In his first ever podcast interview, Ken Christie, Chief Operating Officer of VTS Consultants, joins Heidi Schalk on the Business Growth Spotlight. With twenty years in aseptic manufacturing and twenty five years in consulting, Ken helps regulated manufacturers prepare for FDA inspections, respond to observations, and keep pace with expectations that rise as technology and equipment design evolve.

Ken shares why clients choose a consulting partner for honesty, a real understanding of their business, and a fair scope of work, and why he personally vets every consultant before they reach a client site. Drawing on more than 250 supplier audits worldwide, he explains how an audit reveals the truth about leadership commitment and how a company operates when the FDA isn’t at the door. His clearest sign of a healthy quality culture is leadership with manufacturing experience that thinks problems through instead of reaching for a quick fix. Quality, as Ken puts it, starts at the top.

About Ken:

EXPERIENCE:

1998 – Dec. 2025Chief Operating Officer

Directed company’s growth strategies, managed multiple client projects, assured client’s satisfaction of services and consultants placed on projects, along with acting as a material subject expert on the qualification of manufacturing equipment, utilities, processes, and sterile products produced through aseptic processing.

Routinely performed vendor/supplier and GxP quality system audits (GMP, GLP, ISO, tissue banks (AATB) and GCP), and evaluated regulatory compliance needs for clients. Provided senior level reviews of quality systems relating to pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, APIs, medical devices processes and cosmetics. Provides compliance direction for addressing regulatory issues associated with FDA 483 audit observations, CAPA investigations, warning letters and consent decrees. Accomplishments include working on consent decree remediation issues for aseptically produced products, assisting clients in Japan, Dubai, Spain, China, and India by addressing audit observations and corrective actions dealing with sterilization. Performs PAI’s (pre-approval inspections) against current standards as found in the FDA’s ‘Pre-Approval Inspection Compliance Program #7346.832. Performed over 250 supplier audits ranging from slaughterhouses, tissue banks, clinical trials to testing laboratories for verification of meeting cGMPs, ISO standards, 21 CFR regulations (210-211, 820, 1271, Part 11, etc.) and corporate expectations.

Seasoned industry speaker and trainer at professional conferences on a global basis on various cGMP issues along with being an “industry trainer” for various professional organizations such as ISPE, the Institute of International Research (IIR) in the US, IPA and AAPS of Canada and Shanghai NovoSciences. Topics covered include cGMPs for sterile products, Role of QA Professionals, Change Control, Environmental Monitoring and Quality Systems for Medical Devices to name a few. Author of several articles dealing with the Challenges of Aseptic Processing.

To connect with our guest, click on the links below:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ken-christie-4980135/

Website: www.vtsconsults.com

Connect with me:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidischalkcoaching/

Website: https://hlhgrowthsolutions.com

🎁Spotlight to Scale Blueprint: https://spotlighttoscale.com/blueprint

🎁AI Visibility Assessment: https://visibilitygrowthindex.com/assessment

What does a $3 million road salt mistake have to do with growing your business? More than you might think. In this episode of the Business Growth Spotlight, Heidi Schalk sits down with Eric Schnurer, president and founder of Public Works LLC, a consulting firm that helps state, local, national and international governments operate better and spend smarter.

Can a small consulting firm win against the biggest names in the industry? Eric Schnurer, founder of Public Works LLC and former chief of staff to the Governor of Pennsylvania, has been doing it for thirty years. On this episode of the Business Growth Spotlight, he joins host Heidi Schalk to share how his firm helps governments improve efficiency, cut waste and save taxpayers millions.

Eric explains why the biggest savings often come from listening to frontline employees, including a West Virginia road salt fix that saved $3 million a year. He shares how his firm competes on quality instead of price, the simple sales system he borrowed from political fundraising, and why he never ends a call without setting a follow up date. He also makes a bold prediction: AI will level the playing field for small businesses, and human judgment and creativity will matter more than ever.

Bio:

What does a $3 million road salt mistake have to do with growing your business? More than you might think. In this episode of the Business Growth Spotlight, Heidi Schalk sits down with Eric Schnurer, president and founder of Public Works LLC, a consulting firm that helps state, local, national and international governments operate better and spend smarter.

Eric never set out to be an entrepreneur. After serving as chief of staff to the Governor of Pennsylvania, he saw something most people missed in 1995: the internet was about to make geography irrelevant, even for government. Thirty years later, his firm has reviewed entire state governments in eight states, completed nearly sixty agency, city and school district reviews, and is currently leading an efficiency assessment of the City of Austin.

Eric shares why the best cost savings often come from the people doing the work rather than the people in the corner office, including the West Virginia highway team that saved taxpayers $3 million a year simply by calibrating their salt spreaders. He explains why a third of a leader’s time belongs to the team, and why leadership is more about listening than talking.

He also opens up about the hard strategic choice his firm made to stop competing on price and start competing on quality against the biggest consulting names in the world. You’ll hear the surprisingly simple business development system he borrowed from political fundraising, a contact list he has kept open on his computer for thirty years, and the one rule he never breaks on a sales call: never hang up without setting a date to talk again.

Finally, Eric makes a bold case about AI. He believes it will hollow out the big consulting model within a few years, putting enormous power on everyone’s desktop and giving small firms a real edge. What stays valuable? Human judgment, creativity and hard earned experience that no algorithm can reproduce.

To connect with our guest, click on the links below:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericschnurer/

Substack: https://ericschnurer.substack.com/

Website: www.public-works.org

https://erischnurer.com

“Democracy Disrupted” in The Hedgehog Review: https://hedgehogreview.com/issues/the-use-and-abuse-of-history/articles/democracy-disrupted

“The Incredible Shrinking World Order” in Aspenia, Issue 1 of 2026, “The New Scramble”

Connect with me:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidischalkcoaching/

Website: https://hlhgrowthsolutions.com

🎁Spotlight to Scale Blueprint: https://spotlighttoscale.com/blueprint

🎁AI Visibility Assessment: https://visibilitygrowthindex.com/assessment

Why do so many business owners feel powerless right now, and what can they do about it? Heidi Schalk sits down with Sharon Seivert, founder and CEO of Core Coaching and Consulting, to explore the Six Powers, an ancient model of balance that Sharon has turned into a practical framework for leaders, teams, and entire organizations. Sharon explains why the real problem in a business usually starts somewhere other than where it shows up, why fear driven decisions quietly weaken a company, and how pausing for just five minutes can change the quality of every decision you make. Sharon is offering a free session to the first ten listeners who reach out, so grab the link in the show notes.

Bio:

Sharon Seivert is the Founder and CEO of Core Coaching & Consulting, LLC, where she works at the intersection of leadership, systems thinking, and organizational health. A former CEO in healthcare and business consulting, Sharon brings decades of hands-on experience guiding leaders and companies through complex change with clarity, compassion, and strategic acumen.

She is the author of multiple books on her signature SIX POWERS® framework. This holistic, systemic approach has activated leadership and improved organizational health across industries. This latest book offers a deeper dive into her methodology, drawing on lived experiences, inspiring client stories, and the urgent need for healthier ways to live and lead.

Throughout her career, Sharon has helped startups find their footing, Fortune 500 companies regain their soul, and leaders at every level reconnect to their purpose. Her work seamlessly blends timeless wisdom with cutting-edge strategy, grounded in the belief that sustainable success is only possible when people, organizations, and systems all thrive.

Sharon is also a sought-after business consultant, leadership coach, and speaker. Her colleagues and clients frequently cite her humor, warmth, pragmatic approach, wisdom, and tireless passion to help people unlock their full potential, especially in times of uncertainty. Whether working with executives, emerging leaders, teams, or entire systems, Sharon’s mission is the same: to evolve naturally from the inside out, spiraling up to significant and lasting transformation.

Sharon lives and works on the North Shore of Boston, Massachusetts, collaborating with a global community of changemakers who, like her, are committed to powering a better reality for all of humanity in these difficult times — and a better tomorrow for future generations.

To connect with our guest, click on the links below:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharonseivert/

Website: www.corecoachingconsulting.com

🎁"Power Reset" session with Sharon. Make an appointment and let Sharon know you heard her on Business Growth Spotlight. This offer is for the first ten people who make an appointment via this link: https://calendly.com/sseivert-1/power-reset-strategy-session

Connect with me:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidischalkcoaching/

Website: https://hlhgrowthsolutions.com

🎁Spotlight to Scale Blueprint: https://spotlighttoscale.com/blueprint