Q: What do you have in place (as a pipeline or programs) that help develop or identify leadership potential for employees to advance within your company?
Michael H. Bill
Chief Executive Officer
The MJ Companies
Sector: Financial
At MJ, we take an intentional and structured approach to identifying and developing future leaders as part of a unified HR & Talent strategy and our broader commitment to delivering an exceptional associate experience.
We define leadership success through clearly articulated success profiles and competencies, which guide how associates grow within the organization. These are brought to life through role-based learning paths, mentorship, and development programs that provide associates with clear visibility into career progression and the skills needed to advance.
To identify leadership potential, we utilize competency-based assessments and regular manager feedback to evaluate performance, strengths, and readiness for future roles.
We also maintain a formal succession planning process focused on critical roles, ensuring we are actively developing internal talent and creating meaningful opportunities for long-term career growth.
As MJ’s visionary CEO, Michael Bill provides effective leadership and decision-making, fostering a positive company culture and ensuring the overall success and sustainability of the firm. He leads and serves on MJ’s Executive Leadership Team, helping develop the strategic direction of the organization. Bill also founded The MJ Charitable Foundation, which partners with local organizations to create meaningful community impact.
Sonya Engle
Chief Operating Officer
Sonora Quest Laboratories
Sector: Healthcare
Sonora Quest is proud to offer a unique program, the Explorers Club, specifically designed to develop and retain top talent poised to become leaders of tomorrow.
This innovative program equips high-potential employees with the essential skills to navigate the often-challenging transition from peer to leadership. Key focus areas include managing critical moments in the workplace and effectively harnessing influence.
A significant and impactful component of the Explorers Club is Job Shadowing, which provides participants with an invaluable opportunity to experience various positions within the organization. This allows them to gain insights into different roles and assess potential career fits, fostering a deeper understanding of the various career paths available within Sonora Quest.
Entry into the program is by nomination only, with candidates being identified by their current leaders during career development discussions. Our target audience includes high performers eager for promotion but currently not in formal leadership positions.
Through the Explorers Club, Sonora Quest is committed to cultivating the next generation of leaders, ensuring they are well-prepared for roles that require effective team management.
Sonya Engle is Sonora Quest Laboratories’ chief operating officer, responsible for the operations of the College of American Pathologists-accredited and Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments-certified state-of-the-art clinical lab in Phoenix, which performs 97 million diagnostics tests annually. She has an exceptional drive to achieve operational excellence, develop talent, and lead high-performing teams that deliver rapid growth, improved services and innovation.
Michelle Freeh
AVP of Organizational Learning & Development
Arizona Financial Credit Union
Sector: Financial
At Arizona Financial, we believe leadership development should be intentional and rooted in our culture. One of our cornerstone programs is the Future Leader League, a year-long initiative designed to identify and prepare emerging leaders for future opportunities within the organization.
Employees are selected through an application process and participate in monthly leadership workshops, one-on-one mentor meetings, and self-paced learning through Arizona Financial University, our internal development platform. Participants are also challenged to apply what they learn through practical assignments that strengthen both professional and personal leadership skills.
The program focuses on key competencies such as communication, accountability, emotional intelligence and ethical decision-making, while reinforcing that leadership extends beyond job titles. As Senior Graphic Designer Adam Ivins shared, “The program helped me realize that leadership isn’t necessarily tied to a title — it’s about influence, mindset and how you show up every day.”
Combined with mentorship opportunities, learning paths, tuition reimbursement and ongoing professional development, the Future Leader League helps build a strong pipeline of talented, values-driven leaders ready to grow their careers at Arizona Financial.
Michelle Freeh is AVP of Organizational Learning and Development at Arizona Financial Credit Union, where she leads learning strategy and leadership development initiatives. She oversees programs that include the Arizona Financial University and Future Leaders League, helping build a strong pipeline of engaged, values-driven leaders and advancing employee development aligned to organizational culture and growth.
Jim Hayden
Founder & CEO
Board Developer
Sector: Professional Services
Over the past 19 years, Board Developer has become a living case study of its own methodology. Rather than manufacturing leaders through rigid programs, we have focused on identifying potential, creating opportunities and allowing individuals to grow into roles of increasing responsibility.
What we have in place is simple: We identify potential early, invest in mentorship and stretch assignments, and give people the freedom to grow into who they are meant to become.
Team members who entered in administrative, analytical and support capacities have evolved into subject-matter experts, market presidents and C-suite leaders. Avery Hayden now serves as president, overseeing day-to-day operations — a role she grew into through years of contribution. Tracy Bullock, our longest-tenured executive, serves as CEO. And Lisa McNamara recently joined as Vice President of Philanthropy and Client Relationship Management. Their progression reflects a broader commitment to developing talent from within.
Since our founding, we have placed more than 6,000 leaders into organizations throughout the United States — a significant majority of them women — driven by a commitment to finding the most qualified people and investing in their potential.
Leadership is not created by title alone. It is revealed through trust, opportunity and the willingness to invest in people over time.
Jim Hayden is the founder of Board Developer, an Arizona-based firm specializing in advisory board development and organizational leadership. A serial entrepreneur who has started 12 companies, Hayden has served on more than three dozen boards of directors, including Dignity Health and Boys & Girls Clubs of America. He is passionate about developing leaders at every stage and growing organizations from the inside out.
Anthony Spinato
Chief Executive Officer
Spinato’s Pizzeria & Family Kitchen
Sector: Restaurants
We take a holistic approach to leading our team of 420 Spinato’s employees, and we invest a lot of time and resources in leadership development.
One of the first things we teach new or young employees in our leadership training is that we are in the “people” business more than the “pizza” business. Our Career Development page on our website helps employees understand what skills are needed to advance into a managerial role or move into a different department or position within our company.
We also utilize Culture Index within our company. This helps us understand if we have matched people in the right career path, but, most importantly, how to communicate with different types of personalities effectively.
Our senior management team also participates in a leadership accelerator ongoing course once a month. And as a John Maxwell coach and mentor, I work closely with our leaders and have an open-door policy for those interested in learning how to build the essential qualities of a trusted leader through character, competence and connection.
Anthony Spinato is CEO of Spinato’s Pizzeria & Family Kitchen, a local family- and-employee-owned restaurant that has grown over 52 years to include six restaurants in Tempe, Scottsdale, Phoenix, Ahwatukee and Gilbert. A successful entrepreneur, Spinato learned the business from the ground up, working in almost every role of his family business. Under his leadership, Spinato’s recently transitioned to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan.
Kurtis Strauel
Senior Director of Human Resources
Mark-Taylor Residential
Sector: Real Estate
At Mark-Taylor, developing leaders is part of our business strategy, not an individual program. We are intentional about identifying talent early, understanding each team member’s potential and creating clear pathways for their continued growth.
Succession planning is embedded into the employee experience through our 9-Box Talent Assessment process, which evaluates both current performance and future leadership potential. From there, we create targeted development plans that align individual career goals with the long-term needs of the organization.
All team members receive weekly dedicated Growth Time, creating purposeful space to invest in learning and professional development. This time reinforces that development is not reserved for occasional training, but rather a part of how our team members strengthen their capabilities and take ownership of their careers.
Supporting initiatives such as our Mentorship Program, Certified New Hire Training and our internal training platform — The Academy at Mark-Taylor — provide structured opportunities for team members to expand their operational knowledge and develop their leadership skillsets. For our service professionals, our Path2Pro certification program creates a defined advancement path through industry-recognized certifications and skill-based pay.
Across every area of Mark-Taylor, our focus remains the same: Grow our people with purpose, strengthen our leadership pipeline and build the depth of talent needed to support our future.
As Senior Director of Human Resources at Mark-Taylor Residential, Kurtis Strauel champions the employee experience, talent development and organizational growth. He oversees Human Resources, Talent Acquisition, Training & Development, Brand Integrity and Employee Experience, bringing decades of HR leadership across organizations of all sizes. His work centers on employee well-being, collaboration, culture and people-focused strategies that strengthen Mark-Taylor’s workplace.
