Stare Down the Bull with Susan Hunt

Susan Hunt sits down with Shaun Hervey, founder of Arkham Talent and a brutally honest (and hilarious) voice in recruiting, to unpack why hiring gets so weird, especially in sales. Shaun shares how his comedy-first LinkedIn videos built a business, why leaders cling to outdated hiring “rules,” and what really needs to change: stop wasting candidates’ time and start having direct conversations. They also dig into the role of sales assessments, the reality of startup OTEs, why sales training has disappeared, and what AI may (and may not) replace in the sales process. Connect with Susan: LinkedIn Website Connect with Shaun LinkedIn Website

Susan Hunt is joined by Lauren Nardone, Chief Legal Officer at CB Insights, known as the “Velvet Hammer”, for a candid conversation about how sales and legal can work together to close deals faster and smarter. Drawing from years of enterprise SaaS and AI negotiations, Lauren shares why legal should be viewed as a strategic partner, not a deal blocker, when to bring legal into the deal cycle, and how trust, transparency, and shared ownership transform negotiations. This episode is a must-listen for sales leaders navigating complex, high-stakes deals. Connect with Lauren: LinkedIn CB Insights Connect with Susan: LinkedIn Surge Growth Consulting

In this episode of Stare Down the Bull, I sit down with Joseph Hackman, founder and CEO of Permanence, former machine learning leader at Intel, and one of the sharpest engineering minds I know. We talked about his early start in coding at age six, his path through Intel and ASAP, how he built one of the strongest AI engineering teams in the industry, and why enterprise AI adoption keeps failing. Joseph shares where AI is headed, what’s hype vs. reality, and how Permanence is redefining what “quality” means in an AI-powered engineering world. Connect with Joseph: LinkedIn Website Connect with Susan: LinkedIn Surge Growth Consulting

In this episode of Stare Down the Bull, I sit down with Dr. Judy Spitz, AI pioneer, former Verizon CIO, and founder of Breakthrough Tech. We explore Judy’s groundbreaking early work in speech recognition, her rise through the executive ranks, her leadership philosophy, and her mission to change the face of tech by unlocking opportunities for overlooked talent. We also dive into AI ethics, algorithmic bias, and why who’s in the room matters more than ever. Connect with Susan:  LinkedIn Surge Growth Consulting  Connect with Judy  LinkedIn Break Through Tech

In this episode of Stare Down the Bull, I sit down with Steve Chambers, an early pioneer in speech recognition, AI, and robotics, to explore how innovation, resilience, and reinvention shape both business and life. From scaling Nuance to a multibillion-dollar company to surviving cancer and earning his PhD at Harvard, Steve’s story is a powerful reflection on technology, transformation, and the human spirit. Episode Highlights: Culture drives success: Steve shares how aligning people and values fueled Nuance’s growth. Pioneering AI and SaaS: He reflects on the early evolution of speech recognition and subscription models. The future of robotics: Steve predicts a wave of emotionally intelligent robots built for real human connection. Resilience and reinvention: After surviving cancer, he’s focused on using AI to advance education and purpose-driven innovation.        Connect with Susan:       LinkedIn Website Connect with Steve:    LinkedIn Website