In this episode of 'It's Personal Stories,' Dorothy Dowling interviews Anil Agarwal, CEO of Milestone. Anil shares his journey into entrepreneurship, starting with his early days at the University of Georgia where he founded an entrepreneurship club. His interest grew through interactions with members of the Indus Entrepreneurs organization. This led him to start Zeevo, a company that innovated Bluetooth chip technology, which was eventually sold to Broadcom. He later co-founded Milestone, a digital marketing company for hotels, with his wife, Benu. They successfully scaled the business, despite initial challenges. Anil discusses the importance of building the right team, continuous learning, innovation, and integrity in leadership. He also emphasizes understanding the impact of one's work and building strong relationships and collaboration. Anil attributes his success to continuous learning, empathy, and integrity, and shares advice on defining personal success and the importance of hard work.

Carl, who works with aspiring hoteliers, explains the very simple thing people need to do to distinguish themselves (that most people aren’t willing to do). In this interview, he also discusses the ultimate tool for advancing professionally and how to avoid being that bad boss. Carl also unpacks the most widely misunderstood thing about mentorship.

Dr. Walsh shares her amazing journey from CPA to corporate trainer to her current role. We discuss how challenges are often opportunities in disguise, and her research on leadership and career development as well as strategic human capital investment. She offers advice on coalescing diversity, overcoming imposter syndrome and self-empowerment. Don’t miss her thoughts on using the latest innovation with hospitality as its ethos.