The Dr. Doug Edge: Real Talk with Real Leaders

If you think capital is the edge, you’re already behind. This week, I sit down with Adam Stulberger, co-founder of Coventry Bay Group and a 25-year private equity veteran, to unpack the real drivers of outperformance: management quality, cultural clarity, and the courage to be transparent when it counts. We trace the shift from the classic funded model to the independent sponsor approach, explain why limited partners crave deal-by-deal control, and explore how new retail capital will push pri...

In this episode, I reconnect with Matt Jones, the CEO of Sigma Defense. Matt and I first met a few years ago when my company was brought in to do a human capital assessment of Matt and his leadership team. From the very beginning, we connected on both a professional and personal level. It was clear he was a driven leader, willing to step outside his comfort zone to achieve ambitious goals. What stood out to me most was his open-minded, culturally focused approach to leadership. In this...

There are a few people you meet in life who make you feel like a better version of yourself every time you speak with them. That’s my friend, Nick Gouche, founder and CEO of Nation of Homeowners. At his core, Nick stands for freedom—the ability to chart your own path and live with purpose. What keeps Nick up at night? The future his children will inherit. What gives him confidence? A deep-seated belief in himself, anchored by the grounding and loving influence of his wife. Nick’s story ...

What makes a meaningful life? For Ben Thomases, CEO of Queens Community House, the answer came from an unlikely source: Charlotte's Web. "A spider's life is a messy thing. I thought I could lift up my life by helping you," became his guiding principle in choosing purpose over profit. Queens Community House serves 28,000 residents annually in America's most diverse county, providing everything from early childhood programming to immigration legal services, LGBTQ support centers to meals for h...

What happens when a world-class surgeon steps into the C-suite? That’s the story of Dr. Leo Spector, CEO of OrthoCarolina, who takes us inside his remarkable journey from the operating room to the boardroom—revealing both the stark contrasts and surprising similarities between surgical precision and executive leadership. For over 20 years, Dr. Spector performed complex spinal surgeries where decisive, command-and-control leadership was essential. But when he became CEO of one of the nation’s ...

Dr. Greg Pennington's journey as a performance coach reveals powerful insights about leadership development. Unlike many coaches who focus exclusively on C-suite executives, Greg found his sweet spot working with senior leaders poised for that final promotion – those "knocking on the door" of the executive suite. This distinction allowed him to leverage his intellectual approach while providing concrete value to ambitious leaders seeking that next-level breakthrough. The conversation explore...

In this episode, leadership coach Jen Miller shares how she helps leaders combine visionary thinking with resilience and mindfulness to reach peak performance. She discusses the power of self-awareness, the art of empowering others without micromanaging, and strategies for re-engaging disengaged clients. Jen and I explore why effective communication is the backbone of leadership, how to navigate difficult conversations with respect, and ways to uncover the personal motivators that drive lasti...