Two Shows. One Channel.
Every Dimension of Risk & Leadership.
Hosted by M.K. Palmore — former FBI cyber leader, Google Cloud executive,
and founder of Apogee Global RMS — our podcast network explores leadership
excellence and the evolving risk landscape from the boardroom to the SOC
LEADERSHIP & GROWTH
Amplified
The Leadership Student 2.0
Conversations with global leaders, executives, and visionaries shaping the future of business and technology.
RISK & CYBERSECURITY
The Risk Apogee
Expert analysis at the nexus of cyber, physical,
and human capital risk. Timely intelligence for
security leaders navigating threats.
Stay Connected
Join our community of leaders and get notified when new episodes are released featuring insights on cybersecurity, executive leadership, and strategic transformation.
Amplified: Leadership Student 2.0 Podcast, hosted by MK Palmore, is a monthly exploration of the multifaceted world of leadership. Each episode features insightful conversations with guests from diverse industries and backgrounds, delving into the practicalities of leadership, the hard lessons learned, and the deep-water experiences that shape successful leaders.
Leadership expert Russell Davis shares how servant leadership transforms organizations by centering human dignity. From the Peace Corps to the boardroom, he unpacks how ethical leadership, empathy, and resilience fuel high-performing teams. Join MK Palmore in this episode and discover actionable ways to rebuild trust, lead with intention, and redefine success, not through power but through care, clarity, and connection.
Timestamps
00:00 Meet Russell Davis
02:36 Russell’s Mission and Early Path
04:09 Peace Corps Lessons & Early Leadership Challenges
08:49 What Servant Leadership Really Means
12:17 Surviving a Bonfire Explosion and Resilience
17:54 How Positivity Changes Everything
23:29 Russell’s Empowering Leadership Philosophy
27:17 Rebuilding Trust with Wounded Team Members
31:58 Inside Russell’s Leadership Models and Writings
35:39 Why Ethics Is the Cornerstone of Real Leadership
39:50 Final Thoughts and Where to Learn More
🎙️ Thanks for tuning in to The Leadership Student 2.0 Podcast!
If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to follow/subscribe so you never miss an inspiring conversation.
✨ Connect with Apogee Global RMS for more leadership insights:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mkpalmore/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/apogee_rms/
X/Twitter: https://x.com/apogee_rms
💼 This episode is brought to you by Apogee Global RMS – experts in risk management solutions. Check out their website to learn more about how they can support your business.
Let’s keep growing and leading boldly. Until next time!
The Risk Apogee is a 1:1 interview series, sponsored by Apogee Global RMS, featuring candid conversations with risk leaders serving small and mid-sized businesses and public sector organizations. Each episode explores how practitioners translate risk theory into practical action, focusing on real incidents, lessons learned, and frameworks that drive resilience in resource-constrained environments
Public sector cybersecurity leaders face a resource equation that doesn't exist in the private sector: every security investment is weighed directly against public safety, housing, and essential city services. Austin Davis is the CISO for the City of San Jose, the twelfth largest city in the United States, and a veteran whose career spans military service, law enforcement, and enterprise security.
In this episode of The Risk Apogee Podcast, he and MK Palmore work through why cybersecurity leaders in government operate under fundamentally different budget constraints than those in the private sector. How pension obligations and procurement rules compound the staffing challenge, and why the cybersecurity profession still lacks the kind of universally adopted career pathway that exists for physicians, attorneys, and pilots.
Austin also addresses AI's rapid, often unannounced integration into legacy city systems, the governance gap it creates, and the real defensive potential he sees once the right human-machine boundaries are drawn.
Things You Will Learn:
- Why public sector cybersecurity budgets compete against fundamentally different priorities than enterprise budgets, and how that changes every risk conversation.
- Why the cybersecurity profession's lack of a universally adopted career pathway is a structural driver of the talent shortage, not just a training gap.
- How AI is quietly being added to legacy government systems, creating new security risks that many organizations don't realize they've inherited.
Tools & Frameworks Covered:
- Audience-Specific Risk Translation: Austin's practice of reframing cybersecurity risk in terms that match each stakeholder's operational reality: financial impact for finance teams, operational readiness for law enforcement, service continuity for department heads. The principle is that the same risk must be communicated differently depending on who needs to act on it.
- Professionalized Career Pathway Model: The argument that cybersecurity should adopt the kind of structured, universally recognized career progression used by medicine, law, and aviation with defined skill gates, hands-on progression, and a clear distinction between foundational certification and practitioner readiness.
- Legacy System AI Governance: The emerging requirement to re-review previously approved systems when vendors push AI components into existing products, since the original security review no longer reflects the system's actual risk profile.
#PublicSectorCybersecurity#CyberWorkforce#AIGovernance#RiskLeadership#EnterpriseRisk
🎙️ Thanks for tuning in to The Risk Apogee Podcast!
If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to follow/subscribe so you never miss an inspiring conversation.
✨ Connect with Apogee Global RMS for more leadership insights:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mkpalmore/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/apogee_rms/
X/Twitter: https://x.com/apogee_rms
💼 This episode is brought to you by Apogee Global RMS – experts in risk management solutions. Check out their website to learn more about how they can support your business.
Let’s keep growing and leading boldly. Until next time!
Latest from the Channel
Join our community of leaders and get notified when new episodes are released featuring
insights on cybersecurity, executive leadership, and strategic transformation.