“Make every decision in your career on the basis of values and principles, and you will be successful.” Fernando Aguirre is the former CEO of Chiquita Brands International, and currently a Professional Baseball Owner - as CEO of the Erie SeaWolves (AA affiliate for the Detroit Tigers), and Vice-chair of Myrtle Beach Pelicans (Advanced A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs). Fernando also owned a minority position in the Cincinnati Reds for 14 years before divesting in 2019. Fernando got his start at P...
Oct 13, 2024•45 min•Season 5Ep. 228
"Recruit the right people with the right principles." Jorge Montoya was President of P&G Latin America from 1999-2004. Having spent 30 years rising through the ranks of P&G - his expertise extends across all international business. Jorge currently serves on the boards of Gap, Inc and Kroger - and was named among the 50 most important Hispanics in Business & Technology. His foundation with his wife supports underserved children’s education in Peru and Venezuela. Jorge shares his story...
Oct 06, 2024•50 min•Season 5Ep. 227
“Distraction is not a technology problem or a moral failing. The vast majority of distraction is simply that you have not learned the skill of dealing with discomfort. Master internal triggers, or they will become your master.” Nir Eyal is a best-selling author and instructor working at the intersection of psychology, technology, and business. In a research-driven conversation about his latest book “INDISTRACTABLE - How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life,” we learn about what really ...
Sep 22, 2024•43 min•Season 5Ep. 226
“He bears witness - in a very disarming way - what's really going on in this country.” “It’s often expressed without a single word, vivid enough that It hits a bit differently — It's not sugar coated — this is what they're up against.” BURMA CHRONICLES is the 2007 graphic travelog by French-Canadian cartoonist Guy Delisle — which presents a personal and distinctively humorous glimpse into a political hotspot on the other side of the world, where the Delisle balances his ex-pat home-husbandry, th...
Sep 15, 2024•59 min•Season 5Ep. 225
“It's not all a straight line up — there are ups and downs. Success is defined just as much in the times where you struggle and you pick yourself up and you continue going.” Samantha Avivi is the CMO at Bayer Consumer Health, North America. She has over 30 years of experience in 40+ countries, working with some of the world’s largest brands and companies - from Y&R, BBDO, P&G, Kimberly Clark, ADT, Tenneco, and Advance Auto Parts. Sam grew up in Florida and before moving to NYC to rise th...
Sep 08, 2024•41 min•Season 5Ep. 224
“ These obelisks are the world's first globally distributed product. Layers and layers of history - these obelisks moved around and stand in modern societies — that's a story to tell.” Mark Ciccone is a P&G Alum and author of the new book “OBELISK ODYSSEY: 26 Ancient Monoliths, 4 Continents, and 1 Monumental Search for Meaning.” With a presence on four continents, the 26 surviving granite monuments are history's most mysterious objects. and meaningful man made objects, each with its own voic...
Sep 01, 2024•48 min•Season 5Ep. 223
“There is no bigger weight than the weight of trust. One of my leadership mantras became: You never need to earn my trust. You can only lose it.” Ravi Chaturvedi is an experienced leader with a proven track record of success across seven countries, both developed and developing. Ravi became P&G’s first ever Asian President and member of the Global Leadership Council, after a 2 decade long career with the company. Ravi was also Group Chief Executive of Jet Airways for a short tenure.Ravi has ...
Aug 18, 2024•1 hr•Season 5Ep. 221
“What does balance look like? It doesn't mean 50/50 all the time or 100% and zero. Balance is something that happens over time, it's a flow. It's not just an everyday balance - it's more like an ongoing balance.” Mary Carmen Gasco-Buisson is Pandora Jewelery’s CMO & SVP of Global Business Units, and a member of the company’s Executive Leadership Team. Mary Carmen’s 25+ years of experience across multiple industries - and cultures - have given her a unique perspective on navigating the elusiv...
Aug 11, 2024•32 min•Season 5Ep. 220
“ Money and time are eerily linked. There's free time, leisure time, time off, flex time, and down time. When we manage ourselves well, we have more freedom and better lives.” 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 “Mind on your Money, Time and Freedom” is a continuation of last week’s post on time/mind management. For us, we need to remember that money and time are often linked. We spend time, sa...
Aug 04, 2024•22 min•Season 5Ep. 220
"We have more free time than ever — but why does it feel like we are so busy? We have more freedom and decision making options than ever — so we've got to add new programming to our lives." 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 “Time Management is Mind Management” covers To-Don't Lists, Asynchronicity, Meeting Strategically and People Power. While countless books, blogs, podcasts, and software so...
Jul 28, 2024•23 min•Season 5Ep. 219
"In your 20s learn how businesses work, how humans work. In your 30s implement your knowledge and make money. And in your 40s start giving back to younger people and society.” Shaun Rein is the Founder and Managing Director of the China Market Research Group (CMR), the world's leading strategic market intelligence firm focused on China. Shaun is internationally popular economics speaker who works with boards, billionaires, heads of states, CEOs and senior executives of Fortune 500 & leading ...
Jul 21, 2024•58 min•Season 5Ep. 218
”Being a writer is just bloody hard work and passion. It is a kind of madness, which compels you every day to go to say, ‘OK, let's do it again today’ “ Manreet Sodhi Someshwar is the author of nine novels - including the Long Walk Home, Radiance of a Thousand Suns, and most recently the Partition Trilogy - a historical fiction novel series about one of the great human tragedies of the 20th century. Manreet’s articles and essays have appeared in the NY Times, the International Herald Tribune, an...
Jul 14, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Season 5Ep. 217
“Delegation is making sure you’ve framed the work to expand the impact of you and your team, in a way that has healthy boundaries and the individual can build their skills.” Dawn Garibaldi Is an executive coach who partners with leaders to amplify their impact by mastering complexity, extending their influence, building unstoppable teams and breaking through barriers. Her clients create distinctive, enduring and outstanding transformations in business and organizational performance. Prior to bec...
Jul 07, 2024•52 min•Season 5Ep. 216
"Be bolder sooner - it's not just about my career, it’s about life in general.” Alex Keith leads Procter & Gamble’s global Beauty business: the world’s 4th largest beauty company, with a $15 billion portfolio with six billion dollar brands. Alex is the only female CEO of a top 5 beauty company. Since taking leadership of P&G’s Beauty portfolio in 2017, Alex has driven the sector’s turnaround. As Executive Sponsor for Corporate Sustainability, Alex works alongside P&G’s Chief Sustaina...
Jun 30, 2024•26 min•Season 5Ep. 215
"Ignore arrogance and make convenience meet relevance. Consider these elements to know what is convenient and relevant for the customer.” Bernd Pichler is Aston Martin’s Managing Director, Greater China. Bernd was previously Managing Director for Bentley Motors in the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Macau, where he oversaw all local operations and sales in the company’s second-largest region. Having lived and worked in Asia since 2005, Bernd has more than two decades of leadership experience and...
Jun 23, 2024•52 min•Season 5Ep. 211
"This type of work gives us agency — things become a choice versus us becoming victims of life led on autopilot.” Roula Clerc-Nassar is an seasoned leader and coach - as well as an expert on human understanding and insightful research. Roula’s focus is growing people and building high performing teams, as well as applying neuroscience to coaching to help create transformation and lasting change. Before founding Ellumine Consulting & Coaching, Roula spent 24 years in 2 leading Multinational c...
Jun 09, 2024•45 min•Season 5Ep. 213
" I knew the why about my job, the why about lots of things in life. I hadn't really given thought to what I would call the deep questions of life. I started thinking about helping others in a fresh way.” Denis Beausejour is an Author, Executive, Pastor, Papa (and Grandpapa) based in Cincinnati, OH. Denis recently published his first book, “The Biggest Idea Ever.” Denis started his career at P&G, where over the course of 22 years served in a variety of marketing and advertising rules, includ...
Jun 02, 2024•50 min•Season 5Ep. 212
" We are a social species designed to work together — and this happens through so much more than words. It's in hundreds of unconscious things we do and notice when we're together.” Bob Gilbreath is longtime friend of the Pod, and fellow P&G Alum - who's also a repeat startup founder with two exits in the marketing technology and agency world. Bob now serves as Co-Founder and CEO of Hearty, a people-tech company, as well as a few other interesting ventures. While at P&G, Bob worked on br...
May 26, 2024•16 min•Season 5Ep. 211
"A lot of these values and principles are very universal — it applies in China, but it applies anywhere.” Trevor Lai is an award-winning entrepreneur, author and illustrator who published his first children's book at the age of seventeen. He is also the founder and CEO of Up Studios, a China-based production company — featured as one of the "Top 25 Animation Studios" in the world to watch by Animation Magazine. Up Studios - the creative force behind much loved Chinese shows like Piggy, Tomo and ...
May 20, 2024•46 min•Season 5Ep. 210
"It truly is a matter of exploring, discovery, knowing your boundaries - to gradually get there. The key is to keep your eye on the North Star - what is it that makes you come alive?” Bernice Ang is an Executive Coach who helps senior leaders design a purpose-centered personal brand, enabling them to integrate their work and personal lives so they can thrive, not just survive. Bernice started her career in Brand Management in P&G Asia Pacific. From there, she took on several Global Marketing...
May 12, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Season 5Ep. 209
"How do you express what you want in a way that activates you, is unignorable, and automatically aligns your beliefs, your values, and how you show up in the world?” Bonnie Wan knows what it feels like to struggle with burnout and uncertainty about where to go next. As a celebrated advertising strategist she spent years helping brands like Pepsi and BMW get clarity on their values and purpose, but she one day found herself mired and directionless in her own life–a “recovering perfectionist” with...
May 04, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Season 5Ep. 208
“It often pays to believe in people more than they believe in themselves. Give them a bit more than they think they can handle. And everyone is going to be rewarded.” Stefan Homeister is the host of Leitwolf, a business podcast exploring the key to leadership performance sustainably and improving business results - where he’s had conversations with P&G Alums like David Taylor, Paul Polman, and many leaders beyond the Alumni universe. Stefan’s also the Founder of Stefan Homeister Leadership, ...
Mar 31, 2024•1 hr 13 min•Season 5Ep. 207
“There's no question — if you want to keep a brand viable, you have to continue innovating. If you don't, it's not going to last.” Gordon Brunner, is P&G’s former Chief Technology Officer - leading the company’s technical community, and even serving on the Board of Directors. Gordon’s a returning P&G Alumni Podcast guest also the co-author of SUPERIOR PRODUCTS, a new book sharing a first-ever look at the technical innovations behind some of world’s leading consumer brands — as well as th...
Mar 24, 2024•48 min•Season 5Ep. 206
"I had an authentic connection to the problem - a perspective on cultural connection. So it wasn't powering through rejection, it was neglecting it - because I just knew something they didn't.“ Tristan Walker is the Founder of Walker & Company Brands, where he was also the CEO when it was acquired by Procter & Gamble in 2018. Walker & Co. is best known for best-selling brands like Bevel & Form - Healthy and Beauty designed for communities of color. Prior to Founding Walker & ...
Feb 24, 2024•36 min•Season 5Ep. 205
“I was speaking up to respected people in the industry and telling them they were wrong. But we were getting the story right.” Geraldine Moriba’s a 5-time Emmy Award winning journalist, filmmaker, and advocate — the host and executive producer of “Sounds Like Hate,” a podcast by the Southern Poverty Law Center - documenting how American extremists become radicalized and how some of them change. Geraldine’s also SVP of of news and entertainment at The Grio - a black-owned media platform owned by ...
Feb 18, 2024•45 min•Season 5Ep. 164
“Making improvements is challenging. But we can't give up and we've got to learn how to do it better.” “Speak, engage, help, be helped. Be part of society. Be an optimist towards the fact that people can change, that people can learn.” John Pepper, P&G’s former CEO, and Ursula Burns, Xerox’s former CEO, sit down for a candid conversation on race, understanding and our discourse with each other. This is a conversation the two longtime friends have been having for years - alongside many of us....
Feb 11, 2024•57 min•Season 5Ep. 203
“Really great leaders oftentimes will surround themselves with people who have contrary opinions who have differing sorts of thoughts.” Dr. Barbara Oakley is a Professor of Engineering at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan and her work focuses on the complex relationship between neuroscience and social behavior. Barbara was a captain in the U.S. Army, a Russian translator on Soviet trawlers, a radio operator in the South Pole, and the author of 8 books. She is also the creator and instruc...
Feb 04, 2024•1 hr 19 min•Season 5Ep. 202
“Enjoy the journey, take stock in how you're learning, how you're building your experience, your brand. It's that openness and that patience that actually creates the opportunities for exponential success.” Andrew Swinand is the CEO of the Creative Group across all Publicis agencies, as well as the CEO of Leo Burnett As CEO, Andrew leads the agency by emphasizing the power of transparency in regards to data, and balances that with the creativity needed to drive businesses forward for clients. He...
Jan 28, 2024•47 min•Season 5Ep. 171
“The thing that terrifies you the most is where all the gold is — and my experience is when you bust through, there's really incredible things on the other side.” Katherine Vellinga is the Co-founder and CEO of Zirkova, an award-winning ultra-premium vodka brand. She is a Ukrainian Canadian who first pursued a career with P&G in Product Supply but after the fall of the Soviet Union, she left P&G and moved to a newly independent Ukraine. This is where Katherine developed her love for the ...
Jan 22, 2024•40 min•Season 5Ep. 204
“A mentor is someone who advises you and helps you become smarter about your world. A sponsor is someone who advocates for you when you're not in the room and enables you to be better.” Karen C. Francis serves as Chairman of the Board of Vontier, a global transportation / mobility technology company, as well as on the Board of Polestar Automotive and Senior Advisor to TPG Global. Karen made a name for herself as one of the youngest female leaders in the automotive industry, serving as General Ma...
Jan 15, 2024•51 min•Season 5Ep. 199
