Learnings from Leaders: the P&G Alumni Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Kevin Shapiro, Coty SVP of US Marketing Jun 05, 2022

Show notes

“Authenticity and relevancy are easy to connect back to the business when you have people who represent the diversity of our consumers.”

Kevin Shapiro is Coty’s SVP of US Marketing at Consumer Beauty at Coty, where he manages a large portfolio of consumer brands, including Sally Hansen and CoverGirl. Kevin has led beauty brands across a number of iconic global companies, including L’Oreal, Revlon, Elizabeth Arden and Procter & Gamble — where he served as brand manager on The Art of Shaving and Pantene. Having received his MBA from the University of Southern California, and studied business at Georgetown, Kevin actually got started in the Automotive industry working for Edmunds. Kevin grew up in Mexico and brings his fluency in Spanish and a multicultural mindset to everything he does. You’ll enjoy this candid conversation on authentic brand building, representation, and the power of learning and listening in the ever changing beauty industry.

Aftab Pureval, Cincinnati Mayor May 29, 2022

Show notes

“Politics is all about empathy — people believing that you understand their plight, their issue, their life — and that you have a plan to help them.”

Aftab Pureval is the Mayor of the city of Cincinnati. As Cincinnati’s 70th Mayor, Aftab has made equitable economic growth a top priority of his administration, as well as a comprehensive reform and improvement of public safety, affordable housing, and environmental action. Formerly serving as the first Democrat to be elected Hamilton County Clerk of Courts in over 100 years, Aftab opened an award-winning Help Center and became the first countywide officeholder in Ohio to offer paid family leave. Mayor Aftab was born and raised in Southwest Ohio - he attended The Ohio State University and the University of Cincinnati College of Law where he represented victims of domestic violence who could not afford an attorney. Aftab served as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney and worked as an attorney at Procter & Gamble working on brands like Olay. Mayor Aftab lives in Clifton with his wife and sons. You’ll enjoy this candid conversation about redefining what a name means - and showing up for what matters.

Gary Vaynerchuk (VaynerX) & Bracken Darrell (Logitech): Masters of Digital Disruption May 22, 2022

Show notes

“There is a level of compassion to understanding that there's things that need to be done.” // “We have to make up for lost time - transparent actions and results need to follow.”

In the midst of all the social and upheaval we continue to face facing - we sat down with serial entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk, alongside Logitech CEO (+ P&G Alum) Bracken Darrell for a conversation with two “Masters of Digital Disruption”. In a candid conversation that spanned the internet and blockchain technologies (driving increased transparency and accountability) - to the greater need for social and environmental impact (rooted in business values) - you’ll enjoy this conversation with two leaders who are constantly learning and growing personally, and professionally.

Gary Vaynerchuk is an entrepreneur at heart — he builds businesses. Considered one of the leading global minds on what’s next - Gary is a serial entrepreneur, and serves as the Chairman of VaynerX, the CEO of VaynerMedia and the Creator & CEO of VeeFriends. Gary works with Fortune 1000 brands thru his agency VaynerMedia — a part of the VaynerX holding company - which also includes Eva Nosidam Productions, VaynerNFT, Gallery Media Group, The Sasha Group, Tracer, VaynerSpeakers, and VaynerCommerce. Gary is also the Co-Founder of VaynerSports, Resy and Empathy Wines. He is a prolific angel investor with early investments in companies such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Venmo, Snapchat, Coinbase and Uber. Gary’s also a Board Member, advisor, best-selling author, and award-winning speaker and thought leader with millions of followers.

Bracken Darrell is President & CEO of Logitech - a company he joined in 2012 - where he’s led brand vision and operations - as the driver for Logitech’s continued growth and profitability (up over 13x) — reinventing Logitech into an award-winning design company, an industry force pursuing a more sustainable and equal world. Beyond Logitech’s numerous awards in design, innovation, and sustainability during his tenure, Bracken himself has been named Swiss CEO of the year by Obermatt three times in the past four years, won the P&G Alumni Innovation Award, and will receive the 2022 Edison Achievement Award. Prior to joining Logitech, Bracken spent a decade in executive roles @ Whirlpool, Braun, and General Electric - and also worked in brand management at P&G. Prior to receiving his MBA from Harvard, Bracken worked at Arthur Anderson and PepsiCo. Bracken serves on the board of directors of Life Biosciences, a longevity company, and on the U.S. advisory board of Harvard Business School. Bracken received his MBA from from Harvard Business School and studied English from Hendrix College in Arkansas, and loves playing basketball with his boys.

Mike Shangkuan, Lingoda CEO May 15, 2022

Show notes

“It's through language that you understand another culture - how their world works. It's about that human connection with people.”

Mike Shangkuan is an EdTech entrepreneur, fitness fanatic, and pioneer in language learning. As the CEO of Lingdoda, Europe’s leading online language school. And he’s a polyglot - speaking six languages - English, German, Spanish, French, Chinese and Japanese — having lived in 8 countries across 4 continents, and traveling to over 100 countries. Prior to leading Lingoda, Michael was CEO of Terra Education, a B-corp offering life-changing service learning summer programs to teens in Africa, South America, and Asia. Mike has worked in brand management at both Clorox & P&G, and held roles at Goldman Sachs and Borden Capital Management. He is a graduate of Yale University and received his MBA from Harvard Business School. On top of all that, Michael was also once a former natural bodybuilder having competed at several international competitions. You’ll enjoy this candid conversation about life, language, and the culture quotient.

P&G Alumni Comedians: Greg Warren, Josh Sneed, Rajiv Satyal, & Andrew Tarvin May 01, 2022

Show notes

"Humor is a way to deal with failure, because you'll be onto something much bigger. Nothing is the defining moment of your life — if you don't let it be.”

Did you know that several P&G Alumni have become (inter)nationally known stand up comedians? In honor of World Laughter Day (May 1st), we decided to go deeper and chat with not one, not two, but THREE P&G alumni who are now full-time in the world of comedy — Greg Warren, Josh Sneed, and Rajiv Satyal. And if you count P&G Alumni Podcast co-host Drew Tarvin as a “Humor Engineer” - consider it 3.5 P&G Alumni Comedians. We want to learn about life as a creative entrepreneur, how humor applies to work, and how a business mindset can help anyone in their passion project - because when comedy is your day job, it’s no joke. Our guests for this very special (and funny) episode...

Greg Warren is a nationally touring headliner and has been featured on Late Night with Seth Meyers, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central Presents, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, BET and CMT. He is a fan favorite on the nationally syndicated Bob and Tom Radio Show and can be heard daily on Sirius/XM. Prior to becoming a full-time comedian, Greg spent 10 years at P&G as an account executive for brands like Pringles and Folgers, and as a project manager at the GO in Cincinnati. He’s currently based in St Louis, MO. You can see Greg’s recent special, Where the Field Corn Grows on Amazon Prime Video - https://amzn.to/39pXxfT
Josh Sneed is a nationally touring comedian with appearances on Comedy Central, Last Comic Standing, and Dry Bar Comedy with clips from his special having been viewed more than 50 million times. He has performed at the prestigious “Just For Laughs” Comedy Festival in Montreal, the Aspen Comedy Festival, and was chosen by Comedy Central to perform in their inaugural South Beach Comedy Festival. Prior to becoming a comedian, Josh spent five years at working in corporate IT, including time as a systems analyst for P&G in Cincinnati, where he still resides. Check out Josh’s special “Life’s Better When You’re Fat” on YouTube, by Dry Bar Comedy https://youtu.be/Q-C9mPu7r_4
Rajiv Satyal is the first and only comedian to perform standup on all seven continents Rajiv co-created the world-touring Make Chai Not War, a Hindu/Muslim stand-up show sponsored by The U.S. State Dept and he’s opened for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Rajiv hosts the talk show “What Do You Bring to the Table,” (now in it’s 2nd season), and his massively viral I AM INDIAN video has been seen over 50 million times. Prior to becoming a full-time comedian, Rajiv worked as an ABM and account director at P&G, including driving award-winning word of mouth campaigns for P&G and external brands such as Coca Cola and Microsoft. He’s currently based in LA. https://rajivsatyal.com/
Drew Tarvin is an accomplished author and speaker - having done over 1000 shows as an improv and stand-up comedian, have performed in all 50 states, 30 countries, and 1 planet (Earth). Drew’s TEDx talk on the skill of humor has been viewed more than 10 MILLION times. Drew’s also the co-founding co-host of Learnings from Leaders (this podcast) and CEO / Founder Humor That Works, a training firm that helps businesses get better results while having more fun - humorthatworks.com

Qaisar Shareef, P&G’s former head of Pakistan & Ukraine Apr 24, 2022

Show notes

"There is no bending your principles and values, you either stick by them or you don't.”

Qaisar Shareef spent a 30 year career at Procter & Gamble - where he led the company’s operations in Pakistan & Ukraine. As April marks the Holy Month of Ramadan in the Islamic world this year, we decided to revisit some past conversations with past Muslim guests that you may have missed — and even if you’ve already heard, are worth a fresh listen.

Qaisar is the author of “When Tribesmen Came Calling: Building an Enduring American Business in Pakistan.” For Qaisar, Pakistan was actually an organization he helped build for the company many years prior when P&G was first starting business in the region. Qaisar is based in the Washington DC area where he is an advisory partner to Ward Howell International. He also teaches at George Washington University’s Department of International Business. Qaisar serves on the board of HOPE USA, OPEN DC, and Transparent Hands, a crowdfunding platform helping cover the underprivileged’s health care costs. He’s also on the Executive Committee of US Pakistan Foundation, and is president of Montgomery County Muslim Council. Qaisar has a Bachelor of Science degree from the Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey, and an MBA from the University of Cincinnati. You’ll enjoy this candid conversation from a Muslim American leader, about living and working out of your comfort zone. Qaisar shares not just his perspective of establishing a viable business in an emerging market, but also about returning home - multiple times - to make an impact on both sides of the world.

Ikdeep Singh, Mars Petcare President, North America Apr 17, 2022

Show notes

“Nothing can teach you more than your failures. Your struggles are where you're growing the most.”

Ikdeep Singh is Mars Petcare’s President of North America, responsible for iconic brands such as Pedigree, Iams, Cesar, and Sheba — and driving the company’s purpose of “A better world for pets.” Prior to Mars, Ikdeep served as the President at the L’Oréal Group, and he started his career at P&G P&G, where he worked across Canada, the US, UK, Germany, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and China for 14 years in Beauty Care, Baby Care and Grooming. Recognized on Forbes’ inaugural “CEO Next” list, Ikdeep had humble beginnings in rural India. He studied Industrial Engineering at Dalhousie University, and received an MBA from The Wharton School at The University of Pennsylvania where Ikdeep serves on the advisory board for Wharton’s Baker Retail Center. Ikdeep and his family of 4 are avid travelers and “gastro-tourists” who go in search of some of the world’s most delicious places to eat. You’ll enjoy this thoughtful conversation about slowing down to reflect and learn — because with hard work, and some lucky breaks, we can find a path we love, collaborating with others to win, together.

Kevin Hochman, Kentucky Fried Chicken, President, Yum! Brands Apr 10, 2022

Show notes

“The higher you go, it's harder to understand the front lines. Be in touch to accelerate your growth.”

Kevin Hochman, is Kentucky Fried Chicken’s US President at Yum! Brands, and the former President of Pizza Hut US. As KFC’s President Hockman oversees more than $10 billion in retail sales across 10,000 restaurants. For more than eight years, Kevin’s held numerous senior positions at Yum! Brands. Previously Kevin led P&G’s North America Cosmetics business, the culmination of an 18-year career at P&G as business leader across brands like Olay, Gillette, Secret, Old Spice and CoverGirl. Kevin has earned multiple recognitions from Forbes - naming him the world’s 2nd most influential CMO - to AdAge’s A-List. You’ll enjoy this conversation about the learnings on Kevin’s journey from CPG to the fast food industry, and how he became a more inclusive, servant leader along the way.

Dian Alyan: GiveLight Foundation Founder & CEO Apr 03, 2022

Show notes

“People tend to be afraid of the unknown. The most dangerous thing is the illusion of knowledge. We need to have an open mind and embrace the world.”

Dian Alyan is the Founder & CEO of the GiveLight Foundation (GiveLight.org) — a non-profit inspired by Islamic values to help orphans across the globe regardless of nationality, race or religion. As April marks the start of the Holy Month of Ramadan in the Islamic world this year, we decided to revisit some past conversations with past Muslim guests that you may have missed — and even if you’ve already heard, are worth a fresh listen.

Dian founded GiveLight.org after the 2004 South Asian tsunami, where she lost many loved ones in her home country of Indonesia . Dian was inspired to provide for children going through similar devastation around the world — natural disasters and extreme conditions, like poverty and war. GiveLight is a non-profit creating high quality homes and education for global orphans. What began as one home for 50 children has now expanded to support over 1,000 orphans in 11 countries globally — with a goal of housing 10,000 children in response to natural disasters, poverty, and war. GiveLight has responded to crises in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Morocco.

Prior to founding GiveLight - Dian spent a decade as the Outreach Director for the Muslim Community Association in the San Francisco bay area. And Dian got her start at P&G in brand management in beauty and healthcare brands across Asia. Dian’s work with GiveLight has garnered awards and engagements from Fortune 500s + prominent universities, and has been featured in Newsweek, the Huffington Post, and many other media outlets. She lives in the San Francisco bay area, a mother of two - but she considers all children GiveLight reaches as a part of her family. Learn more about how you can help at GiveLight.org

Raj Rao, IBM’s GM for Blockchain Ventures Mar 20, 2022

Show notes

“The first job of any leader is to coach people that can do a better job than them, and lead better than them — to unlock people's fullest potential.“

Raj Rao is IBM’s General Manager of Blockchain Ventures where he oversees programs in blockchain, AI and cloud architecture. Raj was previously the CEO of Ford Mobility, leading the automotive company’s Palo Alto based mobility business investments, as well as Chief Digital Officer of 3M. Raj got his career start at P&G marketing - working across Europe, the Middle East, and Canada. A native of India, Raj earned an honors degree in economics from the University of Delhi, and a Master’s Degree in Management from Boston University’s Business School. You’ll enjoy this candid conversation about the factors that influence our careers — and why it’s important to bend the culture as a leader.