In this episode, Dan sits down with Anne Ferrier, an executive coach with more than 30 years of experience working with senior leaders navigating some of the most consequential shifts of their careers. Anne explains how the process of rethinking purpose and identity often begins much earlier than leaders recognize: in her experience, women around 38, men closer to 45. She talks about what it takes to build trust with executives who are used to having the answers, why empathy and boundaries can coexist in strong leadership, and how the brain works against us when we try to see clearly.

Dan also shares his own experience working with Anne through his transition from leading Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, including what surprised him about the process and what he wishes he had understood sooner.

Plus, Michael Patrick Shiels joins Dan Loepp for a dialogue on the responsibility of leadership.

In this conversation with Dan, he talks about the mentors who shaped him, from Darryl Rogers telling a football star to go play baseball, to a mind coach who sent him to the grocery store checkout line to learn how to listen. Kirk walks through what those relationships taught him about communication, leadership, and showing up. He also talks about life after a Parkinson’s diagnosis, the Kirk Gibson Center for Parkinson’s Wellness he built in Farmington Hills, and why he wanted every program there to be free.

Dan opens the episode with Michael Patrick Shiels and a reflection on sacrifice, drawn from watching his own father make a 23-year commute without ever calling it that.

In this conversation, Dan and Sandy talk through what government service at that scale actually teaches about leadership. They discuss what it took to build influence in a new city after a career defined by the credibility of the people Sandy worked for.

Sandy reflects on managing a serious health challenge quietly, while fully in the chair of a major institution, and what that chapter taught him about resilience as a practice, not a performance. And he offers two pieces of advice for leaders early in their careers: take the risks now, because life will never hand you the perfect moment; and understand there is no single path to leadership. The mosaic of experience is the point.

Dan opens the episode with contributing host Michael Patrick Shiels on the discipline of listening. Jay Powell called it an underrated skill. Dan has long called it a cornerstone of leadership. This episode is built on it.Learned Insight, Shared Generously.

She reflects on making decisions that canceled her own daughters’ graduations, working across party lines when it cost her politically, and the discipline of staying focused on the next right thing when criticism comes from every direction. A conversation about what experience teaches that ambition alone cannot.

Plus, Michael Patrick Shiels joins Dan Loepp for a look at what it means to design a path up or a path out, and why the best leadership lessons are earned over time.

Hosted by Dan Loepp, former President and CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, the show features honest, in-depth conversations with CEOs, senior executives, board members, professional athletes, and civic and nonprofit leaders about how they think, decide, and evolve, especially during moments of change.

Dan Loepp spent the early part of his career working for Michigan’s longest-serving Attorney General and helping lead Michigan through a rare time when Democrats and Republicans were evenly split and shared political power. Both parties had real responsibility and real limits. That experience gave him a conviction he has carried ever since: the best decisions happen when every voice at the table is heard. At Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, where he served as President and CEO for nearly two decades, he led one of the nation’s largest health insurers to more than double its scale while expanding community investment and building a culture grounded in accountability and purpose. The experience of leading at that complexity, through change, through uncertainty, and through strategy and execution, is what gives this show its foundation.

Each episode features candid stories from leaders about executive decision-making, transformation and organizational change, crisis leadership, and the questions that run through every leader’s career: What are the leadership lessons that only become clear with time? How do leaders navigate stakeholder management and succession planning while staying true to their values? What does career reinvention really require? And how do experienced executives apply what they’ve learned to a world that looks different than the one they started in?

Live from the Next Chapter is designed for professionals at every stage of navigating change, whether navigating a path up or a path out. Executives weighing career transition or retirement. Mid-career professionals preparing for a career pivot. Board members and civic leaders redefining purpose. And emerging leaders seeking mentorship and professional growth. Every conversation is based in real experience and built to be useful wherever you are in your career.

The show’s focus on learned insight makes it a resource for anyone who believes the most meaningful leadership lessons come from doing the work.

Learned Insight, Shared Generously. New episodes twice a month. Follow Live from the Next Chapter wherever you listen to podcasts.