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Fall Back Up with Denis Ryan

ssob-advisory-denis-ryanDenis Joseph Patrick Ryan. Irish musician turned successful businessman.

He is one of Canada’s leading performers, helping establish the modern form of traditional Celtic music throughout North America, England, and Australia.

Denis was born in Newport, County Tipperary, Ireland, immigrating to Toronto in 1969.

Eventually moving to St. John’s, Newfoundland, he founded what became one of Canada’s most well known traditional bands, Ryan’s Fancy. In 1983 the group was disbanded and he turned his attention to the stock market and other business interests.Ryan moved to Halifax where he and his family have resided for more than 35 years.

Ryan cause a bit of a stir in 2009 when he was featured in a spoof man on the street YouTube interview with comedian/musician  Tony Quinn, who called hryan-wankers.jpgimself “Jason Calibri of the Financial Times. Not one to soft pedal his opinions, Ryan’s video went viral and in 2011 he followed up with another pointed commentary on Wall Street and the banking industry. (Click on photo to launch video)

I sat down with Denis in his home near the Public Gardens in downtown Halifax. In our conversation, we cover topics as wide ranging as his time with Ryan’s Fancy, his involvement with craft brewing in the 1980’s and Nova Scotia Crystal.

Click here to listen to podcast

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Fall Back Up with Saeed El-Darahali

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Saeed El-Darahali is the driving force behind the SimplyCast team, who built the company from the ground up to what is now an industry-leading marketing platform that serves clients in over 175 countries.

He has over 10 years of management experience in the IT industry, with an interest in strategic partnering, corporate financing, strategic growth, operations, and sales and marketing management.

Saeed, as you will hear, is passionate about technology and about helping people reach their goals.

He enjoys sharing his experiences with start-up companies, offering insights into growing a business and becoming successful.

Saeed holds a Masters of Business Administration, a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, a Certificate of Human Resource Management and Minor in Economics, all from Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Saeed is featured in the Sobey School of Business’s Success on My Own Terms campaign.

I met Saeed in his office in what he has dubbed.. Silicon Dartmouth

Click here to listen to podcast

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Fall Back Up with Tim Moore

Tim Moore is the founder of several highly successful Canadian businesses. Starting in 1971, Tim borrowed $2000 to purchase a small moving truck.

That launched a career of serial entrepreneurship resulting in the founding of AMJ Campbell Van Lines, Premiere Executive Suites, Premiere Van Lines, Premiere Self-Storage, Premiere Mortgage Center, Oceanstone Resorts, Moore Executive Suites and Atlantic Signature Mortgage and Loan.

He is the author of two inspirational books, On the Move and You Don’t Need a MBA to Make Millions where he shares his journey and provides practical advice for entrepreneurs.

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Tim has received The Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal, The Distinguished Service Award from the Canadian Mover’s Association, and the Certificate of Merit, Entrepreneur Category, in the Canada Awards for Business Excellence.

He’s been honoured multiple times as one of the Top 50 CEO’s for Atlantic Canada and awarded a tribute as Master Entrepreneur of the Year, Atlantic Region.

An active philanthropist, Tim has given back through mentoring and charitable activities, including Junior Achievement of Canada, Best Buddies of Canada, the Canadian Olympic Association, the Alzheimer Association of Nova Scotia, the Mental Health Association of Nova Scotia and the Stephen Lewis Foundation.

I met with Tim at his ocean-side home in Chester Nova Scotia, where we sat down to talk about his life and his philosophy of doing business…

Click here to go to my podbean site to listen

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Fall Back Up with Murray Carter

Show Notes:

Carter knifeToday, I’m talking with a native Nova Scotian who has earned a reputation as one of the best bladesmiths in the world…Murray Carter.

At 18, Murray Carter set out from Nova Scotia to see the world. A major first stop on the tour was a nine-month stay in Japan where he had arranged to be hosted by a karate dojo.

The stopover turned into an inspiration for Murray who would go on to apprentice with a 16th generation Yoshimoto bladesmith for six years.

forgeSuch was his dedication to the craft, Murray was asked to take the position of number seventeen in the Sakemoto family tradition of Yoshimoto bladesmithing.

He moved to the United States and continued hand forging one of a kind blades in Oregon. He continues growing his Carter Cutlery business on a reputation of creating some of the finest blades in the world.

I caught up with Murray at his family’s summer home in the beautiful setting of Petite Riviere, on the South Shore of Nova Scotia. We sat in the kitchen of his comfortable guest house, where we talked about his fascinating journey…

Click here, on the pics of the forge or the knife to listen to the podcast

Socials

@CarterCutlery

www.facebook.com/CarterCutlery/

Video

How to Videos 

Profile of Murray Carter, Bladesmith

Carter Cutlery and the History of the Yoshimoto Bladesmiths

More audio

An Alien of Extraordinary Ability Murray Carter with Tim Ferriss

Book

Bladesmithing with Murray Carter

 

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Fall Back Up with Rob Steele

Show Notes:

Rob Steele built his entrepreneurial career in auto-related industries throughout the 1990s. The Steele Auto Group, is now the largest and most diversified auto group in Atlantic Canada with 900 employees, and 17 dealerships in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador, representing 22 brands.

The Steele Auto Group is recognized as one of Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies.

Rob’s other hat is President and CEO of Newfoundland Capital Corporation or Newcap. Since taking the job in the early 2000’s Rob has focused on the radio business, and now controls 95 radio licenses across Canada with 1000 employees.

Rob also sits on the boards of Stingray Digital, Montreal, and Atlantic Signature Mortgage, Halifax.

rsteele bio picRob has a strong passion for music. He’s been a Past Co-Chair of the East Coast Music Awards Event Committee and continues to be involved with the ECMA’s in an advisory capacity. He also serves on the Advisory Committee for Junior Achievement of Nova Scotia, and is also a Director of the Halifax Mooseheads Hockey Club.

Rob is a strong supporter of giving back to the communities and both Newcap Radio and the Steele Auto Group are very actively involved in many charitable causes and Rob is personally active with the Alzheimer’s Society, the Mental Health Foundation, Family SOS, Daffodil House, Feed NS and the Arthritis Society. He was named Outstanding Individual Philanthropist of the Year in 2014 by the NS Association of Fundraising Professional.s I met Rob at his home near the Kearney Lake Road and we sat down on a beautiful afternoon on his patio to chat…

To listen Click here

*In our conversation, Rob mentions a unattributed poem called the Creativity of Living. The quote is as follows;

The man who follows the crowd will usually get no further than the crowd. The man who walks alone is likely to find himself in places no one has ever been before.

Creativity in living is not without its attendant difficulties, for peculiarity breeds contempt. And the unfortunate thing about being ahead of your time is that when people finally realize you were right, they’ll say it was obvious all along. You have two choices in your life; you can dissolve into the mainstream, or you can be distinct. To be distinct, you must be different. To be different, you must strive to be what no one else but you can be . . .

There is some investigation of this quote, attributed to several figures, available at http://quoteinvestigator.com/2012/10/18/follows-crowd/

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Fall Back Up with Tareq Hadhad

Show Notes:

On this episode I’m delighted to sit down with former Syrian refugee, medical student, entrepreneur, and Peace By Chocolate founder Tareq Hadhad.

In the election of 2015, then candidate for Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, pledged if his party won the election, his new Liberal government would begin effort to bring 25,000 Syrians displaced by the war to resettle in Canada.

Among the families selected were the Hadhads.

Tareq had been studying medicine when hostilities broke out in Syria and his father was running a well establish chocolate manufacturing business in Damascus.

After essentially losing everything they owned in ground fighting and airstrikes, the family fled to Lebanon and eventually were selected to come to Canada as part of the Syrian refugee program. They were sponsored by a community group in Antigonish.

peace by chocolate signTheirs is a success story by almost every measure. In fact, their hard work, investment, crowd funding project, and community support means has resulted in the construction of a full scale chocolate factory in Antigonish.

Their story was celebrated by the Prime Minister as an example of success in a speech to the UN Refugee Summit…

There are a great many aspects of the Syrian conflict that might be explored, however on this occasion I simply wanted to meet with Tareq to get a sense of his family’s experience and the resettlement process in Atlantic Canada.

I met him in the back of the original tiny chocolate making facility on the side of the road next to their modest family home. We sat down on a couple of squeaky chairs for a chat…

To listen to the podcast click here

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Fall Back Up with Don Bureaux

SHOW NOTES:

On this episode I’m delighted to sit down with the President of the Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC), Don Bureaux

As President of NSCC, Don Bureaux serves as the chief executive officer for the operation of 13 campuses, with over 120 programs, and approximately 24,000 students and 2,000 staff.

don convocationDon Bureaux has been president of NSCC since 2011 but his commitment to adult education spans over two decades working with adult learners at colleges and universities as well as professional designation granting organizations across Canada and internationally.

At NSCC, he works to bring the college’s vision – transforming Nova Scotia one learner at a time – to life.

Don holds a certificate in Adult Education and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Acadia University and an MBA from Heriot-Watt University in Scotland. He’s Chartered Professional Accountant, Certified General Accountant and holds an international designation as a Certified Business Counsellor through the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).

He’s been granted his Fellow Chartered Professional Accountant (FCPA) designation by CPA Canada and his Fellow Certified General Accountant (FCGA) designation.

In 2015, 2016, and 2017 Don was named one of the Top 50 CEOs by Atlantic Business Magazine and serves on the boards of many not-for-profit organizations in Nova Scotia.

I dropped into visit Don in his office at the Leeds Street campus of the NSCC in North End Halifax

During our conversation he references a book Road to Character by David Brooks. Click for the link and below, you’ll find a link to a YouTube video of a Ted Talk on one of his principle areas of discussion, the difference between resume virtues and eulogy virtues.

Don and I began by talking about his childhood…

To listen to the podcast click here

To watch the Ted Talk with David Brooks, click here

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Fall Back Up with Barb Stegemann

SHOW NOTES:

On this episode I’m delighted to sit down with author and social business innovator, Barb Stegemann.

Barb was born in Montreal, Quebec and holds degrees in Sociology and Journalism from the University of King’s College.

Barb built her own boutique PR firm while living in British Columbia and created innovative, award winning campaigns winning numerous marketing awards from the Economic Developers’ Association of Canada

After Barb’s best friend Captain Trevor Greene was wounded in Afghanistan in 2006, she set out to support his mission of economic empowerment creating a new business model that supports trade with nations experiencing war or strife.

Middle east peacewShe launched The 7 Virtues Beauty Inc., a company that began by sourcing essential oils distilled from legal crops to provide an alternative to the illegal poppy crop for farmers and began manufacturing perfume.

The fragrance line brought to reality the essence of her best selling book, The 7 Virtues of A Philosopher Queen; that women can flex their buying power to affect change and reverse issues of war and poverty.

Barb successfully pitched and landed a venture capital deal on CBC’s Dragons’ Den and has been building her company with mentor Brett Wilson.

Recently the story has been told in the documentary feature Perfume Wars which has won accolades at film festivals across Canada and the United States

She was named on of Canada’s one of the Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada, and received the Women Innovator’s Award from the US State Department for the Economy of Canada.

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She is one of the few Women in Canada to have been made an Honorary Colonel for the Royal Canadian Air Force and is the first female to receive this honour for her base, 14 Wing Greenwood…and was award an Honorary Doctor of Letter from the University of New Brunswick.

Barb and her partner, Mike Velemirovich, live in Halifax, which is where I met up with Barb to talk about her life…

To listen to the podcast click here

 

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Fall Back Up with Bruce MacKinnon

Show notes:

On this episode I’m delighted to sit down with one of Canada’s best editorial cartoonists, Bruce MacKinnon…

Bruce has been nominated eight times for a National Newspaper Award (NNA), winning five times. He also received the NNA inaugural Journalist of the Year award for 2014.

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Among many other honours, Bruce has also been awarded 17 Atlantic Journalism Awards for editorial cartooning…including Journalist of the Year in 1991 and a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000;

He’s been given an honourary doctorate by St. Mary’s University for his work in the field of editorial cartooning and is a member of the Order of Nova Scotia. In 2013 he received both an honourary Doctor of Fine Arts from NSCAD University and the Friend of StFX Award from St. Francis Xavier University.

In 2014 he won the World Press Freedom Award.

Bruce is also a very good musician. In 2015, he and his son, Jamieson (Jay), won The Coast’s Best of Halifax Reader’s Choice Award for Best Cover Band. You can catch them regularly appearing at Durty Nelly’s on Saturday afternoons in downtown Halifax.

Bruce and his wife Peggy live in Halifax, and I dropped by his house where he was finishing up one of his daily cartoons for the Chronicle Herald…

You can listen to the podcast by clicking here or on the picture above 

There are a few show notes to mention here. Bruce and I talk about some of the acrylic caricature work he’s been working on which is pretty fabulous. Here are a few examples and there are more great ones that have yet to make a public appearance.

Additionally, we did make reference to a small picture of Justin Trudeau which he keeps on his computer screen and he explains why it’s there…

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I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did…click here to listen

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Fall Back Up with Rear Admiral John Newton

On this episode, the Commander of Maritime Forces Atlantic and Joint Task Force Atlantic, Rear-Admiral John Newton
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Rear-Admiral Newton began his career in the Navy in 1983, after trying his hand as a geologist out west.

He completed tours with the destroyer HMCS Iroquois, HMCS Preserver, and HMCS Montreal gaining a specialty in Canadian maritime sovereignty through countless fishery patrols and three Arctic sovereignty missions.
In 2000, he completed a year of Joint military studies at the Command and Staff College Toronto, followed by advanced military studies in 2004.

Rear-Admiral Newton has deployed on NATO missions of the Cold War, and UN peace support operations, including the Gulf War in 1991, Haiti in 1993, and the maritime embargo of the former Yugoslavia in 1995. He also served at National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa as Director of International Plans in the Strategic Joint Staff.

Beyond professional duties, Rear-Admiral Newton focuses strongly on his family, strives to maintain a balanced work-home life in his home in Lunenburg. I dropped in to visit the Rear Admiral Newton at his office at the Navy Shipyard on Halifax Harbour…

Click here or on picture to listen