WORKING MEDIA with Rafael Bracero

The ultimate challenge for modern CPG startups isn’t just creating a great product—it’s navigating growth, retail distribution, and fundraising simultaneously. In Episode #14, Rafael Bracero brings together the brilliant minds behind the upcoming CPG Convergence Conference (taking place June 25, 2026, in Los Angeles). Subriana Pierce (Navigator Lighthouse Foundation) and Chirag Sagar (Mission Matt...

#12 - At the Nexus of Economics & Media Advertising - Brian Weiser - Founder, Madison & Wall OUR GUEST: Brian Weiser - Founder, Madison & Wall; xCMO at Simulmedia; xGroupeM; xDeutche Bank. OUR CONVO: BRIAN WEISER, often called “Madison Avenue’s De Facto Chief Economist” and a highly respected figure in the media and advertising industry. We discussed (taped in June 2023) Upfronts, Newf...

OUR GUEST: Marissa Gomes - Senior Director of Marketing, Kiva Brands; xMattel; xDelMonte OUR CONVO: In honor of Women's History Month, Marissa joins us in the podcast to tell the story of her career journey as a female marketing leader in CPG and drops some great nuggets of wisdom for up-and-coming female marketers. GUEST CONTACT INFO: Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/marissa-gomes-91a842 Guest Book...

#10: The Hero's Journey - Ida Abdalkhani - CEO & Chief Catalyzer, Ability to Engage;  Board Member, Women Presidents' Organization; Speaker, TEDx;  Global Brand Manager, Secret, P&G OUR GUEST: Ida Abdalkhani - CEO, Ability to Engage;  Board Member, Women Presidents' Organization; Speaker, TEDx;  Global Brand Manager, Secret, P&G; Podcaster & Educator OUR CONVO:...

Editor's Note: After a year-long family-related sabbatical, the WORKING MEDIA podcast is back and stronger than ever. We are kicking it off with an interview we conducted last Fall with the multi-talented Nikki Mamuric. There are a lot of exciting upgrades to share about the new & improved podcast which we will be sharing in upcoming episodes so stay tuned! 09: Brand Innovation - Nikki Mamuric...

OUR GUEST: Kris Holmes Author of "Ignite Your Career!: Strategies and Tactics to Unleash Your Potential" Principal & Executive Recruiter, O'Connell Group, LLC OUR CONVO: Kris returns to the podcast by popular demand to offer a deep-dive conversation into career best practices for mid-career marketing professionals drawn from her best selling book "Ignite Your Career!: Strategies and Tactics to...

OUR GUESTS: Dan Terek, Dir. of CTV/OTT Strategy, MNTN Mouton Hennessee, Account Exec / Partnerships, MNTN OUR CONVO: Performant CTV & recent rebranding of Steelhouse to MNTN CONTACT INFO: DAN TEREK Dan@mountain.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-terek https://nrfconverge.nrf.com/    Webinar: "The Top3 Connected TV KPIs & Benchmarks Every Retailer Needs to Know" by Dan Terek...

OUR GUEST: Austin Strauss, Director of Programmatic, iNvolved Media OUR CONVO: Programmatic Advertising - Present & Future Trends GUEST CONTACT INFO: linkedin.com/in/austin-strauss-b329bb168 austin.strauss92@gmail.com

OUR GUEST: Aparna Mukherjee, JSK Stanford Community Impact Fellow; Civic Technologist aka Hypewoman for Local + Democratic Voice; Priors: @NYTimes   @Bloomberg @WSJ @McKinsey   OUR CONVO: Clubhouse, Cause Marketing & Micro-Influencers GUEST CONTACT INFO: @aparnamuk (Twitter; IG) https://jsk.stanford.edu/fellows/class-of-2021/aparna-mukherjee/ MORE INFO: https://haas.stanford.edu/news...

OUR GUEST: Mike Burkenbine, CEO of Becket Film Fund OUR CONVO: We discuss Mike's impressive CPG & entertainment market research career (Nielsen, Kellogg, Dole, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Activision) culminating in his current venture as CEO of the Becket Film Fund which focuses on independent feature film development with a equity prism by leveraging minority and under-represented talent in...

OUR GUEST: Kris Holmes (Principal & Executive Recruiter, O'Connell Group, LLC) OUR CONVO: We discuss marketing career best practices from veteran marketing recruiter Kris Holmes and her best selling book "Ignite Your Career!: Strategies and Tactics to Unleash Your Potential". GUEST CONTACT INFO: Linkedin linkedin.com/in/kris-holmes-966548 Website oconnellgroup.com  (Company Website) Email...

OUR GUEST: Varun Ganapathy, Director Of Strategic Partnerships - Conversational AI at DMI (Digital Management, LLC) OUR CONVO:  Varun works at the intersection of AI and customer experience and we discuss the changing landscape of CX (and its key role in managing brands) and how AI is enabling new ways to better serve CPG, service sector, and even public sector clients & cover several rel...

OUR GUEST:  Rodney Gurdal (Mattel Licensing) OUR CONVO: Rodney Gurdal is our guest. Rodney is a Marketing MBA turned Data Scientist, with knowledge of a wide range of analytical tools and techniques, backed by over 20 years of real-world business application across several industries. Experience includes Mattel, Honda, and Viacom. He also currently serves as principal consultant at Forty Two...