Angles is a podcast about learning from the paths of interesting and successful people. Hosted by John Richmond, Co-Founder and CEO of Richmond Vona, the show features conversations with entrepreneurs, professionals, and leaders from Buffalo and beyond. By exploring their stories from different angles, each episode uncovers the moments, mindset, and moves that helped them grow and offers insights you can use in your own life and career.
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In the seventy-fifth episode of Angles Podcast, John sits down with Jeff Glor, the Tonawanda native who spent 17 years at CBS News and became the youngest anchor in the history of the CBS Evening News at 42. Jeff went to Syracuse for pre-dental, quit after one chemistry course, turned down a consulting job with no backup plan, and got thrown on air the same night he was asked to cover a press conference.
This is an unusually honest conversation about reaching the top of a field and then losing the seat. Jeff talks about the agent who told him it is 50 percent talent and the rest is how you play the game, the warning Scott Pelley gave him over lunch, why he never wanted to be a gotcha interviewer, and what it took to walk away and start writing books at 5 in the morning. He also explains why television is fleeting and books are permanent, and the one piece of advice he would give anyone chasing the top of their industry.
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Erin Grajek
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John sits down with Erin Grajek, President and CEO of the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens, a Victorian conservatory in the middle of a $31 million expansion. Erin came in as marketing director in 2006 after her mentor pushed her to apply for a job she was convinced she was underqualified for. She has been there ever since, now leading what is now one of the most ambitious capital projects in the institution’s history. The conversation covers the healing science behind greenhouses, the history of the Gardens, the corpse plants everyone is clamoring to get, and what exactly is going into the new expansion. Erin also talks about the day the previous president and CEO, Mark Mortenson, passed away, and what she has learned about leading with authenticity, empathy, and courage.
Business/Organization: Buffalo Botanical Gardens
Gary Siddall
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John sits down with Gary Siddall, President and CEO of the Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences, the nonprofit behind the Buffalo Museum of Science and Tifft Nature Preserve. Gary started volunteering at the Niagara Falls Aquarium at 12, was training sea lions at 15, and spent 20 years there working his way up to CEO before taking the biggest job in Buffalo’s cultural nonprofit sector in January 2024.
This conversation covers what a sea lion show teaches you about recovering in front of 300 people, the leadership philosophy Gary carried from wetsuit to boardroom, and the $3 million Science Stadium he built with the Bills, Sabres, and Bandits under one roof. He is the first president of the museum from Buffalo since the 1980s, and he is not interested in managing the status quo. He talks about the 2029 centennial, why he refuses to settle for less than world class, and the one thing he calls lethal to an organizational culture.
Business/Organization: Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences
Jeff Glor
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John sits down with Jeff Glor, the Tonawanda native who spent 17 years at CBS News and became the youngest anchor in the history of the CBS Evening News at 42. Jeff went to Syracuse for pre-dental, quit
after one chemistry course, turned down a consulting job with no backup plan, and got thrown on air the same night he was asked to cover a press conference.
This is an unusually honest conversation about reaching the top of a field and then losing the seat. Jeff talks about the agent who told him it is 50 percent talent and the rest is how you play the game, the warning Scott Pelley gave him over lunch, why he never wanted to be a gotcha interviewer, and what it took to walk away and start writing books at 5 in the morning. He also explains why television is fleeting and books are permanent, and the one piece of advice he would give anyone chasing the top of their industry.
Business/Organization: CBS News