Duane Overgaard_ Divisional CEO_ Derbysoft interviewed by Dorothy Dowling

Clarity, Discipline, and Global Perspective in Technology Leadership

Duane Overgaard’s leadership journey is grounded in a powerful combination of operational depth and global systems expertise. His formative years at Hilton provided a foundation in how hotels operate and how commercial systems function in practice, while his experience at Sabre expanded his perspective on connectivity, distribution, and the broader travel ecosystem. Together, these experiences shaped an end-to-end understanding of how the industry works, positioning him to lead at DerbySoft.

As Divisional CEO, Overgaard is known for a leadership style rooted in clarity, discipline, and trust. He believes direct communication is essential, particularly in global environments where ambiguity can slow execution, and he prioritizes aligning teams around what truly matters. His approach is grounded in listening to his team, customers, and the realities of the market, with a focus on translating ideas into practical, scalable solutions while maintaining humility and accountability.

Notable Quotes

• “Clarity is a leadership responsibility—be direct so teams can move faster.”

• “Ideas are everywhere—execution is what actually matters.”

• “I’ve never forgotten where I came from—treat people the right way.”

• “Segmentation is gone—everything is visible in today’s market.”

• “AI is only as strong as the content behind it.”

Closing Reflection

Overgaard’s journey reflects leadership grounded in clarity, discipline, and trust. His experience demonstrates how operational depth and global perspective shape effective decision-making. By focusing on execution and alignment, he creates consistency across complex environments. His approach reinforces that leadership is built through experience, listening, and accountability.

His story highlights the importance of combining experience with continuous learning. By staying focused on what matters and translating ideas into action, leaders can navigate complexity. He emphasizes respect, clarity, and practical thinking in every interaction. Through discipline and alignment, teams can move faster and perform better. Ultimately, his journey shows that effective leadership is both grounded and forward-looking.

Transcript

Dorothy Dowling 0:05

Hi everyone. I am Dorothy Dowling and welcome to its Personal Stories, a hospitality webcast cast focused on the journeys, insights, and leadership lessons that shape our industry. I'm especially pleased to welcome Dwayne Overgaard. Divisional, CEO of DerbySoft. DerbySoft has been at the forefront of modern connectivity and distribution, quietly powering much of how our industry moves today. And Dwayne is widely respected. Not just for his strategic depth, but for how he leads with clarity, humility, and a very practical approach to building a great business. Dwayne, I'm really looking forward to this conversation.

Duane Overgaard 0:44

Hello. I am also.

Dorothy Dowling 0:47

Wonderful. So Dwayne, I wonder if we can start talking about your career Jo journey.'cause you spent much of your career at the intersection of technology and hospitality helping shape how commercial systems actually work. I'm wondering if you look back, what were the defining moments or roles that really shaped how you think as a leader today?

Duane Overgaard 1:06

Yeah. Thanks for that. And also just quickly, thanks for the opportunity for me to have this conversation with you. So I wanted to say that.

Dorothy Dowling 1:14

Yeah.

Duane Overgaard 1:14

So in regards to my background and what shaped, some of the e experience I started at Hilton and that's where I got a lot of the systems and operational knowledge. That created a foundation of just how the systems in this industry work and how, things intertwine or sometimes they don't intertwine. And then, as I moved to, forward and had a career at Sabre as well, that gave me the global perspective and enabled me to have the, not only just the systems aspect, but also the, global economy and cultural differences. Between the two of them. It gave me a great background in blending of the whole ecosystem, if you will. So that kind of, created a, where I am today if blending those items together.

Dorothy Dowling 1:56

If I was to ask you about where your perspective shifted from being an operator or a strategist to really being this great leader, people that you are today what was that point when that perspective shifted?

Duane Overgaard 2:11

I dunno if there's a clearly defining point. At least one that I remember. I've been leading people since I was in high school. So I think it's just part of, it's just natural. I don't think about it. It just, it's in my DNA evidently. But it's just, I think once again, it's a culmination of just how, things have evolved with my career and the positions I've been fortunate to have that just broadened my horizons and gave me the experiences and also just the different mentors and leaders along the way and learning and observing them. So I think it's a culmination of many different things, not necessarily one that I can at least pinpoint.

Dorothy Dowling 2:46

Okay. How about if we talk a little bit about technology, because this is a space that never sits still distribution, connectivity, and now we have the AI and LLMs that are reshaping consumer discovery. How do you personally stay grounded in Sharp in the middle of all of this change?

Duane Overgaard 3:04

One is, just luckily, or luckily you can say that if not, we're not. But I have many decades of experience and I use that experience to sift through a lot of the noise. There's a lot of aspects and opportunities that, you get data and information and people referring articles to you or reading books and telling you what books. There's just a lot of data that's out there and fortunately through the experience I have, you can very quickly start sifting through what's just fluff versus what's material. So that helps me somewhat in, in where I'm at today, and there's just so many hours in the day to do what you need to do. So you have to just prioritize. I do a lot of reading, I do a lot of, looking at what others are seeing or doing. However, the bigger part is trusting my team and listening to my team and others. So that's a big component because I don't know everything and I'm not gonna know everything. So you have to rely on your team and others and some people who are just. Smarter than you are. And have conversations with them as well. So it's not just me and what I'm doing, it's also what others are, capable of and what they're, learning themselves that they're, they can share with me.

Dorothy Dowling 4:17

That's something I've always respected about you, Dwayne, is how you lean into your team, but you also lean into your customers in a pretty significant way. You're so active in the industry. Attending all kinds of events and customer meetings. So I think the way you lean into everyone is how you really power a lot of your learning journey. At least that's been my observation of you over the years.

Duane Overgaard 4:40

I, that's accurate. Thank you for that, that it is accurate. I do listen a lot of different, perspectives and some of it's my team and some of it's customers and some of it's competitors. So I'm always listening.

Dorothy Dowling 4:51

Yeah, for sure. I'm wondering if you can talk a little bit about your leadership philosophy and how you've learned about really building your teams in this highly technical, specialized environment. You have enormous followership. I know that people wanna work for you, Dwayne, so I'd love to understand a little bit if you can share with our audience all of that wisdom that you've had in creating that level of followership and engagement with your teams.

Duane Overgaard 5:15

Okay. Thi this one's kind of hard'cause I don't talk about myself. So this, I don't know, this is a little challenging, but the, what I would say is. I'm just honest and I'm very direct. People understand what I'm thinking. We, if we have a meeting or a conversation, they don't walk away wondering what I'm thinking or maybe thinking. They absolutely know what I'm thinking. So it creates more clarity. There's an aspect as well of, I think part of it may be by accent and I can't help it, but with my accent, sometimes things can be delivered in a way. That's different. And sometimes I can deliver bad news or news that people don't want to hear in a different way, just'cause the accent softens it potentially. I don't know. I've just been told that a time or two, but I don't really think about it. It's just me and being honest and true to myself and knowing that it, I have to trust the team and the team needs to trust me. So there's a huge aspect of trustworthiness that without that, you're wasting everybody's time because you're so busy. Second guessing what you're doing, that you're not focusing on getting things done.

Dorothy Dowling 6:20

Yeah, no, I think that's very true for people. Dwayne and I do think the way that you re way you speak to people and create trust is really about your directness and the respect that people have for you. I'm wondering if we can talk a little bit more about that, because I think, one of the things that I deeply admire about you is your humility. You've had an amazing career. You're a very senior executive in this industry. You've stayed grounded through your career and you've avoided the trap of hubris that so many senior leaders sometimes fall into. So I'm wondering if you have any guidance in terms of how you stay true to yourself over the years.

Duane Overgaard 7:00

Yeah. Part of it I think is just being humble and that's easier said than done, but for me, part of it's, I think I just reflect on how I was raised. I came from very humble beginnings and I've never really forgotten where I came from. And it was the concept of treat others as you want to be treated. Because through my career I have seen leaders and managers and others. Just not treat people nicely as they, moved up the corporate ladder. And I always looked at it and said, you used to sit right next to me and now you're acting like you don't know who I am. And I've seen that to myself and to others. And I always said I never wanted to do that, and I never wanted to have that, aspect of people looking at me in that same way as I turn my back and walk away saying, what a jerk. So there's just parts of it that is just, I've been. Very conscious about. Another parts of it are just, it's not me. I'm just, I'm very true to myself and natural, so I'm aware of what happens when you do it, but also it's also just not me. I, so I'm always just gonna be myself and true to me, and I don't like, having people feel that they're being, talked down to, or mistreated or not, respected. There's an aspect of doing your job and the respect that comes with that. But as a person, everybody's the same. We breathe the same air we put on clothes the same way. Someone may have a little bit more opportunity than another, but in the end we're all people with human, emotions. So I just keep that in mind.

Dorothy Dowling 8:26

Yeah. I think those are amazing touchstones Dwayne, that we can all learn from. And it is something that I know, not just I, but many in the industry speak about you in that way. It's just your incredible likability because you are human first and you always relate to people in that way. So thank you for that. I'm wondering if we can talk a little bit about your network. Yeah, no, I, if we can talk about your network'cause it's an extraordinary one. You do work in a global complex ecosystem, so I'd love for you to share with our audience about how you intentionally built your network over time.

Duane Overgaard 9:02

Okay. Intentional. I don't know. Here's how it happened. It's, I am a personal person. Although in high school I really wasn't. So that's the odd thing. In high school, you wouldn't know I was even around, I was very quiet. But once I, moved to Dallas and started my career, I started finding more open, ways to engage with others and. Being more vocal. But what happened is for me, I, as I was going through at Hilton. The GDSs used to have a lot of events and more so than they, that exist than today. And through those events I was with like-minded people in the industry doing the tasks I was doing. There was head nod and other similar item of conferences, but always through those events it created an engagement and opportunity to have an introduction. And then through several, mutual, kindred relationships, if you will, of people who think the same way you do. You just generate and create friendships. And so that just evolved. And then as that becomes stronger, they introduce you to other people. And so that's how it just starts growing. You have a few that you begin with that you can really relate to. And then they introduce you to others and introduced to others. And then as I went into Sabre and had the global responsibilities, that introduced a whole new level of interaction with not just people in the company, but the whole ecosystem because I was always out on the road with customers or other industry events. So it just enabled a broad opportunity for me that I'm very grateful for. None of it honestly wasn't. Really intentional. I didn't go out seeking to see how many people I could have in my network, but it just evolved over time.

Dorothy Dowling 10:43

It sounds to me like it was a lot of native opportunities were presented to you through your career, Dwayne, but I'm certain it has to do about your subject matter expertise and then just your general likability that really created that foundation for the kind of relationships and trust that you've built across the industry. I'm wondering, as we think about some of the emerging leaders that might be listening to this today, if there's anything that you would offer to them in terms of. What can they do to really build those meaningful industry relations?

Duane Overgaard 11:16

It really is just, treating others with respect and there's different ways of doing it. Everybody says it, but it's, the other practicality is learn about the cultural differences and understand them. You don't have to, and this even applies, not just, east and west, but even throughout Europe and other countries, there's cultural differences everywhere, even within America. You don't have to agree with everybody, but at least understand them and understand their perspective. And that's what I've always tried to do. I don't talk about politics and other things and religion, you can look at me and most people know I'm a Christian, which is fine'cause I wanna, live in that way. But you don't have to go out bragging and talking and communicating it. It should just be, inherent with how you handle yourself. So the thing for me with the, new leaders and others is do more listening than talking and understanding, what's around you and who you're speaking with, and why do they think the way they do? And what cultural differences exist that may frame the way that they have the opinion they have? Have,'cause some of them, don't necessarily disagree with what you say or it's just not an understanding or an awareness of, so you have more of an open mind.'Cause I think today so many people are quick to judge without a full understanding. And in today's environment with social media and everything else, people are so opinionated immediately. And some people have preset definitions of what they think you may be, just because of where you live. It's not accurate. You gotta give people the chance and have a conversation and understand their perspective, because judging so quickly is not gonna help.

Dorothy Dowling 12:53

I think that's great advice for our listeners.'cause I do think bridging some of that cultural understanding and trying to understand things from another person's point of view. And then I do also believe that commitment to being a listener first is an amazing piece of wisdom for our audience, Wayne. So thank you. I'm wondering if we can move on and talk a little bit about innovation because DerbySoft has a reputation for being both. Very innovative and highly practical. So I'm wondering if you can really talk a little bit about that innovation and the way the innovation actually delivers value, not just ideas.

Duane Overgaard 13:32

Yeah, that's a good question. Because I'll tell you, everybody has ideas. There's no, that's this world is not short of ideas. That is always something as well that you have to sift through because someone will come to you and say, you have an idea, then that's good, who wants it. How are you gonna do it? There's a lot of things you got to do beyond just the idea. So for me, the whole aspect of. The innovation and being practical comes back as well to listening. We have, we sit in the middle between the distributor, currently where I'm at, between distributors and the suppliers. We also have, other aspects of our business. But essentially that's what it comes down to. And sitting in the middle, you have to really understand who is your customer and, what are you trying to achieve? And everybody's, in a, in a business you have to have revenue growth. So you have to also understand who's paying you and, and understanding that's the value. Someone who has an opinion about something but isn't the one paying you for it isn't as valuable. To a degree they're, you can take their insight and their knowledge and information, but fundamentally they're not the one who buying it and paying for it. So you have to really identify who really are you gonna listen to. Ultimately, getting the feedback is always good. But you can build something, but if no one wants it and it's not useful and no one's you know, gonna pay for it, then it is useless. So you have to balance your ideas with understanding what's going on in the market. Is their willingness to pay for it. What's the usability of it? Is it gonna make their life better? Is it, an idea that is ahead of its time, or behind its time? There's a number of different things that you just have to start flushing out. Because we have plenty of ideas, that we did, through the years, COVID changed some of it and some of'em you shelve and we're thinking about pulling some back out now because the technology and the, industry is ready for it when it wasn't a couple years ago. So it's just timing is another part of this and you just have to stay you agile. In regards to what's going on around you?

Dorothy Dowling 15:37

I think there was a lot of really great information in that answer that you just provided, Dwayne, and I think really understanding the buyer in the equation and understanding the influencers and then really being able to dissect. In terms of what the value that the customer is looking for and being able to quantify that is really important. I'm wondering if we could explore that a little bit further. Because you're a divisional, CEO, you run a very large business. Now you have long-term goals and vision that you have to deliver on, but. The part that I'm always impressed with you and your team is just the discipline that you really provide in terms of execution. So I'd love to understand how you balance that in terms of your leadership.

Duane Overgaard 16:27

One, it's not easy but, it's just, it's something you have to do. Honestly with us, there's so many things as any. Any company and any person nowadays, there's so much to be done and not enough time to do it. So I just am very disciplined with my leadership team in regards to what really matters and what are we gonna focus on. And we have several KPIs, that drive us in the direction of not just my business unit, but also the company. So there's an alignment that we utilize to just keep us focused on what is overall important, because there's a lot of noise that could start distracting you. And I'm, once again, going back to my experience, I'm pretty good at sifting through the noise and people bringing things to me and I tell'em, just advise'em to ignore it because it's a passing phase. It's, or it's somebody's opinion. It's not what I'm understanding to be the case in the industry. It's just somebody's opinion. There's people who are also trying to be relevant, so they come up with things and try to, create opportunities for not only themselves, but their companies that. You've pressure tested and it doesn't matter'cause no one else is feeling the same way they are. So I just have to sift through all this and the trends, and I've seen so many trends come and go. That for me, part of it is just the experience. I'm e it's easier for. For me to sift and manage and prioritize. And I can see it though with some of my younger leaders on the team. They struggle with some of this, but you just learn and it comes with experience because there is a lot coming at everybody today. And everything's a priority and everything's needed yesterday. So you just have to, manage accordingly. And then the other part for me is just being honest about what we can and can't do and setting those parameters so there's no issues. Later on about over promising and under-delivering.

Dorothy Dowling 18:18

Yeah. I think that really has been, again, one of the elements that people respect about you, Dwayne, is that truth teller that you are in really managing expectations in terms of what can be done and the timing associated with it. I'm wondering if, speaking of noise and change management and all the kinds of things that are coming at us today, we're in this new phase of distribution with how AI is really reshaping discovery and what the large language models are doing, and how content aggregation and all of these new intermediaries that are popping up in terms of being different solution providers in the market. I'm just wondering if there's anything you would offer our audience in terms of. Some of this change and how content is being sourced and structured and surfaced. Is there anything that people should be paying attention to?

Duane Overgaard 19:10

Yeah, that's, it's a good relevant question because there's, what I'm about to say is what they should be, but I don't see many people doing it. The old edge of garbage in garbage out is true everywhere. And especially now in the age of AI and content has been a discussion ever since I started my career in various ways and forms. But in today's environment with ai. If you don't have relevant, accurate content, AI doesn't matter. The technology is there, but it relies on data. If the data isn't in a way that AI can absorb it or, read it or even exist, you're gonna be at a disadvantage compared to others who are, focused on this and ensuring that they're AI ready with their content. Because today the biggest item, and this is evolving quickly, but today the biggest item with AI is just I, vacation and travel. Ideation and just, the beginning phase of I want to go to this place. What are some recommendations? It's, the back end of the booking and execution hasn't really changed fundamentally yet. With ai, it'll come, but right now it's all in that shopping area and the shopping path. And that's where the content is relevant. And that's where, if you don't have content being served up to the consumers in the way that they're looking for or asking for, and the way that AI agents are, searching, then your competitor is gonna get the business because you're not gonna be, relevant because they're asking for a king bed with an notion view. But if you're just staying king bed, you're, that's what I'm getting at is there's just some basic fundamentals. And then you take it a step further, it goes beyond just what you have on the property. So many things today are driven by the experience of what's in the area, and if you're not referencing or anything related to what's around you, you're missing out on half of the opportunity there as well, because it's not any anymore. It's not just about what you have on property, it's what's around you. And the new generation is looking for the experience. Yeah there's a lot going on with content, but I don't, honestly, I don't see a lot of change as of yet of where it should be. So that's a work in progress.

Dorothy Dowling 21:20

But I think that's great advice, Dwayne. And I think it's about putting the eyes or the lens of the consumer on and understanding what information they are going to try and find out and delivering that content back to them. So I think we always gotta be putting that customer at the front of our thought leadership in terms of how we're crafting some of our stories. I'm wondering if we can talk a little bit about channels though, and if how leaders should be thinking about their channel strategy in this environment. Because today, this whole element of attributing where the business came from and the visibility on the different channels it's very unclear for many. I'm just, I'm wondering if you have any advice for the audience.

Duane Overgaard 22:03

The legacy segmentation is gone. And, the silos of, corporate travel, leisure travel, and everybody trying to fragment, se set these segmentations and fragment the business from corporate I'm sorry, from leisure, that's all old. We can't, that doesn't apply. As you move forward with multi-sourcing, multi-sourcing. A decade ago was barely being discussed. Today, it's the norm. And as you go through and do shopping and ask, the younger generation, how they're booking and shopping and what they're looking for, you will see that they're not loyal to, many things. And they're looking at things from a different perspective than we used to or what we think they're doing. So just ask the questions and you'll understand more that the multi-sourcing is here to stay. The segmentation is gone. And you've gotta be more focused about cons, a consistent message across all channels, because the data's flowing across all channels anyway. You may think you're providing something that's only one location. But in today's environment that's getting re, repurposed in other locations. And I know the brands and suppliers don't like that and they're trying to, restrict it as best as possible, which I understand. But the reality is there's always loopholes. There's always ways people are looking at how to get around it. It's occurred for years and years. Technology is only making it easier, so you just have to accept it that, having such tight controls and. Restraints isn't where your inner energy should be. It should be more about embracing and how do you control what you can control? And for a lot of the brands, it's, the loyalty that's the last line of defense. There is a loyalty play that they control, but outside of that, you have to understand what's the value of it and how can you leverage it. So my whole thing is it, there's a lot of visibility conversations. The reality is everything's visible everywhere. Because it's all multi-source and information's being shared. And if you don't share it, there's screen scraping in other ways people are getting it. So even if you think you have it locked down, there's technology and capabilities for others to go get it. So as long as it's public, it's gonna be, shared.

Dorothy Dowling 24:18

I love the way you framed that, Dwayne, and just accepting that this is the way it is today and that we've gotta embrace that change. And I also really the fact that you say to focus on what you can control and learn to play within the ecosystem as it is today. But I, there was a lot of really great advice there. I thank you for that. I'm wondering if we can move on a little bit back to leadership, because you have a very large team, global in scope. You've got a lot of geographies and cultures and time zones that you've got to work around. So I'm wondering if you can offer any principles that guide how you really build and align global teams that come, with very different kind of understandings and expectations.

Duane Overgaard 25:05

Yeah. No, it's true. I could work 20, 24 hours a day, six days a week, probably not seven, but six days a week with how my team is spread out. There, there's just an aspect of hiring good people that. Have the same interest that you do or the company does. So there's an aspect of culture that it helps the cohesiveness of all of this for as far as leading the team and interacting. Once again, I'm so clear with the communication. That's not always what people want to hear, but it's very clear and direct. No second guessing. And it just helps because otherwise we're, you're gonna lose so much time if I'm not very clear, good, bad, or indifferent. Because the time zone, if you're doing email, we could lose two days in going back and forth of trying to clarify something versus if I had just been very clear from the very beginning. There's an aspect that, I've just learned, once again it just suits me'cause I'm so direct. But there's an aspect of that I've just learned through the years and also hopefully, instilled in my leaders. About how to be very, concise and clear with your communication. Because with time zones and cultures, you don't have another choice. You have to, a lot of this is all email. We don't have a lot of calls because the time zone constraints, there's plenty of calls, but most of it's handled in email. So you have to be very clear. The other, part is just understanding. That I have to trust the team. I can't be with them all the time everywhere, every place. So a lot of it comes down to trust and it goes both ways. They trust me and I trust them. And for me, if I can't trust my leaders to do what I need to do. Then there's an issue that we need to address, and it's either you're not in the right position or there's another area that we need to discuss, but that it's just very honest. It's just, there's no other way around it.'cause you, there's no time otherwise to, to deal with, managing a global team without very clear and concise direction.

Dorothy Dowling 27:09

I think that's again, a very important piece of wisdom for the team because I do agree with you global the nature of the time zones and, the back and forth. Dwayne you're absolutely right and be given the speed to market requirements that you often have. I just think that clarity of your communication and us all learning how to be better communicators and very direct about expectations is really important. So speaking about global teams, you travel extensively, you might be the most frequent traveler that I know. And you also are a company that is incredibly practical because you travel. Economy. Economy when you travel globally. Yeah.

Duane Overgaard 27:50

Yeah.

Dorothy Dowling 27:50

So I would love to see or share, or you have shared with this audience about how do you take care of yourself, how do you manage your energy, your health, your mindset with that level of travel and just the physical demands that you place in terms of the work that you do, plus the kind of travel that you commit to.

Duane Overgaard 28:11

Yeah anybody who knows me knows I'm not a gem rat. So there's that part. The doctors and others tell me I should be doing more than I do, but that's just the reality. I'm not so aside from that part that everybody who knows me knows that I'm not the part for me is just vitamins and supplements. It's basic, but I guarantee you it helps me with my energy and with what I know, I'm, my body needs that. I don't necessarily always. I'm able to eat properly. But the other part, just the mind part is sleep. I do not compromise on my sleep and so I have to have eight hours. That's how I'm wired. That's how my body functions. And so for that, it helps me with my energy and thought process and everything else. So for me, a lot of things come around sleep and having adequate sleep. So I do not compromise on that. And then the other part of just balancing is. Everything I do is either on my phone or on this laptop. And for me, I enjoy when I am traveling paper. And so I read books, but it's paper. I don't have a Kindle. I don't use all that'cause my eyes get tired of all these electronics. So it lets me decompress. And sometimes I think it's a mind game'cause it's, it doesn't feel like work anymore.'cause I'm not working on a device. And so I read and I like history and I like mis murder mystery. So that's what I do to kind of balance everything and reset myself or keep going.

Dorothy Dowling 29:39

I love both of those pieces of advice in terms of just your commitment to vitamins and supplements, and it's very interesting that you speak about reading and using printed materials, Dwayne, because I know that is another big factor now that is being discussed as screen time and. What kind of strain we're putting on our eyes. And so thinking about different ways to consume and enjoy. I think that's good advice. So thank you for sharing that. That's good. I'm just wondering if we can talk a little bit about the future because I'd love to hear what you're most excited about in the next three to five years in travel and technology.

Duane Overgaard 30:16

For me I'm happy that technology and distribution is finally, in a place where it's getting the visibility. I think it's always deserved because years and years ago, people did not understand how things were connected and worked, and it, it just happened and you had the sales team and marketing team doing everything, but they didn't understand. How the systems, work. So I'm happy now that there's a, an appreciation and a growing understanding and in the next, few years. With the advent of AI evolving into more aspects of the technology, I'm excited of the fact that more and more of these systems are gonna be more integrated. Because today there's so many restrictions that are in place where this system doesn't speak to this system. Or if it does, it's in a hodgepodge way of not. All data can flow through, and here's the bare minimums that, and so you get restricted with these least common denominator of systems and you can't have the full capability, un unleashed because there's these legacy systems. So for me, in the next few years, because of so much of a focus on technology and the need of it, I'm excited that it. I think more things are gonna be opened up and expanded in a way that before never occurred because we had so many restrictions and parameters. But with the estimates coming into the space and other opportunities, I'm excited that finally technology and connectivity gets the visibility. It's always needed because it's the foundation for all the e-commerce. Without the plumbing and the pipes, you wouldn't have any other activity occurring. So the foundation is finally getting some visibility. So it's good for me as things start evolving and exposure to new opportunities.

Dorothy Dowling 32:01

Danna, I love the way you just articulated that,'cause that is such a strategic perspective in terms of the foundation and how all of these dots are starting to come together and are gonna empower us to be so much more effective and pay attention to things. Really matter. I'm wondering if you were advising, if there was a lot of young leaders in our industry that were sitting across from you today and what you would say is, what do they need to get right now to stay competitive with their careers and their learning and all the other kinds of things that they're thinking about?

Duane Overgaard 32:37

But one is, ask questions. You've got to not be afraid. So many people today are afraid of asking questions because there's a fear of being judged that it's a dumb question or I should know this, but I don't, so I'm not gonna, you got, you have to ask and be, don't be afraid to ask. So that's one of the biggest things for me, because otherwise, if you sit. And quiet. It also gets sometimes, perceived as weakness, that you're not strong and that you're not, gonna be a good leader because you're a quiet wallflower and you don't have a voice, and you won't stand up for yourself and you won't speak. So for me, you've gotta find your voice, ask the questions. Don't be belligerent about it and ask, and steal the room and ask 20 different questions. Be mindful of the questions you ask, but don't be afraid. And then the other part is don't just look at what your company's doing. And so many people look internal in a silo and what's going on. You have to have a broader lens of what's going on around you, both geopolitical, the, what's going on with competitors is always a natural look, but you also just have to have a better understanding of what's happening in the world around you, not just in your own ecosystem. Because all that has a impact of, cause and effect. And there's just aspects for me that I've seen different leaders that are good, capable leaders, but they shoot themselves in the foot because they're just. Too shy or bashful or they don't wanna appear that they don't know the information when they think everybody thinks they should know. So you just have to be true to yourself.

Dorothy Dowling 34:11

Yeah. Dwayne, thank you. I. I think the, your leadership and your thoughtfulness comes through in this interview in terms of how grounded you are and just the really practical advice and it is why you are such a respected person in our industry and why so many people trust you. So I'm very grateful that you've shared this with us today, your time and a lot of your thought leadership and I just appreciate you. So thank you.

Duane Overgaard 34:39

Thank you and I appreciate you as well, and thanks for the opportunity. My, my pleasure.

Dorothy Dowling 34:44

Wonderful. And for those of us in our audience, I'd also like to thank you for joining us, and if you enjoyed today's conversation, I hope you'll please visit us@itspersonalstories.com to explore more stories from leaders across our industry like Dwayne. So thank you.

Duane Overgaard 35:01

Okay, thank you again.