Excellent Leadership Podcast
Hosted by Excellent Leadership
A headhunter from a top sports agency interviews the executives he might otherwise be placing, focusing on their career paths and leadership mechanics.
This is an insider's look at executive leadership in the high-stakes world of sports and entertainment, hosted by a professional headhunter. The conversations are less about game-day strategy and more about the mechanics of running a complex organization: hiring, managing boards, building culture, and handling public pressure.
“The host's day job as an executive search president gives him a unique "insider-outsider" perspective. He's asking the questions he'd ask when vetting a top-tier candidate, providing a rare look into how leaders are evaluated at the highest levels.”
Who hosts this show
Hosted by Chad Biagini, President of Excel Search & Advisory at Excel Sports Management, this podcast interviews leaders from the world of sports and entertainment. Biagini and his co-hosts, who are also partners at the firm, explore the career journeys, leadership philosophies, and operational strategies of CEOs, athletic directors, and head coaches.
Credentials & credits
- President, Excel Search & Advisory at Excel Sports Management
- Sports Business Journal Forty Under 40 award recipient
- M.S., London School of Economics
Other ventures
- Excel Sports Management
What kind of podcast
- Country
- United States
- Region
- usa
When new episodes drop
- 01Leadership Secrets: The Power of Optimism and RealismJun 29, 2026 · 2 min
- 02Overcoming Introversion: My Journey to Public Speaking SuccessJun 26, 2026 · 1 min
- 03Excellent Leadership Podcast TrailerJun 26, 2026 · 50s
- 04Unlock Big Things With Your Crazy Idea StrategyJun 25, 2026 · 31s
- 05
- 06
- 07
- 08
Notable episodes
- 01John Needham (President of Publishing & Esports @RiotGames) on The Mission at Riot Games & more
Offers a rare look into the massive, high-risk creative world of esports and the leadership philosophy required to manage a global, player-focused gaming company.
- 02Josh Brooks (Athletics Director @UniversityOfGeorgia-official) on Key Values, NIL Era, Giving 100%
Provides practical advice on handling public pressure and building a resilient leadership mindset in the rapidly changing landscape of major college sports.
- 03Gene Sykes (Chair @TeamUSA Olympic & Paralympic Committee) on LA28 Success, Effective CEOs & more
A deep dive into the complex world of board governance and CEO selection at the highest level of international sports, with lessons applicable to any large organization.
What you'll be asked on this show
Biagini opens by establishing the guest's current role and its core responsibilities, often after a detailed pre-roll highlighting their career. He and his co-hosts then pivot to the guest's career history, sometimes using physical objects like office memorabilia to prompt personal stories. They follow a "zoom in, zoom out" pattern, moving from a specific anecdote (a championship win, a risky project) to the broader leadership principle it illustrates. Follow-up questions are tactical and process-oriented, asking "how" and "why" to deconstruct the guest's decision-making framework, much like a headhunter assessing a candidate. The goal is to understand the guest's model, not challenge it.
Co-hosted by partners from the same executive search firm, the show features a primary host (Chad Biagini) leading the interview. They often use a guest's office or career milestones as a starting point before drilling down into specific leadership processes. The tone is professional and analytical, like a high-level business meeting.
Questions Excellent Leadership keeps coming back to
12 cataloguedIf you're going on this show as a guest, expect some version of each of these. Each note explains when Excellent Leadership reaches for it.
personal
1- Q.01
“Looking at the memorabilia in your office, what are a couple of memories that stand out?”
This is a common opening move to ground the conversation in personal, career-defining moments before exploring abstract principles.
origin
1- Q.01
“What was your first job?”
Used as a transition to explore the guest's origin story and the non-linear path many leaders take.
advice
4- Q.01
“What takes someone from a director-level role to becoming the top executive or AD?”
A key question that gets to the heart of the show's premise: identifying the differentiators for career advancement.
- Q.02
“Where do boards tend to get CEO selection wrong?”
This is a direct inquiry into the common pitfalls of the host's own field of executive search.
- Q.03
“How do you balance working 'in the business' versus 'on the business'?”
A classic leadership question used to probe a guest's approach to balancing tactical work with strategic thinking.
- Q.04
“What can a 'step-up' candidate do in an interview to show they're ready for the top job?”
Asks for actionable advice for ambitious listeners who might one day be in that interview chair.
mindset
1- Q.01
“How do you build the resilience to handle the public pressure of the role?”
This question addresses the unique challenges of leading a high-profile organization with a passionate fanbase or public scrutiny.
process
2- Q.01
“What are the ingredients of a healthy board?”
Reflecting the host's work with high-level placements, this question delves into the mechanics of governance.
- Q.02
“How do you pressure test if a rising leader can handle the pressure before hiring them?”
This question explores the practical methods guests use to evaluate talent for high-stakes roles.
craft
2- Q.01
“How do you create a culture where your team feels they can challenge you?”
This question digs into the practical application of fostering open dialogue and avoiding groupthink.
- Q.02
“What are the common behaviors or values of a highly successful CEO?”
The host asks the guest to generalize from their experience to identify key leadership traits.
backstory
1- Q.01
“Were you strategic in asking for different opportunities to build your career?”
This question seeks to understand the guest's personal agency and intentionality in their own career progression.
Signature segments
- · Detailed pre-roll guest introductions
- · Post-interview 'special content' or 'small talk' segments
Topics covered repeatedly
Who gets booked here
C-suite executives from major sports and entertainment organizations: university athletics directors, presidents of global gaming companies, and chairs of national governing bodies.
- John Needhamon John Needham (President of Publishing & Esports @RiotGames) on The Mission at Riot Games & more
- Josh Brookson Josh Brooks (Athletics Director @UniversityOfGeorgia-official) on Key Values, NIL Era, Giving 100%
- Gene Sykeson Gene Sykes (Chair @TeamUSA Olympic & Paralympic Committee) on LA28 Success, Effective CEOs & more
- Mark Jacksonon Mark Jackson (Athletics Director @NorthwesternU) on Investing In All Sports, Mentor Mt. Rushmore
Where to find this show
Audience & reach
The podcast is a significant content marketing and networking vehicle for the host's firm, Excel Search & Advisory. It positions the firm and its partners as industry insiders with unparalleled access to top talent and thought leaders.
Subscriber and view counts are pulled live from YouTube and re-verified on a 30-day cycle. Listener estimates for the RSS feed aren't published here unless they're host-verified.
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People also ask
- Who is the host of the Excellent Leadership Podcast?
- The podcast is hosted by Chad Biagini, President of Excel Search & Advisory at Excel Sports Management. He is often joined by co-hosts Mark Mayleben and Chris Hoppe, who are partners at the same firm.
- What is the format of the show?
- It is a long-form interview show. Each episode features a conversation with a single high-profile guest from the sports and entertainment industry.
- Is the podcast still running?
- Yes, new episodes are released weekly on Tuesdays, according to its official description.
- Where can I listen to the podcast?
- The podcast is available on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, and other major podcast platforms.
- What kind of guests are on the show?
- The show features C-suite executives, including CEOs, Presidents, General Managers, and Athletics Directors from major sports leagues, teams, universities, and entertainment companies.
Built from the show's public RSS feed, YouTube, the host's own websites, and the cited sources below. Computed and AI-extracted fields are labelled. Facts only — no private info, no fabrication, no transcripts republished.
Sources & how this page was built
This page is AI-assisted, grounded in the public sources cited below, and host-verifiable. We publish facts only; we do not republish transcripts. If anything here is wrong, the host can claim and correct the page above.Model: gemini-2.5-pro · high confidence
- [01]Our Team - ExcelSM Search & Advisoryexcelsm.com
- [02]Excellent Leadership Podcast | iHeartiheart.com
- [03]Excellent Leadership Podcast - YouTubeyoutube.com
- [04]Excellent Leadership Podcast - Apple Podcastspodcasts.apple.com
- [05]Excel Sports Management Rebrands Nolan Partners as Excel Search & Advisorysportsbusinessjournal.com
- [06]Forty Under 40: Chad Biagini - Sports Business Journalsportsbusinessjournal.com
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