Professional Q&A: George Glover

George Glover serves as a Vistage Chair for Vistage Worldwide, using his business expertise and experience to coach Edmond CEOs and share his wisdom and knowledge. For 20 years, he traveled around the world, taking on new roles and challenges before settling down in Edmond with his wife and kids.

Q: Do you live in Edmond, work in Edmond, or both?

A: I’ve lived in Edmond for eight years. While I work in both the OKC and Tulsa metros, I office out of Vault 405 in Downtown Edmond.

Q: Where did you grow up and go to school?

A: I grew up in Singapore (until I was 9) and then Tucson, AZ, where I went to school at the University of Arizona. Bear Down!

Q: What did you do prior to getting involved with Vistage Worldwide?

A: Buckle up for this one…

From 1991 to 2010, I worked for a publicly owned Australian company, BHP Billiton, and one of their spun-off businesses, BlueScope Steel. I started in San Francisco and moved to Mali (West Africa); Sacramento, California; Sydney, Australia; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Shanghai, China; Beijing, China; and Turlock, California. Throughout the moves, my role changed from accounting to internal auditing to VP of Finance to CFO.

Fun fact: Holly and I lived in Sydney during the 2000 Olympics and Beijing during the 2008 Olympics. For the record, I was disappointed that the 8-year pattern didn’t bring the Olympics to Edmond or OKC in 2016.

After leaving BlueScope Steel in 2010, I moved to Fayetteville, Arkansas, where I spent four years with an employee-owned metal building products business, Central States Manufacturing, as their Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. I am still trying to figure out how I parlayed an accounting and finance background into a sales and marketing leadership role, especially since I was originally interviewing for the VP of Operations role.

In 2014, I moved to Edmond to run a pre-engineered metal building manufacturer in OKC that a private equity company purchased. I was with the company for 14 months when Holly was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Q: How did you get involved with Vistage Worldwide?

A: While Holly battled cancer, I took time off to take care of the family. We had two kids who are competitive swimmers, so I became their personal chauffeur and cheerleader, taking them to and from practice and travel swim meets.

During my “personal sabbatical,” Vistage Worldwide, a leading CEO membership organization, reached out to me to see if I would consider becoming an executive coach and building a Vistage peer advisory group practice in Oklahoma. After learning about how Vistage peer advisory groups worked and what a Vistage practice meant for the business community, I asked Vistage, “Where were you when I needed you?”

As soon as Holly finished her cancer treatment and was officially in remission, I headed off to San Diego to learn how to become a Vistage Chair.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

It has been life-changing to get a front-row seat to witness the transformation of leaders and their businesses. I have learned so much watching the compassion, wisdom, and love shared among these leaders to the point that their employees tell me how much they appreciate their CEOs and executives being part of Vistage. During my career before Vistage, I always thought that being a CEO was the peak of my career aspirations. These past six years have taught me so much about myself as a leader.

By serving over 50 CEOs, executives, and emerging leaders, I get to help impact the lives of leaders and the families they lead through their organizations. It has been priceless. I no longer see what I do as a job, a vocation, or a career. It is a calling, and I am grateful for the opportunity to serve a small slice of the community here in Edmond and Oklahoma City.

Q: What’s something you’re passionate about in your personal life?

A: I am passionate about my family. One commitment I made to my kids when they took on competitive swimming was that I would not miss a swim meet. Not one. Well, I had to miss one of my son’s championship meets when my daughter qualified for another championship meet, which I got to chaperone. My son continued to swim in college in New York, so making all his meets has been challenging. As a result of their swimming, I became a swim meet announcer, which is the best job at the meet! I get a front-row seat to the action and learn to pronounce all sorts of names. I volunteer most of my free time to our swim team board and the swimming community.

As for hobbies, fantasy football and running keeps me busy. Lastly, traveling to different countries is a passion of mine and my wife. We have a goal to visit 100 countries when all is said and done. Right now, I am 43, and she’s at 45.

Q: What do you like about Edmond?

A: What’s not to like about Edmond? It’s a great place to raise a family with outstanding schools and accessibility to various sports activities and venues. Also, Arcadia Lake is literally minutes away! The Edmond business community is thriving and growing, too. Downtown Edmond has changed so much since I started working from Vault 405 four years ago. I love the small town feel of Edmond, which has been a pleasant change after living in busy metropolises like Beijing, Shanghai, Kuala Lumpur, Sydney, and San Francisco.

Q: What is your number one tip for other professionals, either for work or life in general?

A: Take time to smell the roses. My uncle gave me this advice when I graduated college a “few” years ago. It wasn’t until my wife’s battle with cancer and my journey as a Vistage Chair that I came to appreciate what that truly meant. It’s so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day hustle and bustle, yet it seems so difficult for working professionals to carve time out to celebrate with their teams and each other. Celebrate the wins, no matter how big or small. Tell someone you appreciate their efforts. Lift someone up when they are down. Live with an attitude of gratitude, and things will be alright in the end.