The Company of Dads Podcast

Interview with Todd Demsey / PGA Tour Player Who Walked Away From The Game

HOSTED BY PAUL SULLIVAN

"Thirty weeks a year on the road - it's not worth it.," said Todd Demsey who wasn't a consultant or traveling salesman. He was a PGA Tour golfer living every golfer's dream. It was his dream, too - until his children were too old to travel with him. So he gave it up and moved to a beach town in the shadows of Ponte Vedra Beach, home of the PGA Tour. And there he's been making golf clubs, giving lessons and most of all spending time with his kids. He has no regrets - and may have a second chance at playing. Listen to what he's gained. 

---

Get our free newsletter covering all things fatherhood delivered straight to your inbox: https://thecompanyofdads.com/thedad/

Interview with George Grombacher / Founder of the LifeBlood podcast, Father of Three

HOSTED BY PAUL SULLIVAN

Success usually begets more obligations to fit on top of what you're already doing - without more time to do them. That happened to George Grombacher, who was a financial adviser when he launched Lifeblood, a podcast that delves into health, wealth, relationships, work and life. It took off and was airing daily. He's adding another podcast; he just wrote a book called The Purpose Book. But he's also a father of three, married to a working mom and getting daily exercise. How's he do it? No secret formula. Listen in to learn what you can change.

---

Get our free newsletter covering all things fatherhood delivered straight to your inbox: https://thecompanyofdads.com/thedad/

Interview with Sir Royce Briales / Founder of Welcome To Fatherhood

HOSTED BY PAUL SULLIVAN

Welcome To Fatherhood began when Sir Royce Briales asked his childhood friend, Dr. Raheem Young for fatherhood advice. The two Chicago dads began talking and Sir Royce wondered how he could share more broadly Dr. Raheem's advice. It was all about knowledge transfer and Sir Royce realized that transfer wasn't happening for fathers like it should. What began as a meeting in Chicago has gone national thanks to Zoom. Whatever the format, Sir Royce said there's one goal the groups go back to again and again. Listen in.

---

Get our free newsletter covering all things fatherhood delivered straight to your inbox: https://thecompanyofdads.com/thedad/

Interview with David Landman / Goldman Sachs HR leader, Workplace Advocate

HOSTED BY PAUL SULLIVAN

After a 20-year career as a human resources leader at Goldman Sachs, David Landman recently left and has launched a consultancy that is working to bring more fulfillment, belonging and connection to the workplace. Armed with experience from one of the top Wall Street banks - a firm that has been more rigid than most on working in the office - David is a wealth of strategies on how both managers and workers can get what they need out of work. Listen to his tips on discussing life issues with managers and hear what managers want from working parents.

---

Get our free newsletter covering all things fatherhood delivered straight to your inbox: https://thecompanyofdads.com/thedad/

Interview with Katherine Goldstein / Community Leader, Care Fellow

HOSTED BY PAUL SULLIVAN

Not to be cute, but how much does America care about care? We talk about it. We stress about it. We know we need it. But what steps can we take to bring about action? Katherine knows from researching and writing "A Playbook to Transform How America Cares" Listen to what she learned and we can do.

---

Get our free newsletter covering all things fatherhood delivered straight to your inbox: https://thecompanyofdads.com/thedad/

Interview with Jason Abrams / Dad of Two on His Company's Leave

HOSTED BY PAUL SULLIVAN

Amtrak offers paid parental leave to mothers and fathers. Jason Abrams has taken his full allotment of leave twice now - a rarity among men. His exit from and return to work were seamless. It required some planning. Listen to lessons for other men undecided on taking parental leave.

---

Get our free newsletter covering all things fatherhood delivered straight to your inbox: https://thecompanyofdads.com/thedad/

Interview with Barney Banks / Tik Tok's IAmMrBanks, Diaper Dude

HOSTED BY PAUL SULLIVAN

Barney Banks' fatherhood fame started humbly: he was trying to entertain his son while changing his diaper. He showed the video to his mother-in-law who suggested he post it to Tik Tok. It resonated - to the tune of millions of views. What's happened in the year since shows what we fathers are craving: connection. Listen to Barney talk about the broader message of his family content.

---

Get our free newsletter covering all things fatherhood delivered straight to your inbox: https://thecompanyofdads.com/thedad/

Interview with Nate Thompson and Alex Schwartz / Fathers and Workplace Thinkers

HOSTED BY PAUL SULLIVAN

People want to work differently. We know this. So why are some companies so behind in adaptaing - not to mention those companies putting a stake in the ground for return to office? Nate and Alex, both dads, had traditional office-based careers pre-pandemic. But after work shut down they began to think strategically about what the workforce of the future would look like. Listen to their story - and learn from their future of work mindset model.

---

Get our free newsletter covering all things fatherhood delivered straight to your inbox: https://thecompanyofdads.com/thedad/

Interview with Anna McKay / Back-to-Work Expert for Parents

HOSTED BY PAUL SULLIVAN

Parents pause their careers all the time. They do it to devote all their time to their families. But at some point, they may want to return. If they're an attorney or accountant, there's a path. For others, though, it's challenging. As the founder of Parents Pivot, Anna has tips for Lead Parents who want to return to work this year. 

---

Get our free newsletter covering all things fatherhood delivered straight to your inbox: https://thecompanyofdads.com/thedad/

Behind The Scenes Of The Company of Dads

HOSTED BY PAUL SULLIVAN

This is our holiday episode and we’re sitting down with The Company of Dads itself – the people who make this possible: Helder, Emily, Terry and Skip. We talk about the best fatherhood moment in the past year and why so much has changed.

---

Get our free newsletter covering all things fatherhood delivered straight to your inbox: https://thecompanyofdads.com/thedad/

Interview with Kristen Shockley / Our First Guest, Professor at Auburn / Work-Life Expert

HOSTED BY PAUL SULLIVAN

Welcome to our 100th Podcast! To celebrate, we're talking to Kristen Shockley, our first guest almost two years ago. We talked back then about her research during the pandemic and what led to harmony at home. (Spoiler: people who only worked and weren't involved with caregiving were less productive in their jobs.) Talking to her was a great way to kick off our weekly podcast where we strive to bring insights, stories, and even a bit of humor to the changing pre-pandemic dynamic at home, at work and in our communities. Listen to new thoughts and ideas on work and life from Kristen here.

---

Get our free newsletter covering all things fatherhood delivered straight to your inbox: https://thecompanyofdads.com/thedad/

Interview with Kurt and Trent Long / Father-Son Entreprenuers

HOSTED BY PAUL SULLIVAN

Kurt and Trent Long, father-son founders of a company called BUNKR that digitally encrypts your passwords and documents, have lessons for other families looking to work together and build a business. Kurt is a serially successful entrepreneur whose family and friends have always been around his businesses. He recognizes the strengths his children have and leverages them. For his part, Trent knows that at work Kurt is Kurt - not dad - and that's helped them with respect from other employees at work and family harmony outside of the office. Listen to their lessons for parents and children.

---

Get our free newsletter covering all things fatherhood delivered straight to your inbox: https://thecompanyofdads.com/thedad/

Interview with Nick Bloom / Hybrid Work Expert, Stanford Economist

HOSTED BY PAUL SULLIVAN

The Five Day Office Week is Dead - so says Nick Bloom, an economics professor at Stanford University and an expert on work-from-home practices. Yet some CEOs keep fighting a losing battle to bring it back. There is no evidence, Bloom says, that this will lead to anything good - and lots of research showing that inflexible work arrangements will cost companies millions when key employees leave and need to be replaced. So listen up managers and workers alike to ways to improve worker happiness and a company's bottomline!

---

Get our free newsletter covering all things fatherhood delivered straight to your inbox: https://thecompanyofdads.com/thedad/

Interview with Brad Harrington / Boston College Center for Work and Family

HOSTED BY PAUL SULLIVAN

Many companies still focus on working moms with their outreach and employee resource groups for parents. But research from Boston College's Center for Work and Family shows that doing only that is missing the mark. Not only are fathers taking paternity leave that companies have offered them, both they and working moms are using those benefits as proxies to assess whether they'd even want to work for that company. So why are some companies still acting like it's 1983? Listen to Brad Harrington's insights from over two decades of research in the field.

---

Get our free newsletter covering all things fatherhood delivered straight to your inbox: https://thecompanyofdads.com/thedad/

Interview with Michael Perry / Creator of An App To Organize Families

HOSTED BY PAUL SULLIVAN

Michael Perry was living the tech founder's dream. He'd sold an app he created to Shopify, where he had a senior role. Then he and his wife started to have children, and the juggle became a struggle. It gave Michael an idea: What if he created an app to help families organize, delegate and communicate all the big and small tasks of family life? Listen to learn what Maple, the result, is looking to do to help with the logistics of life.

---

Get our free newsletter covering all things fatherhood delivered straight to your inbox: https://thecompanyofdads.com/thedad/

Interview with Jason Frishman / Narrative Therapist, Founder of JourneyMen

HOSTED BY PAUL SULLIVAN

Can fathers journey through life with responsibility, meaning, intention and partnership? That's Jason Frishman's goal: A therapist based in Vermont, he wants to help men create and sustain authentic relationships with one another and live a more meaningful life. He wants to help them become engaged participants in their family, community and work lives. Listen to how redefining masculinity helps the entire family.

---

Get our free newsletter covering all things fatherhood delivered straight to your inbox: https://thecompanyofdads.com/thedad/

Interview with Michael Frerichs / Illinois Treasurer, Father of Three

HOSTED BY PAUL SULLIVAN

Michael Frerichs was elected state treasurer in 2014 and has been reelected twice. For all that time he lived in a farming town in southern Illinois where he grew up. When he met his second wife, she was working for Kellogg in Chicago. They commuted, so she could be close to work and he could be with his daughter from his first marriage. Then they had twins. And the choice was: ask her to move to his town or relocate to Chicago so she could continue on the executive path. Listen to what they did and how it impacted their careers - for the better.

---

Get our free newsletter covering all things fatherhood delivered straight to your inbox: https://thecompanyofdads.com/thedad/

Interview with Jeff Wickersham / Warrior Dad, Fatherhood Coach

HOSTED BY PAUL SULLIVAN

Sometimes unexpected bad outcomes lead to great personal growth. A decade ago, Jeff Wickersham was let go from his job at American Express. It was his livelihood; it was some part of his identity as a provider. But he turned that loss into a moment to connect more deeply with his sons and wife and that spawned the idea for what became Morning Fire Coaching - a program to help fathers be more fully present in their family's life. From that came the Warrior Dad experience - an immersive program meant to reawaken a father's priorities in life. Listen to the three most common challenges fathers face and solutions that any man can apply.

---

Get our free newsletter covering all things fatherhood delivered straight to your inbox: https://thecompanyofdads.com/thedad/

Interview with Blessing Adesiyan / Workplace Challenger, Founder of MH WorkLife

HOSTED BY PAUL SULLIVAN

Blessing Adesiyan is at the forefront of changing how workplaces think about care for workers. A chemical engineer by training who held senior roles at companies like BASF, Dupont, and Cargill, Blessing shared some thoughts about being a working mother and invited people on social media for coffee. What she thought would be a small gathering of like-minded moms back in 2018 turned into a gathering that overwhelmed a local coffee shop. That was the beginning of a movement that has gained speed during the pandemic. Now with MH WorkLife, she is reimagining the care infrastructure at companies and for employees. Listen to how she's doing it and what you can learn.

---

Get our free newsletter covering all things fatherhood delivered straight to your inbox: https://thecompanyofdads.com/thedad/

Interview with Ryan Carters / Pro Cricketeer, Dad Coach

HOSTED BY PAUL SULLIVAN

At 18, Ryan Carters was a professional cricket player in Australia. He was a father in his early 20s. In his late 20s, after graduating from Harvard, he became a consultant for McKinsey, one of the top management consulting firms in the world. Good life. What didn't fit, though, was how fathers were expected to work and interact with their family. It drove him to start DadFIt, an organization that aims to turn fatherhood into a team support and give dads the support mothers give each other. Listen to how to build your own Dad Team.

---

Get our free newsletter covering all things fatherhood delivered straight to your inbox: https://thecompanyofdads.com/thedad/