Episodes

  • Andrew Medvedev, Weatherhead School of Management

    Andrew Medvedev, Weatherhead School of Management
    May 5 2026
    Andrew Medvedev became dean of the Weatherhead School of Management on July 1, 2024. His focus is on cultivating a culture of trust and belonging in the school, enhancing interdisciplinary collaboration and research, implementing impactful experiential learning, and creating a workplace in which innovation thrives. He envisions Weatherhead as the intellectual entrepreneur’s home of choice.

    “I believe Weatherhead can be an audacious school solving the most urgent challenges in management,” Medvedev said. “I believe we get there by fostering a culture of excellence and innovation, attracting bold talent, making critical investments, and focusing on impacting how people think and act.”

    Before returning to his alma mater, Medvedev was a managing director and portfolio manager at Morgan Stanley Investment Management. In 2016 Medvedev partnered with trustee Joe Sabatini (MGT ’82) to create the school’s Wall Street Trek. This alumni-funded program readies undergraduates for financial careers and links them with opportunities in NYC’s financial community. Since its inception, about half of the program’s 200 alumni have gone on to work on Wall Street. In 2018 Medvedev joined Weatherhead’s visiting committee.

    Medvedev and his family immigrated to Cleveland from Russia in 1992. His ties to CWRU run deep: His mother, Irene Medvedev, served the School of Medicine for 22 years as a senior technologist, and he obtained his undergraduate degree in economics from CWRU in 1997. He earned an MBA from Harvard Business School in 2004.

    Medvedev lives in Shaker Heights with his wife, Christine, and their three children.

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    8 mins
  • Amber Gibbs, CEO Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities

    Amber Gibbs, CEO Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities
    Mar 24 2026
    As Superintendent and CEO of the Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities (Cuyahoga DD), Dr. Amber C. Gibbs and her team support more than 15,000 Cuyahoga County residents with developmental disabilities and their families each year to live, learn, work, and play in the community. Gibbs worked in mental health before moving into direct care, supporting people with DD at an agency provider before joining Cuyahoga DD in 2008. She served in a variety of supervisory and leadership roles before becoming Superintendent and CEO in 2023. Notable accomplishments include leading a major effort to eliminate the Medicaid waiver waiting list in Cuyahoga County and building collaborative relationships that enable the community to better support people of all abilities. Gibbs fosters a culture of service excellence among the agency’s 600 employees, and she champions the voices of people who receive services from Cuyahoga DD, making sure they have a say in decisions the agency makes that affect them. Amber ensures that Cuyahoga DD is an example of inclusion for other community organizations by employing people with disabilities and including people with disabilities on the Cuyahoga DD Board. In addition, she ensures that the work the agency does has input from people it serves through an innovative Leadership Council that advises directors on strategic projects. A leader at the state level with the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities and other county boards, Gibbs was recognized in 2018 with the Ohio Association of County Board’s Partners in Excellence Award for her groundbreaking work to eliminate the statewide Medicaid waiting list. She serves on a number of statewide workgroups focused on improving waiver services and fiscal sustainability. Gibbs serves on the board of directors of Community Fund Ohio, a nonprofit organization that serves as a Trust Advisor for people with disabilities throughout the state. A native Cleveland resident, she is an active volunteer in the community and has served on various nonprofit boards and as a certified foster parent. Gibbs is active in the Beaumont Parents’ Club and is a member of the Wittenberg University Alumni Board. Gibbs holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Wittenberg University, a master’s degree in social science and psychology from the University of Chicago, and a doctorate in organizational leadership from the University of Dayton. She lives in Cleveland with her husband and three daughters.

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    7 mins
  • Emil Gamidov, CEO ONYX

    Emil Gamidov, CEO ONYX
    Mar 9 2026
    Experienced entrepreneur with a demonstrated history of operating successful businesses in multiple different vertical markets. Skilled in Leadership, Recruiting, Development, Negotiation, Sales, Value Selling, Account Management, and Strong knowledge of various CRM programs. A true competitor with a WIN mentality.

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    24 mins
  • Ryan Schreiber, CEO Streamline

    Ryan Schreiber, CEO Streamline
    Mar 9 2026
    Ryan Schreiber is a Cleveland-based entrepreneur and technology executive, best known as the Co‑Founder and CEO of Streamline, a consumer-focused technology company designed to simplify how audiences discover and access sports, shows, and movies across streaming platforms.

    In his role, Ryan leads company strategy, fundraising, partnerships, and product development, helping Streamline address growing fragmentation in the streaming ecosystem.

    A graduate of Middlebury College, Ryan brings a blend of strategic thinking and hands-on leadership, having worn multiple hats as a founder—from product and marketing to sales and operations. He is an active voice in Ohio’s tech and startup community and frequently speaks about innovation, entrepreneurship, and the role of AI in building scalable consumer platforms

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    15 mins
  • Max Pennington, CEO Cleanr

    Max Pennington, CEO Cleanr
    Mar 9 2026
    Max Pennington is the CEO and one of the co-founders of CLEANR, a Cleveland-based platform filtration technology startup venture focused on tackling microplastics at its source.

    Max graduated Summa Cum Laude from Case Western Reserve University with his degree in Chemical Engineering. Max was selected as a Forbes 30 under 30 honoree in the Green Tech space for his work at CLEANR, as well as Crain’s Cleveland Business’ 20 in their 20s. Max co-developed CLEANR’s patented, award-winning VORTX technology, which is inspired by nature based on how fish filter out their food.

    CLEANR’s VORTX technology won the American Filtration and Separation Society’s New Product of the Year Award. CLEANR has launched their first product, powered by VORTX, CLEANR for Washing Machines, which can attach to any washing machine and capture over 90% of microplastics down to 50-micron - our laundry is the largest source of microplastics into the environment. CLEANR for Washing Machines won a CES Innovation Award in Home Appliances in 2026.

    CLEANR is actively developing products that capture microplastics both leaving and entering your home, including drinking water filtration with their VORTX technology. CLEANR’s work in fighting microplastics pollution has been featured in Forbes, the NY Post, the front page of the Plain Dealer, the SF Chronicle, Anthropocene Magazine, and more.

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    14 mins
  • Castle Noel 2025 CEO

    Castle Noel 2025 CEO
    Dec 9 2025
    Step into the fantasy world of Mark Klaus, creator of CASTLE NOEL. “America’s Largest Year Round Indoor Christmas Entertainment Attraction.” Experience 40,000 square feet of amazing installations,

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    21 mins
  • Nicole McKinney-Johnson, President & CEO of Cleveland Rape Crisis Center

    Nicole McKinney-Johnson, President & CEO of Cleveland Rape Crisis Center
    Dec 8 2025
    Nicole McKinney-Johnson is President & CEO of Cleveland Rape Crisis Center (CRCC), a role she has held since September 2024 after previously serving as interim CEO and as a member of the Board of Directors. With more than 25 years of experience in leadership, business development, and human resources, she has guided CRCC with strength, vision, and stability during a pivotal time in the agency’s history. McKinney-Johnson is also deeply engaged in the community, serving on the University Hospital’s Rainbow & Babies Foundation Board, the Leadership Council for the Collaborative to End Human Trafficking, and the Foundation Board at Lakeland Community College.

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    20 mins
  • Kenn Ricci, CEO Flexjet

    Kenn Ricci, CEO Flexjet
    Nov 6 2025
    Kenneth C. “Kenn” Ricci is an American aviation entrepreneur and the Principal of Directional Aviation Capital, which owns or invests in various aviation enterprises including Flexjet, where he also serves as Chairman. Kenn began his aviation career as an Air Force ROTC cadet at the University of Notre Dame and started his first company, Corporate Wings, in 1980. His love of aviation had him founding, acquiring or financing a broad range of aviation companies and ideas over his career. He has assembled one of the largest groups of private aviation companies which together account for over $4.0 billion of revenue, operate over 300 aircraft and employ over 5,000 individuals. Kenn was honored as an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2000 and has been named one of the most influential people in aviation by Aviation International News. In 2005, Kenn led the restructuring of the Mercury Air Centers, a $200 million company operating aircraft support facilities at 24 different airports. He sold the company to Macquarie Infrastructure Trust in 2007 in a deal valued at $615 million. In 2010, Kenn received the Harvard Business School’s Dively Entrepreneurship Award. In 2011, Kenn was the youngest recipient of the prestigious William A. “Bill” Ong Memorial Award for extraordinary achievement and extended meritorious service to the general aviation industry.

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    16 mins