Learnings from Leaders: the P&G Alumni Podcast

“ 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 Fort...

“ ​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 E...

“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...

“ ​ 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...

“ 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...

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...

“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 Insigh...

“ 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 Mana...

“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 con...

“ 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...

“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 in...

“ 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 me...

“ 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 rev...

“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 s...

“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...

“ 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, Brus...

“ 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, Srik...

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, Gor...

“ 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 contin...

"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 - bu...

“ 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...

“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 organi...

“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 ch...

“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...

“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...