Founder and CEO, Croix Connect | Vistage Master Chair | The CEO Whisperer
Business Connection Alliance Member
Brian Roberts is Founder and CEO of Croix Connect, a trusted advisory practice that coaches the leaders of small and mid-sized businesses across the Washington, DC region and beyond. His Executive Whisperer program works privately with CEOs of companies in the $2M to $100M revenue range, pairing consulting, coaching, and connection into a single relationship built on radical honesty and practical outcomes.
Brian serves as a Master Chair for Vistage Worldwide, the largest CEO membership organization in the world. He leads three Vistage peer advisory groups of senior executives who meet monthly to sharpen decision making, pressure test strategy, and build stronger companies. Across his Croix Connect practice and Vistage groups, Brian’s work touches hundreds of executives and thousands of employees every year.
Brian’s career spans four decades and three distinct chapters. He spent fifteen years as a data communications systems officer in the United States Air Force, with assignments at the White House Communications Agency and the Pentagon, including service during the first two Reagan and Gorbachev summits. He transitioned into commercial telecommunications at MFS Communications in the early 1990s, where he and his team installed and maintained MAE East, the world’s first multi-ISP interconnection point and one of the foundational pieces of the commercial internet.
He went on to senior leadership roles at USWeb Consulting, Network Access Solutions, and Zenetex Consulting before launching Croix Connect in 2001. A setback during the 2008 financial crisis became the pivot point for his current work. When Vistage invited him to chair a CEO peer group in 2010, Brian redirected Croix Connect into the advisory and coaching practice it is today, and developed the Executive Whisperer methodology as the signature of that work.
For nearly three years, Brian hosted Taking Care of Business with Brian Roberts, the top rated weekly business radio show in Washington, DC, with guests including Carly Fiorina and Sandy Weill. He writes and speaks through Classic Rock Leadership, a platform that blends music, storytelling, and business lessons, and he is a frequent keynote speaker on leadership, entrepreneurship, and resilience.
Brian describes his role as the angel on the shoulder of the CEO. Whispering advice, vetting ideas, and helping leaders build the courage to act. The work is equal parts consulting, coaching, and connecting, and it treats the CEO as a whole person, not just an operator.
Hosted Washington, DC's top rated weekly business radio show for nearly three years, with guests including Carly Fiorina and Sandy Weill
Blog and speaking platform that pairs classic rock themes with leadership and business lessons at classicrockleadership.com
Listed speaker on leadership, entrepreneurship, culture, and resilience, drawing on military, telecom, and CEO peer group experience
Interviewed on how setbacks shape stronger leaders, covering his path from the Air Force through tech to coaching
Long form profile on the Executive Whisperer methodology and the arc of Croix Connect
Leads three Vistage peer advisory groups of 12 to 15 senior executives in the Washington, DC region
Executive Whisperer advisory and coaching for CEOs of $2M to $100M companies, plus team building and government solutions
Operational leadership of a professional services firm serving federal and commercial clients
Led engineering and operations for a publicly traded broadband services provider
Regional leadership of a pioneering internet professional services firm during the first internet build out
15 years of service, including the White House Communications Agency during the first two Reagan and Gorbachev summits, and the Pentagon
Senior rank within Vistage Worldwide, the world's largest CEO organization
Bootstrapped and led a company onto the Inc. 500 list of fastest growing private companies
Served during the first two Reagan and Gorbachev summits
Installed and maintained the world's first multi-ISP interconnection point at MFS Communications
Taking Care of Business with Brian Roberts, Washington, DC