“Chai is amazing — it should be right alongside a good cup of coffee, espresso, or cappuccino. This business helped me reconcile my American upbringing and my Indian heritage — that push and pull, that beautiful combination of everything.” Ayan Sanyal is co-founder of Kolkata Chai Company, a vibrant café and online brand redefining what masala chai means to America. Founded in 2018 by two brothers, Kolkata Chai Co has a simple mission: to bring the authenticity, respect and tradition behind a cu...
Jul 04, 2025•52 min•Season 6Ep. 258
“Every behavior we have is motivated by either fear or love — and productive fear we have to lean into to give energy and to exhibit love , and productive and healthy behaviors.” Teresa Tanner is the Founder and CEO of Reserve Squad, an innovative talent platform that helps companies re-engage former employees — especially women — through flexible, project-based work. A nationally recognized leader in gender equity and workforce transformation, Teresa spent nearly three decades in corporate Amer...
Jun 29, 2025•51 min•Season 6Ep. 257
“People are so hungry to really be understood and the challenge that's primary now, is a growing inability to understand each other.” What if doing less could actually lead to more impact? Greg McKeown, is a New York Times bestselling author and one of the world’s most influential voices on productivity, purpose, and leadership. Greg shares the story his book "Essentialism – The Disciplined Pursuit of Less", and powerful insights on how leaders can cut through the noise to focus on what truly ma...
Jun 16, 2025•2 hr•Season 10Ep. 256
“ We might need only 10% of the population to have a tipping point into a brighter future — to change lives for the better at scale by recognizing your potential to calm others. We're in this thing together. Life right now seems chaotic, but there's a method to the madness — welcome to the challenge of our generations. It sucks, it’s not fair, it’s been going on too long, and it feels like we’re sacrificing our children to some golem of change—with no relief in sight. We need something to believ...
Jun 01, 2025•20 min•Season 6Ep. 255
“Understand the cultural sensitivities to really engage people — It is so critical to create an inclusive atmosphere for better decision making and influencing.” Koji Kobayashi is Coca Cola’s Head of Human Insights for Japan and Korea. Koji San is a global marketing and insights leader who's worked across the U.S., Japan, and Southeast Asia, on categories ranging from affordable every day consumer products to luxury goods. Koji San got his start at P&G, where he spent 14 years as a CMK leade...
May 25, 2025•1 hr•Season 6Ep. 254
“ Chinese consumers today are quite different — a massive middle class of 500 million people. So big upside, but also bigger challenges.” Sarah Kochling is the Founder and Managing Principal of Shanghai Blossom Innovation, where she leads strategic growth initiatives for global brands and startups in China since 2014. With over 30 years of experience across Asia, This is a trusted advisor to Fortune 500 companies and early-stage ventures alike—guiding brand transformation, innovation strategy, a...
May 18, 2025•53 min•Season 6Ep. 253
“ The future is unwritten — the more I work with AI, the more I see opportunity for more human connection - a tool to get me out of the drudge-work - to sitting down and listening to people.” Marc Stoiber is a creative director and strategist who reinvents leading brands for a living — his work has been recognized by virtually every international industry award for advertising and design. While Executive Creative Director at Grey - a leading creative agency - Marc helped P&G brand team turn...
May 04, 2025•1 hr 10 min•Season 6Ep. 252
“You spend the first half of your life building up — and it's then a really interesting moment to let go of trying to prove things and figuring out what you're really capable of — just recognizing and reflecting.” Meredith Meyer is a people and talent leader — as CEO + Lead Consultant of Infinite Potential, LLC, where she provides strategy and talent consulting services. Meredith has also served as a fractional Chief Talent Officer at more than a dozen orgs - partnering with executives & HR ...
Apr 27, 2025•1 hr 18 min•Season 6Ep. 251
“ I had a manager who taught me the notion of servant-based leadership — to be someone who genuinely wants to help — not only solve a problem, but someone who wants you to grow.” Bob is the Media Innovation lead for Media Lab, the internal media team for Google marketing — responsible for ideating new media innovations, developing and scaling them across all of Google marketing. Prior to Google, Bob was an early veteran of digital marketing. He spent 3 years at Kellogg’s as Director of Digital...
Apr 20, 2025•53 min•Season 6Ep. 250
“ Very often we forget to ask, who do we really want to serve? We have to actually interact to change their perspective, to improve their lives.” Ayu Kartika Dewi is Managing Director for Indika Foundation, which focuses on peacekeeping efforts in Indonesia. She also serves as Special Staff to the President of Indonesia. Ayu’s career is the most fascinating mosaic of unique experiences. While she started at P&G Indonesia, working in Consumer Insights, she left after 5 years to dedicate herse...
Apr 13, 2025•1 hr 11 min•Season 6Ep. 249
What's the legacy you want to leave — what values are most important to you? We're all made differently, so it’s always important that people show up at work who they are.” Adam Antoniewicz is Nike China’s VP of Mens Marketing, leading groundbreaking campaigns that redefine consumer engagement. Previously, he served as Apple’s Head of Marketing Communications for Greater China, overseeing all customer-facing communications in Apple’s $44B market - spearheading iconic campaigns, launching the com...
Apr 06, 2025•57 min•Season 6Ep. 248
“What makes for a good entrepreneur? Grit, perseverance. if you feel passionate about a problem or want to create something you're passionate about — you need that grit and staying power. “ Rashmi is the Co-founder and COO of FlexiBees, a company that connects women returning from career breaks with flexible roles. Before FlexiBees, Rashmi spent 8 years at P&G Singapore in Consumer Insights, first in the feminine hygiene category and later in digital marketing, eCommerce, and Media strategy....
Mar 30, 2025•59 min•Season 6Ep. 247
“ There was trust - the mission was very clear. The problem isn't the idea. The problem is choosing. It starts with being purpose driven.” Eric Tholomé is a former Google product leader and tech CEO. At Google, Eric led product initiatives in Switzerland and the US - including the launch of Gmail themes and YouTube internationally in 10 countries. At Google Eric was the first ever Product Manager ever promoted to Director outside the US. Eric also spent one year as the CEO of European telecom co...
Mar 23, 2025•1 hr 5 min•Season 6Ep. 246
“Giving back connects me to a new generation of people . It's important that people are curious and ask bold questions. It's about not giving answers, but enabling people to find their own answers.” Falk Fuhrmann is an award-winning creative strategist with over 25 years of experience, in growing businesses of local, regional or global scale. Falk currently leads HuíLüè — a strategy consultancy he founded in Shanghai specializing in brand strategy, cultural insights, and business innovation. ...
Mar 16, 2025•46 min•Season 6Ep. 245
“ At the end, marketing is about connection. What makes it magical is the perfect convergence of creativity, the connection to human behavior, the unpredictability, and all the analytics.” Raul Murguia leads Integrated Marketing at LinkedIn Sales Solutions, driving brand narratives and campaigns that resonate with sales professionals. Previously, Raul led integrated marketing and later focused on product marketing at Meta for Messenger, orchestrating go-to-market strategies for Messenger and ear...
Mar 02, 2025•54 min•Season 6Ep. 244
“To create content — it's got to give you pleasure, it can't be a chore. Be honest with yourself. If you're putting goodness out into the world consistently, something's going to hit — trust that process.” Whether you've got a corporate job, a side hustle (like a podcast or three), or are even a full-time entrepreneur or entertainer, the idea of ‘content creation’ has become increasingly important. But what if the act of marketing content becomes more work than the actual act of making actually ...
Feb 23, 2025•49 min•Season 6Ep. 243
“ What we need is meaning, purpose, something to wake up in the morning and go do that matters. You're living life to the fullest when you're doing something you believe in that matters, that makes a difference.” Gerry Preece is a 22-year veteran of P&G leading agency strategic sourcing and marketing operations —building purchases/procurement organizations around the globe in areas such as media, advertising agencies, promotions, commercial production, digital marketing, and public affairs. ...
Feb 16, 2025•59 min•Season 6Ep. 242
“ You have to authentically and always be yourself because that's the most ownable strategy that you can own as a person.” Michael Seitz is the Co-Founder and CEO of Barebottle Brewing Company, an award-winning crowd-inspired craft brewery with four locations in San Francisco. Michael and his family moved to San Francisco in 2016 to open Barebottle, scaling from zero to over $10 million in revenue — and now San Francisco’s largest brewery. Michael spent 10 years at P&G in Cincinnati as a Bra...
Feb 09, 2025•57 min•Season 6Ep. 241
“Where in our lives do we feel something has changed fundamentally inside of us? Those are stories.” Matthew Dicks is a master storyteller and author of many books - including “STORYWORTHY: Engage, Teach, Persuade, and Change Your Life through the Power of Storytelling.” Matthew has earned the title of Master Storyteller— as a five-time Moth GrandSLAM champion. The Moth is New York City’s iconic storytelling platform (which also has a great podcast) — and Matthew has dominated it, winning 52 Sto...
Feb 02, 2025•40 min•Season 6Ep. 239
“Systems really matter — we can play with the media instead of it playing us. I don't want to be used by a system that gets in the way of real learning and insight — this is more of a survival issue than we think.” Brynne Thompson is an investor, advisor, and all-around brilliant - and thoughtful - person who helps startup founders and institutional investors figure out where the future is heading. Brynne is the founder of Respire Enterprises, and former partner of Coburn Ventures. Brynne suppor...
Jan 26, 2025•1 hr 5 min•Season 6Ep. 239
“ Focus on in being authentic by being the luck in other people's lives — it will pay back multiple times.” Bhavesh Shah is an advisor, investor, and managing partner, with 30+ years in senior leadership, operations and procurement positions at Procter & Gamble, and Firmenich, the world’s largest family-owned Fragrance and Flavour House — having lived and worked across London, Geneva, Brussels, Guangzhou and Singapore—with extensive business exposure to both North and South America Across tw...
Jan 19, 2025•52 min•Season 6Ep. 238
“ Instincts are not wrong — intellect can only capture so much of instinct. It has is a much bigger part of the funnel.” Srikant Nayak is Google’s Director of Marketing in APAC for the Play Store, Chrome, Chromebooks, and Google One. Srikant has spent 18+ years as a marketing leader working on billion dollar brands across industries in Asia, from Consumer Tech to QSR and CPG. Prior to Google, Srikant served as Yum! Brand Asia’s Chief Marketing Officer & Chief Strategy Officer. Srikant got hi...
Jan 12, 2025•54 min•Season 6Ep. 237
As 2024 comes to a close, we compiled the many learnings - from leaders - we heard this year. So sit back with your beverage of choice and enjoy! And give us the gift of a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts - https://apple.co/2L85TsT Featuring the voices - and learnings - from John Pepper, Ursula Burns, Isaac Saul, Karen Francis, Katherine Vellinga, Andrew Swinand, Barbara Oakley, Tristan Walker, Gordon Brunner, Stefan Homeister, Bonnie Wan, Bernice Ang, Trevor Lai, Denis Beausejour, Roula Clerc-Na...
Dec 28, 2024•25 min•Season 5Ep. 236
“ The crowd will pay attention to whatever you give power to — it comes back to brand equity. Stand-up is a window and it's a mirror. Whatever you choose to talk about in stand-up and in art, it is truly yours.” Rajiv Satyal is a Los Angeles-based comedian and host known for his clean, versatile humor. Originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, he is the only comedian to perform standup on all seven continents and co-created Make Chai Not War, a Hindu-Muslim comedy tour sponsored by the U.S. State Depart...
Dec 22, 2024•53 min•Season 5Ep. 235
"The bigger the roles that I got, the more I ended up drawing on what I had learned in improv and standup. Why was no one talking about how valuable humor is as a skill? So I realized maybe I should.” Drew Tarvin is the world’s first and only Humor Engineer (not just this podcast’s co-host). On a How To Live podcast conversation with co-host Sharad Lal, Drew shares not just his career journey - but practical skills on how humour can amplify leadership and why it’s more than just a tool for enter...
Dec 15, 2024•38 min•Season 5Ep. 234
“ Celebrating success is essential. As is celebrating our existence together. A company culture is what employees do when no one is watching.“ Bob Gilbreath is longtime friend of the Pod, and fellow P&G Alum - who's also a repeat startup founder with two exits. His latest post shares how one of his business teams taught him to take pride in the little things. Whether it’s a struggling company or a city with challenges, investing to spruce things up is not necessarily painting over problems. ...
Dec 08, 2024•16 min•Season 5Ep. 227
“Focus on people's strengths and give people confidence by pushing them outside of their comfort zone. Let them know you will support them, that they will make mistakes, but that's the way you learn and grow.” Ute Hagen is currently Vice Chair of the P&G Alumni Network, and a leader with 30 years of industry experience, now also leading her own consultancy ‘Your Success Counts,’ helping organizations sharpen their marketing, strategy, and leadership approaches. Ute is also a certified Power ...
Nov 22, 2024•44 min•Season 5Ep. 232
“Leadership is about doing the right thing - beyond politics - for the purpose and values of the country.” Once again, this election may be the most important of our lifetime, so we hope you’ve made your plan to VOTE. Bob McDonald - former P&G CEO and US Secretary of Veterans Affairs - returns to our podcast to share his unique perspective on service, leadership, people, and values and the choice we are making at this moment in our history. Beyond being a P&G Alum and an army veteran, Bo...
Oct 30, 2024•48 min•Season 5Ep. 231
“We shouldn't follow leaders, mentors, and gurus, but we should listen for their words that affect us. See if they spark insight or truth for you. Keep what works, leave the rest behind. “ Bob Gilbreath is longtime friend of the Pod, and fellow P&G Alum - who's also a repeat startup founder with two exits. His latest post “Don't Follow Mentors, Seek Signposts” shares a personal anecdotes that is applicable to us all. There are countless people, living and dead, who have shared a scrap of use...
Oct 27, 2024•21 min•Season 5Ep. 230
“If you're getting stuck in your career, it's important to see if you are overly weighted towards mentors and need to bring a few more sponsors into your inner circle.” Jessica Gleeson is the CEO of BrighterBeauty and founder of Experiential Retail. Jessica is an experienced international executive with a passion for helping purpose driven brands scale with integrity. She is a 20-year veteran of Starbucks, where she held a variety of leadership roles as the company grew from 50 stores in the US ...
Oct 20, 2024•47 min•Season 5Ep. 229
