Welcome to the Arena from ICR – Conversations with Today's Innovators & Business Leaders

It's been nearly a year since we sat down with Andy Goldberg, the CEO of PCH media, to discuss how the company has successfully navigated more than 40 years of shifts in the media industry. A lot has changed since we spoke, which in a way, makes this conversation all the more relevant. We hope you enjoy, and we'll be back with a fresh episode next week. Summary: Longevity in any business is something to celebrate, but when a media company can successfully evolve through several decades of seismic shifts, it's also a huge lesson in the art of pivoting. Today's guest has navigated through 41 years of change and his company has come through stronger than ever.We're sitting down with Andy Goldberg, CEO of PCH Media. Andy is leading PCH's multi-year transformation as the company continues to pivot from direct-to-consumer retail towards an identity and data-driven advertising business. This includes a concerted effort to attract and hire top media talent to align with the company's new focus. The company is aimed at creating incremental shareholder value based on PCH's unique value exchange and unparalleled ability to generate peer audience authentication, permission first-party data, and tremendous user engagement.Andy has led the company through several successful evolutions via acquisitions in the online search, casual games, and mobile advertising markets. In addition to being CEO, he's also Chairman of the Board of Directors and a past member of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the Direct Marketing Association.Recognized for excellence in the industry, Andy has been honored with the Silver Apple Award from the Direct Marketing Club of New York. He earned a BS in Marketing from the Wharton School at UPenn.Highlights:PCH's background and history (3:16)How Andy got involved at PCH and his path to leading transformation initiatives (4:43)User base and engagement at PCH (7:50)The value of PCH's audience and engagement data to marketers and advertisers (9:02)How PCH partners with clients to help them build their databases (13:24)The differences between zero, first, and third-party data (14:47)Andy's take on the discussion around depreciating third-party cookies (16:39)PCH's marketing collaborations with third-party players (19:12)The role of AI in the evolution of PCH (20:39)Andy's outlook on future goals and opportunities for PCH (22:31)Links:Andy Goldberg on LinkedInPublishers Clearing House on LinkedInPublishers Clearing House WebsiteICR LinkedInICR TwitterICR WebsiteFeedback:If you have questions about the show, or have a topic in mind you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producer, joe@lowerstreet.co.

As a workwear and outdoor apparel company, it's imperative that you stay attentive to the needs of your customer, and remain nimble enough to adapt to the demands of an ever-shifting retail landscape. Well, the folks at Duluth Trading are doing exactly that.Today we're sitting down with Stephanie Pugliese, the CEO of Duluth Trading, which trades under the symbol DLTH. She first joined Duluth trading in November of 2008, and In 2015, she became President and CEO until 2019 when she left to become president of the Americas for Under Armour.Now, Stephanie is back as president and CEO of Duluth. She joins us to discuss the innovation, customer experience, and brand awareness that's made them a force in the American retail sector for more than 3 decades, and how she plans to double down on those things to keep Duluth profitable in the decades to come.Highlights:The Duluth Story (2:13)Stephanie's return to Duluth (5:05)Urgency vs. Thoughtfulness (6:40)Brand Engagement (7:50)Brand Awareness (9:15)Solutions Based Products (10:44)Duluth Portfolio of Products (12:36)Approach to Innovation (13:56)Direct to Factory Sourcing (15:31)Opening new stores (17:00)Finding Savings (19:19)Optimizing Inventory Levels (21:10)Promotions (22:46)Tariffs (24:20)Expanding beyond workwear (26:27)Outlook for the future (28:11) Links:Stephanie's LinkedInDuluth LinkedInDuluth WebsiteICR LinkedInICR TwitterICR WebsiteFeedback:If you have questions about the show, or have a topic in mind you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producer, joe@lowerstreet.co.

As we take a brief hiatus from releasing new episodes this week, we thought it would be interesting to revisit this episode from December 2024 with Michael Saylor. Ahead of the Trump administration officially taking office, Michael explained why he thought the year ahead would be a seminal one in the history of Bitcoin. Was he correct? You be the judge. Summary: With a new, crypto-friendly administration incoming, 2025 may be the year we see Bitcoin integrate more fully into mainstream finance in America and globally. Though volatile, and with an uncertain future that will heavily depend on how macroeconomic conditions and regulatory policies play out across the year, there's reason to believe that Bitcoin could soon be more prominent than ever. Today's guest is here to tell us why.Michael Saylor is the Executive Chairman and co-founder of business intelligence company MicroStrategy (Nasdaq: MSTR), and a leading advocate of Bitcoin. MicroStrategy considers itself to be the world's first Bitcoin Company, and under Michael's leadership have adopted a unique Bitcoin acquisition strategy with approximately $42 billion in Bitcoin held to date. In this episode, Michael describes his journey from skeptic to Bitcoin maximalist, emphasizes the importance of understanding Bitcoin as a digital capital asset, and discusses its potential to disrupt traditional valuation methodologies in finance.Highlights:Michael recommends resources for Bitcoin beginners (2:37)Why fear of progress holds us back (3:55)Michael points out the clues suggesting Bitcoin is here to stay (7:11)What USD maximalists get wrong (13:15)How we can understand the potential of Bitcoin through an engineering lens (16:25)Why valuation methodologies need to adapt to include Bitcoin (18:48)How Bitcoin outperforms traditional investments (28:09)Why supportive regulatory environment is crucial for Bitcoin's growth (30:54)Michael explains why the current capital market structure favors a select few (34:59)Why sound money is critical for societal progress (39:00)Links:Michael Saylor LinkedInMicroStrategy WebsiteBook: The Bitcoin Standard by Saifedean AmmousICR LinkedInICR TwitterICR WebsiteFeedback:If you have questions about the show, or have a topic in mind you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producer, joe@lowerstreet.co.

In their 125 years in existence, Alico had grown to become one of America's leading citrus producers. In January 2025, owing to adverse weather events and crop disease, they made the difficult decision to wind down their citrus operations and adopt a new real estate-focused business model.Today, we sit down with John Kiernan, president and CEO of Alico, which trades on the NASDAQ under the symbol ALCO. John has been overseeing Alico's recent efforts to transition out of the citrus industry towards a strategy that makes full use of their extensive holdings in Florida real estate, valued somewhere between 650-750 million dollars.Going from growing oranges to building communities is no easy feat. John explains how Alico is leveraging their great team, and ample liquidity, to make it work.Highlights:Alico's history (2:10)Alico's land holdings (4:09)Pivot to Real Estate (5:03)Florida Population Growth (6:04)A Diversified Land Company (8:18)Shareholder Returns (10:35)Alico's Identity (12:18)Alico's Role in Development (13:30)Corkscrew Grove (14:53)Regulatory Hurdles (17:22)Entitlements (1945)Mitigating Risk (22:18)Links:John's LinkedInAlico LinkedInAlico WebsiteICR LinkedInICR TwitterICR Website Feedback:If you have questions about the show, or have a topic in mind you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producer, joe@lowerstreet.co.

The Trump administration has made American reindustrialization a top priority, but to do that, the US is going to need access to an abundance of metals like copper, manganese and nickel. The challenge then is to find a way to source these materials that doesn't rely on Chinese supply chains, and won't lead to serious environmental harm.Gerard Barron is the co-founder, CEO and chairman of The Metals Company, which trades on the Nasdaq under the symbol TMC. The Metals Company mission is to harvest and process metal-containing nodules from the sea floor, providing a clean and abundant source of raw materials for an array of critical industries, like steelmaking and EV production. Gerard walks us through the evolution of TMC, their groundbreaking tech, and some recent regulatory breakthroughs that have brought them closer to achieving their goals than ever before.

Summary: When your A/C breaks down in the middle of summer, you want someone at your house to fix it that same day. And one firm has been able to leverage that reliability into a national home services empire. Ken Haines was appointed CEO of Wrench Group almost 10 years ago and he has since guided the company to become the second largest non-franchised home services company in the United States. Ken joins us to discuss his philosophy on leadership, the benefits of Wrench Group's innovative partnership model, and the impact of emerging tech in the home-services industry.  Highlights:Wrench Group Services (1:59)Ken's path through the industry (2:40)Company-owned vs. Franchised (4:50)Autonomy vs. Consistency (5:49)Evaluating Culture Fit (7:03)Customer Experience (8:34)Covid's Impacts (11:24)Emerging Tech (13:10)Recruitment (16:42)Where does Wrench Group go from here? (19:32)Links:Ken's LinkedInWrench Group LinkedInWrench Group WebsiteICR LinkedInICR TwitterICR Website Feedback:If you have questions about the show, or have a topic in mind you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producer, joe@lowerstreet.co.

Investors often talk about the desire for companies to diversify. Well, you'd be hard pressed to find a firm who's done that better than the Superior Group of Companies (SGC), which operates in three distinct buckets: healthcare apparel, branded products and contact centres.  Our guest today is Michael Benstock, the Chairman and CEO of SGC. Michael takes us through the evolution of SGC since its founding more than a century ago, and its successful diversification efforts over the years. We also discuss SGC's adeptness at pivoting, as well as their commitment to service quality, advanced technology, and omnichannel commerce. Highlights:The SGC Story (1:51)Michael's journey (4:40)SGC's Global Footprint (6:03)Total Addressable Markets (8:25)Pivoting (11:32)Acquisitions (13:43)Leveraging tech (16:13)Divestment (19:29)Philosophy on Capital Allocation (20:34)Legacy (22:26) Links:Michael's LinkedInSGC LinkedInSGC WebsiteICR LinkedInICR TwitterICR Website Feedback:If you have questions about the show, or have a topic in mind you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producer, joe@lowerstreet.co.

Summary: At this point, most Americans will probably be familiar with the media company, Newsmax. Their political slant has garnered the company its fair share of criticism, but their growth in recent years has been undeniable.  Chris Ruddy is the CEO of Newsmax Media, which trades under the symbol NMAX. Chris began his career as a journalist at the New York Post and Pittsburgh Tribune-Review before founding Newsmax in 1998. Since then, it's grown into one of the nation's leading broadcasting and digital media companies. Chris joins us today to talk about the public perception of NewsMax, the rationale behind their recent IPO and their plans to leverage their massive reach into future growth. Highlights:Founding Newsmax (2:06)Product offerings and reach (3:14)Political leanings (5:23)Attracting younger viewers (8:14)IPO (9:59)Capital allocation (11:16)Avenues for growth (12:24)Podcasting (14:38)International expansion (15:52)AI (18:21)What do investors get wrong about Newsmax? (19:34) Links:Christopher Ruddy LinkedInNewsmax LinkedInNewsmax WebsiteICR LinkedInICR TwitterICR Website Feedback:If you have questions about the show, or have a topic in mind you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producer, Joe@lowerstreet.co.

Back in January, we had on Julie Masino, the President and CEO of Cracker Barrel, who walked us through her strategy for transforming the brand, and gave great insights into general trends in the restaurant industry. Since it's summer time, and patio season is in full swing, we thought now would be a good time to revisit this gem. Summary: What does it take to revitalize a legacy brand, while maintaining its identity? By balancing tradition and transformation, any company can breathe new life into its business and consistently evolve to meet the changing expectations of customers and employees alike.Today's guest is Julie Masino. Julie is President and CEO of Cracker Barrel, a role she took on just over a year ago in November of 2023. Since then, she's led the company with a focus on innovation and growth drawing on her over 30 years of experience in the restaurant and retail industries. Previously, Julie served President of International at Taco Bell and before that, President of North America. She's also held senior leadership positions at Sprinkles Cupcakes, Mattel, Starbucks, and began her career at iconic brands like Godiva, Coach, J. Crew, and Macy's. In this episode, Julie shares her vision for the brand and the five-pillar transformation strategy she is implementing aimed at enhancing market share, guest experience, and profitability.Highlights:Julie explains the opportunity she saw for Cracker Barrel (2:58)Julie's fiver pillar strategy for Cracker Barrel's transformation (4:25)Why dinner remains a key area for increasing market share (9:23)What updates are being made to Cracker Barrel's pricing strategy? (12:39)Improving facilities and team satisfaction (15:44)Julie highlights the metrics correlated with sales growth (18:48)Digital and off-premises growth (23:00)How Cracker Barrel is engaging younger consumers (27:05)Links:Julie Masino on LinkedInCracker Barrel on LinkedInCracker Barrel WebsiteICR LinkedInICR TwitterICR WebsiteFeedback:If you have questions about the show, or have a topic in mind you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producer, marion@lowerstreet.co.

Dash Miller may not be a CEO, but like many of the people we feature on this show, he is a true leader, he has a vision, and he's executing on his plan.Sometimes life forces you to grow up quickly, and that's exactly what happened to Dash. He lost his 16-year-old brother Callum after a five year battle with cancer. And out of that tragedy, dash started a unique corporate outreach campaign on LinkedIn making inspiring and grateful videos about companies that touched his family's life while Callum was in treatment.Dash joins us to discuss the inspirations behind the campaign and the incredible responses he's received from both individuals and companies.Highlights:Callum's Story (2:16)Dash' work at UCSF (2:58)Dash' work with LLS (4:08)Why LinkedIn? (5:23)Biggest Challenges (7:33)Nestlé (9:55)Hasbro (10:50)What's next? (12:19)Links:Dash Miller LinkedInFundraiser WebsiteICR LinkedInICR TwitterICR Website Feedback:If you have questions about the show, or have a topic in mind you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producer, joe@lowerstreet.co