Most Innovative Companies

Latest Episodes:

Inside the Tesla Takedown movement Apr 03, 2025

Show notes

On today’s episode, cohosts Yasmin Gagne and Josh Christensen break down the latest news in the world of business and innovation, including the latest on the sweeping tariffs announced on wednesday, the Trump administration being sued by federal workers, Newsmax stock pops 500% on NYSE, Meta’s head of AI research Joelle Pineau is leaving the company, and fast-fashion giant H&M plans to use AI clones of its human models—plus the backlash. (00:44)

Next, Josh and Yaz speak to ‘Fast Company’ senior editor Max Ufberg about the Tesla Takedown protests happening across the globe. Plus, Max shares details of the coordinated event called Global Action Day where worldwide protests are calling on people to sell their Teslas and their shares of Tesla stock. (05:17)

Finally, Yaz spoke to award-winning actor Walton Goggins and GoDaddy's CEO Aman Bhutani about GoDaddy's partnership with Walton Goggins Goggle Glasses. (26:26)

For more of the latest business and innovation news, go to https://www.fastcompany.com/news

To read the latest on Fast Company’s coverage of Tesla:

https://www.fastcompany.com/91308723/elon-musk-blames-tesla-protests-shady-payoffs-while-making-shady-payoffs-wisconsin

Visit Walton Goggins Goggle Glasses

Finding the right foundation for AI in beauty Apr 02, 2025

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Sephora is compelling for any number of reasons, and one is it’s been a leader in the beauty industry working with GenAI and broader AI technology.A McKinsey piece reported earlier this year that Gen AI could add up $9 billion to $10 billion to the global economy based on its impact on the beauty industry alone.As consumer brands go, the beauty industry has been ahead of the curve on AI, with companies like Sephora, L’Oreal, Dior, Estee Lauder, P&G, all creating AI-powered tools for customers to use as early as 2017.In this episode, host Jeff Beer talks to Sephora’s US CMO Zena Arnold, and Vlad Kuznetsov, the company’s Chief Information Officer, to get a peek under the hood for a glimpse at how one of the most powerful brands in an incredibly influential consumer industry is thinking about Gen AI right now.

Energy’s Next Steps: A Conversation with Williams’ Chad Zamarin - FROM FASTCO WORKS AND WILLIAMS Apr 01, 2025

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With more than a century of expertise, Williams is shaping the future of energy—delivering reliable, sustainable solutions to fuel economic growth and global progress. ‘Fast Company’ speaks with Chad Zamarin, EVP of corporate strategic development for Williams, about the urgent need for companies to adapt in a rapidly evolving energy landscape—and how AI and media trends are reshaping our energy demands.

Dr. Becky’s generative-AI parenting advice Mar 27, 2025

Show notes

On today’s episode, cohosts Yasmin Gagne and Josh Christensen break down the latest news in the world of business and innovation, including the Trump administration’s Signal scandal, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s resignation, Chinese electric-vehicle maker BYD outperforming Tesla per its 2024 revenue, and important privacy issues related to the bankruptcy announcement of DNA-testing site 23andMe. (00:50)

Next, ‘Fast Company’ associate editor David Salazar joins the show to discuss the anime streaming service, Crunchyroll, and why it made Fast Company’s 2025 Most Innovative Companies list. (07:36)

Finally, Yaz speaks to clinical psychologist and co-founder of the parenting company Good Inside, Dr. Becky, about the Good Inside method for raising children. (27:46)

For more of the latest business and innovation news go to https://www.fastcompany.com/news

To check out the 2025 Most Innovative Companies list go to: https://www.fastcompany.com/most-innovative-companies/list

For more on Dr. Becky, visit:

https://www.goodinside.com/

Why Robinhood, Waymo, and Nvidia made our MIC list Mar 20, 2025

Show notes

On today’s episode, cohosts Yasmin Gagne and Josh Christensen break down the latest news in the world of business and innovation including Elon Musk’s DOGE staff breaking into the U.S. Institute of Peace, the Trump administration's plans to cut 25% of the IRS workforce, and Pepsi's acquisition of prebiotic soda company Poppi for nearly $2 billion. (01:01)

Next, Fast Companyexecutive editor Amy Farley joins the show to discuss this year's Most Innovative Companies. (07:41)

Finally, senior staff writer Ainsley Harris talks to Yaz and Josh about her feature on Robinhood and the company's recent bets on crypto and prediction markets. (34:45)

I'd like to AI the world a Coke Mar 19, 2025

Show notes

This past December, Coca-Cola released a set of holiday ads made entirely from generative AI. They asked three different studios to create their own interpretations of the 1995 Coke holiday spot called “Holidays Are Coming” using AI video-generation models, including Leonardo, Luma, and Runway. The brand got three unique adaptations from studios Silverside AI, the Wild Card, and Jason Zada’s Secret Level.

Even though the AI ads were supposed to be a reimagining of Coke’s holiday ads from the '90s, which is a pretty innocuous concept, the backlash was intense. The reactions were passionate and numerous enough to get coverage from The New York Times, USA Today, NBS News, and more. Despite the backlash, the ads were effective and these new AI ads also got the job done. Coke is confident that its early experimentation is not only fun, but a meaningful investment that—despite the negative reviews in the short term—is setting the company up for long-term marketing success.

In this episode, host Jeff Beer talks to Pratik Thakar, Coca-Cola's global vice president for generative AI, about the companies' approach to using AI, creative risk-taking, and those holiday ads.

Tarana Burke on what’s next for the #MeToo Movement ON STAGE at SXSW Mar 13, 2025

Show notes

On today’s episode, cohosts Yasmin Gagne and Josh Christensen break down the latest news in the world of business and innovation including the stock market tumble, what’s going on with all those tariffs, Elon Musk blaming X’s outage last week on an alleged cyberattack, and Mark Carney becoming the next prime minister of Canada. (00:51)

Next, It’s SXSW again with Josh and Yaz down in Austin for the annual festival and holding court at the Fast Company Grill. We recapped our time at SXSW with ‘Fast Company’ senior editor Max Ufberg. (09:33)

Finally, Yaz interviewed author, activist, and founder of the MeToo Movement, Tarana Burke, on stage at SXSW. (24:01)

For more of the latest business and innovation news, go to https://www.fastcompany.com/news

To see the latest ‘Fast Company’ coverage on SXSW, go to: https://www.fastcompany.com/section/sxsw

Be sure to subscribe, rate and review Most Innovative Companies on your podcast app of choice. You can also find more Most Innovative Companies podcast content on Fast Company’s YouTube channel along with more videos on business news, tech, design, and work/life.

The Next Creative Revolution Mar 12, 2025

Show notes

If GenAI is the biggest technological advancement since the internet itself, then the creative possibilities are or will be pretty much endless. From a brand marketing and advertising perspective, we are still very early days, but there needs to be those willing and able to push the envelope, test boundaries, make mistakes, learn lessons, and evolve from there. Yet how far should the boundaries of brand content be pushed?

In this episode, I look for some answers by talking to two founders of boutique creative shop Food Arts & Technology, industry legends creative technologist Iain Tait and designer Richard Turley. I also sat down with Jason Zada, founder of AI-focused production studio Secret Level, who has worked with major brands like Coke on utilizing these new tools.

There are so many different perspectives on how this tech will and should be used creatively. Here you’ll get a glimpse into the perspective of people trying their best to push the tech and their own creativity for brands.

CEOs want us back in the office Mar 06, 2025

Show notes

On today’s episode, co-hosts Yasmin Gagne and Josh Christensen break down the latest news in the world of business and innovation including the will-they-won’t-they tariffs on Mexico and Canada, Walgreens plans to go private, and a “huge win” for the NFT industry (52:00)

Next, along with the federal workforce, private companies are increasingly calling their employees back to full-time in-person work. Fast Company staff writer Pavithra Mohan joins Yaz and Josh to discuss return-to-office mandates. (07:05)

Finally, Yaz talks with Fast Company’s global design editor, Mark Wilson, about the 25th anniversary and enduring popularity of the beloved PC video game, The Sims. (33:36)

For more of the latest business and innovation news, go to https://www.fastcompany.com/news

To read the latest ‘Fast Company’ coverage on return-to-office mandates, go to: https://www.fastcompany.com/work-life

Be sure to subscribe, rate, and review ‘Most Innovative Companies’ on your podcast app of choice. You can also find more ‘Most Innovative Companies’ podcast content on Fast Company’s YouTube channel, along with more videos on business news, tech, design, and work life.

The 59-minute Brand Mar 05, 2025

Show notes

To paraphrase a great philosopher, brand ideas are like small intestines – everybody has one. But could you build something with that idea in less than an hour? In this episode, we meet with David Jones,founder and CEO of The Brandtech Group, a $4 billion company which invested heavily in integrating AI into marketing and advertising services by acquiring leading companies like Pencil and Jellyfish. Jones says GenAI tools tailored to brands make that idea possible, so we challenge him and creative director James Dow to make it happen, right here, right now on the podcast.

While that’s happening, we also take a look inside a few of the large-scale tools being deployed by major ad agencies right now. Omnicom Advertising Group chief operating officer Deepthi Prakash gives us a peek under the hood of TBWA Worldwide’s CollectiveAI platform, which it has built working with companies like Microsoft, OpenAI, Google, Adobe, and more to create tools trained on decades of successful strategies, creative work and philosophies, then utilized to help inform and evaluate new work and ideas.

I won’t spoil the brand idea we have, but by the end, you may just have a new favorite toothpaste.

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