I'm grateful to have a fantastic guest - Rocky Biasi

• CEO of Human Connections for over 15 years
• Creator and presenter of the Accidental Counsellor training
• Passionate about mental health and wellbeing
• Realized when he was a teacher the impact that they have on students and wanted to make a difference

humanconnections.com.au

Introduction Highlights

• He got some bad advice early, so don't always listen to your teachers growing up
• Avoiding labels and carving out your own path
• How 2020 impacted him professionally and personally
• Being open, flexible, determined and the power of perseverance
• Executing the technical skills requires the right mindset
• If you want to help someone you sometimes have to connect with their pain
• One simple approach to changing the World (Empathetic Listening)

Want to be a guest? Email me at gpnowak@gmail.com!

Welcome to another episode of "Wish I Knew . . . "

A podcast where I speak with people about their careers focusing on their success, advice, mentoring and listening to interesting stories.

I'm your host Gary Nowak and I've got another international flavor podcast with a creative young lady who loves the sales process and a global role, please enjoy my guest Christina Doueihi (Do Eh He).

Career Background:

• Leader for Strategic business growth plans in Middle East / Turkey & Africa based out of Zurich
• Regional Sales Manager for the Middle East in Dubai
• Head of Project Sales for UAE and Oman
• Interior Architect
• Founder of What's On Design
• Studied at the Lebanese American University with a BA in Interior Architecture

Highlights

• Making a sale at 12 years old without any training
• Visualized a space and how to change it
• Growing up in Beirut and what it teaches you
• Getting a job and opening up a new store in a Dubai @22
• Being a successful woman in the UAE
• Changing shoes to deal with the end to end process
• Enjoying sales and having people believe in you
• Being curious and following your instincts
• Having your dad and grandfather as you mentors
• Time boxing your emotions
• Wanting to experience a new industry
• Having structured thinking is key
• What success looks like for Christina
• Getting insight into the afterlife

Want to be a guest? Email me at gpnowak@gmail.com!

Welcome to another episode of "Wish I Knew . . . "

A podcast where I speak with people about their careers focusing on their success, advice, mentoring and listening to interesting stories.

I'm your host Gary Nowak and I am so grateful to my guest Mirko Hilsheimer coming to us from Germany and providing some genuine advice, sharing of his experience and giving me great perspective throughout our conversation.

Career Background:

• Started off in mechanical engineering, then an international business admin degree
• MBA in Strategic Market from Sheffield Business school in the UK
• Solid consulting background with:
  
  • Nearly 4 years at PwC
  • Over 17 years with KPMG in Germany & China

Highlights:

• Job at 14 to get a better bike (I can totally relate)
• Proud of 3 degrees?
• Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday
• Figuring out what to do in your 20's
  
  • 3 pieces of Great advice / Talk to people
  • Follow your gut do what you believe in / Don't be too rationale
• What he looks for in a candidate for consulting
• Walking through the decades
• Getting the basics right
• Loving connections in Consulting
• Big blue knocking him out of PwC
• Diversity in Consulting
• #1 thing a good consultant should be doing
• Communication in the younger generation and connections
• What Mirko does well
• Sharing success
• His CHRO role, fantastic
• Being in the people business
• Creating awareness of leadership and importance of people
• Great setback story with a positive outcome
• Reaching out for personal feedback
• Giving feedback today,
• His China decision
• Great advice discussion
• Awesome consulting story

Want to be a guest? Email me at gpnowak@gmail.com!

I'm your host Gary Nowak and I've got a China / Germany KPMG connection for you with my outstanding guest Angelika Alt-Sherer. I was blown away by the great perspective and advice provided throughout this conversations

Biography Snapshot

• Borne and grew up in Munich, Bavaria, Germany
• Married for more than 25 years, met my husband at KPMG
• Career start at KPMG after graduating 30 years ago with 7 years out of the box experience at another Big Four, a smaller consulting firm and as a freelancer in the first decade of my career
• Audit Partner at KPMG Germany with stations in Munich, Stuttgart and Shanghai (3 years)
• Serving a broad range of clients in different industries (main focus on Media and Automotive), listed companies as well as family owned business
• Since 2018 part of the Audit Leadership of the German firm as CHRO

Highlights

• Working on the farm from ages 9 to 12 yo
• Tax consulting early
• 7 year checking things out of her career
• Wanted to try out a lot of things and see what she liked
• Being a very structured person and being german, go figure
• Going from big company to her own company
• Learning the advantages of a big company and how to make it work for her
• The ideal combination of a KPMG
• You can hear her smile throughout the discussion
• Being mentored and mentoring, how she developed her style
• Selling - listening and asking questions
• Great questions when mentoring, really strong
• Everything has a price and consequences
• Using martial arts for career guidance
• Her best advice
  
  • Learn
  • Work hard
  • Be independent
• Leave your comfort zone, as much as possible
• Being positive and flexible
• Setback discussion
• Sink or swim without a lifeguard (metaphorically of course)
• Working in china conversation and how to work their successfully
• Solid celebrity crush

Want to be a guest? Email me at gpnowak@gmail.com!

Career Background:

• Founder and Executive Chairman of QI Group of companies
  
  • HQ's in Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur
  • Operations in over 30 countries
• He is diversified with business interests in:
  
  • Real estate
  • Education
  • Retail and Hospitality
  • Also owns a football / soccer club in Malaysia

Highlights

• Following in his fathers footsteps early with wanting to a lawyer and studying in the UK
• Impact of Margaret Thatcher on his education
• Not liking accountancy all that much
• Picking up Political Science
• The Knowledge - Driving a taxi in London
• Training program to the outskirts of Chicago
• Nice message to University Graduates
• The buck stops here
• Loyalty discussion and caring
• Mercenary vs missionary
• Backpacking from London to Greece
• Building up relationships while traveling
• 33 days of silence
• Having only one mouth
• The beauty of the pause
• Marriage and back to Malaysia
• The 15% promise that didn't materialize
• Who works for who?
• If not now then when?
• Failure is critical
• Dare to . . . .
• Be grateful
• Adapt, adjust, accommodate
• Your value is more than you paycheck

Want to be a guest? Email me at gpnowak@gmail.com!

I'm your host Gary Nowak and in addition to being a great person and fantastic former co-worker my guest Liz Evans has one of my most favorite accents of all time (Northern England).

Career Background:

• Big 4 Principal for over 5 years
• Managing director at EquaTerra
• Managing consultant with PA Consulting Group
• Attended University of Hertfordshire just north of London studied Business and Decision Science

Highlights

• Baby sitting Dads golf buddy kids
• Claim to fame for her town Captain Cook - Grew up in Northern England
• LOVED her small college north of London melting pot
• Parameters from her Mum on where to attend university
• The LOVE of London and her small university

Wanting to stay at university and her Phd opportunity

• Getting into Consulting to "Catch Up" with peers
• A lot of LOVE in her career and life
• Finding a mutually beneficial friend in college to provide an alternative perspective
• Great Dallas project while living in London (Listen to the lifestyle)
• Comparing working in the UK and the US, insightful
• Getting terrible advice when moving to the US, using it as motivation
• Know your own personal North Star
• Consulting event in San Diego with family and kids, impactful (Mind blowing)
• There is always a Plan B
• Liz builds relationships quickly
• Trust and integrity are core to Liz and her success
• Consulting is about connecting the dots, we don't have to have all the answers
• The beauty of a boutique consulting firm
• Finding her sweet spot in consulting
• Being Bi-Lingual, shocker
• Trust who you are and know your boundaries
• Proud moment of getting promoted to MD while on maternity leave
• Working in the UK Friday at 4 pm is the best

Want to be a guest? Email me at gpnowak@gmail.com!

Career Background:

• Finance transformation expert most recently with:
  
  • BT in London
• Prior to that:
  
  • SVP Finance Operations with Smith and Nephew
  • VP Finance Transformation and systems with Pearson

Highlights

• Not knowing how to do his first job and getting promoted
• Compensating with a Porsche
• Taking a year off prior to University
• Coming from humble stock
• Degree in English, but switching to accounting for a job
• Having verbal agility and emotional intelligence have served John well
• The Gap Year discussion
• Growing into Leadership
• Advice on public speaking
• Talking stand up comedy
• Why he chose his first employer
• Being stubborn and getting accounting credentials
• Watching Dad and loving what he saw
• Getting out of accounting at the right time
• Coming down to Shared Services where we eventually met
• Logistics eats strategy for lunch everyday
• Great story about a US Major General that changed his life
• Crafting his own career path, MAGIC
• Finding his stride for 3 to 5 years in shared services, being so happy
• Great approach to conflict resolution
• Wonderful mentors that shaped his career
• Mentoring - Migrant Leaders
• What young people want these days
• Wonderful advice that fits everyone, so powerful
• Never been to a McDonald's
• Translation
  
  • Canteen = Lunch Room
• • Cud = Fat
• • Lager = Beer

Want to be a guest? Email me at gpnowak@gmail.com!

Career Background:

• Coca Cola in various role
  • SVP Customer Excellence
  • VP of the West Zone
  • National Team leader with sales associate recruiting
  • National account executive
• Florida State University majoring in Advertising Communication

Highlights

• Being a Seminole vs a Gator
• No idea on the major, sound familiar
• Sales career began early with convincing her dad of a way out of government work
• Podcast host with Origin stories
• Find your own authentic path
• Head / heart / gut conversation - where to listen
• "Everyone will let you down" comment
• Your choices create our outcomes
• People and soooo generous
• The informational interviews
• The Coke interview and starting with then in California
• The 12 to 1 ratio
• Being a successful woman at coke for 33 years
• We all have Plot twists that happen in our lives
• Paying attention to
• Quiet the voices in your head
• Stopping is a great thing
• Always check in on your career path
• We've got your back
• Great proud moment
• Best career move had an element of regret
• Trust yourself

Want to be a guest? Email me at gpnowak@gmail.com!