Business

Heartbeat For Hire with Lyndsay Dowd

The Heartbeat for Hire Podcast was created to inspire leaders on how to get through the most difficult of circumstances. I feature CEOs, Olympians, Professional Athletes, Authors, Disruptors, Emmy Winning Journalists and more as they share their stories of resilience with my lens on leadership and culture. My guests share their vulnerability and lessons learned so those of you who have never had a good leader can see the possible in the way they lead. My goal is to transform leadership as we know it and this podcast features the best of the best in showing you the way.

Latest Episodes:

143: Linkedin Lessons & Leadership Gold with Samantha McKenna Mar 26, 2025

Show notes

Sam McKenna, has spent her 15+ year career in Enterprise sales doing two things: breaking over 13 sales records and doing so by leading with a manners-first and buyers-first approach to sales that shuns the status quo of the profession.In addition to sharing her practical and actionable sales, leadership, and entrepreneurial tips, Sam holds an unparalleled amount of distinctions as a LinkedIn expert, including being one of few people to be a LinkedIn brand ambassador and LinkedIn Sales [In]sider. Further, she has been creating content since 2011, been an influencer on the platform since 2016, is a former Enterprise sales executive leader for LinkedIn's Sales Navigator division, and was awarded the coveted Top Voice on LinkedIn award in 2024.Sam has also been named a Top 100 Global Sales Leader 2023, Top 50 Women in Revenue, Top 25 Women in Revenue, Top 20 Women in Sales Leadership, repeated recognition as both a 100 Best LinkedIn Influencers and a Top Ten LinkedIn Sales Star, amongst dozens of awards, and is frequently sourced as a keynote speaker for global brands.She has also been a featured speaker at top business schools across the U.S. including Harvard Business School, Kelley Business School, and The Kellogg School of Management.Since its inception in 2019, #samsales has scaled to multi-millions in revenue, having achieved 312% of their first year's annual revenue goal and continued to have significant double-digit growth ever since.To date, #samsales has built itself into a powerhouse all-women team, served over 250 clients, raised over $110K for charity, been featured in global publications like the Wall Street Journal's print edition, Fortune, USA Today, Newsweek, and Business Insider, and has donated hundreds of training subscriptions to veterans, active-duty military and their spouses, and teachers transitioning to new roles.To know more about Samantha visit her website:

www.samsalesconsulting.com

142: Unbroken: A Warrior's Comeback with Gretchen Evans Mar 19, 2025

Show notes

Command Sergeant Major Gretchen Evans, (U.S. Army, ret.) was at the height of a three-decade career in service to the country when she lost it all. Reaching the rank of Command Sergeant Major, the highest rank a non-commissioned officer may achieve. While overseeing 30,000+ ground troops in Afghanistan, CSM Evans was injured by a mortar blast from insurgents at a forward operating base. She woke up in a hospital in Germany and was deaf in both ears, suffered internal and external injuries, and had a traumatic brain injury.In an instant, she lost her career, self-identity, and sense of purpose, feeling as though when people looked at her, they saw someone who was broken. Paramount to her recovery and discovery was her first hearing service dog, Aura now retired. Rusty, her new service dog, joined Gretchen and now travels worldwide with her as she shares her story of grit, gumption, resilience, hope, and the importance of a rope team.To know more about Gretchen visit her website and socials:

🌐 Website: GretchensRopeTeam.com 📷 Instagram: @GretchensRopeTeam 💼 LinkedIn: Gretchen Evans

141: From Invisible to Invincible with Jacquie Duckworth Mar 12, 2025

Show notes

Jacquie has spent over 30 years in mainstream consumer media. Working on iconic brands ranging from Country Life to FHM, and Grazia to The Sun and The Times. Jacquie's expertise has covered trading, creative partnerships, sponsorship and affiliate deals. Jacquie has worked across different platforms – with the majority of her experience nestled in mainstream press, digital and events. Jacquie co-founded Visible Inc with Jane Evans in 2019. Their mission is simple – to unleash the power of midlife women. Easy to say – slightly more challenging to deliver.To know more about Jacquie visit her website:

www.visiblestart.com

140: Brilliant Branding = Career Security with Melanie Borden Mar 05, 2025

Show notes

Melanie Borden is the Founder & CEO of The Borden Group, where she helps Founders, C-suites, and Executives align their real-life expertise with impactful strategies to unlock opportunities and build meaningful relationships at scale. With a strong foundation as a marketing executive, Melanie has leveraged extensive expertise to bridge the gap between online marketing strategies and brand-building for both corporate and personal brands.Melanie's approach combines proven strategies, tools, and insights developed through a journey of personal and professional growth, along with extensive work with clients across various industries. Areas of expertise include marketing strategy and execution, building in-house agencies, budget optimization, strategic vendor partnerships, enhancing digital footprints through social media, reputation management, online monetization, and streamlining advertising processes for maximum impact.Melanie's work and insights have been featured in leading publications such as Entrepreneur, LA Weekly, New York City Biz List, New York Weekly, and The Wall Street Journal. Additionally, she is a proud member of the Forbes Agency Council.To know more about Melanie visit her website:

www.humantobrand.com

139: Chaos Clarity Culture with Garrett Delph Feb 26, 2025

Show notes

With over two decades of experience founding and scaling 3 global companies to $50M+ in revenue, Garrett Delph is the Founder/CEO of Clarity Ops, LLC, the first choice operating partner to Founders, CEO's, and C-Suite Leadership Teams. He specializes in reorganizing business operations for scale and growth through his proprietary The FASTT Solutions System. Think of Garrett as the Marie Kondo of business-eliminating clutter and creating clarity-freeing leaders to focus on growth and innovation.To know more about Garrett visit his website:

www.clarityops.co

138: Resilience H.O.P.E. and an Unbreakable Spirit with Kristen Christy Feb 19, 2025

Show notes

It is said life is a tough teacher. We get the test first and then learn the lesson.Perhaps no one knows that better than Kristen Christy.As a world-class athlete at 15, she experienced a massive stroke from a brainhemorrhage that left her physically and mentally broken with her identity inquestion.The suicide of her first husband after a deployment devastated her family andleft Kristen feeling shame and guilt.Both of her sons' attempted suicides and the later disappearance of her oldestdue to mental illness left Kristen with a sense of failure –she failed as a spouse and as a mother.H.O.P.E. is what helped Kristen persevere over life's brutal tests. Her storyreinforces the superpower of connectedness and community. As she says, "Weare made to do life together. "She has inspired multiple military, veteran, corporate, educational, and faith-based organizations and has been featured in numerous magazines, radiostations, television appearances, and newspapers.Be inspired by her story and walk away armed with the H.O.P.E. needed toface daily battles and come through them stronger.To know more about Kristen visit her website:

www.KristenChristyCares.com

137: Atomic Stories Epic Impact with Chris Hare Feb 12, 2025

Show notes

Chris Hare uses Atomic Storytelling™ and strategic narrative design to help visionary leaders and their teams make a more meaningful dent in the universe. Chris a veteran of Amazon and Microsoft and is founder and principal of The Storied Future, where he helps clients—ranging from startups and midmarket companies to trillion-dollar titans—to build narratives that shift the future. He is also a keynote speaker and the host of The Storied Future Podcast, where he highlights leaders who have put narratives into the world and used those narratives to shift the future. His guests have included senior leaders from Logitech, NASA, Microsoft, Bain & Company, and Netflix. In his spare time, Chris leads therapeutic storytelling for a fly-fishing nonprofit that serves combat-wounded veterans.

To know more about Chris visit his website:

www.thestoriedfuture.com

136: Bold Risks BIG Wins with Courtney Turich Feb 05, 2025

Show notes

Courtney Turich is a bold risk-taker, seasoned sales leader, and entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in the medical device and healthcare industries. From securing a deal on Shark Tank with Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner, to helping cancer patients minimize hair loss as Global VP of Sales and Marketing at Cooler Heads, Courtney's career is defined by innovation and impact. She is passionate about empowering others to make bold moves and confident choices. Courtney's adventurous spirit has taken her from small-town Indiana to residing in eight states and even solo backpacking in Australia. As a member of The Outlier Project and host of the podcast Bold Moves, Confident Choices, Courtney inspires others to embrace change and live life to the fullest. To know more about Courtney visit her website:

www.thecourtneyturich.com

135: Intuition Unleashed with Christine Hildebrand Jan 29, 2025

Show notes

Christine is a dynamic C-level executive, transformational leader, and leadership coach, celebrated for blending business innovation with human-centered leadership. With expertise spanning healthcare, technology, biotech, and consumer packaged goods (CPG), she drives commercialization, scalability, and growth by uniting people around shared visions and creating empowered, collaborative cultures. As the Founder and CEO of Cofinity Consulting, LLC, Christine integrates pragmatic strategies with intuitive insights to align people-first cultures with strategic business goals. Her leadership combines corporate expertise and entrepreneurial spirit, honed through top roles in Fortune 500 companies, start-ups, and consulting with CEOs and leadership teams across diverse industries. An ICF Certified Leadership Coach (2025), Master Certified Spirit Coach®, Certified Lumina Learning Facilitator, Certified HeartMath Team Facilitator, Meditation Teacher, Ordained Minister, and Intuitive Healer, Christine is passionate about fostering thriving organizations that deliver exceptional value through innovation, collaboration, and human connection. To know more about Christine visit her website:

www.cofinityconsulting.com

134: Recipe for Breaking Barriers with Jackie Summer Jan 22, 2025

Show notes

Jackie Summers is a James Beard Finalist, seasoned public speaker, and serial entrepreneur. Summers is the founder of JackFromBrooklyn Inc. and the creator of the award-winning Sorel Liqueur. His accolades include: Being named among the inaugural "Drink Innovators of the Year by Food & Wine Magazine, being named among the inaugural "Wine Enthusiast Future 40", being ranked among the world's "100 Most Influential Bar Industry Figures" by Drinks International Magazine (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023), being named to the The 50 Most Influential People In Brooklyn Food (Brooklyn Magazine, 2015), being named to the Imbibe 75 (2021), and being named the 2019 Award winner for "Best Food Essay" by the Association of Food Journalists. He served 3 years as co-chair of the Education Committee for Tales of the Cocktail and 3 years as co-chair of the Education Committee for Bar Convent Brooklyn. He currently sits on the Vibe Advisory Council. Jackie has written for everyone from the James Beard Foundation to Plate, Wine Enthusiast, VinePair, Epicurious, Delish, and Edible Brooklyn. His flagship brand, Sorel Liqueur, is the most-awarded liqueur American made liqueur of all time, having garnered hundreds of gold (or better) awards. To know more about Jackie visit his Socials:

Instagram: @theliquortarian

LinkedIn: @jackie-summers

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