C-Speak: The Language of Executives

Robert Lewis Jr. will never forget Boston’s desegregation busing crisis in the 1970s – an intensely volatile period during which his home was firebombed.

In this episode of the PNC C-Speak podcast, Lewis, now Nicholas President and CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston and a longtime community leader, reveals how the unrest became the genesis for his purpose. Lewis, who was 16 when his East Boston home was targeted, vowed “to do work that's about bringing people together, about bringing communities together."

A member of the Boys & Girls Clubs during his childhood, Lewis now helms an organization with eight locations, whose future, he says, is “around academics, workforce readiness, and health and wellness.

“We want the Boys & Girls Clubs to be the place that our teens are excited about,” he says.

Listen to the episode to hear more from Lewis on:

• What he does when he’s not working (9:16)
• “Passion points” providing access to opportunities for young people (20:07)
• His life-threatening battle with Covid (21:37)
• What’s on his bucket list (31:37)

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If you’re in need of advice on how to emerge from corporate devastation, Rob Hale, CEO and president of Granite Telecommunications, has plenty to share.

In 2002, Hale’s thriving company, Network Plus, went bankrupt during the stock market crash. “That morning (Feb. 4) when we went bankrupt, that equity, which was $1.4 billion, officially finally became zero, never to return,” he recalls.

In this episode of the PNC C-Speak podcast, Hale details how he – with the unwavering support of his family – went about building Granite Telecommunications, a company with $1.85 billion in sales as of 2024.

Listen to the episode to hear more from Hale about:

• Mentors including his entrepreneurial father and titans Robert and John Kraft.
• His family’s history of philanthropy.
• DEI and creating “a platform where leaders excel” at Granite Telecommunications.
• The key ingredient to innovation.

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Subscribe to C-Speak so you never miss an episode. Listen on Apple Podcasts and Stitcher.

Tom O’Brien’s early-career stint as a campaign worker for presidential candidate and governor Michael Dukakis didn’t pay much – he remembers not being able to make car payments – but was nevertheless a rewarding, “transformative experience,” he said in this episode of PNC C-Speak. O’Brien, co-founder, managing partner and CEO of HYM Investment Group, believes others can benefit from work in the public sector.

“I would encourage people to think about politics and government, particularly at an early stage of their career,” O’Brien said.

Over the years, O’Brien has assembled a diverse team at HYM Investment Group consisting of people with varied life experiences and perspectives. “What we care mostly about is honesty” and kindness, he said. Whatever skills someone might need can be taught, “but we can’t teach you to be a good team member. You need to bring that to our organization.”

Listen to the episode to hear more about:

• O’Brien’s wife of 30-plus years, Trisha, who’s taught him to be “present in the moment,” a better listener and more empathetic.
• His concerns about affordable housing and the need to “fix the Boston public school system.
• What gives him the most joy.

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Jim Heppelmann, chief executive officer of Boston-based digital transformation firm PTC, admits he can get a little bored if things start to feel routine — and he says that’s a good thing.

“I’m open to changes, very much so,” he says in this episode of PNC C-Speak. “It’s a good set of skills, I think, for a CEO to be able to imagine things working differently and be impatient enough to go after them on a regular basis.”

Listen as Heppelmann shares his career journey with PNC C-Speak co-hosts Jon Bernstein, regional president of PNC, and Carolyn Jones, market president and publisher of the Boston Business Journal. In the episode, Heppelmann touches on key tenets of industrial innovation, what startups can teach big companies and how he focuses his teams in challenging situations. Powered by PNC Bank.

Subscribe to C-Speak so you never miss an episode. Listen on iTunes, Spotify and Stitcher.

Download a transcript of the podcast.

As an athlete, Angela Ruggiero noticed a gap in the market that led to her co-founding Sports Innovation Lab; a global intelligence firm that helps industry decision-makers better understand their fans.
In this episode, Angela shares how many of the sports philosophies that helped her win 4 Olympic medals can also be applied to business, and the difference between managing and leading.