Your E.P.I.C Pursuit

About Your E.P.I.C Pursuit

Your E.P.I.C. Pursuit(TM) with host Mike Mooney, uncovers the pivotal experiences that transformed successful executives into exceptional leaders. Through quick, fun and insightful conversations with C-suite leaders and innovators, we explore those career-defining breakthroughs that changed their life and leadership trajectory, forever.

Publisher

Mike Mooney

Category

business · education

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

11 Jul 2025

Latest episode

1 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

26 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   1 Oct 2026

   Growing A City Beyond Silos - CEO, Steve Bagwell

   What does it take to lead a growing city, preserve its legacy, and bring diverse stakeholders together around a shared vision? In this episode of Your E.P.I.C. Pursuit, Mike Mooney sits down with Steve Bagwell, CEO of the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority (CRVA). Steve's story began more than 25 years ago as a warehouse manager at the newly opened Charlotte Convention Center. Since then, he has held leadership roles spanning operations, food and beverage, finance, technology, and venue management—giving him a true 360-degree perspective before stepping into the CEO role. Steve offers an inside look at the people, partnerships, and long-term investments driving Charlotte's visitor economy. From major convention and venue investments to the ongoing evolution of iconic spaces like Bojangles Entertainment Complex, he explains why the city's success depends on more than buildings and events. It depends on alignment. The conversation also explores Steve's leadership philosophy: build consensus, make room for differing perspectives, recruit great people, learn from mistakes, and stay relentlessly curious. Whether you lead a large organization, manage a cross-functional team, or are early in your career, this episode offers a practical reminder that progress is cumulative—and that the experiences in front of you today may be preparing you for opportunities you cannot yet see. Five key takeaways p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Your starting point does not define your ceiling. Steve's path from warehouse manager to CEO reinforces the value of doing excellent work, staying patient, and treating every role as an opportunity to build capability and credibility. p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Broad experience creates better leaders. Working across operations, finance, technology, food and beverage, and venue management gave Steve the perspective to lead with a whole-organization mindset—not just from one functional silo. p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Consensus building creates stronger execution. Steve emphasizes that leaders do not always get unanimous agreement, but they should create space for people to share their perspectives, understand the decision, and move forward together. p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Legacy assets can be reinvented. The turnaround of Bojangles Entertainment Complex shows what can happen when leaders combine strategic investment, the right anchor partner, talented operators, and a long-term commitment to renewal. p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Curiosity is a leadership advantage. In a fast-changing environment, the leaders who keep learning—through research, innovation, technology, and the experiences of others—are better positioned to adapt and lead well.

2. 

   10 Sept 2026

   Building Trust Under Pressure

   What if the fastest way forward is to slow down first? In this episode of Your E.P.I.C. Pursuit™, Mike Mooney sits down with NASCAR Pit Crew Champion and Deck Leadership co-founder Mike Metcalf to unpack what high-performance teams can teach every leader about speed, trust, mistakes, and change. Mike spent years in an environment where fractions of a second can determine the outcome. But his lesson for leaders is counterintuitive: sustainable performance is not about going all out—it is about finding the pace where your team can execute with consistency, confidence, and trust. You'll learn how to: p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Find the "fast enough" pace that protects quality and raises performance p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Support the team member who may be slowing the whole group down - without leaving them behind p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Turn mistakes into data points instead of blame points p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Build the reps, rhythms, and communication needed before the pressure hits p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Lead through change fatigue by grounding people in a shared identity and a sense of possibility As Mike says, winning does not mean everything went perfectly. Often, it means the team handled failures more efficiently than anyone else. Watch now and consider: Where might your team need to slow down in order to move forward together?

3. 

   3 Sept 2026

   Communicate Like An Actor with Award-Winning Actor Carlo D'Amore

   This episode of Your E.P.I.C. Pursuit will change the way you think about communication. Mike Mooney sits down with Carlo D'Amore - actor, director, and founder of Live In Theater - to explore what business leaders can learn from the stage. Carlo has spent more than 17 years creating immersive, interactive experiences that transform audiences from passive spectators into active participants for organizations including Apple, Meta, Netflix, Spotify, Goldman Sachs, and Peacock. The core lesson? Great communication is not about delivering information perfectly. It is about creating an experience that makes people lean in. Carlo shares how he built Live In Theater by refusing to wait for permission, turning a true-crime story from New York's Lower East Side into an interactive experience where audiences helped solve the mystery. He also explains how the company pivoted during COVID - taking immersive performances virtual and delivering hundreds of experiences annually for teams around the world. In this conversation, you'll learn: * Why you cannot "half-do" a message—commitment, conviction, and presence are what make people believe you. * How to prepare like an actor: rehearse out loud, repeat the material, invite credible feedback, and get comfortable before the moment matters. * Why knowing your material gives you the freedom to adapt when the room, the technology, or the energy changes. * How to listen with more than your ears by watching body language, noticing energy, and responding to what the audience is telling you. * Why we often make up stories about people's reactions—and how curiosity keeps us from misreading the room. One powerful reminder from Carlo: "You can't half-do something." Whether you are leading a meeting, pitching an idea, delivering a keynote, or having a difficult conversation, people can feel whether you are truly committed to the message. If you want to communicate with greater presence, credibility, and impact, this episode is for you. Connect with Carlo D'Amore on https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlodamore-creator/ and learn more about Live In Theater at https://liveintheater.com/.

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