,
and you know, I know it is something
449
00:29:08,211 --> 00:29:09,441
that I should be thinking about.
450
00:29:09,551 --> 00:29:14,241
So if anything comes out of this
podcast at all, it's one more person
451
00:29:14,281 --> 00:29:17,801
saying, Derek, get your shit together.
452
00:29:17,871 --> 00:29:18,551
Let's go.
453
00:29:19,011 --> 00:29:20,911
I mean, I may just do it after this call.
454
00:29:21,091 --> 00:29:26,561
So pivoting off of a very important
topic to one that is much less
455
00:29:26,561 --> 00:29:30,941
important, but one that my daughter
would probably want me to ask is T Mobile
456
00:29:30,941 --> 00:29:34,806
recently Have you met Ryan Reynolds?
457
00:29:36,576 --> 00:29:38,126
No, I have not.
458
00:29:38,176 --> 00:29:41,616
I'm sorry to break her
heart, but no, I haven't.
459
00:29:41,636 --> 00:29:45,546
And if I did actually, I would ask
him, can I please meet your wife?
460
00:29:45,586 --> 00:29:49,126
Because I think Blake Lavely is
just like an amazing human being.
461
00:29:49,126 --> 00:29:50,906
I would love to have a
cup of coffee with her.
462
00:29:51,436 --> 00:29:53,336
But no, I have not met him.
463
00:29:53,356 --> 00:29:56,266
I've met the team and you
know, the CEO and the CFO.
464
00:29:56,316 --> 00:29:59,006
And the broader team,
but I have not met him.
465
00:29:59,096 --> 00:30:02,816
Only Mike Sievert has had the
opportunity to hug Ryan Reynolds.
466
00:30:05,141 --> 00:30:07,501
All right, so I've peppered
you with a bunch of questions.
467
00:30:07,961 --> 00:30:11,881
You have been gracious enough to
answer them all incredibly well.
468
00:30:12,231 --> 00:30:17,321
Now we get to the point of this podcast
where I let you ask me a question.
469
00:30:17,321 --> 00:30:21,661
I don't know what it is, and so I'll
do my very best to answer as well as
470
00:30:21,661 --> 00:30:24,711
I can, but you now have the stage.
471
00:30:25,311 --> 00:30:25,981
Okay.
472
00:30:26,591 --> 00:30:31,311
So first, before I ask you the
question, I am going to say, all
473
00:30:31,311 --> 00:30:36,241
right, I'm going to follow up with
you and see if you end up, you know,
474
00:30:36,311 --> 00:30:38,671
purchasing a tracker to help you.
475
00:30:39,016 --> 00:30:42,956
work through your sleep or monitor
your sleep and your health and just
476
00:30:42,956 --> 00:30:45,186
see if that's something that you do.
477
00:30:45,406 --> 00:30:51,046
If you do, I think you will be shocked
at what that data will tell you and
478
00:30:51,096 --> 00:30:55,016
how easy it is to just tweak little
things here and there to feel better.
479
00:30:55,146 --> 00:30:57,916
If that is something that is really
important to you, I don't know, because
480
00:30:57,926 --> 00:31:01,901
we haven't had a conversation truly
around you know, a deep conversation
481
00:31:01,901 --> 00:31:04,321
around that, but would love to
do that at some point with you.
482
00:31:04,691 --> 00:31:08,851
Okay, putting that aside, just
letting you know, I'm going to annoy
483
00:31:08,851 --> 00:31:10,701
you and be bothering you for that.
484
00:31:10,751 --> 00:31:12,141
But because that'll be fun.
485
00:31:12,611 --> 00:31:13,121
But no.
486
00:31:13,181 --> 00:31:14,941
So I'm curious.
487
00:31:15,001 --> 00:31:17,821
I mean, I love that you're
doing these podcasts.
488
00:31:17,841 --> 00:31:20,931
I think it's a lot of fun and
they're great to listen to.
489
00:31:20,951 --> 00:31:25,641
And I'm curious, what
podcast is your favorite?
490
00:31:25,641 --> 00:31:25,881
Okay.
491
00:31:25,881 --> 00:31:27,071
You're going to hate this answer.
492
00:31:27,071 --> 00:31:29,701
And I think everybody out there
is going to hate it as well.
493
00:31:30,201 --> 00:31:31,871
I don't listen to podcasts.
494
00:31:32,216 --> 00:31:32,466
What?
495
00:31:33,386 --> 00:31:34,276
What do you mean?
496
00:31:34,781 --> 00:31:35,291
I know.
497
00:31:35,371 --> 00:31:39,101
And I, that is the response that I
get from everybody because everybody
498
00:31:39,101 --> 00:31:42,891
has a favorite podcast and everybody
says, Derek, you should listen to this.
499
00:31:42,981 --> 00:31:44,031
Derek, you should listen to that.
500
00:31:44,081 --> 00:31:45,011
This is a great one.
501
00:31:45,291 --> 00:31:46,861
And I know they're all right.
502
00:31:47,061 --> 00:31:49,091
I am a hundred percent certain of it.
503
00:31:49,131 --> 00:31:50,941
And I know I'm also missing out.
504
00:31:51,576 --> 00:31:56,596
On opportunities to be smarter and more
engaged in lots of different things.
505
00:31:56,746 --> 00:32:02,956
And between that and the aura ring,
I've got two things to do for sure.
506
00:32:02,976 --> 00:32:06,076
And you'll be able to follow up with
me on both of those, including a
507
00:32:06,076 --> 00:32:08,146
recommendation of your favorite podcast.
508
00:32:08,646 --> 00:32:14,126
Which I will promise you, I will
listen to at least one, probably more.
509
00:32:15,036 --> 00:32:20,086
So if that's the case, maybe this will
make it a little bit easier for you
510
00:32:20,086 --> 00:32:22,596
to, you know, crack the podcast nut.
511
00:32:22,626 --> 00:32:25,166
And that is check out smart lists.
512
00:32:25,706 --> 00:32:26,796
It's hysterical.
513
00:32:26,946 --> 00:32:28,096
It's really funny.
514
00:32:28,146 --> 00:32:29,666
You will enjoy listening to them.
515
00:32:29,686 --> 00:32:37,146
It's Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, Will
Arnett, and they just Yes For you know
516
00:32:37,306 --> 00:32:44,226
an hour And they'll bring in they'll
bring in a surprise guest to every
517
00:32:44,226 --> 00:32:50,256
episode One person brings in you know
talent and surprises the other two
518
00:32:50,256 --> 00:32:51,576
and then they have this conversation.
519
00:32:51,806 --> 00:32:53,716
It's hysterical It's a lot of fun.
520
00:32:53,866 --> 00:32:56,646
You'll you'll enjoy listening to it
I mean, there's so many podcasts out
521
00:32:56,646 --> 00:32:59,606
there that are so educational and
informative and such and I have a whole
522
00:32:59,606 --> 00:33:02,691
You List as long as my arm that I'm
happy to share with you some other time.
523
00:33:02,711 --> 00:33:05,961
But smartless is just super fun.
524
00:33:05,961 --> 00:33:06,901
I think you would love it.
525
00:33:07,141 --> 00:33:09,181
I knowing you you'd have
526
00:33:09,361 --> 00:33:13,921
I have listened to a crime junkie one
that my daughter put me on to a couple
527
00:33:13,921 --> 00:33:18,311
different times on a couple road trips,
which are, which are very fun to listen
528
00:33:18,341 --> 00:33:22,781
to, but I haven't, you know, I haven't
made them a part of my my daily, weekly
529
00:33:22,881 --> 00:33:27,111
intake of information, but I, you
know, I will pivot off of your question
530
00:33:27,591 --> 00:33:32,061
and answer the, what was my favorite
podcast that I've done, even though you
531
00:33:32,061 --> 00:33:33,781
didn't ask that question specifically.
532
00:33:34,131 --> 00:33:35,031
The first thing I'll say is.
533
00:33:35,376 --> 00:33:36,376
Everyone's been great.
534
00:33:36,516 --> 00:33:37,896
Who is your favorite child?
535
00:33:37,986 --> 00:33:38,916
They're all my favorite.
536
00:33:39,246 --> 00:33:40,766
I don't love anybody more.
537
00:33:40,976 --> 00:33:47,106
However, comma I generally make reference
to one that I did with Carrie Walsh.
538
00:33:47,646 --> 00:33:52,646
One because she was so gracious
to do it without Without even a
539
00:33:52,756 --> 00:33:57,186
second of, of hesitation and I
didn't even know her that well.
540
00:33:57,526 --> 00:34:02,416
--- And I'm, I'm a volleyball dad so I kind
of did dig the whole volleyball scene.
541
00:34:02,466 --> 00:34:04,126
So that was, that was a
lot of fun to talk to her.
542
00:34:04,686 --> 00:34:05,656
That's excellent.
543
00:34:05,676 --> 00:34:07,476
Well, you did a great job too, right?
544
00:34:07,476 --> 00:34:08,406
It takes, it does.
545
00:34:08,556 --> 00:34:13,926
It's, it takes a lot to trust the person
that's asking the questions and to
546
00:34:13,926 --> 00:34:16,566
share, you know, your stories and such.
547
00:34:16,586 --> 00:34:17,556
So well done.
548
00:34:17,676 --> 00:34:17,856
Good
549
00:34:18,141 --> 00:34:20,461
Well, and you, you've talked
about your teams being so
550
00:34:20,461 --> 00:34:21,761
important as part of your success.
551
00:34:21,761 --> 00:34:27,181
I think if you pick people who are
interesting and awesome and at least
552
00:34:27,181 --> 00:34:29,421
as good, if not better than you
are, then you're probably going to
553
00:34:29,421 --> 00:34:30,641
end up with a pretty good output.
554
00:34:30,691 --> 00:34:34,291
So I've been very fortunate and
look forward to this one hitting
555
00:34:34,371 --> 00:34:35,621
hitting the podcast world.
556
00:34:35,621 --> 00:34:38,151
And, and on that note,
I get to set you free.
557
00:34:38,151 --> 00:34:38,211
Thank you.
558
00:34:39,551 --> 00:34:40,541
You've been awesome.
559
00:34:40,991 --> 00:34:42,381
I appreciate your time.
560
00:34:42,791 --> 00:34:47,491
Thank you for being an advocate of mine
professionally as well on this end and
561
00:34:47,511 --> 00:34:50,731
saying good things about me over the
years and being always so responsive.
562
00:34:50,801 --> 00:34:55,661
So you are absolutely your career
trajectory is an inspiration and you
563
00:34:55,661 --> 00:34:57,281
are personally an inspiration as well.
564
00:34:57,381 --> 00:34:58,671
So really, really
565
00:34:58,816 --> 00:34:59,066
you.
566
00:34:59,301 --> 00:35:00,141
the time there.
567
00:35:00,506 --> 00:35:01,616
Thank you so much.
568
00:35:01,636 --> 00:35:02,776
And I'm right back at you.
