Scott Marshall is the host of the As Unexpected Podcast and President and CEO of the Institute for Shipboard Education, a 61-year-old nonprofit that directs Semester at Sea, the world’s leading comparative study abroad program.

Prior to joining Semester at Sea, Marshall was a Professor of Management, Vice Provost and Interim Dean in the College of Business at Portland State University. Scott’s life-long commitment to global education and travel was born out of a study abroad program in Japan as an undergraduate. Scott, his wife, and their two children sailed on the Spring 2017 voyage of Semester at Sea, after which he joined the organization as Vice President of Academic Affairs. He has served as President since January 2020.

As a business professor, Marshall taught, researched, wrote and published over 40 articles, book chapters and case studies on management, marketing, entrepreneurship and international studies. During his time in academia, Scott also taught a wide range of courses in strategy, entrepreneurship and management. He earned his B.A. in Business Economics at Willamette University, his M.A. in International Affairs from George Washington University, and his Ph.D. in International Business from the University of Oregon.

David Heacock’s transformation from a successful Wall Street career to a game-changing entrepreneur is a story of bold decisions, resilience, and relentless determination. Walking away from a seven-figure finance job, David took a leap of faith to rebuild his family’s struggling business—Filterbuy.

With zero experience in manufacturing, he faced incredible challenges, yet turned what began as a small factory in Alabama into a $250M industry leader.

Today, Filterbuy disrupts the indoor air quality sector, producing millions of high-quality air filters and expanding into HVAC services, air purification, and automotive filtration, while creating nearly 1,000 U.S. jobs and serving over 7 million customers.

David’s journey has been anything but easy—he's overcome burned-down factories, near-fatal accidents, and countless setbacks along the way. Yet, through his grit and determination, he’s scaled his business without investors or shortcuts. His success story is a testament to what can be achieved when an entrepreneur is willing to face adversity head-on.

Now, David is sharing the raw, unfiltered lessons he’s learned from building a business from the ground up, inspiring others to take that same leap into entrepreneurship, no matter how daunting it seems.

Kasim Aslam is a serial entrepreneur who has built multiple 7- and 8-figure businesses, including two successful exits. He is the co-founder of Driven Mastermind, creator of Digital Marketer's Paid Traffic Certification, and author of three bestselling books, including You vs Google, a #1 international bestseller in marketing and advertising. Named one of the top 50 Digital Marketing Thought Leaders in the U.S., Kasim is also the founder of Pareto Talent, a company dedicated to helping entrepreneurs reclaim their time by matching them with world-class executive assistants. His work is grounded in insights gained as the founder of Solutions 8, one of the world’s top Google Ads agencies.