Carolina Business Leaders

About Carolina Business Leaders

Learn how to succeed in business. From the top business minds in the Carolinas.

Publisher

Carolina Business Leaders Podcast

Category

business

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

23 Oct 2024

Latest episode

20 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

70 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   20 Sept 2026

   Your Brand Is More Than Marketing: Building Connected Momentum with The Brand Leader | EP 69

   What does it really mean to build a strong brand? In this episode of the Carolina Business Leaders Podcast, Cristina sits down with Michael Catanzaro, President and Chief Brand Officer, and Patty Gallardo, Senior Vice President of Growth and Performance at The Brand Leader in Greenville, South Carolina. Michael and Patty share lessons from decades of experience working with brands of all sizes and explain why branding goes far beyond logos, advertising, and social media. They discuss how every customer touchpoint shapes a company’s brand, why internal fragmentation can slow growth, and how businesses can create “connected momentum” by aligning brand, marketing, customer experience, and company culture. The conversation also explores how AI is changing the creative industry, where businesses should—and shouldn’t—use it, and why human taste, authenticity, and strong ideas still matter. Whether you’re building a company, refreshing an established brand, or trying to understand why your marketing isn’t connecting, this episode offers practical insight into creating a brand experience that customers remember and trust.

2. 

   7 Sept 2026

   Jami Mullikin: Why Perseverance Matters More Than the Perfect Business Idea | EP 68

   What does it take to keep building through different seasons of business, career, and life? In this episode of the Carolina Business Leaders Podcast, Cristina sits down with Jami Mullikin, President and Co-Founder of Wonder, a Greenville-based marketing, media, and technology agency. Jami shares his journey from growing up in Greenville and discovering graphic design in high school, to launching his first agency at just 26 years old, navigating the challenges of the 2008 financial crisis, spending more than a decade in corporate leadership, and ultimately returning to entrepreneurship in his 50s. The conversation explores the importance of perseverance, why Jami believes entrepreneurs need to commit to a long-term vision, and how EOS—the Entrepreneurial Operating System—has shaped the way he thinks about leadership, culture, and building strong teams. Jami also shares how Wonder is embracing AI, not simply as a tool for efficiency, but as a way to create more value, expand what teams are capable of, and open entirely new opportunities for entrepreneurs. Whether you're building a company, leading a team, navigating a career transition, or trying to understand how AI fits into the future of business, this episode offers practical lessons from more than 30 years of entrepreneurship, marketing, and leadership.

3. 

   24 Aug 2026

   Phillip Martin & David Thompson: Protect What You’ve Built - Estate Planning, Succession & Selling Your Business | EP 67

   What happens to your business if something happens to you? And if you plan to sell one day, how early should you start preparing? In this episode of the Carolina Business Leaders Podcast, we sit down with attorneys Phillip Martin and David Thompson of Merline & Meacham to break down the legal planning every business owner should be thinking about long before a crisis—or a sale—is on the horizon. We discuss why a business is often an owner’s largest asset, the estate planning documents entrepreneurs should have in place, how operating agreements can prevent costly disputes, and what can happen when a business owner dies or becomes incapacitated without a succession plan. Phillip and David also share practical advice for owners considering buying or selling a company, including why clean financial records matter, when to bring attorneys and advisors into the process, the risks of signing an LOI too early, and why the best time to prepare for a sale may be years before you actually want to exit. In this episode: Why estate planning matters for business owners Wills, powers of attorney, operating agreements, and other key documents What happens to a business when an owner dies without a plan How to begin succession planning Preparing your company for a future sale Why clean books can make or break an acquisition When to involve attorneys, CPAs, financial advisors, and M&A professionals Common estate planning myths The most overlooked legal document for business owners Career and professional advice for young entrepreneurs Whether you’re building a company, preparing to pass it to the next generation, or thinking about an eventual exit, this conversation provides a practical framework for protecting what you’ve built and planning for what comes next.

Who has been a guest on Carolina Business Leaders

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Andre Bauer
• Ryan Alderson
• Ashley Alderson
• Mike Hutcheson
• Madeline Hutcheson

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

38,631

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

9 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 45 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

48

Social presence

0

YouTube

72

Engagement

32