Learnings from Leaders: the P&G Alumni Podcast

“We are most successful from the core of who we are - don't change into somebody else. But at the same time, what is it about your leadership style that is getting in the way?” Carol Yang is a certified Global Executive Coach (ICF PCC) with 23 years of global leadership experience across Fortune 500 companies - like P&G and the Timberland Company, where she was VP of Global marketing. As an Executive Coach, Carol works with senior leaders around the world, with an emphasis on empowering female leaders to move up and thrive in bigger, more complex roles. Carol’s clients include senior leaders at Goldman Sachs, Merck, P&G, Agile Technology and others. Going beyond her own career journey, Carol shares relevant advice on the mindset shift needed to ascend into senior executive roles. This is the first in a series with P&G Alumni Coaching where leading Alumni will dive deep on relevant topics. Just as professional athletes have a coach to help them perform at their best, coaching can help you thrive in career and life life, through powerful questioning, exploration, and action planning. P&G Alums can learn more and sign up for their free first coaching session @ coaching.pgalums.com You’ll enjoy this candid coaching conversation with Carol on not just the big mindset mindset needed for executive growth, but also how to get clear on what we want, taking ownership of your career, building self awareness, and going beyond the buzzwords of building an authentic personal brand.

“Make the time to scratch beneath the surface in each state. Spending time with the people - in the cities, in the towns, at the restaurants - you're always going to uncover something.” Part TWO of our USA Travel series - across all 50 states of the USA with Raman and podcast co-founder Drew Tarvin - author of “The United States of Laughter” - as they share stories and learnings from their travels across America - from Nebraska to Wyoming. See last week’s episode for the first part, from Alabama to Montana. Got some travel learnings from anywhere in the world? Send a voice memo to pgalumpod@gmail.com, and maybe we'll feature your story on a future episode! And don’t forget to register for the P&G Alumni Global Conference in Washington DC - November 2-5, 2023. You'll get to hear from many former P&G CEOs, C-Suite alumni leaders, and emerging trendsetters, all while networking with fellow P&G Alums. Learn more and register at pgalums.com

“It's so easy to go onto the next thing - but take that moment to stop and celebrate small and big wins.” We’re returning to one of our favorite topics - TRAVEL - turning our focus to the strange and foreign land known as the United States of America. Raman is joined by podcast co-founder Drew Tarvin - author of “The United States of Laughter” - as they share stories and learnings from their travels to all 50 American states, in the first of a two-part series, covering from Alabama to Montana. Got some travel learnings from anywhere in the world? Send a voice memo to pgalumpod@gmail.com, and maybe we'll feature your story on a future episode! And don’t forget to register for the P&G Alumni Global Conference in Washington DC - November 2-5, 2023. You'll get to hear from many former P&G CEOs, C-Suite alumni leaders, and emerging trendsetters, all while networking with fellow P&G Alums. Learn more and register at pgalums.com

“Simplifying the complex is hard - really distilling the essentials, making your thoughts and rationale as strong as possible. Make sure that it says something about you.” Jawad Bisbis is the Global VP of Marketing at Ball Corporation where he leads marketing and partnerships for Ball’s aluminum cup business. Jawad was previously 7-Eleven’s VP Proprietary Beverages, where he oversaw the coffee, fountain and frozen business across 10,000 stores nationwide. Before joining 7-Eleven, Jawad was a VP of Marketing at Focus Brands, a foodservice chain where he provided marketing leadership across more than 50 international markets and 2000 stores.  Jawad also worked for Luxottica as Group marketing director for the Middle-East & Africa business, and  fifteen years with The Coca-Cola Company in diverse markets and roles. Jawad started his marketing career with Procter & Gamble where he held various brand management positions. He holds a Master’s Degree from Kedge Business School in France and is fluent in Arabic and French. Jawad is  married with two children, and when he’s not working, he enjoys watching soccer, playing tennis, and mentoring college and early career youths in underserved communities.  You’ll enjoy this candid conversation about cultivating a different point of view and pushing yourself to being a lifelong learner.

“The mindset of an entrepreneur is helpful to embrace no matter what your current position. Control the W’s of life - who you spend time with, what you do, why you are doing them.”  Tim Ferriss is an American entrepreneur, author, and podcaster - best known for his book: the Four Hour Work Week, and his podcast: the Tim Ferriss Show. Tim has been listed as one of fast company's most innovative business people. Tim is an early stage technology investor and advisor, and is known in media as “the Oprah of Audio” due to the influence of his business and interview podcast being the first to exceed 200 million downloads. Tim is the author of four Number One New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers, including the Four Hour Work Week. You’ll enjoy this candid conversation about balancing work and life, health and wellness, and many other topics.  But Tim is not exactly a P&G Alumni, so what’s the deal? Alongside our partners at P&G, we’re thrilled to share another episode of P&G’s “More Than Soap” podcast - available exclusively each week to P&G Employees at GetMoreThanSoap.com. On “More Than Soap,” P&G shares weekly conversations with Inspiring guests, unique perspectives, and unconventional ideas. “More Than Soap” is P&G’s official internal podcast - available  to all 100,000 P&G employees worldwide, and hosted by Dorion Positano, P&G’s Director of New Business and Content Innovation. Interested in learning more about P&G’s “More Than Soap” podcast, or P&G Studios, can reach out directly to Dorion on LinkedIn. GetMoreThanSoap.com

“There's nothing that opens up your mind, even your heart, to new and unknown things than travel. Get outside your comfort zone.” S. Qaisar Shareef is P&G’s former head of Pakistan and Ukraine, author of “When Tribesmen Came Calling,” and a longtime friend of the pod. But more importantly, he’s also a fellow lover of travel. Specifically in how travel allows each of us to experience new and different cultures. Qaisar is based in Washington DC, and a frequent columnist in News International Pakistan, and his recent article about his travels in Egypt speak to the importance of experiencing new and different cultures. Whether hitchhiking from Germany to Belgium, traveling the silk road thru Uzbekistan, wandering Afghanistan, or roaming ruins in Syria and Spain, Qaisar shares lessons and learnings from a world well traveled. Got learnings to share about your own travels? Let us know your favorites pgalumpod@gmail.com - with a voice memo or written story - and maybe we’ll feature your travel learnings on a future podcast!

“There are some moments in sales where it does not go at all like you planned, and you just feel lost. And I do think humor is a way to deal with failure.” Greg Warren is a nationally known stand-up comic whose new comedy special “The Salesman” recently launched, so we thought we’d talk with Greg about his creative process and learnings we can find from the world of stand-up comedy.  Greg 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. He’s currently based in St Louis, MO. Are you a P&G Alumni leader who’s an industry expert on a topic where our audience can get lots of learnings? Shoot us a note - pgalumpod@gmail.com - and maybe we'll feature you on a future P&G Alumni Podcast!

“If I'm in a tough environment, should I leave? And I always say, no, not immediately. Try to see if you can bring in your strengths and make it work." Dalia Feldheim is an author, organizational psychologist, and works with leading companies to promote heart-felt leadership - so we wanted to feature a conversation about her 2020 TEDx talk “Dare to Lead Like a Girl.” Before founding her Flow Leadership Consultancy, Dalia worked as the CMO and VP of marketing APAC for Electrolux, and prior to that, spent nearly 17 years at Procter & Gamble, working her way up from ABM to Marketing Director for FemCare in Asia. During her time, she helped to work on some iconic ad campaigns such as ‘Tampax Mother Nature’ and ’Always #like a girl’ which was ranked as Forbes most influential campaign of the decade. Dalia holds an Executive Masters degree in Consulting and Coaching for Change from IN-SE-AD business school along with a Happiness Facilitator diploma from the ‘Happiness Studies Academy’ in partnership with Miami university. TED talks are "Ideas Worth Spreading" - short talks and presentations that have lit up the internet since 2006. And since # of P&G Alums have shared TEDx talks at official events with their communities - we thought these ideas were worth spreading on our podcast. Are you a P&G Alumni with a TEDx talk? Shoot us a note - pgalumpod@gmail.com - and maybe we'll feature your TEDx talk on a future P&G Alumni Podcast!

“On a daily basis, what kind of score would I give myself? And then what could be one thing that I could do to maybe push that up a little bit.” Lars Sudmann is an author, executive advisor, and an explorer of the unknown - so we wanted to feature a conversation about his 2016 TEDx talk “Great Leadership Starts with Self-Leadership.” After nearly a decade with P&G in senior roles in Finance and supply chain - including time as the P&G Belgium CFO, Lars has now dedicated his life to exploring how leaders in their field excel in challenging environments. As a university lecturer, author, strategy director and more, Lars is always looking for tools that help all of us navigate the world of business and life better. Lars is the author of the book "Innovation that Sticks" and his multiple TEDx talks on self-leadership and innovation are top-ranked.  TED talks are "Ideas Worth Spreading" - short talks and presentations that have lit up the internet since 2006. And since # of P&G Alums have shared TEDx talks at official events with their communities - we thought these ideas were worth spreading on our podcast. Are you a P&G Alumni with a TEDx talk? Shoot us a note - pgalumpod@gmail.com - and maybe we'll feature your TEDx talk on a future P&G Alumni Podcast!

"There's this bittersweet tradition that has existed across time and our world - it's the pathway to creativity and connection and transcendence.” Susan Cain is the author of the bestseller Quiet: The Power of Introverts in A World That Can’t Stop Talking, which has been translated into 40 languages, is in its seventh year on the New York Times best seller list, and was named the #1 best book of the year by Fast Company magazine, which also named Cain one of its Most Creative People in Business. Susan’s latest book, Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole, is also a #1 New York Times Bestseller, and explores the power of the bittersweet personality, revealing a misunderstood side of mental health and creativity, while offering a roadmap to facing grief in order to live life to the fullest. But Susan is not exactly a P&G Alumni, so what’s the deal? Alongside our partners at P&G, we’re thrilled to share another episode of P&G’s “More Than Soap” podcast - available exclusively each week to P&G Employees at GetMoreThanSoap.com. On “More Than Soap,” P&G shares weekly conversations with Inspiring guests, unique perspectives, and unconventional ideas. “More Than Soap” is P&G’s official internal podcast - available  to all 100,000 P&G employees worldwide, and hosted by Dorion Positano, P&G’s Director of New Business and Content Innovation. Interested in learning more about P&G’s “More Than Soap” podcast, or P&G Studios, can reach out directly to Dorion on LinkedIn. GetMoreThanSoap.com