Ep 61: Beto Guajardo is the President of Focus Brands International

It often falls on the CEO to come up with a strategy to increase the growth and profitability of a company, but today’s guest believes that a strategist is vitally important when it comes to identifying new opportunities, channels, and product lines. Beto Guajardo is currently the President of Focus Brands International, which includes brands such as Cinnabon, Auntie Anne’s, and Schlotzsky's. Throughout most of his career, Beto led strategy for iconic brands such as Levi’s and Starbucks after getting his start in the consulting world with McKinsey and Company. In this episode, Beto explains what career strategy is, what this job entails, and what the KPIs and the performance metrics are for this role, before providing an example of the success he generated when he shifted investment into an opportunity he identified in the Starbucks app. He also talks about the strategy he used to turn Schlotzsky’s around, help them survive the pandemic, and ultimately achieve success. To find out about the interplay between strategy and execution, the marketing challenges of operating across so many different markets internationally, and Beto’s advice to anyone who wants to pursue a career in strategy, tune in today!