CSI Chat

We are joined by the "Q" (James Bond fans will know "Q") of the CIA, Dawn Meyerriecks.  After learning a bit more about Dawn, perhaps it is more accurate to state that "Q" is the Dawn Meyerriecks of the British Secret Service.  In any event, Dawn was the Deputy Director of the CIA for Science and Technology.  Dawn recently led a "Masterclass" on "The Art of Intelligence" which I would highly encourage everyone to check out.  

We ta...

We are joined by Colin Bryar, a former Amazon executive and co-author of the outstanding book, "Working Backwards:  Insights, Stories, and Secrets from Inside Amazon".  How did Amazon grow from a tiny start-up to one of the most successful companies on the planet?  What best practices did Amazon leverage to facilitate this success?  Colin was Jeff Bezos' "shadow" (Jeff's Chief of Staff") during those early days and talks to CSI Cha...

Michele Rigby Assad, who is a "super spy" and a renown author, joins us to talk about her latest book, "Get off the X:  CIA's Secrets for Conquering Obstacles and Achieving your Life's Mission".  Michele spent 10 years working in the Central Intelligence Agency ("CIA") and is now an international corporate advisor, author and keynote speaker.  

Michele talks to us about:

• How do you go through the process of joining the CIA?  H...

Frank Perri joins CSI Chat to talk about "Red Collar Crime".  Frank is the author of "Red Collar White Collar Crime:  Corporate, Predatory Violent Fraud Offenders".  Frank debunks the myth that white collar criminals reflect the kinder, gentler offender and Frank explains how red collar criminals resort to violence to prevent the detection of their fraud schemes. 

Frank takes us down a fascinating journey of how a white collar crim...

We are joined by Bethany McLean on CSI Chat to talk about the learnings from Enron, the 2008 financial crisis and her most recent book, "The Big Fail:  What the Pandemic Revealed about Who America Protects and Who it Leaves Behind".  Bethany is a well-known journalist who published in 2001 the now famous article in Fortune, "Is Enron Overpriced".  Bethany is the author of several books, cohost of the podcast "Capitalisn't" and a sp...

David Giersdorf joins us at CSI Chat to talk about his experience in the cruise industry and his fantastic book, "Hardships:  Navigating your company, career, and life through the fog of disruption".  

David has spent nearly his entire professional life involved with the travel and cruise industry.  When COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic in March 2020, the cruise industry was hit extremely hard.  How did the cruise companies ...

The "Pink Collar Crime" lady Kelly Paxton joins us on CSI Chat for a terrific discussion on "Pink Collar Crime".  Kelly Paxton is the author of the book "Embezzlement: How to Detect, Prevent, and Investigate Pink-Collar Crime" and is a world-renown expert and global speaker in the area.  Kelly's background ranges from investigating narcotics crimes for the United States Customs to investigating how owner managed businesses are at r...

Tom Hardin, also known as "Tipper X", was working his way up the corporate ladder on Wall Street when he was stopped on the street by a couple of FBI agents and his life was never the same.  Tom was faced with accusations of insider trading and decided to cooperate with the FBI.  It was at this point Tom transitioned from being "Tom Hardin", up and coming Wall Street banker to "Tipper X", undercover agent for the FBI.  After workin...

Gregory Makoff is the author of the terrific book, "Default:  The Landmark Court Battle over Argentina's $100 Billion Debt Restructuring".  Greg's book outlines the saga of Argentina's default on their sovereign debt obligations and the lengthy process of resolving the default.  

We talk to Greg about a number of topics, including:

• The key differences between sovereign debt and corporate debt.  
• The major players in the intern...

Dr. Kristy Goodwin, author of the terrific book "Dear Digital, We need to talk", joins CSI Chat for a "heart to heart" discussion on the relationship between our ourselves and our digital devices.  

These days, technology should be making our jobs easier and less stressful; however, it is quite possible that the reverse trend is occurring as technology could be making our jobs more complex and much more stressful.  Dr. Goodwin join...

Our next guest on CSI Chat is Chris Ashford.  Chris is UK military veteran turned personal trainer.  Chris has spent nearly his entire professional life focused on personal wellness and namely the three core pillars being sleep, diet and exercise.  He is “Head Coach” at “Ashford Fitness Consultancy” which helps both individuals and corporations maximize personal wellness.

During our conversation on CSI Chat, we talk to Chris about:

Walt Pavlo was a senior finance executive overseeing a $2 billion operation at MCI Communications during a high growth period in the telecommunications industry before he was caught in a scheme to embezzle $6 million.  Walt was eventually caught, spent some time in prison, and now speaks globally on the importance of ethics and corporate culture.  Walt is the co-author of the terrific book "Stolen without a Gun - Confessions from i...

Patricia spent her childhood growing up in a cult with very strict rules surrounding interactions with her family and the outside world.  She was then kicked out of the cult at a very young age and left with nothing.  She started at the bottom rung of the ladder and eventually rose to the highest levels within Wall Street.  Her story is documented through her two fantastic books, "Little Sister" and "Breaking Glass:  Tales from the...

We sit down with Superhero Jay Dobyns (who ironically is also married to a Superhero!).  Jay went deep undercover as a US Federal Agent with the Hells Angels and went on to become one of the most successful undercover agents in US law enforcement history.  He is the author of two outstanding best-selling books, "No Angel:  My Harrowing Undercover Journey to the Inner Circle of the Hells Angels" and "Catching Hell:  A True Story of ...

Why is the Netherlands consistently ranked as one of the happiest countries in the world?  Have the Dutch solved the secret to happiness and what can the rest of the world learn from them?  Olga Mecking attempts to unlock this mystery in her terrific book, "Niksen:  Embracing The Dutch Art of Doing Nothing".  

Olga has spent a significant amount of time living and raising her family in the Netherlands and has seen the benefits of...

Craig Stanland arrived at work on a Tuesday morning and was greeted with a chilling message from the FBI demanding that he return home and he realized that his past had caught up with him.  Craig documents his entire experience starting with this voicemail and ending with how he emerged from prison a changed man in his excellent book "Blank Canvas:   How I reinvented my life after prison".  

In our "Chat", Craig takes us through th...

We are joined by Richard Gurman who was the executive producer on the ground breaking show "Married... with Children" and author of the new book, "Married... with Children vs. the World".  

Richard takes us behind the scenes of the meteoric rise of Married... with Children and the FOX Network.  Richard also discusses the process of writing, casting and filming a hit TV Series.

Did your favorite TV Series "Jump the shark"?  Several ...

On January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, killing all seven crew members aboard.  On the fateful launch day, there were several engineers who expressed serious concerns surrounding the launch on one of the coldest days in Florida history. 

We are joined by author Adam Higginbotham to talk about his new book, "Challenger:  A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space", whi...

In 1988 Ben Johnson ran a record breaking 9.79 in the 100m and won an Olympic gold medal.  A few days later, he tested positive for steroids and the gold medal was lost. 

Is this the greatest moment in Canadian sports history or the worst?  Did Ben Johnson get a fair trial?  Do we wish Ben Johnson got away "Scott Free"?   

We are joined by the incredible Mary Ormsby as she talks about her new book, "World's Fastest Man:  The Incred...