Conquering Columbus Podcast

Larry Connor is a founder and CEO / Managing Partner of the Connor Group. Larry got his first taste of entrepreneurship in High School after starting a painting business with a close friend. That taste led to a career in entrepreneurship (with a few pit stops along the way). Larry has founded companies from the …

Dr. Rustin Morse is the Chief Medical Officer at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. As CMO, Dr. Morse leads key operational areas such as clinical care and medical education. He also guides programs like their quality and safety program, Zero Hero (More on that to come). Dr. Morse is a faculty member at the Ohio State University …

Dr. Annalies Corbin is a nationally recognized researcher, speaker, author, and foremost expert connecting scientific research with education and business, and industry within communities. Affectionately called, the Chief Goddess, Annalies has spent more than 20 years as Founder, President, and CEO of the PAST Foundation – an educational non-profit organization. She is also the host …

Tom Burden is a former Air Force mechanic turned entrepreneur after encountering a problem at his job – there wasn’t a good way to hold tools, especially when working on aircraft with a lot of different angles you might have to position yourself on. So he invented Grypmat – a heat-resistant, gripping tool mat that …

Chris Hawker is a serial entrepreneur, inventor, and professional speaker. Some of his products and companies include (but aren’t limited to): Trident Design, PowerSquid, Thirsty Light, WaveRider Design, Zilla, and Straptor. Most recently, he’s been working on a SaaS venture, OMS.

Founded in 2014 by James Forbes and his mother, Jane, North Country Charcuterie is a small business offering hand-cured meats and salamis made locally in Columbus, Ohio. Their products include traditional salamis and edgier options, such as coffee bacon. You can find North Country Charcuterie at eateries and gourmet grocers across Ohio. mi

Paul Powers is the CEO and Founder of Physna, a software company that helps companies take 3D models and turn them into usable data for software applications — This helps increase productivity in manufacturing and empowers companies to better utilize emerging technologies such as 3D printing, as well as augmented and virtual reality.

Lindsey is the COO at the Wellington School, a private, pre K-12, co-educational, college preparatory school located in Upper Arlington. Prior to taking on the COO role, Lindsey served as the Athletic Director for the Wellington School. She has also been an L1 Advisory Board Member for Crossfit, Inc, as well as being a Crossfit …

Linda is the CEO of MedVet, one of the more well-known and fastest-growing groups of emergency and specialty referral veterinary hospitals for companion animals. Linda joined MedVet as a Staff Cardiologist back in 2000, and over the past 20 years has moved her way up to take on the CEO role in 2019.

Dr. Kevin Klingele is the Chief of Orthopaedic Surgery at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, as well as Director of the Nationwide Children’s Fellowship program. He is also the Surgical Director of Sports Medicine at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. He received his medical …

Saket Agrawal and Navin Goyal are the CEO and Cofounder, respectively, of OFFOR Health, a mobile anesthesia and healthcare company, which currently servicing patients in 3 states. Navin also serves as Co-Founder and CEO of Loud Capital, a venture capital firm focused on empowering founders utilizing a unique investment model.

Rob Ouellette is a Partner at Ice Miller, and he focuses his practice on complex corporate transactions, mergers and acquisitions (particularly private equity investments and transactions), and a range of financing transactions.

Chris Sauerzopf is the Founder and CEO of SafeWire, a company designed to stop the rampant wire fraud seen today in real estate. Nearly 1 in every 450 real estate transactions has associated fraud reported, costing consumers and businesses over $221 million in 2019. SafeWire is a software program that allows digital authentication of buyers …

Eric Jenkusky is CEO and a Cofounder of Matrix Meats. Matrix Meats designs and manufactures novel three-dimensional (3D) nanofiber scaffolds for the culturing of meat in cellular agriculture. Eric is also a serial entrepreneur, having founded several other companies, and currently, he also serves as a Cofounder at T.J. Clark International, which focuses on the …

Steve is a Cofounder and the CEO of Branch Insurance, an insurance firm founded in 2018 and headquartered Columbus, Ohio. Branch’s biggest differentiator is their ability to bundle home and auto insurance faster than anyone because they are the first company to sell it online with just a customer’s name and address. Steve came together …

Dr. Greg Berlet is the Managing Partner of The Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Center (OFAC), a practice devoted to multi-disciplinary foot and ankle care in Westerville, Ohio. He is also a past Chairman of the Education Committee for the American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society and a past board member of the American Academy of …

Andy Panos is a Cofounder and the COO of Cloudbreak Health, and Jamey Edwards is a Cofounder and the CEO at Cloudbreak Health. We previously had Andy on the show to talk about the story behind Cloudbreak Health and how the company got started, but it was recently announced that Cloudbreak Health will be merging …

Jim Merkel is the Founder and CEO of Rockbridge, a private investment firm headquartered in Columbus, Ohio that has been focused on the hospitality industry since 1999. Rockbridge has made more than 260 real estate and hospitality investments in 38 states, worth over $8.5 Billion in total capitalization. In 2011, Jim also founded RBHD, a …

High Bank Distillery Co. is a distillery and restaurant located in Grandview, OH. The team at High Bank distills Whiskey, Vodka, Gin, and Rum, and their restaurant serves a variety of options that change fairly often with the seasons. They’re most known for their world-class meals, award winning cocktails, and unmatched environment.

Matter is the only women-owned, non-profit, investigative local news outlet. Matter was founded a little over two years ago, with the mission of covering the most pressing issues for Central Ohio,

Matthew is the Senior Vice President of Culinary and Menu Innovation at Piada. Prior to joining the Piada team, Matthew was the Corporate Executive Chef at Brio. Previously, Matthew spent time as an Executive Chef at a variety of restaurants, including Lindey’s, and his cooking career has brought him all over the world to places …

Don M. Casto, III is a partner of CASTO. Prior to joining the organization in 1971, he was in the private practice of law in San Francisco, California. Casto is a graduate of Stanford University and Stanford Law School and holds a master’s degree in Natural Resource Law from George Washington University. He is actively …

Andy Hays is the Co-founder and President of Copper Run, an investment banking firm focused on helping their clients manage acquisitions, company sales, and “Taking some chips off the table.” Prior to co-founding Copper Run, Andy worked for, and helped found, Cantor Fitzgerald’s investment banking group on Wall Street, after 9/11. Cantor’s investment banking group …

Ryan Sevey is the General Manager at DataRobot. Prior to joining DataRobot Ryan was the CEO and a Co-Founder of Nexosis. Nexosis was a provider of machine learning API for developers, which was then acquired by DataRobot in 2018.

Outern is a revolutionary early careers jobs tryout platform; it allows companies to source and evaluate talent at scale, and from anywhere, through the power of data, video content, and remote work. The company is aiming to level the playing field by making opportunity dependent upon what candidates can do, rather than where they come …

Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, The Wasserstrom Company is the world’s leading restaurant supplier and distributor of foodservice supplies and equipment. Since 1902, Wasserstrom has provided foodservice operators with high quality products, like kitchen supplies and catering supplies, from the industry’s leading manufacturers. Brad graduated from Arizona State University with a degree in Marketing before getting …

Todd Penegor is the CEO of Wendy’s. Todd joined the Wendy’s team in 2013 as SVP and Chief Financial Officer in 2013, and was appointed CEO in May of 2016. Prior to his employment with Wendy’s, Todd worked at Kellogg Company (a global leader in food products) from 2000 to 2013. Todd held several key …

Philip Payne is the Principal and Founder over at Apportis, a technology company here in Columbus focused on disrupting the healthcare industry; their goal is to provide real time guidance on diet, exercise, medication, and more, from your phone, laptop, or tablet when you need it. Philip held senior level marketing roles in several major …

David Specht joined The Waterworks in October 1998; From 1998 to 2001, he served as the Vice President of Operations, then becoming the President in November 2001. The Waterworks is one of the premier plumbing, sewer, drain cleaning, and HVAC service businesses in the midwest.

Coach (John) Tortorella is the head coach for the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL).  

Peter Mohler, PhD, is the vice dean for Research in the Ohio State College of Medicine, chief scientific officer and director of the Dorothy M. Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute. His research is focused on uncovering the mechanisms underlying abnormal heart rhythms and heart failure in children and young adults with the goals of …

Lewis “Lou” Von Thaer is the President and CEO of Battelle, the world’s largest independent research and development organization.

Andrew Ginther is the Mayor of Columbus, Ohio — Andrew was elected to the Mayor’s office as the 53rd Mayor of Columbus in 2015, succeeding Mayor Michael B. Coleman, who was the longest serving mayor in Columbus city history. Mayor Ginther previously served on the Columbus City Council from 2007-2015.

Mark Kvamme is a Co-Founder and Partner at Drive Capital. Mark and Co-Founder, Chris Olsen, relocated from San Francisco to Columbus to start their own Venture Capital firm. Before founding Drive, Mark and Chris were working at Sequoia Capital (one of the most well known Venture Capital firms in Silicon Valley). Many would have called …

Studium is an education technology company offering high schools and colleges tools to build community and retain students. Studium improves student retention by breaking down barriers to student involvement and providing institutions with a holistic understanding of their student’s college experience.

JL Holdsworth is the Founder of The Spot Athletics, a World Champion powerlifter, and the Co-Founder of Reflexive Performance Reset (RPR). RPR is a system of daily self-care techniques that allow you to improve your performance. Whether you are a business owner, parent, special operations in the military or professional athlete, RPR helps you perform …

Steve Testa is the President of Nationwide Children’s Foundation; he was appointed the position in January 2018, after joining the Nationwide Children’s team in 2014. His previous roles with the foundation included Senior Vice President and Executive Director. Prior to joining Nationwide Children’s in 2014, Steve was Assistant Vice President, Foundation, at Valley Health System …

John Egnor is the Founder and President of JME Hospitality. Since the company’s beginnings in 1989, JME Hospitality has designed over 4,000 hospitality projects spanning the entire world.

Cathy Lyttle is the Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at Worthington Industries. Lyttle joined Worthington Industries in January 1999 as Vice President of Corporate Communications, and then became the Investor Relations Officer in 2009. Before joining Worthington, she was the Vice President of JMAC Hockey, LLC, where she helped direct the startup …

Dave has a diverse background spanning his 20-year career in healthcare and life sciences, as well as in both large corporations and start-ups. Prior to leading the creation of Deep Lens, Inc., Dave was the Director of Data Strategy for Cardinal Health (Fortune 500-Rank #14) where he developed data monetization strategies and new product development …

Mike Edwards is the Founder of The 5 Stones Group and is an 12-time EMMY Award-winning director and cinematographer. Mike’s background in production was inspired by a hobby of taking still photos with a camera he received from his parents while in 6th grade. Mike’s passion for storytelling and the team atmosphere he creates has …

Tom Stalf is the President and CEO of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, one of the most successful zoological institutes in the country. He has over 30 years of experience in zoo-keeping and zoo management, and he’s traveled extensively for over 20 years with Jack Hanna to do educational programs, zoo promotions, and national television …

Kwame Christian is the Director of the American Negotiation Institute, subject matter expert in the field of negotiation and conflict resolution, bestselling author and podcast host among many other impressive feats. He also runs his own podcast, Negotiate Anything, about negotiation and discussing challenging subjects.  

Britney Ruby Miller is CEO of Jeff Ruby Culinary Entertainment, Cincinnati’s preeminent restaurant group which manages a portfolio of high end steakhouses widely regarded as among the best in the nation. She heads an organization of 7 steakhouses in Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee and leads a team of more than 700 employees.

Kevin Crowley has been in the restaurant business his whole life; and while not originally from Columbus, he found his way here for undergrad at tOSU, before leaving undergrad to attend culinary school. Kevin came back to OSU for his MBA, and in 2018 he and his wife decided to found the Lox Bagel Shop. …

Lorien Luehrs is the President and COO of HomeTown Ticketing, one of the fastest growing digital ticketing providers in the K-12 industry serving schools, districts, conferences, and state associations at no cost.

Debra is the President and CEO of Penzone Salon and Spas, where she has worked for over 28 years. She has received numerous awards including the YWCA’s “Women of Achievement,” award, as well as being recognized as a Forty Under 40 from Columbus Business First. In 2014, Debbie received the “Columbus Smart 50 award,” from …

Tom Ryan is the head coach of The Ohio State University Men’s Wrestling Program. As a wrestler, Coach Ryan was a two-time NCAA D1 All-american for Iowa under Dan Gable, and was a part of two Big Ten and National Championship teams. As a coach, Tom has lead the Buckeyes to their first National Title …

Rachel is the founder and CEO of TENFOLD, an award-winning strategy and creative firm here in Columbus. Prior to founding TENFOLD in 2014, Rachel was the EVP of Marketing and Branding for Continental Office and spent years working for industry innovator, Herman Miller. Rachel has over 25 years of experience in marketing strategy, branding and …

Studio Freight is an independent brand and digital design studio here in Columbus. Working with teams like Root Insurance, Roosevelt Coffee Roasters, and Elliot (to name a few) their team helps grow brands by making them easy to understand, and impossible to ignore.