Dr. Larde, who is an associate professor of leadership in the Anderson University Center for Leadership and Organizations, will share her life’s journey and leadership principles on an episode that’s part of Daymond John’s Next Level CEO, which will air sometime in Spring 2026.
Next Level CEO, created by Johns, known for being on the reality TV series Shark Tank, is a high-impact business educational series where top entrepreneurs will share their stories of leadership success. The series will be seen on Inside Success, a network available online and on Roku TV.
Dr. Larde was approached by the series’ producers, intrigued by her insights on how joy can serve as a powerful strategy that sustains well-being and success.
“In that conversation,” Dr. Larde commented, “we connected so well. It was very organic, and she really loves my angle with joy, and they said, ‘That’s not something we get. We don’t have any applicants who are talking about this,’ and it stood out for them.”
About being chosen for an episode in a series primarily featuring top-level CEOs, Dr. Larde says, “It’s so surreal. I still don’t fully believe it.”
According to Dr. Larde, the episode format is devoted to three phases of life.
“They did a whole segment of the interview asking about my childhood. The next segment of the interview was my young adulthood and maybe where some of the ideas came from that I’m doing now, and then my life as a CEO and what that looks like now,” she said.
Dr. Larde recalled that, growing up in California, she had a great childhood. As she grew up, she encountered some bumps in the road. In the episode, she’ll share about how she grew through adversity.
“Those different kinds of traumatic experiences that I talk about in the episode are what pivoted me to design the life that I have now, just with a lot of intention, trying to solve different problems, and realizing ‘oh, there’s a business idea for that.’ That’s probably the overarching theme,” Dr. Larde said. “The people who know me here in Atlanta have no clue of that journey. They just see the CEO, this person who’s leading joy retreats and owns these businesses and is a professor, but they have no idea that the journey involved me and my young son sleeping on the couches of God-sent strangers at times. There were some pretty rough times, which is exactly why I do the work that I do today.”
Dr. Larde will also share how her personal faith and biblical principles have played an integral role in shaping her as a leader, in her classes, through her coaching and in books she’s authored.
Details about Next Level CEO can be found online here.
