It’s time to shift the spotlight.
If you are like us, you want to know what is happening in the real economy. Not the economy of derivatives trading, credit default swaps, politics, media or Silicon Valley. On Real Leadership, we spotlight the heroes at the helm of companies who make, move and process things. Leaders in a world that is more pragmatic than pretty, more steak than sizzle, more guts than glory. Discover with us what it takes to lead in that world.
– Real Leadership
Latest Episode
Your Host
Meet Jim Weaver
When he’s not hosting the Real Leadership Podcast, Jim is Chief Executive Officer of The Ōnin Group, one of the largest staffing companies in the United States.
Jim began his journey at Ōnin in 2001 as an account executive in Nashville, Tennessee, and has become integral to The Ōnin Group’s phenomenal growth. Under Jim’s guidance, Ōnin has become a leader in the staffing industry and is recognized as one of Staffing Industry Analysts’ fastest-growing and best places to work. As CEO, Jim’s focus lies in developing smart systems and a corporate culture that boosts employee performance and delights customers.
Meet our latest guest
Teddy Bekele
Senior Vice President & Chief Technology Officer of Land O’Lakes, Inc.
Before leading technology for one of America’s largest food and agriculture cooperatives, Teddy Bekele was sharpening his craft across engineering and enterprise systems—learning early how to turn complex operations into platforms that scale.
That foundation shaped his decade-long impact at Land O’Lakes. As Chief Technology Officer, Teddy helped shift a 100-year-old cooperative from projects to products, embed analytics across the business, and deliver more than $80M in annual margin improvement, over $100M in cost savings, and sustainability programs that have sequestered 460,000 metric tons of carbon.
Now, Teddy is focused on the future of agriculture—using AI, data, and digital infrastructure to support the communities that feed the country. He chairs major national and state broadband initiatives, serves on the Board of Trustees for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, and teaches digital transformation and AI at the University of Minnesota. Born in Ethiopia, raised in Italy, and rooted in the U.S., Teddy brings a global lens and a personal connection to agriculture, grounded in a belief that technology should help people and communities thrive.
In this episode:
How a 100-year-old cooperative became a digital, data-driven enterprise
Why broadband access—not AI—may be the most important technology in rural America
The real impact of shifting from projects to products
What farmers teach us about practical innovation
How global perspective fuels grounded leadership
Why the future of agriculture depends on turning information into insight
Previous Real Leadership Guests Include:
Are You a Real Leader?
If you are a top executive in the real economy — like the manufacturing, logistics and food processing sectors — we’d love to talk.
Real Leadership is a platform for you to promote your business and amplify your leadership message as subscribers listen in on a meaningful conversation between our CEO and you. Our goal is to capture legacy career moments for our guests and high-quality, evergreen media content you can leverage for years to come.
We have a thorough guest evaluation process, and you will be joining a select group of world-class leaders.
Real Leadership is a great way to:
Build your personal brand
Promote your company across our listener base
Share your leadership message at a pivotal moment in our industry
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