Episodes

In this episode of Built With Purpose, Chris Fay sits down with leadership consultant and former CEO Brad Hansen to explore what actually shapes great leaders—and why having everything figured out is overrated. Brad shares personal stories about mentors who opened doors, lessons learned leading a 200-person organization, and why ownership, humility, and trust matter more than titles or perfect plans. This episode is for founders, executives, and emerging leaders who want to build careers and c...

Most leaders don’t fail because of talent — they fail because they think too small. In this episode of Built With Purpose: Between the Builds, host Chris Fay reflects on a powerful leadership lesson inspired by hosting a company kickoff inside a professional hockey arena. The question that changed everything: What if you treated your business — and your life — like an open arena? Chris unpacks how artificial constraints around money, role, location, and fear quietly limit growth, and how leaders can unlock scale without sacrificing family, health, or culture. Drawing from conversations with Kirk Zambetti and lessons from elite operating systems, this episode breaks down what it really takes to scale through vision, people, and systems. In this episode, you’ll learn: Why leaders underestimate what’s possibl How artificial constraints quietly cap growth The “open arena” mindset for leadership and life Why scaling doesn’t require burnout How systems turn vision into execution What great …

What does it take to build a premium brand, scale organizations, and lead through massive growth without losing culture or purpose? In this episode of Built With Purpose, host Chris Fay sits down with former YETI executive and current President and Founder of NHUSSS Kirk Zambetti during TPM’s company kickoff meeting inside the Bon Secours Wellness Arena. This unique live conversation dives into what it truly means to think bigger — both as a company and as individual leaders. Kirk shares s...

What would you be willing to sacrifice for what you truly believe? In this Between the Builds episode of Built With Purpose, host Chris Fay reflects on a powerful conversation with former Chick-fil-A CMO Steve Robinson and unpacks one of the most important leadership questions of all: how deeply are your beliefs embedded in the way you lead, build, and serve? Chris breaks down how Chick-fil-A made the intentional decision to close on Sundays — a move that costs the company roughly a billion dollars a year — yet helped create one of the most trusted and recognizable brands in the world. Why? Because their beliefs aren’t just written down — they’re lived out daily through customer experience, employee development, and company culture. From the famous “my pleasure” service mindset to their commitment to people-first leadership, this episode explores how belief systems become visible through action — and why customers can literally feel a brand when values are real. Chris also challenges …

Chick-fil-A didn’t become one of the most admired brands in America by chasing growth, trends, or short-term profits. In this episode of Built With Purpose, host Chris Fay sits down with Steve Robinson, former Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Chick-fil-A, for a deep conversation on leadership, culture, faith, and long-term thinking. During Steve’s 35-year tenure, Chick-fil-A grew from under $100 million in revenue to more than $6 billion, eventually becoming a $24+ billio...

As we kick off the first Between the Builds episode of 2026, host Chris Fay takes a step back to reflect on leadership, priorities, and the pace of change ahead. Building off last week’s conversation with Patrick Murphy, founder and CEO of Toggle AI, this episode introduces a powerful framework for modern leaders: What should be systematized? What can be automated? And what must remain deeply human? From business operations to family life, Chris shares how intentional reflection, smart systems...

In this episode, we sit down with Patrick Erin Murphy to break down what it truly means to build with purpose—not as a slogan, but as a daily commitment to leadership, integrity, and long-term thinking. Patrick shares how staying grounded in values has shaped his approach to leadership, decision-making, and growth, especially in environments where shortcuts and short-term wins are often rewarded. This conversation explores what it takes to build something meaningful while maintaining discipline...

Shownotes In this Between the Builds episode of Built With Purpose, host Chris Fay reflects on leadership, culture, and growth as the year comes to a close. Drawing from recent conversations — including insights from Wes Palmisano of Renegade Construction — Chris explores what it truly takes to scale a business without sacrificing culture. From promoting leaders from within to empowering teams through clear frameworks and shared vision, this episode focuses on how intentional leadership cr...

In this episode, we sit down with Wes Palmisano, founder of Renegade, to break down how he’s building one of the most forward-thinking construction companies in the industry. Wes shares how Renegade scaled by challenging traditional construction norms, prioritizing culture and leadership, and embracing technology and innovation in an industry known for doing things “the old way.” From hiring and retention to operational efficiency, AI, and long-term vision, this conversation dives into wha...

In this episode of Built With Purpose, host Chris Fey returns with a powerful Between the Builds reflection—breaking down one of the most important leadership lessons from his recent conversation with Burton Hackney, President & CEO of JORIS General Contractors, one of Texas’s most admired construction companies. Rather than chasing size, geography, or market dominance, JORIS made a bold and clarifying decision: to become one of the most admired companies in Texas. Chris unpacks why that single...

Episode Summary In this episode of Built With Purpose, host Chris Fay sits down with Burton Hackney, President of JORIS, one of Texas’s most respected and long-standing construction companies. Across a candid, energizing conversation, Chris and Burton explore what it really takes to lead a 700-person organization through growth, uncertainty, and generational change—without losing sight of culture, people, or purpose. From JORIS’s 50+ year Texas legacy and the reboot that reshaped the company’s ...

In this Between the Builds episode of Built With Purpose, Chris Fay reflects on his recent conversation with Landon Messal, Founder & CEO of SiteMarker, and digs into one big theme: the people closest to the problem are usually the best equipped to solve it. Chris expands on what this means for leaders who aren’t always in the field or on every customer call—and how to build systems that surface insights from across a growing organization. Chris also explores how AI is transforming knowledge ca...

Episode Summary: In this episode of Built With Purpose, host Chris Fay sits down with Landon Messal, Founder & CEO of Site Marker, for a deep, forward-looking conversation about technology, process, and purpose inside the AEC industry. From the origins of Site Marker, born directly from real pain in the civil engineering field, to the rapid acceleration of AI, automation, and internal innovation, this discussion breaks down what it really takes to build tools that teams actually adopt. Chris and...

Episode Summary: In this episode of Between the Builds, host Chris Fay reflects on last week’s conversation with Al Petrangeli, diving deeper into one of the most foundational principles of effective leadership: servant leadership. Chris breaks down what servant leadership really means, how to distinguish it from simply “being a servant,” and why the difference can shape the trajectory of your team, culture, and organization. From leading by example and setting the tone for your team to empower...

Episode Summary: In this episode of Built With Purpose, host Chris Fay sits down with Al Petrangeli, COO at Carroll Daniel Construction and former CEO of Balfour Beatty’s Southeast Region, to explore what it takes to lead with humility while driving massive growth. From growing up in an Italian family restaurant to leading billion-dollar construction businesses, Al shares his story of servant leadership, grit, and building organizations where people and culture come first. He opens up about the...

Episode Summary: In this episode of Between the Builds, host Chris Fay reflects on his conversation with Tony Iannessa, Founder and CEO of BIG Construction, to explore one of the hardest truths in leadership. Sometimes the thing holding your company back is you. Using Tony’s shift from “BIG 1.0” to “BIG 2.0" as a framework, Chris breaks down what it really means to stop being the system and start building systems. From vulnerability and empowerment to the psychology of delegation, this episode c...

Episode Summary: In this episode of Built With Purpose, host Chris Fay sits down with Tony Iannessa, Founder and CEO of BIG Construction, to explore what it takes to build a high-performing, values-driven company from the ground up. From the early “Big 1.0” days of grit and long hours to the evolution into “Big 2.0,” Tony shares how he learned to scale through people, process, and purpose. They dive deep into the human side of leadership, the tension between vision and execution, the emotional ...

Episode Summary: In this Between the Builds reflection, host Chris Fay reflects on his recent conversation with Chris Dornfeld, co-founder of Whistle Rewards which was acquired by One10 where he now serves as Executive Vice President of Product Strategy. Fay dives into the science of immediate recognition, exploring how micro-rewards can reshape workplace motivation and culture. He breaks down how generational differences, from Baby Boomers to Gen Z, impact how people respond to feedback and ap...

Episode Summary: In this episode of Built With Purpose, host Chris Fay sits down with Chris Dornfeld. At the time of recording Dornfield was the President and Co-Founder of Whistle Rewards, which has since been acquired by One10 where he now serves as the Executive Vice President of Product Strategy. Together they explore how behavioral science, neuroscience, and real-time recognition are transforming the way teams adopt technology and drive performance. From his early days as an architect to be...

Episode Summary: In this Between the Builds reflection, host Chris Fay looks back on his conversation with Maor Farid, founder and CEO of Leo AI, and unpacks a powerful theme: the way our lived experiences, both triumphs and setbacks, shape who we are as leaders and builders. From Maor’s time in the Israeli military and at MIT to Chris’s own story of rejection from the University of Georgia leading to unexpected opportunities, this episode explores how the moments we often overlook or even resis...

Episode Summary: In this episode of Built With Purpose, host Chris Fay sits down with Maor Farid, co-founder of Leo AI, to explore how artificial intelligence, military discipline, and heart-centered leadership are reshaping the future of engineering and innovation. From his journey through Israel’s elite defense units and MIT to building a startup transforming mechanical design, Maor shares how purpose and people remain at the center of groundbreaking technology. The conversation dives into th...

Summary: In this second installment of Between the Builds, host Chris Fay digs deeper into a theme that resonated in a recent conversation with Ryan Suydam and Tim Asimos from Client Savvy; the power of listening. Drawing from industry data, personal practice, and practical tools, Chris explores why so many leaders miss the mark on client and employee feedback, and what it really takes to bridge the gap between perception and reality. From annual surveys to personalized follow-ups, he lays out a...

Episode Summary: In this episode of Built With Purpose, host Chris Fay sits down with Ryan Suydam, co-founder of Client Savvy and now CX Architect at ClearlyRated, and Tim Asimos, Head of Growth at Client Savvy, to unpack how listening, empathy, and purposeful leadership can transform client relationships and fuel organizational growth. From Ryan’s journey starting in architecture to building one of the leading client experience platforms in professional services, to Tim’s perspective on evolvin...

Episode Summary: In this first Between the Builds segment, host Chris Fay reflects on key lessons from his conversation with Chad Cousins, CEO of McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture, and shares his own insights from stepping into leadership roles. Chris explores the critical moments of transition—how new leaders can honor legacy while steering toward innovation, why first impressions shape long-term trust, and how a simple 100-day plan can set the foundation for success. With practical advice dra...