LEAD WITH WE, with host Simon Mainwaring, is the podcast that reveals how brands survive in a crisis, thrive in a fast-changing market, and accelerate growth in a challenging future.
Discover how the world’s top companies and entrepreneurs are driving growth and impact that employees and customers now demand. What worked, what didn’t and what you need to do to get everyone to build your business.
Whether you’re a start-up, high growth company or large corporation, you’ll learn how to build your reputation, increase employee productivity, and inspire customers to promote your brand. Engaging, entertaining and actionable, this is your chance to listen in and learn a lot about how business does well and does good.
SIMON MAINWARING
Simon Mainwaring is a brand futurist, global keynote speaker, and bestselling author. He is best known as the author of We First: How Brands and Consumers Use Social Media to Build a Better World and the Founder and CEO of We First, a strategic consultancy that works with brands to define their business strategy, company culture, and brand communications.
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Season 3
Bryce Fluellen, Executive Director, Social Equity Franchise Everytable: Change Is Bigger Than You
Bryce Fluellen is the Executive Director of Social Equity Franchise at Everytable. They are redefining the fast-food landscape by selling nutritious, fresh, made-from-scratch food at fast-food prices in underserved communities. To that end, they’re reducing meal prices to meet the minimum income of each community. Bryce is a master chef who has worked with nationwide restaurants to drive systemic change to benefit underserved populations and communities. In this conversation, he shares how his passion for education and healthy eating serves the company’s rapid growth and the democratization of healthy, affordable food where it’s needed most.
Adam Grogan, President at Greenleaf Foods: The Future of Protein Is Now
Adam Grogan is the President of Greenleaf Foods, a portfolio of leading plant-based protein brands including Lightlife Foods and Field Roast that are transforming the future of food. Greenleaf Foods, SPC is a wholly owned, independent subsidiary of Maple Leaf Foods Inc, a one hundred year old iconic brand headquartered in Toronto, Canada. Adam leads Greenleaf’s strategic direction, financial performance, innovation, customer development and distribution. In this episode, he shares how Greenleaf plans to become the world’s most sustainable plant-based protein company on earth, how and why consumer purchasing habits are changing, and how to anticipate and capture emerging marketplace opportunities to accelerate business growth and a regenerative future.
Stacey Tank, Chief Transformation Officer, Heineken: Serving A Regenerative Future
Stacey Tank is the Chief Transformation Officer at Heineken, the world’s most international brewer, where she oversees the company’s new growth strategy, ‘EverGreen’ and its latest sustainability and ESG vision, Brew a Better World 2030. She reveals how a complex, global enterprise reengineers its business and reimagines the role of its brands to not only serve moments of celebration that bring people together, but also a regenerative future that benefits all.
Seth Goldman, Co-Founder and Chief Change Agent of Eat the Change: Creating The Future of Food
Seth Goldman is the, Co-Founder and Chief Change Agent of Eat the Change which is a food company focusing on sustainable and plant-based ingredients to empower us to, “eat the change you wish to see in the world.” Before co-founding, Eat The Change Seth was the Founder of Honest Tea the multi-million organic tea company that was acquired by Coca-Cola in 2011 and is Chair of the board of Beyond Meat the plant-based meat substitutes company. In this conversation, Seth talks about why he is passionate about the future of food, and his optimism about good and sustainable food.
Michele Mosa, Director of Corporate Citizenship at Samsung Electronics America: Educating The Future
Michele Mosa is the Director of Corporate Citizenship at Samsung Electronics America. In her role, Michele guides their transformative initiatives, including Samsung’s annual ‘Solve For Tomorrow’ Contest. The contest is open to all public school students and encourages them to build solutions and address the most pressing issues impacting society. Michele reveals why it is so critical for her company to support public teachers, help mentor the innovators of tomorrow, and build a brighter future – together.
Saskia van Gendt, Head of Sustainability at Rothy’s: Why Circular is now in fashion.
Saskia van Gendt is an environmental scientist and the first Head of Sustainability at Rothy’s, the San Francisco-based, direct-to-consumer fashion company. Rothy’s items are made from 100% recycled plastic water bottles and post-consumer recycled materials. Saskia oversees their initiatives to use more reusable materials, design products that eliminate waste, and advance their goal of making the brand – and fashion industry at large – ever more circular to better serve our planet and future.
Wes Carter, President, Atlantic Packaging: On Empowering Purposeful Packaging
Wes Carter is the President of Atlantic Packaging, the largest, private packaging company in the U.S. which has been operating for 75 years. As a third generation business owner, he is on a mission to make packaging smarter and sustainable. In this episode, we discuss the moral obligation he feels for packaging companies to care about environmental issues, inspire greater responsibility in customers, and innovate to better serve our future. He reveals the power of collaboration between competitors, partners, and policy makers to realize a new and transformative vision for sustainable packaging at a time it’s urgently needed.
Kathrin Belliveau, Chief Purpose Officer, Hasbro: Leading with Purpose and Play
Since 1923 Hasbro has delighted generations with beloved toys, games and brands that are synonymous with childhood. Kathrin Belliveau is the first Executive Vice President and Chief Purpose Officer of the self-described “global play and entertainment company,” where she is charged with bringing their purpose to life in ways that make the world a better place for children, fans, and families. In this episode, Kathrin talks about why it’s critical for companies in all sectors to embrace sustainability and lead with purpose to drive growth, relevance and impact. From innovative packaging to building a purposeful culture, Kathrin explains the strategies Hasbro has used to be recognized as one of “the World’s Most Ethical Companies” eleven years in a row.
Daniella Foster, Global VP, Consumer Health, Bayer: Scaling Impact Through Public & Private Sector Collaboration
Bayer is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world – generating $48.90 billion in revenue in 2021. At the helm of Public Affairs, Science and Sustainability for Bayer’s Consumer Health Division is Daniella Foster. Daniella joined Bayer in 2019 with a powerful vision for how consumer engagement and cross-sector collaboration can transform millions of lives including those in underserved communities around the world. With aggressive but attainable goals to be climate neutral by 2030 and net-zero by 2050, Daniella reveals how Bayer meets these targets while solving for complex global challenges. In this conversation, Daniella candidly shares how her experience at the State Department is helping her accomplish big things at Bayer. She also talks about how she is using storytelling to educate consumers to live healthier and longer.
Damian Bradfield, Co-Founder & CCO, We Transfer: Fueling Creativity That Drives Business Growth
Damian Bradfield is the Co-Founder & Chief Creative Officer at WeTransfer, the leading cloud-based content-sharing platform that is in the business of making tools to shape and move ideas for creatives globally. While best known as a service to easily transfer large files to colleagues and loved ones, WeTransfer is a powerful storytelling company on a mission to make the internet more open and democratic. In my chat with Damian, we discuss how WeTransfer came to be, how it is creating impact through its editorial platform WePresent, and how a tech company builds and sustains critical trust at a time when others struggle.
Allmade’s Ryan Moor: How Sustainable Apparel Becomes Good Business
It started with a punk-rock band in Seattle in the 90’s and a kid who had a knack for screen printing t-shirts from his bedroom. That entrepreneurial start led to the launch of ScreenPrinting.com in 2004 which generated $8 million in revenues in under three years. As his business grew so did Ryan, as a successful business owner and social change agent. Through Allmade he is now reimagining what eco-friendly, socially conscious apparel and printing looks like and challenging the biggest brands in the world to buy more responsibly, to make sure everyone in the supply chain is fairly paid fairly, and to ensure the clothing we wear each day gives back to those in greatest need.
Patagonia’s Rick Ridgeway: On A Mission to Save Our Home Planet
Patagonia is an outdoor apparel company based in Ventura, California with a mission to save our home planet. It was founded in 1976 by Yvon Chouinard and was the first B-Corporation in the state. Rick was Vice President of Environmental Initiatives and Special Media Projects for Patagonia for 15 years during which he founded the Sustainable Apparel Coalition. In addition to his accomplishments at Patagonia, Rick is recognized as one of the world’s foremost mountaineers. Along with Yvon and another friend, they were the first Americans to summit K2. He has done other significant climbs and explorations on all continents. In this conversation, Rick discusses why and how Patagonia is fulfilling their mission to save our home planet. He also talks about how Patagonia walks the walk when it comes to sustainability and how it measures its financial performance with the overall health of the planet.
Unilever’s Jostein Solheim: Leading the Way in Diversity and Sustainability
Unilever is a purpose-led global company that owns over four hundred brands we use every day. Its purpose is to make sustainable living commonplace by empowering consumers to make responsible choices. In this episode, I have a great conversation with Unilever’s CEO of Health & Wellness, Jostein Solheim, about the new division he is leading for Unilever and his re-radicalizing of Ben & Jerry’s, the activist ice-cream brand he led for 8 years.
AppHarvest’s Jonathan Webb: Growing The Future
AppHarvest is a high-tech controlled-environment agriculture company based in Morehead, Kentucky. AppHarvest is a B-Corp and is on a mission is to combine conventional agriculture techniques with today’s technology that will yield more crops with a fraction of the resources. Jonathan Webb is the Founder & CEO of AppHarvest. When he decided to build AppHarvest, he brought it to his hometown of Eastern Kentucky. In this episode, Jonathan shares why he decided to bring this project to his home state. He also shares why we need to act now on creating sustainable agriculture, and why this is the future of food.
Anheuser-Busch InBev’s Michel Doukeris: Planning For A Future With More Cheers
Anheuser-Busch InBev is the world’s largest beer brewer by both volume and revenue, whose portfolio includes more than 400 beer brands sold in over 150 countries. Under the leadership of its new CEO, Michel Doukeris, the industry-leading enterprise is revitalizing its brand with a new purpose and sustainability goals to drive future growth and impact. In this episode, I speak with Michel about his leadership philosophy and his ambitious 100-year plan. This roadmap hinges on the company’s commitment to “Dream Big To Create A Future With More Cheers” and Michel shares his advice for business leaders and entrepreneurs about how to navigate an ever-changing and challenging future.
Eddie Bauer’s Kristen Elliott: Sustainability as a Long Term Investment
Eddie Bauer recently celebrated 100 years in business, and the iconic outdoor brand is laser focused on making the outdoors accessible to everyone. It’s a mission that really speaks to me, because I believe that reconnecting to the natural world will help us repurpose business to restore the planet. In this episode I got the opportunity to speak with Eddie Bauer’s Vice President of Marketing, Kristen Elliot, about the many ways Eddie Bauer is executing this mission, from their new outdoor gear rental program, to reaching out to marginalized communities. Kristen also shared her advice for starting the sustainability journey, which can seem daunting at first, and I so appreciated her perspective on viewing sustainability as a long term investment in brand equity.
John Hardy CEO Kareem Gahed: How Vertical Integration Enables Transparency
John Hardy is an ethical jewelry brand whose production facilities are based in Bali. In fact, they’re the biggest employer on the island. In this episode of Lead With We, I spoke with their CEO, Kareem Gahed, about how John Hardy employs local Balinese artisans to hand craft their pieces and build communities and a culture of humanity and courage. We dig into the details of what ethical production truly means in the jewelry business and how the company’s vertical business model enables greater transparency. Plus, Kareem shares how he hopes to level up the entire industry by setting an example and encouraging others to take a stand on today’s pressing social and environmental issues.
PepsiCo’s Maddy Kulkarni: Educating The Next Generation of Business Leaders
As PepsiCo’s Global Marketing Director of Sustainability & Purpose, Maddy Kulkarni has been an integral part of charting a new course for one of the world’s largest enterprises. And now she’s passing on that knowledge to younger generations as a professor at the University of Texas. She even created her own textbook! In this episode Maddy and I chatted about the importance of educating the next generation of business leaders on how to blend purpose and profit, the case studies she uses from PepsiCo, and some of the exciting details of pep+ (pep Positive), a strategic end-to-end transformation of PepsiCo that will drive growth by restoring the planet and inspiring positive behavior change.
We First’s Simon Mainwaring: The Meaning of ‘Lead With We’
My new book, Lead With We, is officially out in stores and online, so in this episode we’re turning the tables and I’m in the hot seat for a change. In this episode Goal 17 CEO Greg Mollner, who has been our partner on this podcast from the beginning, interviews me about how my personal and professional journey led me to rethink business as usual and create the new business paradigm I lay out in the book to better serve humanity and the planet. Greg and I chatted about the collaborative strategies that every business leader can and should adopt to help solve today’s escalating challenges and unlock extraordinary growth.
Dr. Mark Goulston: What The World Needs From Today’s Leaders
Dr. Mark Goulston has had a fascinating career as a psychiatrist, from helping those contemplating suicide to assisting the FBI with hostage negotiation, and now coaching the world’s top executives at companies like IBM and Goldman Sachs to become better leaders through his company Michaelangelo Mindset. Oh, and did I mention he’s written nine books? In this episode I spoke with Mark about the type of leader the world needs now and in the future and some of the techniques he uses to draw out leadership qualities like humility and empathy. We also chatted about how business leaders can persevere through the relentless challenges of the pandemic by taking care of their own mental health and the power of women’s leadership.
Noodles & Company CMO Stacey Pool: Leading Through The Pandemic
Stacey Pool became Chief Marketing Officer at the fast casual restaurant chain Noodles & Company just before the pandemic started. In this episode Stacey shares how she’s leading this purposeful company through these unprecedented times. We talked openly about how COVID has taught us to be vulnerable as leaders, the balancing act of looking out for the wellbeing of our employees while still providing opportunities for professional growth, and using transparency and innovation to stay ahead of rising consumer expectations around the environment in an industry that’s been hit hard by supply chain constraints.
Bragg Live Foods CEO Linda Boardman: Guiding A Purposeful Legacy Brand Into the Future
Bragg Live Foods has been in the natural foods space for over a century. Now the family owned original health food company is a movement for healthier and happier lives with CEO Linda Boardman at the helm. In this episode Linda and I spoke about how she’s leading the company at such a pivotal time in its history, especially given the explosion of clean food and her personal passion for health and wellness. Hear our deep dive conversation into how she’s capitalizing on today’s consumer trends and carrying forward the company values to drive a new era of growth.
Bolt Threads’ Dan Widmaier: Reengineering Fashion & Beauty To Restore The Planet
Dan Widmaier is a bioengineer who’s taking on the fashion and beauty industries. As the Co-Founder and CEO of Bolt Threads, he’s ushering in a new era of regenerative lab grown materials that can help us reverse course when it comes to the health of our planet. In this episode Dan and I talked about the science behind Bolt Threads’ patented materials, and how they’re being adopted by big brands like Stella McCartney and Adidas. In what was a fascinating conversation, I heard about his growth strategy, how industry disruption can be used to create social and environmental impact, and why companies that don’t adopt regenerative practices could face existential problems.
Andrew Winston: Getting Your Company to Net Positive
As we witness the acute effects of climate change and economic inequality, business needs radical reshaping. Andrew Winston has advised countless companies on how to create positive impact, and in his new book, Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take, he charts a way forward for the future. In this episode Andrew and I talk about what it means to be net positive, how he co-authored his book with former Unilever CEO Paul Polman who shared his experience at the helm at one of the world’s largest companies, and net positive is the only path forward for business and humanity.
Unreasonable Group’s Wayne Suiter Matamoros: Repurposing Capitalism
Business has the power to tackle the existential problems we face in today’s world, but first we must redirect market forces to support companies creating positive change. And that’s why I’m so excited to share my conversation with Wayne Suiter Matamoros, Managing Director of Product and Experience at Unreasonable Group, which runs a business accelerator called Unreasonable Impact focused on just that. Together with Barclays, Unreasonable Impact has invested over $6.5 billion in green economy companies that are disrupting some of the most harmful industries out there, while also creating jobs. I got to chat with Wayne about how he and his team think about creating big change on short timelines, what it really means to take an “unreasonable” approach to today’s biggest challenges, how to repurpose capitalism, and so much more.
Paul Hawken & Regeneration: Ending the Climate Crisis in One Generation
It’s hard to overstate Paul Hawken’s contribution to transforming the relationship between humanity, business and the natural world. His books and leadership have built the foundation and laid out the roadmap for how we work together to address the climate crisis. It was a privilege to speak with him about his new book: Regeneration: Ending the Climate Crisis in One Generation. In this episode of Lead With We, Paul and I talk about what “regeneration” means, the actions business and humanity must take to end the climate crisis in one generation, and where we stand as a business community when it comes to authentically embracing the practices that will regenerate and nurture life on earth.
Bryce Fluellen, Executive Director, Social Equity Franchise Everytable: Change Is Bigger Than You
Bryce Fluellen is the Executive Director of Social Equity Franchise at Everytable. They are redefining the fast-food landscape by selling nutritious, fresh, made-from-scratch food at fast-food prices in underserved communities. To that end, they’re reducing meal prices to meet the minimum income of each community. Bryce is a master chef who has worked with nationwide restaurants to drive systemic change to benefit underserved populations and communities. In this conversation, he shares how his passion for education and healthy eating serves the company’s rapid growth and the democratization of healthy, affordable food where it’s needed most.
Adam Grogan, President at Greenleaf Foods: The Future of Protein Is Now
Adam Grogan is the President of Greenleaf Foods, a portfolio of leading plant-based protein brands including Lightlife Foods and Field Roast that are transforming the future of food. Greenleaf Foods, SPC is a wholly owned, independent subsidiary of Maple Leaf Foods Inc, a one hundred year old iconic brand headquartered in Toronto, Canada. Adam leads Greenleaf’s strategic direction, financial performance, innovation, customer development and distribution. In this episode, he shares how Greenleaf plans to become the world’s most sustainable plant-based protein company on earth, how and why consumer purchasing habits are changing, and how to anticipate and capture emerging marketplace opportunities to accelerate business growth and a regenerative future.
Stacey Tank, Chief Transformation Officer, Heineken: Serving A Regenerative Future
Stacey Tank is the Chief Transformation Officer at Heineken, the world’s most international brewer, where she oversees the company’s new growth strategy, ‘EverGreen’ and its latest sustainability and ESG vision, Brew a Better World 2030. She reveals how a complex, global enterprise reengineers its business and reimagines the role of its brands to not only serve moments of celebration that bring people together, but also a regenerative future that benefits all.
Seth Goldman, Co-Founder and Chief Change Agent of Eat the Change: Creating The Future of Food
Seth Goldman is the, Co-Founder and Chief Change Agent of Eat the Change which is a food company focusing on sustainable and plant-based ingredients to empower us to, “eat the change you wish to see in the world.” Before co-founding, Eat The Change Seth was the Founder of Honest Tea the multi-million organic tea company that was acquired by Coca-Cola in 2011 and is Chair of the board of Beyond Meat the plant-based meat substitutes company. In this conversation, Seth talks about why he is passionate about the future of food, and his optimism about good and sustainable food.
Michele Mosa, Director of Corporate Citizenship at Samsung Electronics America: Educating The Future
Michele Mosa is the Director of Corporate Citizenship at Samsung Electronics America. In her role, Michele guides their transformative initiatives, including Samsung’s annual ‘Solve For Tomorrow’ Contest. The contest is open to all public school students and encourages them to build solutions and address the most pressing issues impacting society. Michele reveals why it is so critical for her company to support public teachers, help mentor the innovators of tomorrow, and build a brighter future – together.
Saskia van Gendt, Head of Sustainability at Rothy’s: Why Circular is now in fashion.
Saskia van Gendt is an environmental scientist and the first Head of Sustainability at Rothy’s, the San Francisco-based, direct-to-consumer fashion company. Rothy’s items are made from 100% recycled plastic water bottles and post-consumer recycled materials. Saskia oversees their initiatives to use more reusable materials, design products that eliminate waste, and advance their goal of making the brand – and fashion industry at large – ever more circular to better serve our planet and future.
Wes Carter, President, Atlantic Packaging: On Empowering Purposeful Packaging
Wes Carter is the President of Atlantic Packaging, the largest, private packaging company in the U.S. which has been operating for 75 years. As a third generation business owner, he is on a mission to make packaging smarter and sustainable. In this episode, we discuss the moral obligation he feels for packaging companies to care about environmental issues, inspire greater responsibility in customers, and innovate to better serve our future. He reveals the power of collaboration between competitors, partners, and policy makers to realize a new and transformative vision for sustainable packaging at a time it’s urgently needed.
Kathrin Belliveau, Chief Purpose Officer, Hasbro: Leading with Purpose and Play
Since 1923 Hasbro has delighted generations with beloved toys, games and brands that are synonymous with childhood. Kathrin Belliveau is the first Executive Vice President and Chief Purpose Officer of the self-described “global play and entertainment company,” where she is charged with bringing their purpose to life in ways that make the world a better place for children, fans, and families. In this episode, Kathrin talks about why it’s critical for companies in all sectors to embrace sustainability and lead with purpose to drive growth, relevance and impact. From innovative packaging to building a purposeful culture, Kathrin explains the strategies Hasbro has used to be recognized as one of “the World’s Most Ethical Companies” eleven years in a row.
Daniella Foster, Global VP, Consumer Health, Bayer: Scaling Impact Through Public & Private Sector Collaboration
Bayer is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world – generating $48.90 billion in revenue in 2021. At the helm of Public Affairs, Science and Sustainability for Bayer’s Consumer Health Division is Daniella Foster. Daniella joined Bayer in 2019 with a powerful vision for how consumer engagement and cross-sector collaboration can transform millions of lives including those in underserved communities around the world. With aggressive but attainable goals to be climate neutral by 2030 and net-zero by 2050, Daniella reveals how Bayer meets these targets while solving for complex global challenges. In this conversation, Daniella candidly shares how her experience at the State Department is helping her accomplish big things at Bayer. She also talks about how she is using storytelling to educate consumers to live healthier and longer.
Damian Bradfield, Co-Founder & CCO, We Transfer: Fueling Creativity That Drives Business Growth
Damian Bradfield is the Co-Founder & Chief Creative Officer at WeTransfer, the leading cloud-based content-sharing platform that is in the business of making tools to shape and move ideas for creatives globally. While best known as a service to easily transfer large files to colleagues and loved ones, WeTransfer is a powerful storytelling company on a mission to make the internet more open and democratic. In my chat with Damian, we discuss how WeTransfer came to be, how it is creating impact through its editorial platform WePresent, and how a tech company builds and sustains critical trust at a time when others struggle.
Allmade’s Ryan Moor: How Sustainable Apparel Becomes Good Business
It started with a punk-rock band in Seattle in the 90’s and a kid who had a knack for screen printing t-shirts from his bedroom. That entrepreneurial start led to the launch of ScreenPrinting.com in 2004 which generated $8 million in revenues in under three years. As his business grew so did Ryan, as a successful business owner and social change agent. Through Allmade he is now reimagining what eco-friendly, socially conscious apparel and printing looks like and challenging the biggest brands in the world to buy more responsibly, to make sure everyone in the supply chain is fairly paid fairly, and to ensure the clothing we wear each day gives back to those in greatest need.
Patagonia’s Rick Ridgeway: On A Mission to Save Our Home Planet
Patagonia is an outdoor apparel company based in Ventura, California with a mission to save our home planet. It was founded in 1976 by Yvon Chouinard and was the first B-Corporation in the state. Rick was Vice President of Environmental Initiatives and Special Media Projects for Patagonia for 15 years during which he founded the Sustainable Apparel Coalition. In addition to his accomplishments at Patagonia, Rick is recognized as one of the world’s foremost mountaineers. Along with Yvon and another friend, they were the first Americans to summit K2. He has done other significant climbs and explorations on all continents. In this conversation, Rick discusses why and how Patagonia is fulfilling their mission to save our home planet. He also talks about how Patagonia walks the walk when it comes to sustainability and how it measures its financial performance with the overall health of the planet.
Unilever’s Jostein Solheim: Leading the Way in Diversity and Sustainability
Unilever is a purpose-led global company that owns over four hundred brands we use every day. Its purpose is to make sustainable living commonplace by empowering consumers to make responsible choices. In this episode, I have a great conversation with Unilever’s CEO of Health & Wellness, Jostein Solheim, about the new division he is leading for Unilever and his re-radicalizing of Ben & Jerry’s, the activist ice-cream brand he led for 8 years.
AppHarvest’s Jonathan Webb: Growing The Future
AppHarvest is a high-tech controlled-environment agriculture company based in Morehead, Kentucky. AppHarvest is a B-Corp and is on a mission is to combine conventional agriculture techniques with today’s technology that will yield more crops with a fraction of the resources. Jonathan Webb is the Founder & CEO of AppHarvest. When he decided to build AppHarvest, he brought it to his hometown of Eastern Kentucky. In this episode, Jonathan shares why he decided to bring this project to his home state. He also shares why we need to act now on creating sustainable agriculture, and why this is the future of food.
Anheuser-Busch InBev’s Michel Doukeris: Planning For A Future With More Cheers
Anheuser-Busch InBev is the world’s largest beer brewer by both volume and revenue, whose portfolio includes more than 400 beer brands sold in over 150 countries. Under the leadership of its new CEO, Michel Doukeris, the industry-leading enterprise is revitalizing its brand with a new purpose and sustainability goals to drive future growth and impact. In this episode, I speak with Michel about his leadership philosophy and his ambitious 100-year plan. This roadmap hinges on the company’s commitment to “Dream Big To Create A Future With More Cheers” and Michel shares his advice for business leaders and entrepreneurs about how to navigate an ever-changing and challenging future.
Eddie Bauer’s Kristen Elliott: Sustainability as a Long Term Investment
Eddie Bauer recently celebrated 100 years in business, and the iconic outdoor brand is laser focused on making the outdoors accessible to everyone. It’s a mission that really speaks to me, because I believe that reconnecting to the natural world will help us repurpose business to restore the planet. In this episode I got the opportunity to speak with Eddie Bauer’s Vice President of Marketing, Kristen Elliot, about the many ways Eddie Bauer is executing this mission, from their new outdoor gear rental program, to reaching out to marginalized communities. Kristen also shared her advice for starting the sustainability journey, which can seem daunting at first, and I so appreciated her perspective on viewing sustainability as a long term investment in brand equity.
John Hardy CEO Kareem Gahed: How Vertical Integration Enables Transparency
John Hardy is an ethical jewelry brand whose production facilities are based in Bali. In fact, they’re the biggest employer on the island. In this episode of Lead With We, I spoke with their CEO, Kareem Gahed, about how John Hardy employs local Balinese artisans to hand craft their pieces and build communities and a culture of humanity and courage. We dig into the details of what ethical production truly means in the jewelry business and how the company’s vertical business model enables greater transparency. Plus, Kareem shares how he hopes to level up the entire industry by setting an example and encouraging others to take a stand on today’s pressing social and environmental issues.
PepsiCo’s Maddy Kulkarni: Educating The Next Generation of Business Leaders
As PepsiCo’s Global Marketing Director of Sustainability & Purpose, Maddy Kulkarni has been an integral part of charting a new course for one of the world’s largest enterprises. And now she’s passing on that knowledge to younger generations as a professor at the University of Texas. She even created her own textbook! In this episode Maddy and I chatted about the importance of educating the next generation of business leaders on how to blend purpose and profit, the case studies she uses from PepsiCo, and some of the exciting details of pep+ (pep Positive), a strategic end-to-end transformation of PepsiCo that will drive growth by restoring the planet and inspiring positive behavior change.
We First’s Simon Mainwaring: The Meaning of ‘Lead With We’
My new book, Lead With We, is officially out in stores and online, so in this episode we’re turning the tables and I’m in the hot seat for a change. In this episode Goal 17 CEO Greg Mollner, who has been our partner on this podcast from the beginning, interviews me about how my personal and professional journey led me to rethink business as usual and create the new business paradigm I lay out in the book to better serve humanity and the planet. Greg and I chatted about the collaborative strategies that every business leader can and should adopt to help solve today’s escalating challenges and unlock extraordinary growth.
Dr. Mark Goulston: What The World Needs From Today’s Leaders
Dr. Mark Goulston has had a fascinating career as a psychiatrist, from helping those contemplating suicide to assisting the FBI with hostage negotiation, and now coaching the world’s top executives at companies like IBM and Goldman Sachs to become better leaders through his company Michaelangelo Mindset. Oh, and did I mention he’s written nine books? In this episode I spoke with Mark about the type of leader the world needs now and in the future and some of the techniques he uses to draw out leadership qualities like humility and empathy. We also chatted about how business leaders can persevere through the relentless challenges of the pandemic by taking care of their own mental health and the power of women’s leadership.
Noodles & Company CMO Stacey Pool: Leading Through The Pandemic
Stacey Pool became Chief Marketing Officer at the fast casual restaurant chain Noodles & Company just before the pandemic started. In this episode Stacey shares how she’s leading this purposeful company through these unprecedented times. We talked openly about how COVID has taught us to be vulnerable as leaders, the balancing act of looking out for the wellbeing of our employees while still providing opportunities for professional growth, and using transparency and innovation to stay ahead of rising consumer expectations around the environment in an industry that’s been hit hard by supply chain constraints.
Bragg Live Foods CEO Linda Boardman: Guiding A Purposeful Legacy Brand Into the Future
Bragg Live Foods has been in the natural foods space for over a century. Now the family owned original health food company is a movement for healthier and happier lives with CEO Linda Boardman at the helm. In this episode Linda and I spoke about how she’s leading the company at such a pivotal time in its history, especially given the explosion of clean food and her personal passion for health and wellness. Hear our deep dive conversation into how she’s capitalizing on today’s consumer trends and carrying forward the company values to drive a new era of growth.
Bolt Threads’ Dan Widmaier: Reengineering Fashion & Beauty To Restore The Planet
Dan Widmaier is a bioengineer who’s taking on the fashion and beauty industries. As the Co-Founder and CEO of Bolt Threads, he’s ushering in a new era of regenerative lab grown materials that can help us reverse course when it comes to the health of our planet. In this episode Dan and I talked about the science behind Bolt Threads’ patented materials, and how they’re being adopted by big brands like Stella McCartney and Adidas. In what was a fascinating conversation, I heard about his growth strategy, how industry disruption can be used to create social and environmental impact, and why companies that don’t adopt regenerative practices could face existential problems.
Andrew Winston: Getting Your Company to Net Positive
As we witness the acute effects of climate change and economic inequality, business needs radical reshaping. Andrew Winston has advised countless companies on how to create positive impact, and in his new book, Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take, he charts a way forward for the future. In this episode Andrew and I talk about what it means to be net positive, how he co-authored his book with former Unilever CEO Paul Polman who shared his experience at the helm at one of the world’s largest companies, and net positive is the only path forward for business and humanity.
Unreasonable Group’s Wayne Suiter Matamoros: Repurposing Capitalism
Business has the power to tackle the existential problems we face in today’s world, but first we must redirect market forces to support companies creating positive change. And that’s why I’m so excited to share my conversation with Wayne Suiter Matamoros, Managing Director of Product and Experience at Unreasonable Group, which runs a business accelerator called Unreasonable Impact focused on just that. Together with Barclays, Unreasonable Impact has invested over $6.5 billion in green economy companies that are disrupting some of the most harmful industries out there, while also creating jobs. I got to chat with Wayne about how he and his team think about creating big change on short timelines, what it really means to take an “unreasonable” approach to today’s biggest challenges, how to repurpose capitalism, and so much more.
Paul Hawken & Regeneration: Ending the Climate Crisis in One Generation
It’s hard to overstate Paul Hawken’s contribution to transforming the relationship between humanity, business and the natural world. His books and leadership have built the foundation and laid out the roadmap for how we work together to address the climate crisis. It was a privilege to speak with him about his new book: Regeneration: Ending the Climate Crisis in One Generation. In this episode of Lead With We, Paul and I talk about what “regeneration” means, the actions business and humanity must take to end the climate crisis in one generation, and where we stand as a business community when it comes to authentically embracing the practices that will regenerate and nurture life on earth.