Leader Generation

Leading a team through change takes more than a new strategy or technology. People need to understand where they fit, what’s expected of them and how to move forward when the answers aren’t clear. In this episode of Leader Generation, Tessa Burg talks with Krista Pavlakos, Vice President of Marketing and Communications at Renesas, about lessons from a career shaped by acquisitions and major techno...

Your team is using AI. But is it making a meaningful difference to your business? In this episode of Leader Generation, host Tessa Burg welcomes back John Arnold, Head of Product Marketing and Strategic Advisory at Creatio, to explore what separates companies experimenting with AI from those putting it to work across their organizations. Drawing on research involving more than 600 business and IT...

Getting someone to scroll past your ad isn’t the same as getting their attention. So what makes people stop and care? Ben Moore, US Managing Director at BeReal, joins Tessa Burg on Leader Generation to explore how brands can build meaningful connections with Gen Z. Drawing on his experience at BeReal and TikTok, Ben explains why the moments people choose to show up for can matter more than the tim...

How do you know if your media spending is bringing customers through the door? And how can you use that information while a campaign is still running? Alia Lamborghini, SVP of Global Revenue at Yahoo DSP, joins Tessa Burg to discuss how marketers can connect advertising to the business results that matter. Alia explains how customer data and real-time insights can help teams reach the right audien...

A great idea can open the door. Turning it into a business that can grow takes something more: the right systems, partnerships and willingness to learn along the way. In this episode, Tessa Burg talks with Miller McCoy, founder and CEO of Limitless MFG, about how he transformed a small clothing brand into an end-to-end merchandise business serving major artists and brands. Miller shares how saying...

AI can make existing work faster, but its greatest value may come from helping organizations rethink the work altogether. In this episode of Leader Generation, Tessa Burg talks with Chris Colangelo, AI leader for Verizon Business Group, about how leaders can move beyond incremental improvements and use AI to solve bigger customer and employee challenges. Chris shares practical lessons from leading...

Ever wonder why some brands feel confident showing up in new digital spaces while others seem to hold back? In this episode of Leader Generation, Tessa Burg talks with Stephanie Posner from DoubleVerify about something a lot of people worry about when it comes to AI: trust.  Stephanie’s career path has taken her from diplomatic work in the Middle East to Netflix to TikTok and now to DoubleVerify,...

AI can analyze enormous amounts of information, but more data does not always lead to better decisions.  In this episode of Leader Generation, Tessa Burg talks with Dean Smith, CTO at Credit Benchmark, about why accurate, trusted data matters more than ever and how poor-quality information can quickly lead AI further from the truth. Dean shares a practical way for businesses to make progress witho...

Every marketer and business leader is talking about AI right now, but many companies are stuck. They’ve run the pilots, tried the tools and still can’t turn any of it into real results.  In this episode, Tessa Burg talks with Dhiraj Rajaram, Founder and CEO of Mu Sigma, about why that gap between AI hype and AI impact exists. And what it actually takes to close it. Dhiraj breaks down some big idea...

AI is moving fast, but most teams are still figuring out how to use it responsibly. In this episode, Tessa Burg talks with advertising attorney Candice Kersh about the legal and practical questions marketing leaders are facing right now. They cover what companies should worry about, where risk tends to show up and why policies, training and better decisions matter more than ever.  This is the conv...

Today on Leader Generation, Tessa Burg welcomes back Linda Owens, Global Vice President of Digital Customer Experience at Sherwin-Williams. Six years after becoming the podcast's very first guest, Linda returns to discuss how B2B leaders can navigate rapid changes in technology, AI and buyer behavior while staying focused on what matters most: the customer. Linda shares practical advice for separa...

Coming up with AI ideas isn’t the struggle for most teams. The real challenge is to make those ideas stick. In this episode, Shashank Kadetotad, Global Senior Director of Enterprise Data Science and AI at Mars, breaks down what helps companies move from interesting pilots to real business impact. He explains why adoption matters just as much as the technology itself, how culture and leadership sha...

Why do so many promising pilots fail to scale? In this episode of Leader Generation, Tessa Burg talks with digital transformation leader Kenneth Phua to explore what separates successful pilots from initiatives that never move beyond the testing phase. Drawing on his experience leading digital strategy and transformation programs for global brands, Kenneth shares the common mistakes organizations...

In this episode, Tessa Burg talks with Stephen Trammell, Vice President of New Business Models at Nestlé Purina North America, about what it really takes to build stronger customer relationships in a digital world.  Instead of focusing on the point of sale, Stephen explains how brands can create value across the full pet ownership journey by understanding real needs, solving real pain points and s...

In this episode of Leader Generation, Tessa Burg talks with Tariq Hassan about what it really takes to modernize a business for the AI era. Drawing from leadership roles at agencies, Hewlett-Packard (HP), Petco and McDonald’s, Tariq shares lessons from leading transformation at some of the world’s biggest brands. They explore why success with AI is not chasing the newest tools. Instead, it starts...

In this episode, Tessa Burg talks with Fabio Ranieri, Head of AI Content Transformation at HP, about what it really takes to create content at scale without losing relevance. Fabio explains why better content doesn’t come from simply making more of it. But rather it comes from better inputs, better audience understanding, and better systems that help marketers create content that fits the product,...

What if the biggest problem in digital advertising isn’t creativity or budget—but waste? In this episode of Leader Generation, Tessa Burg talks with Zach Rosen of Multilocal to unpack the growing shift happening in programmatic media and why brands are rethinking how they buy and optimize advertising. Zach explains how AI-powered curation and sell-side decisioning are helping marketers reduce wast...

AI is changing everything, but not in the way most leaders think. In this episode, Rishad Tobaccowala breaks down how we got here, from the early days of broadcast marketing to today’s fast-moving, AI-powered world. He explains why the current moment is different, what’s actually changing and what still matters more than ever. If you’ve been hearing about AI strategy and wondering where to start,...

Technology doesn’t have to be scary or steal jobs. In this episode of Leader Generation, Katya Lobynko shares a fresh perspective on digital transformation—one that puts people at the center. From her “people-priorities-process" approach to getting user feedback in hours instead of months, Katya breaks down practical frameworks for leading change that actually work.    If you’re tired of hearing a...

Tessa Burg talks for a second time with Mariano Bosaz, Global VP of Consumer Data and Strategy at Coca-Cola and the author of “Digital Mindset.” This time, they dive deeper into practical applications of digital thinking, moving beyond theory to give you actionable strategies you can implement right away. Mariano shares real-world examples of how the shift from analog to digital thinking transform...

AI is moving fast, and for a lot of leaders that creates both pressure and possibility. In this episode of Leader Generation, Tessa Burg talks with Rohit Prabhakar, Global Head of Digital Experiences and Capabilities at Visa, about what it really takes to lead transformation when the rules keep changing. They dig into why strong foundations still matter, why connected data is more important than e...

During National Women’s History Month, Leader Generation welcomes Nicole Purcell for a conversation about creative leadership. While so many conversations right now are focused on AI, this episode shifts the spotlight to something just as powerful: hospitality, intuition and the kind of human-centered thinking that makes teams thrive and people feel seen. Nicole shares how her career journey shape...

Ever feel overwhelmed by all the data and metrics coming your way? You're not alone. In this episode of Leader Generation, Tessa Burg talks with Scott Sutton about one of marketing's biggest challenges: figuring out what's actually worth measuring. Scott shares real-world insights from his experience managing media for major restaurant brands like Hardee's and Carl's Jr. You'll discover why measur...

AI isn’t just changing marketing tools—it’s changing how leaders think about strategy, value and growth. In this episode, Tessa Burg talks with Mariano Bosaz, author of Digital Mindset: Marketing Strategies for the AI Era, about what it really takes to lead through transformation without losing what already works.  You’ll hear a practical way to think about “digital mindset” as a bridge, not a rep...

Marketing used to feel more predictable. You picked your channels, launched a campaign and tracked performance in a fairly linear way. Today? Consumers are bouncing between social, search, streaming, AI tools, connected devices and more—all before making a decision. In this episode, Matt Fanelli joins Tessa Burg to unpack what’s actually broken in marketing measurement and how leaders can rethink...