Leadership, Growth, and Trust: A Conversation with Matt Jones, CEO of Sigma Defense

From Funds to Independent Sponsors: Why Culture and Vulnerability Are the New Edge in Private Equity

If you think capital is the edge, you’re already behind. This week, I sit down with Adam Stulberger, co-founder of Coventry Bay Group and a 25-year private equity veteran, to unpack the real drivers of outperformance: management quality, cultural clarity, and the courage to be transparent when it counts. We trace the shift from the classic funded model to the independent sponsor approach, explain why limited partners crave deal-by-deal control, and explore how new retail capital will push prices higher and returns lower unless leaders find a different gear. What stands out is how human the best deals really are. Adam shares why he’d bet on an A+ management team in a C industry over the reverse, and he breaks down the signals that separate durable leaders from charismatic risk: who answers which questions, whether a CEO shares the stage, and how teams treat partners and vendors when no one’s watching. We talk about building psychological safety, why vulnerability from the top gets you the truth faster, and how to create a setting where a CFO can say, “We need someone better than me for the next phase,” without fear or drama. Culture gets the spotlight it deserves. We examine why “we’re like a family” is often a red flag, how to reset norms after a merger, and what it really takes to change behavior over time. Adam is candid about ego traps in PE, the danger of talking more than listening, and the pattern recognition that comes from decades across cycles and sectors. For founders choosing a partner and for emerging investors finding their voice, the message is simple: trust compounds, control doesn’t.

Leadership, Growth, and Trust: A Conversation with Matt Jones, CEO of Sigma Defense

In this episode, I reconnect with Matt Jones, the CEO of Sigma Defense.  Matt and I first met a few years ago when my company was brought in to do a human capital assessment of Matt and his leadership team. From the very beginning, we connected on both a professional and personal level. It was clear he was a driven leader, willing to step outside his comfort zone to achieve ambitious goals. What stood out to me most was his open-minded, culturally focused approach to leadership. In this conversation, we talk about how his leadership has evolved as his company has grown tenfold since that time. Matt opens up about what drives and motivates him, and he shares how he builds strong teams, makes tough decisions under pressure, and stays authentic during periods of rapid change. We also dive into the role of vulnerability, why it’s not a weakness, but a core strength of effective leadership and how trust isn’t just a value, it’s the foundation for execution in complex, high-stakes environments.

Nick Gouche: Selling Freedom, One Home at a Time

There are a few people you meet in life who make you feel like a better version of yourself every time you speak with them. That’s my friend, Nick Gouche, founder and CEO of Nation of Homeowners. At his core, Nick stands for freedom—the ability to chart your own path and live with purpose. What keeps Nick up at night? The future his children will inherit.  What gives him confidence? A deep-seated belief in himself, anchored by the grounding and loving influence of his wife. Nick’s story provides powerful answers. Growing up as the fourth generation of men without fathers in his home, moving 13 times before graduating high school, and witnessing his brother become a quadriplegic after a drive-by shooting, Nick understands what it means to overcome the odds. Today, after helping over 4,200 families become homeowners and creating $400 million in wealth for his clients, he stands as living proof of what’s possible when you refuse to accept limitations. In our conversation, we explore the tightrope between ego and self-awareness—ego as the fuel to attempt the improbable, and self-awareness as the inner voice that empowers you to get out of your own way. We talk about failure as a teacher, and we explore Nick’s “hourglass window” philosophy: when you count life in days, you stop wasting them—whether that means scaling a company or protecting Friday night family dinner like it’s the most important meeting of the week. Nick also shares his belief in building a “culture of obsession.” For him, obsession isn’t unhealthy—it’s the standard. It means surrounding yourself with people who are hungry, driven, and unwilling to settle for mediocrity. It means refusing to coast, and instead creating a culture where belief is contagious and excellence is the only acceptable outcome. I believe our most valuable commodity is time, and I’m confident you will find that listening to Nick in this episode will be an investment that pays exponential returns long after this conversation ends. I say that from experience. This guy is exceptional.

Leadership Beyond Profit: Ben Thomases, CEO of Queens Community House

What makes a meaningful life? For Ben Thomases, CEO of Queens Community House, the answer came from an unlikely source: Charlotte's Web. "A spider's life is a messy thing. I thought I could lift up my life by helping you," became his guiding principle in choosing purpose over profit. Queens Community House serves 28,000 residents annually in America's most diverse county, providing everything from early childhood programming to immigration legal services, LGBTQ support centers to meals for homebound seniors. But what truly sets the organization apart isn't just what they do—it's how they lead. Faced with the perpetual challenge of limited resources, Thomases has developed a leadership approach that corporate America should take note of. "We will not succeed if I'm a leader and my executive team are leaders while everyone else follows. We succeed when everyone is a leader," he explains. This distributed leadership model transforms constraints into creativity, allowing a part-time staff member to recruit volunteer dance instructors or musicians who enhance programming without increasing costs. The conversation dives deep into practical leadership strategies: developing managers internally rather than just promoting skilled practitioners, maintaining laser-focus on mission over money, building trust through authentic relationships, and embracing honest self-evaluation when goals aren't met. "We don't mess around. At the end of the year we look ourselves in the eye," Thomases shares, explaining how acknowledging failures drives improvement. Perhaps most striking is the parallel between nonprofit and corporate leadership challenges. Whether leading a Fortune 500 company or community organization, principles of purpose-driven leadership, honest assessment, and empowering others remain universally powerful. As Thomases notes, many successful professionals eventually ask themselves, "What am I going to do to leave the world better than I found it?" This conversation offers compelling answers. Ready to find meaning beyond the bottom line? Visit queenscommunityhouse.org to explore how your skills could create lasting community impact.

The Surgeon CEO: From Operating Room Precision to C-Suite Leadership

What happens when a world-class surgeon steps into the C-suite? That’s the story of Dr. Leo Spector, CEO of OrthoCarolina, who takes us inside his remarkable journey from the operating room to the boardroom—revealing both the stark contrasts and surprising similarities between surgical precision and executive leadership. For over 20 years, Dr. Spector performed complex spinal surgeries where decisive, command-and-control leadership was essential. But when he became CEO of one of the nation’s largest independent orthopedic practices, that same leadership style became a liability. In our conversation, he candidly shares how he had to unlearn ingrained habits, adopt new ones, and fundamentally reinvent himself to succeed as a leader. This episode of The Dr. Doug Edge: Real Talk with Real Leaders is especially meaningful for me. Leo isn’t just a guest—he’s one of my closest friends. We went to college together, stood by each other at our weddings, and have stayed connected for more than 30 years. Watching his evolution from gifted surgeon to high-impact CEO has been both inspiring and deeply personal. Leo’s core motivation remains unchanged: “Why I get up every morning to do what I do is very clear—it’s to care for patients.” For decades, he lived that purpose through the hands-on art of spinal surgery. Today, he fulfills it by leading OrthoCarolina with vision, empathy, and resolve. We explore his philosophy on building teams, where he draws on lessons from competitive rowing: peak performance comes not from a few all-stars but from the perfect synchronization of the entire crew. And perhaps most powerfully, Leo reflects on one of his hardest leadership lessons—letting go of a C-suite executive. In that moment, he discovered the difference between being nice and being kind: “Sometimes you can’t be nice, but it’s always important to be kind.” It’s a profound insight, echoing what leadership coach Kim Scott calls Radical Candor: delivering direct feedback anchored in genuine care. This conversation is filled with leadership gems, but more than that—it’s a glimpse into the mindset of a leader who continues to evolve, adapt, and inspire. I’m honored to share it, and I’m confident you’ll walk away with practical, actionable leadership lessons from my friend, Dr. Leo Spector.