People You Should Know

EP 04 | Steve Vigliotti on What Leaders Owe the People Who Work for Them

Steve Vigliotti was told he would be an accountant before he had much say in the matter. A childhood aptitude test, a cousin named Joseph and a Long Island neighborhood that ran on plumbing routes and stickball did the rest. Steve joins host Jenny Bain to talk about becoming a CPA, making partner at BDO by his early thirties and walking away to take his first CFO position at a bond brokerage inside the World Trade Center (07:13). On September 11, 2001, a late train saved his life. Sixty of his colleagues never made it home (10:23). Steve shares how that day changed the way he lives and leads, the survivor’s guilt he worked through (21:40) and why he still holds a daily standup with his team (37:09). Now the first CFO in Octus history, Steve also reflects on the acquisition he is proudest of (33:20) and the one relationship he wishes he had prioritized sooner (44:56). It is a conversation about responsibility, perspective and what leaders owe the people who count on them. ----more---- Hosted by Jenny Bain Featuring Steve Vigliotti, Chief Financial Officer, Octus Produced and edited by two-time Emmy Award-winning producer Tanya Hubbard (00:00) - Cold open with Jenny Bain (01:30) - Meet Steve Vigliotti (04:00) - The aptitude test that picked his career (06:00) - From BDO partner to first-time CFO (09:30) - September 11 at the South Tower (19:00) - Rebuilding a company and calling every family (24:00) - Coming to Octus as the first CFO (30:00) - How he decides what gets a yes (37:00) - The daily standup and what it taught him (44:00) - What he wishes he'd figured out sooner

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EP 03 | Colbert Cannon on Big Bets and the Life Around Them

Colbert Cannon was born in Anchorage because his father wanted to fly a Cessna on skis into remote Alaskan villages (00:01:08). He got into finance because he watched the movie Wall Street and figured lawyers must be the ones doing the deals, then landed at Goldman Sachs out of Harvard in 1997 (00:04:50). He quit banking because a deal made him miss a friend's rehearsal dinner (00:09:35). He launched his own fund, wound it down, and landed at HPS Investment Partners on the strength of people he had trusted for decades (00:13:45). Then the whole firm merged into BlackRock, and now he says the most absurd sentence in his life: my parent company manages 14 trillion dollars (00:16:19). That's the career. The rest is better. He cooks every meal in his house and runs Thanksgiving for 30 off a 15 minute Excel grid (00:28:08). He sits on the board of Edible Schoolyard NYC (00:30:26). He almost took a standing Monday night gig at a bar on Bleecker Street (00:32:31). He met his wife at 18 and now watches her run City Pickle, the business that put pickleball courts in Central Park (00:35:00). He has spent 13 seasons asking other people these questions on The HPScast (00:23:03). Jenny Bain asks him the one she asks every guest: what do you wish you had figured out sooner (00:38:33). ----more---- Hosted by Jenny Bain Featuring: Colbert Cannon, Managing Director at HPS Investment Partners Produced and edited by two time Emmy Award winning producer Tanya Hubbard People You Should Know is presented by Octus and part of the Octus Podcast Network (00:00) - Cold open and intro (01:08) - Born in Alaska, raised in North Carolina (04:50) - Harvard, the lawyer plan, and Goldman in 1997 (09:35) - Boston, Audax, and learning how businesses actually work (11:42) - Glenview, launching Wingspan, and what running a fund teaches you (13:45) - Joining HPS and the prescience of private credit (16:19) - Inside the BlackRock merger and a $14 trillion parent (19:43) - What the press gets right and wrong about private credit (23:03) - Hosting a podcast and the Danny Meyer lesson (28:08) - Cooking, Thanksgiving for 30, and Edible Schoolyard (32:31) - Music, Bleecker Street, and City Pickle (38:33) - What he wishes he'd figured out sooner

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EP 02 | Dr. Jonathan Fader on The Psychology of High Performers

Why do some incredibly talented people never make it, while others with average talent become unstoppable? Dr. Jonathan Fader, Co-Founder and Director of Performance Coaching at SHRPA, joins Jenny Bain on the latest People You Should Know. Fader traces hi

EP 01 | Molly Breen on Building a Career You Can't Plan

Molly Breen got her first finance job by inviting a room of bankers to a White Russian party during a D.C. snowstorm. The interview answers didn't land her the offer. The invitation did. Molly, Head of Capital Markets at Permira, joins Jenny Bain on the v

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07 | Tejs Broberg on Why Winning Isn’t the Point

In this episode of People You Should Know, Jenny Bain speaks with Tejs Broberg about competition, leadership, and learning when winning is no longer the point. Tejs shares his early life growing up in a small town in Denmark and how a childhood rooted in

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06 | Alix Brozman on Legacy, Loss, and the Life You Choose

In this episode of People You Should Know, Jenny Bain speaks with Alix Brozman about legacy, loss, and the choices that quietly shape a life. Alix begins by reflecting on growing up alongside her identical twin in Northern Westchester and how independenc

EP 5 | Jack Keck on How Builders Think

What happens when a small-town kid with a pink mohawk trades the Marines for Goldman Sachs?   Jack Keck, Head of Application Development at Octus, proves that unconventional paths often lead to breakthrough leadership. From sleeping under his desk during

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EP 04 | John Erban on Building Culture That Works

John Erban, our Chief People Officer, knows that culture is more than just a buzzword. His path to leadership, shaped by creativity, resilience, and personal challenges, has given him a unique perspective on how to build an environment where people truly

EP 03 | Jennifer Merritt on Journalism, Justice, and Responsibility

What does it take to go from rural Florida to the global stage of media and business leadership? Jennifer Merritt, Octus’ Global Editorial Strategy Lead, has lived it all. This episode of People You Should Know explores her remarkable trajectory, where gr

EP 02 | Kent Collier on Building Octus

Jenny Bain sits down with Kent Collier not the CEO, not the founder, but the person. In his most personal conversation yet, Kent opens up about the weight of building Octus, the legacy of his parents, what he’s still learning as a father, and why he hasn’

EP 01 | Welcome to People You Should Know

Welcome to the inaugural episode of People You Should Know, where we dive deep into the stories, journeys, and experiences of the people who make Octus what it is today. Hosted by Jenny Bain, this series is all about transparency, culture, and growth both

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