AC 1219 Larry Cassidy "Connector, Commander, Corporate and Chair"
- S1E1219
- 1:11:06
- November 24th 2025
In this special memorial episode of the Arete Coach Podcast, host Severin Sorensen honors the extraordinary life and influence of Larry Cassidy—Marine Corps officer, corporate leader, Vistage Master Chair, mentor, and friend. Drawing from multiple past interviews, Sorensen reconstructs Larry’s story, weaving together personal history, powerful coaching moments, signature questions, and original tribute songs written in Larry’s honor.
Born in 1937 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Larry excelled academically and showed an early aptitude for public speaking. He later served as a Marine Corps Lieutenant and Captain, leading Marines in the Pacific region with discipline, courage, and “bark on the wood” truthfulness—a philosophy that shaped his entire coaching career.
After a distinguished corporate career at General Mills, Quaker Oats, and Wilson Sporting Goods, Larry became a Vistage/TEC Chair in 1987. Over 38 years he earned numerous Vistage awards—including the Robert Nourse Chair of the Year Award and multiple Master Chair Awards—and became one of the most respected leaders in the Vistage global community.
Sorensen pays tribute to his friend through archival dialogue, reflective commentary, and two original songs: “Bark on the Wood – The Unvarnished Truth” and “He Learned to Listen to Understand.”
Larry discovered his true calling—guiding leaders through curiosity-driven, truth-seeking, deeply human conversations. He built a reputation for:
- piercing, soul-searching questions
- empathetic listening
- courageous truth-telling (“with the bark on”)
- community-building (“The Romper Room” chair gatherings)
- and an unwavering belief in each leader’s potential
The Arete Coach Podcast continues to explore the art and science of executive coaching at the highest levels. You can find more about this podcast at aretecoach.io.
This episode was recorded on the 23rd day of November, 2025. Portions were previously recorded on January 4th, 2021, December 22nd, 2022, and December 12th, 2024,
Copyright © 2025 by Arete Coach™ LLC. All rights reserved.
Arete Coach: Exploring the Art and Science of Executive Coaching
“Arete Coach Podcast" Explores the "Art and Science" of Executive Coaching hosted by Severin Sorensen. The “Arete Coach Podcast" is for executive coaches and anyone considering becoming an executive coach. The podcast is especially valuable to executive coaches who are lifetime learners with deep curiosity about the "art and science" of coaching. In this podcast, the ‘art of coaching’ is explored through engaging interviews with leading executive coaches from diverse backgrounds sharing their individual coaching journeys, learnings, methods, best questions, and situational approaches to executive coaching. Beyond best practices, the podcast will regularly mine research on the ‘science of coaching’ and explores ongoing scientific discoveries and studies looking for what works and why, with an aim to improve the core body of knowledge for executive coaches and the industry. Severin Sorensen has provided over 7,500 hours of paid executive coaching sessions and he holds the following coaching certifications: ICF/ACSTH Certified Executive Coach (CEC), Certified Organizational Development Coach (CODC), Certified Life Coach (CLC); and the IAC: Coach Masteries Practioner. Severin Sorensen has an M.Phil in Economics at King's College, Cambridge University, and undergraduate degrees in Economics and Political Science from the University of Utah.
The Arete Coach Podcast is the copyright of Arete Coach LLC.
Severin Sorensen is host of the Arete Coach Podcast, where he interviews executive coaches and researchers with the aims to celebrate and explore the art and science of executive coaching today.
Severin is a senior executive coach, serial entrepreneur and lifetime learner with a passionate curiosity about people and businesses. Severin is the CEO of ePraxis LLC, a premier level retained search firm that provides executive headhunting, talent selection, and executive coaching. (www.epraxis.com)
Severin is a certified coach with an IAC Masteries Practitioner designation and 800+ hours of ICF/ACSTH and other advanced training in Executive Coaching, Organizational Development, EOS, Life Coaching, Emotional Intelligence (EQ), and Positive Intelligence (PQ). Severin has over 7,500+ hours of paid executive coaching working with high performing executives, owners, and operators of public and private companies throughout North America.Severin's coaching clients include boards of directors, CEOs, Presidents, GMs, COO, CFO, CTO, VP Engineering, VP Talent, and many other positions.
Severin lives in Park City , Utah and his virtual coach practice includes clients throughout the Americas.
From 2010-2018 Severin was a Vistage Chair where he coached three CEO and Key executive groups. In 2011, Severin received the "Rookie of the Year Chair Award" from Vistage. Since 2013, Severin has added international speaking for Vistage, CEO conferences, executive peer groups, and corporations on the topic of identifying and hiring difference making top talent.
In terms of the types of clients coached, Severin has coached new CEOs (with less than 2 years experience), large company executives (e.g., Managing Director of Rio Tinto), numerous high-growth entrepreneurs operating INC 5000 businesses, multi-generational family owned businesses, and primary-equity business owners who are still actively managing their companies. Severin has experience coaching both private and public company executives and their executive teams.
Severin's own coaching practice is tool based, using diagnostics, surveys, and Socratic questioning to get to root issues. You can learn more about Severin at epraxis.com (insights), LinkedIn, Quora, and Twitter. If you think you might be a good fit for executive coaching with Severin, he is happy to give you a free test drive coaching session to see if this would be good for you and your team. You can book a free test-drive 30 min coaching huddle at: calendly.com/epraxis.