Raghu Bala is Founder of UnifyGPT.ai, an AI startup, based in Orange County, California. UnifyGPT produces AI and Autonomous Agents for Enterprises. He is an experienced technology entrepreneur and is an alumnus of Yahoo, Infospace, Automotive.com, PwC, and has had 4 successful startup exits. He is a Board Advisor to OpenFabric.ai – a Layer 1 Protocol for Artificial Intelligence. Mr. Bala possesses an MBA in Finance from the Wharton School (University of Pennsylvania), an MS in Computer...

Debora Wondercheck is a dedicated corporate leader, with a profound commitment to social impact and equality with close to 30 years of experience in education program implementation, and arts advocacy. Debora Wondercheck serves as the founder and CEO of the Arts & Learning Conservatory, she is also a professor of string pedagogy, a cellist, and an orchestral conductor. Debora remains unwavering in her mission to provide culturally inclusive artistic training and education to thousands of...

Jairo “JC” Carrion immigrated to the United States in 1986, fleeing political persecution from his native country, Nicaragua. He has over 25 years of experience in the recruitment industry and has partnered with leading organizations across a wide range of industries, including Life Sciences, Financial Technology, Consumer Goods, and Autonomous Driving. myTOD is the fulfillment of a commitment made 33 years ago after Carrion's first experience with a recruiting agency where he struggled to...

Join us as we celebrate 15 incredible years of Orange County's longest-running business talk show. In our 1500th episode, host Ric Franzi interviews three distinguished guests who have made significant impacts on the Orange County business community. Meet Our Esteemed Guests: Paul Roberts, Creator of OC Talk Radio: As the creator of OC TALK RADIO, Paul Roberts pioneered Orange County's only online business radio station and live podcasting platform. His innovative approach to live podcasting...

As Chief Executive Officer of Waymakers, Ronnetta Johnson has taken a visionary approach to the future of an agency that has served the Orange County community for 50 years. From a rebranding effort, which changed the agency name and messaging to a change in the leadership structure, from program expansion to facilitation of staff and board development, Johnson has focused on strategies that will ensure the agency’s vital services will be available for future generations. Johnson originally...

Meghan Medlin’s career reflects a profound commitment to community service and transformative leadership. With over 15 years of nonprofit leadership experience, she founded Medlin Workforce & Reentry Solutions (MWRS) in 2019 and the Hub for Integration, Reentry & Employment (H.I.R.E.) in 2020. Under her leadership, H.I.R.E. has made a significant impact, assisting over 123 individuals in its inaugural year in 2021 and now serving over 700 people annually. MWRS has also thrived,...

Douglas Freeman is the CEO and Executive Chair of Orange County Music and Dance, a nonprofit community performing arts school in Irvine, California. Doug comes to this role after a long career as a lawyer, businessman, civic leader and philanthropist. He served in a variety of capacities within the nonprofit field, including Board Chair of the Pacific Symphony, where he is now a Lifetime Trustee, and Board Member, now Trustee Emeritus, at the California Institute of the Arts. He was also...

His name is Jonathan Brambles, but you can call him The Email Guy. After 16 years of hands-on automation architecture in Silicon Valley, he started his LLC in 2023 to fill an industry void that marketing agencies have been fumbling for decades — quality programs not built by interns. As an x-mechanical engineer and vintage automotive racer, Jonathan takes the same ‘zero-failure’ principles of success at the race track, and uses them to implement sophisticated eco-systems for his clients. He...

Feryal Talebdoost is the founder of GreenPeach, driven by a clear mission: to build a trusted brand and educate parents about the crucial role of nutrition in children's development. Feryal strongly believes that prioritizing food over medication can address and minimize many medical conditions and why supplementation is essential to bridge the gap in our food supply chain. GreenPeach is dedicated to highlighting the importance of "we are what we eat," empowering families with the knowledge...

Eric Gildenguys, the Founder & CEO of Rezultant Inc., is a dynamic leader, coach and mentor helping startups and small companies who are challenged in attaining the next stage in their growth. An expert in sales and revenue development, Eric focuses on scaling revenues, operational improvements, and project management. Having started his career in high tech at the age of 13, Eric co-founded his own software company in his 20s. Pacific Genesys was sold to Optio Software, now Bottomline...

Julie Hudash has a passion for empowering children to become catalysts for positive change. She is the visionary Founder & CEO of Team Kids, a non-profit organization established in 2001, which has been woven into the educational tapestry for over two decades. A devoted social entrepreneur, Julie’s innovative vision has given rise to a transformative organization that profoundly impacts the lives of young people across diverse communities, ranging from Irvine & Compton to Tempe &...

Melissa Rimoldi, CEO/Founder of Legion Force, has a unique automotive journey that spans over three decades, driven by her unwavering dedication to helping companies navigate the complexities of the automotive industry. Melissa graduated from California State University Long Beach with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Marketing. She has worked directly for Mazda USA, Volkswagen Group of America, Innocean Worldwide on Hyundai USA, and has provided B2B/B2C/SaaS, digital technology, and...

Perryn Holtrop is the CEO and Founder of PayNation, a payments technology company that focuses on Accounts Receivable/Accounts Payable automation for B2B companies. He is a serial entrepreneur and visionary who started his first business at the young age of 19 and holds 5 patents outside of payments. He was introduced to the payments industry over 10 years ago, and his passion for entrepreneurship, developing winning strategies, and helping businesses succeed led him to start...

Lexi Kaz is a former Division I soccer player and the CEO and Founder of AK Infinite, which specializes in placing clients in national media. Lexi started AK Infinite in the summer of 2022. After staying consistent and building a mental framework, AK Infinite has now worked with 100 + campaigns, and now has a team of 11 plus working all over the world. Lexi is now living the digital nomad life, traveling while leading her team and helping clients get wider reach and marketing...

Lisa Anderson is the founder and president of LMA Consulting Group Inc., a consulting firm that specializes in manufacturing strategy and end-to-end supply chain transformation that maximizes the customer experience and enables profitable, scalable, dramatic business growth. Lisa has been named in the Top 46 most influential in Supply Chain by SAP, a Top 15 Supply Chain & Logistics Expert by RateLinx, and a top 40 B2B Tech Influencer by Arketi Group. She recently published SIOP (Sales...

Jeff Gable is an embedded software consultant for the medical device industry, where he helps medical device startups develop bullet-proof software to take their prototypes through FDA submission and into production. Combining his expertise in embedded software, FDA design controls, and practical agile methodologies, Jeff can help existing software teams be more effective and efficient, or handle the entire software development and documentation effort for a new device. Jeff has spent his...

Aimee Roberson invented, patented, and brought to market a product called DryMeister under her company name Meister Solutions. DryMeister is a drying wand that dries the inside of containers you can’t reach inside to dry - things like reusable water bottles, wine glasses, hydration packs, baby bottles, vases, and other odd-shaped and sometimes delicate items. Since launching a little over a year ago, DryMeister has been sold on Amazon to customers in all 50 states, an achievement that Aimee...

Andrew Hartman is the Founder of Time Boss, an organization that helps leaders and their teams reinvent their relationships with time to get more done with less stress and anxiety. Andrew founded Time Boss after burning out several times over, even losing his sense of smell for a season. He has taken all he has learned over the years to build a simple system that helps business leaders avoid the same mistakes and chaos. -- Critical Mass Business Talk Show is Orange County, CA's...

Ben Chamberlin is the CEO and founder of Chamberlin Care. Ben is a husband to Christa of 15 years and father to 7 beautiful children, including a daughter with disabilities. With over a decade of experience in the post-acute care space, he has served in the trenches as a nursing home administrator, liaison for senior communities, home care, home health, and hospice agencies, VP of healthcare operations, and owner and investor in post-acute care organizations. Chamberlin Care was founded in...

Kathleen Peters, chief innovation officer, leads innovation and business strategy for Experian’s Decision Analytics in North America. Kathleen and her team are continuously looking for new ways to define product strategies, road maps and priorities for Experian’s identity and fraud portfolio, analyzing industry trends and the latest technologies to bring innovative solutions to our clients. Kathleen joined Experian in 2013 to lead business development and international growth channels for the...

Liz Flores has served as an HR Executive, strategically offering more than 20 years of HR executive leadership experience. This life success journey has offered her the opportunities to assist C-Suite professionals, organizations, and structuring startups to scale up multi-million-dollar companies. Liz's background and expertise evolve from various industries, such as distribution, manufacturing, retail, and aerospace. She is results-driven, working through employee relations concerns,...

Mike Brown is a leader and advocate for impact and sustainability in business. He is a five-time Founder, with roles as CEO, CMO, and Board Chair. He is Chief Impact Officer at Real Leaders, growing the impact movement by connecting Impact CEOs, curating impact-oriented leadership development content, and supporting each CEO to accomplish their specific missions. Mike is the founder of B Local Orange County, which connects local Certified B Corporations with community partners from the...

Greg Harrigan is an Outsourced Vice President of Sales. His firm MarketShare Growth Advisors is powered by Sales Xceleration. Greg enables business owners to significantly increase their company’s value by building the best sales organization they’ve ever experienced. Mr. Harrigan embeds on an interim basis with the business’s Executive Team to lead the B2B Sales function. This includes establishing sales strategy; implementing sales infrastructure and process; hiring, training, coaching and...

Mr. Roohi Toosi, PE is a passionate leader in the environmental and groundwater industry, who is bridging the gap between technology sector and traditional consulting services through the utilization of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data automation tools. Mr. Toosi established APEX Environmental & Water Resources to utilize his accumulated experience along with tech industry network to serve his clients more efficiently and cost-effectively.  He started his career by developing a...