Rapid Response

Latest Episodes:

OLIPOP’s gutsy play to dethrone Coke and Pepsi, with Ben Goodwin Oct 07, 2025

Show notes

In this encore episode of Rapid Response, we chart OLIPOP’s surging popularity. As Gen Z and millennials ditch sugary sodas, OLIPOP is leading the prebiotic beverage trend, sparking the likes of Coca-Cola and PepsiCo to enter the fray. OLIPOP’s co-founder, CEO, and formulator, Ben Goodwin, shares how the brand is navigating the turbulence of rapid growth and rising competition, what leadership lessons he's had to embrace along the way, and whether healthy soda is actually healthy or just a TikTok-fueled fad.

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Do businesses still have a social responsibility? with The B Team’s Leah Seligmann Oct 03, 2025

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Headwinds across the business world challenge any leader striving to make an impact beyond shareholder value. Few know this struggle better than The B Team, born out of Sir Richard Branson’s drive to elevate the role and responsibility of business in society. CEO Leah Seligmann joins Rapid Response to share why some leaders are pulling back, where others are pressing forward, and which actions can have the greatest impact — from climate change to diversity. In this delicate moment for business, Seligmann explores the courage and agility required to navigate today’s volatility.

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Design’s dominance sparks a blockbuster IPO, with Figma's Dylan Field Sep 30, 2025

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Figma burst into the public eye in 2022 after Adobe was blocked from buying the design startup for $20 billion. This chapter set the stage for an even bigger milestone at Figma: a splashy IPO this summer at nearly double that valuation. Dylan Field, Figma’s co-founder and CEO, joins Rapid Response to share what distinguishes Figma from competitors, and why design is increasingly at the center of every industry in today’s software-driven economy. Field also reflects on the pressures and opportunities of leading as a next-generation, tech-native CEO, and offers practical advice on upskilling in an AI-powered world.

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What Meta’s CMO sees coming next for marketing and platforms Sep 26, 2025

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Meta is once again at a crossroads, navigating the rise of AI, a shifting political and cultural climate, and evolving debates over speech online. Few executives have had a closer view of the company’s evolution than Alex Schultz, Meta’s Chief Marketing Officer and VP of Analytics, who joined Facebook back in 2007. Schultz joins Rapid Response to reflect on the creativity and science behind digital marketing, why the current moment carries existential stakes for Meta, and the lessons from his new book Click Here: The Art and Science of Digital Marketing. He also offers insights on growth, free speech, and what may lie ahead for the future of digital platforms.

Visit the Rapid Response website here: https://www.rapidresponseshow.com/

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After devastating aid cuts, Mercy Corps keeps fighting, with Tjada D’Oyen McKenna Sep 23, 2025

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For an organization built around responding to crises around the globe, Mercy Corps now finds itself at the center of its own trauma. Following the Trump administration’s aid cuts, two-thirds of Mercy Corps’ US-funded programs have been rescinded. CEO Tjada D’Oyen McKenna joins Rapid Response to share how she’s leading her team amid immense pressure—scrambling to find new ways to help those in need, even as she resorts to layoffs to keep the business afloat. McKenna reveals what she’s hearing from her team of aid workers on the ground in Gaza, and why she isn’t running away from burnout but embracing it. Like many business leaders experiencing political or economic volatility right now, McKenna is faced with a complex conundrum: fight, flight, or freeze.

Visit the Rapid Response website here: https://www.rapidresponseshow.com/

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How IKEA’s diversity and climate action boosted business, with Jesper Brodin Sep 19, 2025

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After eight years at the helm of Ingka Group, the operating entity behind home-furnishing giant IKEA, CEO Jesper Brodin is stepping down. Brodin joins Rapid Response to explain why now was the right time to make the move, and shares how he’s steered IKEA through a whirlwind of changes, from rising tariffs to shifting public sentiments around DEI and ESG, as well as an evolving relationship between global business and governments. Brodin also reveals why sleep may be the most overlooked leadership tool, and the pros and cons of having a 200-year business plan.

Visit the Rapid Response website here: https://www.rapidresponseshow.com/

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Historic changes across high fashion, with WSJ. Magazine’s Sarah Ball Sep 16, 2025

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As the fashion world navigates an unprecedented wave of turnover from Chanel to Dior, WSJ. Magazine’s Editor in Chief, Sarah Ball joins Rapid Response to explore the most closely watched New York Fashion Week in years — what she calls "a September to remember." Ball also shares insights about how Vogue is poised to take shape post-Anna Wintour, the shockwaves from Georgio Armani's recent passing, AI's impact on fashion creatives, and how the role of influencers and social media is noticeably reshaping where the industry is headed.

Visit the Rapid Response website here: https://www.rapidresponseshow.com/

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A go-to guide for stablecoins and crypto’s future, with Circle’s Jeremy Allaire Sep 12, 2025

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Crypto companies have a much friendlier regulatory environment in 2025, and many are scaling. The fintech firm Circle is fresh off a splashy IPO in June. Circle’s co-founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire joins Rapid Response to share why the company’s stablecoin is creating such a stir, and what people misunderstand about how digital assets are changing the financial system. Allaire offers a clear guide to blockchain-based finance, and why companies from Shopify and Stripe to major banks are jumping into stablecoins.

Visit the Rapid Response website here: https://www.rapidresponseshow.com/

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Music biz at a crossroads: from Taylor Swift to AI, with Sowmya Krishnamurthy Sep 09, 2025

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Sunday’s MTV Video Music Awards shone a light on some of the biggest storylines in the music business today – from the TikTokification of newly minted stars, to the evolving relationship between artists and brands. Music journalist and author Sowmya Krishnamurthy joins Rapid Response to break down business and cultural lessons from the show and what it reveals about the state of the industry. Krishnamurthy also explores Taylor Swift’s enduring dominance, the role of AI in music, and the latest twists in the streaming war between Spotify and Apple Music.

Visit the Rapid Response website here: https://www.rapidresponseshow.com/

Find Sowmya's book Fashion Killa here: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Fashion-Killa/Sowmya-Krishnamurthy/9781982176327

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NFL returns, ESPN’s big streaming bet, and more sports business, with The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand Sep 05, 2025

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The US sports with the largest audiences are back in action: the NFL and college football. Plus we have finals of the US Open, the WNBA and MLB playoffs coming, and a raft of big sports media deals to digest. Andrew Marchand, Senior Sports Media Columnist at The Athletic, joins Rapid Response to break down the biggest storylines — from ESPN's high-stakes equity deal with the NFL, to streamers like Amazon and Netflix battling it out with traditional networks, to the evolving impact of sports gambling. Marchand also shares lessons on what business leaders outside of sports can learn from leagues and teams to bolster their own winning playbook.

Visit the Rapid Response website here: https://www.rapidresponseshow.com/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.