If you can’t walk away from your business and have it still run, do you own a company or do you just have a job?

Cynthia Goro’s perspective comes from experience. She grew up in her family’s garbage truck manufacturing business in Iowa, became president, and led the company through rapid growth, restructuring after 9/11, and a successful exit. Along the way, she discovered that real value isn’t just revenue or market share. It’s creating a business that continues to run, grow, and lead even when the owner steps away.

In this episode of Chairwaves, we talk about Cynthia’s four Vistage groups, family business dynamics, imposter syndrome, and what it means to build a legacy that benefits employees, the industry, and the community. This is a candid conversation about building something that lasts.

You can reach Cynthia via email at cynthia.goro@vistagechair.com or by cell phone at 319-830-3555.

When things go wrong in business—or in sports—the fastest way forward usually starts with personal accountability. In the latest episode of the Chairwaves podcast, Lance Vieira explains why leaders have to look in the mirror before blaming circumstances and why trying to solve everything on their own often creates bigger problems. Drawing from decades as a football coach and business leader, Lance shares how adjustment, preparation, and self awareness shape better decisions when pressure is high.

As a Denver based Vistage Chair working with a small business group, Lance runs his group like a team built on trust and discipline. Lance focuses on building a strong bench and shows genuine care for the people in his group.

Lance can be reached via email at lance.vieira@vistagechair.com or by cell phone at 720-394-7789.

Some people sell products. Bob Wightman sells possibility, and a path to better decision-making. After 40 years in banking, including starting two banks from scratch, Bob now helps business owners and executives navigate the unknown through peer advisory groups.

From the chaos of the '80s banking collapse to leading five Vistage groups—four with a co-chair—Bob’s journey is packed with insight. In this episode of Chairwaves, he talks about drawing out what matters most to his members, identifying risk (a habit he can’t quit), and why helping others find the right peer group—not necessarily his—is what keeps him going. Because the truth is, almost every business owner can benefit from a peer group.

You can reach Bob directly at 214-564-0997 or via email at bob.wightman@vistagechair.com.

What happens when a group of CEOs shows up with both head and heart? According to Salt Lake City Chair Laura Langehaug, that’s when real leadership conversations begin.

In this episode of the Chairwaves podcast, Laura shares how her background in human capital and executive recruiting helped her recognize a common thread among high-performing leaders: isolation. Her Vistage group breaks that pattern, with diverse voices, generational perspectives, and a culture built on trust and openness. We talk about how shared values—not similar resumes—create real connection, and how Laura’s approach helps leaders open up, support each other, and grow together.

You can contact Laura through her Vistage profile or through LinkedIn.

What does a college basketball coach know about business?

Matt Doherty gets that question a lot. But once he lays it out—recruiting, training, budgeting, board management, media relations—it’s clear the overlap is bigger than people think. In this episode, Matt unpacks how leading high-performance teams on the court prepared him to guide business leaders in the boardroom.

From playing alongside Michael Jordan at UNC to being named National Coach of the Year, Matt's journey is full of highs, setbacks, and serious leadership lessons. After being asked to resign from his dream job at North Carolina, he went on a deep dive into executive coaching, emotional intelligence, and the power of culture. Now, as a Vistage Chair, he uses those hard-earned insights to help CEOs navigate their own leadership challenges.

This one’s for anyone who’s ever had their leadership questioned, and came back stronger.

The best way to contact Matt is via email at matt@dohertycoaching.com

Some people crumble in adversity. Others discover a kind of fuel. For Heatherann Antonacci, that fuel has always been an inner spirit, a quiet resilience she believes everyone has, even if they haven’t tapped into it yet.

In this episode of Chairwaves, Heatherann shares her journey from a career on the business side of academia to leading four Vistage groups in Orlando. From guiding students to guiding CEOs, she’s learned that strong leadership doesn’t come from being the smartest person in the room—it comes from curiosity, humility and the courage to grow. She also breaks down how she vets potential members and the value of personal development in shaping better leaders.

The best way to reach Heatherann is through her LinkedIn profile.

Sarah Castle spent 15 years at Amazon, helping launch products and lead technical teams, but today she’s focused on something very different: creating space for business leaders to think, grow, and challenge themselves. As a Charleston-based Vistage Chair, Sarah brings a balanced combination of enterprise experience and coaching expertise. In this episode of Chairwaves, we talk about her passion for teaching, the challenges of inheriting a well-established group, and how she keeps her corporate lessons relevant without turning every conversation into an Amazon case study.

Connect with Sarah via email at sarah.castle@vistagechair.com or learn more on her website.

Rob Halverson has spent his career in the trenches with small business owners, from supporting Snap-on Tools franchisees across the country to leading peer groups in Omaha, Nebraska. As a Vistage Chair, he leads a Small Business group that gives smaller-scale entrepreneurs the peer community and strategic insight they’ve often been missing.

In this episode, Rob shares how his background prepared him to guide Omaha’s small business founders, why retirement didn’t stick, and how he’s building a true incubator for small businesses that often face big challenges without a strong peer network. If you’ve ever felt like small business owners are left out of the conversation, this one’s for you.

Connect with Rob using his Vistage email: rob.halverson@vistagechair.com, on LinkedIn, or via his website.