CEO Group (CE-8924) (Coming Soon)

CEO - PR Today

Vistage Value – Christina loves brainstorming with other CEOs. She learns by overlaying their challenges into her business. Currently, she is tapping into the most tech-savvy individuals in the 45,000 Vistage member network who are advising her on how to scale PR Today’s AI division. CE-8924 group members lean on Christina for her uncanny insight into new markets for their businesses. Her understanding of the GenZ mentality is an added bonus for the group.

Gold Nugget Moment – When Christina learned that leaders needed to use two modes of leadership: 1) democratic during strategic planning and brainstorming and 2) dictatorial during tactical execution. Before this understanding, she was uncomfortable demanding accountability from her staff.

The Short Story – Christina was appointed CEO after the tragic death of her father in 2022. PR Today, a public relations firm, was founded in 1958. Her third-generation leadership role is especially challenging as she takes over a post-pandemic workforce with ever changing expectations.

President - Amazing Air

Vistage Value – Daisha finds comfort sitting in a room of CEOs who support her unconditionally. She found the burden of isolation melting away after each and every group meeting. Daisha’s ability to see answers in patterns has been invaluable to group discussions. Her love of family helps keep the group grounded.

Gold Nugget Moment – During one of her monthly 1-to-1’s with the Chair, she realized that though her journey and challenges were unique to her, they were not unique to the Chair.

The Short Story – As the founder of Amazing Air, Daisha has achieved significant success in a short amount of time, raising a Series A and building a top-notch management team. Later this year, her product launch will not only disrupt the wind power industry, but fundamentally change how energy is owned and distributed.

CEO - Science1st

Vistage Value – Gabe values the diversity of opinion in the group. His world is filled with incredibly educated scientists who often look at problems with the same lens. His membership has paid for itself countless times when the group has questioned his proposed decisions, leading him to rethink and pivot. He also finds great value in the diversity of speakers that come to the group.

Gold Nugget – Gabe was able to talk about a family member dealing with opioid addiction, which led to the right expert, which led to an intervention, which led to recovery and a saved life. More than a gold nugget. Priceless.

Short Story – After many years in large pharma, Gabe saw huge opportunity in supporting smaller more focused drug discovery companies. His CRO provides these smaller drug discovery companies the imaging technology and test equipment only large pharma can afford. His ability to navigate the complex and rapidly evolving landscape of pharmaceutical research and development is masterful.

CEO - WePlaySports

Vistage Value – Gregory values the just-in-time education for all of his roles, business leader, husband and father. He sees the group as a secondary Board of Directors, with more than just a fiscal focus.

Gold Nugget – During a citywide gathering of 300 Vistage members, he met a contract manufacturer that had just lost a major client and had capacity to support Gregory’s growing production needs while he finished his in-house manufacturing expansion.

Short Story – Like many founding stories, Gregory built his first skateboard 15 years ago in the garage and sold it to a classmate. WePlaySports expects to surpass $50,000,000 of revenue in 2023. Maintaining a reputation for quality, safety, and innovation is a non-negotiable for Gregory.

Executive Director - Courageous Hearts

As the Executive Director of Courageous Hearts, Hope sees Vistage as an opportunity to learn from other successful leaders in different fields and to apply their best practices to her own organization. Additionally, the Vistage model aligns with Hope’s collaborative leadership style.

Hope’s passion for improving access to mental health services for underserved populations began early in her career when she worked as a social worker in a hospice care facility. There, she witnessed firsthand the impact that a lack of mental health resources can have on patients and their families during end-of-life care. Under her leadership, Courageous Hearts has grown to become a leading provider of mental health services for terminally ill poor people and their families in the San Diego community.

President and Chief Executive Officer - TOPS Bank

By joining Vistage, Kailani has access to a community of like-minded individuals who can offer support and guidance as she navigates the challenges of running a community bank. Kailani brings a fresh perspective to CE-8924 as a non-owner CEO. Three of her direct reports are members of Vistage Key Groups.

Kailani grew up in Hawaii and then attended UC Berkely earning both her MBA and a PhD in Finance. For more than a decade, she held leadership positions at various banking institutions located throughout Northern California. Kailani moved to San Diego in 2018 when she was recruited to run TOPS Bank.

Managing Partner - Stone Step LLP

Michael’s decision to join Vistage has provided him with a supportive community of fellow CEOs. He finds the tiger teams especially valuable, both being on them for other members and the one that the group formed for his issue dealing with better junior associate development.

Michael Law was the youngest lawyer of Step Stone LLP to ever make partner. He recently stepped into the role of Managing Partner of this prestigious law firm and is now responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations. Since joining Vistage, he’s gained new insights and perspectives that help him be a better leader, father, husband, and community member.

Owner - Thirty-One Travel

Nuela Trips joined Vistage to help improve her business acumen. She excels at adapting to changing market conditions and developing innovative strategies to weather any storms. Her global perspective helps her fellow members expand their horizons and think outside of their usual business practices.

Nuela’s biggest passion is traveling. She’s visited more than thirteen countries and has a personal goal to join the 2% of Americans that have visited more than thirty-one countries.

CEO - Sunny Hospital

Paul’s decision to join Vistage was driven by his desire to connect with other hospital executives, learn from their experiences in addressing nurse’s burnout, and to develop his own leadership skills. His favorite Vistage speaker so far was Irina Baranov, who talked about the Art and Science of Coaching.

Paul has served in the healthcare industry for more than twenty years, starting as an ER nurse. As Sunny Hospital’s CEO, he nurtures strong relationships with the board of directors, medical staff, and community leaders to help ensure the hospital delivers high-quality patient care while meeting its financial and operational goals.

CEO - Great Bio Tech Company

Peter joined Vistage to build upon his leadership skills and to help his fellow Vistage members uncover opportunities that they may be overlooking. Giving back and contributing to the success of the group is important to Peter as he considers himself to be in the “legacy” stage of his career.

A lifelong entrepreneur, Peter founded is first company in 1984, six more since then and is now five years into building Great Bio Tech Company. He is a college dropout, but a voracious learner.

Owner / CEO - Resourceful High Tech Staffing

By joining Vistage, Rajender gained access to a network of 45,000 executives worldwide, which was an integral part of his decision to become a member. This network provides him with a platform to connect with other like-minded entrepreneurs and business leaders, which ultimately helps him achieve his entrepreneurial goals.

Rajender’s entrepreneurial story began in 2010 when he quit his software engineering job to start a new type of high tech staffing company that uses technology, mobile, and data to drive growth and value. While based in San Diego, his high-tech staffing company operates globally.

Owner - Fischermann Fabulous Seafood

The importance of Vistage membership for Fischermann Fabulous Seafood’s growth strategy can not be underscored. Sam looks to the group for mentorship and accountability as the business continues growing at rapid speed.

Sam Fischermann is excellent at marketing and selling his company’s frozen seafood products directly to consumers by creating a lot of hype on different social media channels. In CA, Fischermann Fabulous Seafood products can be purchased at over 100 stores of a well-known grocery chain. Sam’s next goal is to secure purchase orders from a wholesale warehouse type retail chain by the end of 2024.

CEO and Founder - Polar Breeze HVAC

Victor Seasonal joined Vistage to gain insights into business growth and expansion, succession planning, and industry trends. His sons will take over the business, so they occasionally come to the speaker presentations at his Vistage meetings.

Victor has over 25 years’ experience in residential / commercial HVAC methods, codes, practices & systems. He founded Polar Breeze HVAC in 2005, and he is very proud that his employees are bilingual English Spanish. Mr. Seasonal lives part-time in Mexico and has a goal of expanding the business to provide services there within the next 5 years.