My Story
“Every coach has a story. This is mine — and the foundation of the Body Built for Business system.”
This one began at a piano bench and evolved through boardrooms and barbell platforms. Strength in Every Key is the foundation of Bertges Executive Performance—the belief that the same discipline that builds the body also sustains leadership, longevity, and joy.
My Story
Strength in Every Key
I didn’t set out to become an executive performance coach.
I set out to master the piano.
At the Manhattan School of Music, I trained to perform at the highest level—under pressure, in public, with every mistake exposed. Mastery demanded more than talent. It demanded discipline, presence, and years of deliberate work aimed at a moment that would last only minutes.
That mindset never left me.
I carried it into business—earning my MBA at Columbia, leading global teams, and serving in executive roles across Fortune 500s and venture-backed startups. I was responsible for hundreds of millions in revenue, navigating the stress and scrutiny of high-stakes leadership.
I understand boardrooms. I understand burnout. And I understand the personal toll of always being “on.”
But it wasn’t until I stepped away from the executive track that I realized what I’d been training for all along.
A Body of Work
Over decades, I’ve pursued strength—not just intellectually or professionally, but physically.
I competed in twelve Ironman Triathlons. Now, when many peers have chosen a sedate lifestyle, I compete as a national-level Masters powerlifter.
I didn’t chase medals. I chased energy, clarity, and the ability to thrive under pressure.
What I discovered is this: a strong body isn’t separate from a strong leader. It’s the foundation of one.
Leadership lives in the nervous system, the blood, the breath.
A bad back can’t make a good decision.
A depleted executive can’t inspire a team, or enjoy the full life earned.
The same habits that build the body restore the resilience, presence, and clarity that leadership, and optimistic, life-without-boundaries requires.
Coaching with Weight Behind It
As a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist since 2004, I’ve trained executives, athletes, and individuals rebuilding from injury or exhaustion.
My coaching is rigorous, personalized, and measurable—aligned with the same standards I held when I led companies. But there is pleasure of accomplishment, of progress, and growing self-awareness.
Each engagement rebuilds the physiology of leadership—strength, recovery, and composure—so my clients can perform at their highest level, in every arena of life.
Executive. Athlete. Coach.
I earned an MBA from Columbia University and spent 25 years in Silicon Valley as a senior executive and CEO. There were victories, setbacks, and lessons—each shaping how I now coach performance and resilience.
The Ironman Triathlon caught my imagination in 1992. I finished ten of them while balancing training, family, and corporate life. That discipline carried into powerlifting, where I’ve medaled in both national and international championships in my seventies.
People are often surprised to see someone my age moving heavy weights.
It reminds them—and me—that you can get stronger at any age.
(And yes, the purple Chuck Taylors still get comments.)
