Guest: Joe Yaccarino

What if I told you the most successful CEOs I've interviewed this quarter share one counterintuitive trait? They don't try to be the smartest person in the room. From architecture to military leadership to digital transformation, the pattern is unmistakable. 
Looking back at this quarter's most listened-to episodes—featuring Jonathan Moody (Moody Nolan), Rear Admiral Brian Luther (Navy Mutual), Ryan Frederick (Transform Labs), Harold Green (Global Emissionary), Eddie Solomon (Net at Work), Joe Yaccarino (MTF Biologics), Jeff Ostenso (Ironmark), and James Hyman (serial turnaround CEO)—I discovered something remarkable.
The golden thread connecting every transformative leader: They refuse to be the smartest person in the room.
From Jonathan's "create more footprints, not bigger shoes" philosophy to Brian's "reflected light leadership," from Ryan's embrace of "continuous not knowing" to Eddie's insight that "entrepreneurship belongs in psychology," these leaders share seven powerful traits:
→ Anti-ego leadership - Building teams instead of thrones→ Vulnerability as strength - Admitting what they don't know→ Empowerment over control - Creating conditions for others to succeed→ Psychological wisdom - Understanding leadership is about mindset→ Radical transparency - Building trust through openness→ Purpose-driven growth - Companies that matter, not just profit→ The learning advantage - Staying curious regardless of expertise
Whether it's Harold at 69 still having daily learning conversations, Joe asking "is that even legal?" and building from curiosity, Jeff realizing his company "feeds 500 people," or James discovering that Hollywood leadership doesn't work—the pattern is clear.
The most successful leaders amplify their impact by avoiding being the bottleneck.
Join me as we unpack the strategies that turn good companies into thriving communities where everyone succeeds together.
Some of the episodes in this list:
EP105: Reflected Light: Leading Through Your People
EP103: The Power of Humble Listening in Leadership
EP96: Making Carbon Reduction Measurable and Meaningful
EP87: Why This Successful Family Business Said No to Nepotism
EP83: Heroes at Every Level of Healthcare Innovation
EP81: How Teaching the Game of Business Built an Empire
EP63: A CEO’s Competitve Edge - Mastering the Art of Corporate Turnarounds
 
 
 

Success Beneath the Surface: Leadership Insights from Q1 2025
Welcome to our curated collection of the most impactful conversations from the first quarter of 2025. This playlist features transformative discussions with leaders who have mastered the art of building thriving organizations through unconventional wisdom and authentic leadership.
Join us as we explore the hidden dynamics of successful leadership with extraordinary guests including Eddie Solomon, who built Net at Work from immigrant roots to serving 5,000+ businesses; Jeff Ostenso, who's reinventing family business leadership at Ironmark; and Ray Hatch, who boldly grew profits while intentionally cutting revenue at Quest Resource Holding Corporation.
You'll discover Scott Jackson's counterintuitive "follower of leaders" approach that helped Global Impact channel $2.5 billion to global causes, and Joe Yaccarino's insights on building a culture of everyday heroes that transformed MTF Biologics from 100 to 1,400 employees while performing 500,000 transplants annually.
These conversations reveal the uncommon threads that connect truly exceptional leaders: empowering others without micromanaging, balancing innovation with scale, building cultures that embrace individuality, and creating environments where trust transcends into faith in what's possible.
Whether you're scaling a family business, transforming an organization, or seeking to unlock your team's full potential, these episodes offer practical wisdom for leading with purpose in today's complex business landscape.
Links to the top episodes for the quarter:
#1:-Eddie Solomon - Why This Successful Family Business Said No to Nepotism
#2: Jeff Ostenso - The Unexpected Impact of a Company Picnic
#3: Eddie Solomon - Take No Prisoners Path of Entrepreneurship
#4: Deborah Fell - Adapting Leadership Styles to Different Teams
#5: Scott Jackson - When Leadership Feels Like Going Slower to Go Faster
#6: Scott Jackson - Take Me With You: How a CEO's Early Lessons in Trust Shape Modern Leadership
#7: Ray Hatch - Humble Leadership Between the Ceiling and the Net
#8: Joe Yaccarino - Heroes at Every Level of Healthcare Innovation
#9: Jeff Ostenso - How Teaching the Game of Business Built an Empire
#10: Ray Hatch - Breaking the Consensus Trap in Leadership

In healthcare, some of the most impactful organizations work quietly behind the scenes, touching countless lives without widespread recognition. MTF Biologics, led by CEO Joe Yaccarino, is one such organization. Their work in tissue donation and medical biologics represents a profound cycle of hope - where end-of-life decisions become new beginnings for others. As someone who has witnessed the fragility of health through my late husband's battle with MS, I deeply appreciate how medical innovations can transform lives. But today's story isn't about personal loss - it's about an organization that bridges tragedy and hope, connecting donor families' selfless decisions with surgical teams delivering life-changing outcomes. From the engineers developing cutting-edge processes to the recipients gaining renewed possibilities, MTF Biologics demonstrates how healthcare innovation can honor one life while healing another. Join us as we explore their remarkable mission and impact.
Listen to the full episode here > 
About Joe Yaccarino
Joe has served as CEO of MTF Biologics since June 2018. He received the Leadership Award for Large Businesses in NJ Top Workplaces in 2020 and 2022, and his organization has been named a New Jersey Top Workplace for five years running. Joe joined MTF in 1997 as its first processing engineer, developing several spinal surgery innovations that led to significant growth for the organization.
Joe's accomplishments include leading teams through more than 45 successful new product launches and creating innovative technologies for cartilage, dermal, adipose, amniotic, and cell-based tissues. In his CEO role, Joe has focused on building high-performing Business Units and developing Key Strategies to further MTF’s growth and fulfill its mission to save and Heal Lives.
LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE:
Joe Yaccarino on LinkedIn
MTF Biologics
 
MTF Biologics
MTF Biologics is a nonprofit organization headquartered in central New Jersey with a 37-year history of advancing tissue and organ donation. Employing over 1,400 people, MTF Biologics has honored the incredible gifts of more than 165,000 donors while processing over 11 million tissue grafts to save and heal lives worldwide. The organization partners with medical professionals to deliver high-quality, safe, and innovative tissue for transplant, helping patients recover from injury and illness. MTF Biologics also supports research efforts aimed at improving the science of tissue transplantation. Their commitment to donor families and recipients drives their mission of transforming lives, offering hope and healing through the profound gift of donation. Through these efforts, MTF Biologics touches millions of lives each year. Learn more about their mission at mtfbiologics.org.
 

In healthcare innovation, success isn't just about breakthrough technology or market leadership - sometimes, it requires heroes at every level. Today's conversation with Joe Yaccarino, CEO of MTF Biologics, reveals how one of the world's largest tissue banks has built an organization where heroic acts happen daily - from donor families making selfless decisions in moments of tragedy to engineers developing cutting-edge processes to surgical teams delivering life-changing outcomes.
What makes this discussion particularly valuable for leaders is how Yaccarino, an engineer by training, has scaled MTF Biologics from 100 to 1,400 people by recognizing and empowering heroes throughout his organization. His journey from building medical devices to leading a major healthcare nonprofit demonstrates how to create a culture where every role - from shipping and logistics to R&D and surgical partnerships - is mission-critical and treated as such.
Join host Deborah Fell as she and Yaccarino explore how to build an organization where excellence isn't just expected, it's required at every level - and how this approach has helped MTF Biologics perform over 500,000 transplants annually while staying ahead of market disruption and maintaining a significant mission that saves and heals lives.
About Joe Yaccarino
Joe has served as CEO of MTF Biologics since June 2018. He received the Leadership Award for Large Businesses in NJ Top Workplaces in 2020 and 2022, and his organization has been named a New Jersey Top Workplace for five years running. Joe joined MTF in 1997 as its first processing engineer, developing several spinal surgery innovations that led to significant growth for the organization.
Joe's accomplishments include leading teams through more than 45 successful new product launches and creating innovative technologies for cartilage, dermal, adipose, amniotic, and cell-based tissues. In his CEO role, Joe has focused on building high-performing Business Units and developing Key Strategies to further MTF’s growth and fulfill its mission to save and Heal Lives.
LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE:
Joe Yaccarino on LinkedIn
MTF Biologics
 
MTF Biologics
MTF Biologics is a nonprofit organization headquartered in central New Jersey with a 37-year history of advancing tissue and organ donation. Employing over 1,400 people, MTF Biologics has honored the incredible gifts of more than 165,000 donors while processing over 11 million tissue grafts to save and heal lives worldwide. The organization partners with medical professionals to deliver high-quality, safe, and innovative tissue for transplant, helping patients recover from injury and illness. MTF Biologics also supports research efforts aimed at improving the science of tissue transplantation. Their commitment to donor families and recipients drives their mission of transforming lives, offering hope and healing through the profound gift of donation. Through these efforts, MTF Biologics touches millions of lives each year. Learn more about their mission at mtfbiologics.org.