Learnings from Leaders: the P&G Alumni Podcast

“Really focus on people. If you have 500 people working for you, that does not mean that they're working for you, but you are working for 500 people.” Jaideep Bansal is the CEO of Global Himalayan Expedition (GHE) Impact Ventures, and one of the P&G Alumni Leaders Under 40. Jaideep worked with P&G in Product Supply for almost 6 years before becoming a social entrepreneur. With GHE, Jaideep is bringing sustainable development to the remotest communities in India. GHE brings solar energy and sustainable development to half a million people across five remote regions in India. Jaideep and his team are the winners of the 2020 UN Climate Action Award. GHE’s work has been documented by National Geographic, BBC and NDTV, and awarded by the WTTC and the World Tourism Awards. Jaideep has been featured repeatedly at Davos among the top leaders inspiring change in the world. He is also an Asia Foundation Fellow and has been recognised as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. You’ll enjoy this candid conversation about social entrepreneurship, how development trumps religion, and living a purpose driven life.

“ 'Yes, and...' is a kind of courage. Only failure allows us to begin again more intelligently.” Emily Chang is a seasoned marketer with 20+ years of experience across the US and China. She’s currently the CEO of Wunderman Thompson West, and was previously the CEO of McCann Worldgroup China. Emily served as Starbucks SVP of Marketing, and earlier as CMO of Starbucks China. She was the Chief Commercial Officer at Intercontinental Hotels Group, and Apple’s head of Asia retail marketing. Emily got her start at P&G, spending 11 years working across multiple business units. Emily’s spoken at conferences around the world - including Fortune Most Powerful Women’s Summit, C2 in Montréal, and has delivered three TEDx talks. Emily’s also the author of the book “The Spare Room: Define Your Social Legacy to Live a More Intentional Life and Lead with Authentic Purpose.”  Emily lives with her husband and daughter, and over the years, has shared her spare room with sixteen young people, five dogs, one turtle, one guinea pig, and 129 snails. You can learn more about Emily’s work at social-legacy.com. In our candid conversation, Emily shares how her immigrant upbringing, curiosity and willingness to take risks has led her professional career, and personal purpose.  This episode originally aired in March 2021

Shankar Vishwanathan was P&G’s SVP e-Business leader for Asia Pacific Middle East & Africa — a 32 veteran of the company starting in India as Account Manager, and a career ranging brands/categories across  India, USA, Russia, Vietnam, Singapore, and the Philippines. For Shankar, leadership starts with people — he believes in the power of relationships to unleash the best in others. Shankar is also a practitioner of yoga and mindfulness and is a trainer instructor in both. A proud husband and father, Shankar is very involved in philanthropy, having led the Force for Good program in Singapore, started a school for orphans in Vietnam and helped educate children through direct support and coaching. You’ll enjoy this candid, vulnerable conversation from an accomplished international leader

“It made me think about how our sense of identity really gets mixed up in names that other people give to us.” In real life, Bich Minh Nguyen now goes by the name Beth Nguyen - Beth is an award-winning writer and professor. In honor of AAPI Heritage Month, we wanted to share a conversation from the other podcast Modern Minorities - which features minority voices for all of our majority ears. Born in Saigon, Beth is the author of books like Stealing Buddha's Dinner, Short Girls, Pioneer Girl, and Owner of a Lonely Heart - her memoir in essays about post refugee life coming out later this year. Beth 2021 New Yorker article - “⁠America Ruined My Name For Me⁠” unpacks a necessary conversation about identity, adaption and assimilation - especially for those whose name is not hard to pronounce or understand. A refugee and a mother, Beth’s moving work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Paris Review, The New York Times, and Literary Hub. Beth's awards and honors include an American Book Award, a PEN/Jerard Award from the PEN American Center, a Bread Loaf fellowship, and best book of the year honors from the Chicago Tribune and Library Journal. Beth has taught at Purdue University and the University of San Francisco - she is and is currently a professor of creative writing at the University of Wisconsin. You’ll enjoy this candid conversation about growing between the cultures of two worlds

“When you unlock an insight with curiosity, the power to drive limitless growth is huge. We as leaders can make a big difference with the questions we ask.”  Shailesh Jejurikar is P&G’s Chief Operating Officer, where he has profit/loss responsibility for P&G’s Enterprise Markets - Latin America, India, Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe - and leads Information Technology, Global Business Services, Sales, Market Operations, Purchasing, Manufacturing, Distribution and New Business for the company. Previously, Shailesh was the Chief Executive Officer of  P&G’S largest business sector, Fabric & Home Care, which includes many of P&G’s most-iconic brands: Tide, Ariel, Downy, Gain, Febreze, Swiffer—and represents about one-third of total company sales and net earnings. From 2016 to 2021, Shailesh served as executive sponsor for global sustainability, enabling P&G’s “force for growth and a force for good” vision and ensuring the company’s sustainability goals are fully integrated into the day-to-day business to enable—and to inspire—positive impact on the environment and society while creating value for the company, consumers and shareholders. Shailesh’s extensive P&G career has spanned 30+ years - across multiple businesses (Health & Beauty Care, Home Care, Fabric Care and P&G Professional) in both developed and developing regions - including North America, Europe, Asia and Africa) - getting his start in his home country in India. Shailesh is known for his unique ability to identify growth possibilities, having consistently delivered strong business results in every market and on every business. You’ll enjoy this candid conversation on curiosity, seeing around corners, and learning to learn.

"A brand grows in the centuries balancing between heritage and modernity - to stay modern, to stay relevant. Leadership also requires this balance.”  Daniela Riccardi is a proven CEO - with extensive experience operating businesses and brands in the international consumer and retail industry. She's currently the CEO of Moleskine, and has also led as CEO at iconic luxury and fashion brands like Baccarat and Diesel.  Daniela got her career start over 25  years at Procter & Gamble, where she held numerous senior roles including Vice President in Colombia, Mexico, and Venezuela. From 2001 to 2004, she worked as Vice President and General Manager for Eastern Europe and Russia, based in Moscow. From 2005 to 2010, she was President of Procter & Gamble Greater China.  Daniela has also served as a member of the board of WPP, the largest agency holding company, the French Luxury goods company and of Comite Colbert, an association of French Luxury Brands and cultural institutions. Daniela Riccardi graduated Magna cum Laude from the University of Rome - La Sapienza (Italy) and holds a degree in Political Science and International Studies. Prior to that, she completed professional studies in classic and modern dance at the National Dance Academy in Rome. She speaks fluent French, English, Spanish and Italian. You’ll enjoy this candid talk on leadership, heritage & modernity from the 2019 P&G Alumni Global Conference in Madrid.

“AI gets back to how do I make decisions easier? Giving the right data to the right people at the right time — not perfect by any means, but it’s a powerful notion.” Franz Dill is a retired P&G Technologist and independent consultant in AI and analytics. We wanted to tap into Franz’s experience and expertise in technology to talk about Artificial Intelligence (AI) - a topic that issuddenly, everything, everywhere, all at once. Franz worked at P&G for 30+ years, where where he served as a Chief Scientist for analytics and as an emergent technologist. He founded P&G groundbreaking contextual innovation centers, established the company's Web 2.0 capabilities, wrote one of the most read blogs in the organization and was also a member of the Cognitive Alliance Analysis Council. Since retiring in 2008, Franz has remained an active consultant in Business Intelligence and Marketing, Retail Innovation, AI, and Business Process Improvement. Franz has also consulted with groups like GE Aviation and as an adjunct professor at Columbia University. Franz has a degree in astrophysics from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Master's in Industrial Mathematics from the University of Florida. With the rapid advancements in AI changing every day, things discussed in this March 2023 conversation may already have moved - but there’s a lot of fundamentals in this candid conversation that make sense.

“Integrity can be a competitive advantage.” Ed Artzt served as P&G’s CEO and Chairman from 1990 to 1995. During his extensive forty-one-year career, Ed worked in multiple business sectors. To each, he brought strong leadership, strategic insight, remarkable decisiveness, and an unrelenting drive to be number one. His time as the Chief Executive was a period of unprecedented change in the global marketplace. Ed foresaw and implemented innovative transformations from restructuring the organization's design, the divestiture of non-strategic businesses, new acquisitions, opening up new markets, and building the diversity of P&G's leadership. He addressed these decisions with courage and conviction in ways that reflected the company's Purpose, Values, and Principles. Ed is credited as the principal architect of P&G becoming a global business. During his tenure, international sales grew from less than 10% to accounting for over half of P&G's worldwide sales. He oversaw the transformation of US and European brands like Pantene, Always, Pampers, and Ariel into global brands. P&G's reach quintupled from one to five billion consumers. Ed also served on the boards of American Express, Delta Airlines, GTE and Teradyne. He was active in foreign affairs and an influential advocate of world trade, and on President Clinton’s Advisory Committee on Trade Policy and Negotiations.  With Ed’s recent passing in April 2023, we wanted to honor his memory, by replaying our 2020 conversation  - where Ed shared his perspectives on the importance of storytelling, and the competitive advantage of integrity. His stories illuminate concrete lessons from both P&G's successes and failures which speak directly to challenges business leaders continue to face today. READ THE BOOK — For more on Ed’s life and learnings - be sure to purchase his memoir / oral history: “P&G the Globalization Years: Lessons Learned during Procter & Gamble’s Transformation from an American Exporter to a Global Marketer” goodreads.com/book/show/122991065-p-g-the-globalization-years

“When people learn and feel valued, they want to make a difference and help each other. And when that comes alive, amazing things happen.” Jon Moeller is P&G’s current CEO & Chairman. Jon has been an integral part of P&G's leadership team for over two decades, developing strategies that P&G people are executing with excellence to drive the company’s growth today. Prior to becoming CEO, Jon served as P&G’s Chief Operating Officer for six years, and also held the role of P&G’s Chief Financial Officer for more than twelve years Since joining P&G in 1988 as a cost analyst, Jon has held various senior leadership roles in categories, sectors and regions, including assignments in China, as the company’s Treasurer, Global Beauty, Health, Feminine Care Finance Senior VP, and Corporate Forecasting & Analysis. Jon is active in the business, civic and cultural leadership of Greater Cincinnati, serving in an advisory role on local Boards and is a Trustee Emeritus and Former Chairman of the Cincinnati Art Museum Board of Trustees. In this P&G Alumni Enrichment webinar conversation on meeting the moment - Jon talks about Jon talks about the journey that P&G has been on recent years - and looks ahead to the future. 

“The most important part of humor in the workplace isn't the humor — it's the outcome, which is it’s fun. Bracken Darrell is President & CEO of Logitech - where for more than a decade he’s been the driver for Logitech’s continued growth and profitability. Prior to joining Logitech, Bracken spent a decade in executive roles @ Whirlpool, Braun, and General Electric - and also worked in brand management at P&G. Prior to receiving his MBA from Harvard, Bracken worked at Arthur Anderson and PepsiCo. Bracken’s a longtime “Friend of the Pod” - so we wanted to feature another chat he had with our favorite Humor Engineer and Co-host Andrew Tarvin, in one of Drew’s ”Humor Talks.” You’ll enjoy hearing Bracken share his recognition in the power of humor for creating a fun workplace. Now more than ever, it’s important  to be able to be your authentic self at work, and for so many people, that includes humor. But Bracken knows that humor at work doesn’t have to mean telling jokes (he doesn’t think he’s a particularly funny person) - he’s more in the moment, improvising or reacting quickly to what is said - a great mindset to building humor. This conversation may also stories about Jack Welch, and the naming of a cat in this candid conversation that no surprise, is a fun one.