Masters of Scale: Rapid Response
125 episodes - English - Latest episode: almost 2 years ago - ★★★★★ - 50 ratingsReal-time wisdom from business leaders in fast-changing situations — covering the COVID-19 crisis and beyond. These fast, focused interviews with CEOs are the in-the-moment counterpoint to the timeless episodes in the classic Masters of Scale podcast. Hosted by Bob Safian, former editor in chief of Fast Company.
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Episodes
A global benefit concert for Ukraine, w/World Unite for Ukraine’s Victoria Yampolsky
May 26, 2022 09:00 - 24 minutes - 22.6 MBIt’s easy to have a grand idea; putting that plan into action is not. Victoria Yampolsky conceived of a global concert in support of Ukraine. Without any experience in entertainment or international aid, she shares how she didn’t accept “no” for an answer in her quest to book big-name guests like Pink Floyd and negotiate a streaming deal — to pursue a fundraising goal of $10 million. Read a transcript of this episode: https://mastersofscale.com Subscribe to the Masters of Scale we...
Inside a $2.4 billion bet on talent, w/ PwC's Tim Ryan
May 19, 2022 09:00 - 33 minutes - 30.9 MBWith the workplace in historic flux, consulting firm PwC is committing a whopping $2.4 billion to create an employee engagement platform offering a radically new level of choice. PwC’s U.S. chair, Tim Ryan, shares why the bold initiative is necessary in the face of the Great Resignation. It's just one of several evolving crises, Ryan says, that has made leading a business more complex and demanding than ever. Read a transcript of this episode: https://mastersofscale.com Subscribe ...
Stay scrappy, deliver fast, w/Gopuff’s Yakir Gola
May 12, 2022 09:00 - 28 minutes - 26.5 MBHas Gopuff cracked the code of instant delivery — a field where even Amazon has struggled? Co-founder Yakir Gola talks about the challenge of owning the customer journey from app to warehouse to doorstep, and the reasons why being outside Silicon Valley is giving Gopuff a big advantage as it expands across the United States and around the world. Yakir talks with host Bob Safian about why moving fast is only one piece of the growth puzzle. Read a transcript of this episode: https://...
Protecting against the next bio threat, w/The Public Health Company's Charity Dean
May 05, 2022 09:00 - 30 minutes - 27.8 MBCharity Dean was one of the first public health officials to set the alarm on COVID. When she searched for a tool to forecast future bio threats, she realized that it didn’t exist yet. So she co-founded the Public Health Company, where she uses lessons from her government experiences, but without the same rules or limits. She speaks with Bob Safian about why all companies must be public health companies. Read a transcript of this episode: https://mastersofscale.com Subscribe to th...
Protecting against the next bio threat
May 05, 2022 09:00 - 30 minutes - 27.8 MBCharity Dean was one of the first public health officials to set the alarm on COVID. When she searched for a tool to forecast future bio threats, she realized that it didn’t exist yet. So she co-founded the Public Health Company, where she uses lessons from her government experiences, but without the same rules or limits. She speaks with Bob Safian about why all companies must be public health companies. Read a transcript of this episode: https://mastersofscale.com Subscribe to th...
Rebooting global crisis response, w/ONE Campaign CEO Gayle Smith
April 30, 2022 09:00 - 32 minutes - 29.6 MBGayle Smith is the CEO of the ONE Campaign, the advocacy group founded by U2’s Bono — and last year, she was tapped by the U.S. State Department to coordinate America’s COVID response and vaccine distribution globally. Her experience both inside and outside government gives her a distinctive outlook on how business can and should help on humanitarian issues, from Ukraine dislocation to climate change. She also shares lessons about effective advocacy: tactics pioneered by ONE that ca...
How Chief became a phenomenon, w/CEO Carolyn Childers
April 21, 2022 09:00 - 30 minutes - 27.5 MBAmid pandemic disruption, Chief turned a small, NYC-based club for women executives into a national phenomenon with more than 12,000 members. Co-founder and CEO Carolyn Childers joins Rapid Response to share how she and co-founder Lindsay Kaplan managed the unlikely transformation, which recently yielded a $100 million Series B funding round. She reveals how the company leveraged existing tech and their own innovations to build connections, identifying not just a gap in the marketpl...
Lessons from an entrepreneur in Ukraine, w/Alyona Mysko, CEO of Fuelfinance
April 14, 2022 09:00 - 26 minutes - 24.5 MBMeet Alyona Mysko, the CEO of a B2B startup in Ukraine called Fuelfinance, as she walks us through the lessons she’s learned while leading her company in a war. Her experience — which sometimes requires her and her team to work from bomb shelters during the day — offers lessons for every leader about communication, collaboration, and creativity in crisis. All of Ukraine is running like a start-up now, she says: Each citizen takes the initiative to pick up what needs to be done. Alyo...
Supporting Ukraine's tech workers, w/Emburse CEO Eric Friedrichsen
April 07, 2022 09:00 - 25 minutes - 23.7 MB“Don't let the roadblocks get in the way when there are people who need you desperately.” Eric Friedrichsen, the CEO of Emburse, a B2B software provider, has navigated around risks and financial costs to meet the needs of tech contractors based in Ukraine. Part of that response includes the company’s offer to relocate people and families to Spain, where Emburse’s European headquarters is located. The company’s executives are also personally funding housing costs for colleagues takin...
Inside "the most radical supply chain shift since World War II," w/Interos CEO Jennifer Bisceglie
April 02, 2022 09:00 - 21 minutes - 19.8 MBRussia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the sanctions that followed, have radically impacted supply chains around the world. Jennifer Bisceglie, CEO of Interos, a risk-management firm focused on supply chains, has seen her company’s risk dashboards light up in new and far-reaching ways. Mary businesses are more exposed than they realize, she says, with tech businesses surprisingly facing some of the highest risk. Driven by this disruption, a more sophisticated supply chain is coming toget...
How Airbnb.org is housing Ukrainian refugees, w/Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia
March 31, 2022 09:00 - 28 minutes - 26.1 MBAirbnb’s charitable arm, Airbnb.org, has committed to offer free, temporary housing for up to 100,000 refugees fleeing Ukraine. Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia joins Rapid Response to discuss how the company is deploying business tools for humanitarian benefit. He also shares how Airbnb’s platform has become a surprising tool to transfer money directly to individual Ukrainians, already generating $15 million. Along with co-founders Brian Chesky and Nate Blecharczyk, Joe is a fierce bel...
Putting an end to hustle culture w/Reshma Saujani, author of Pay Up
March 24, 2022 09:00 - 32 minutes - 29.5 MB“It’s not about fixing women. It’s about fixing the system,” says Reshma Saujani, the founder of Girls Who Code and Marshall Plan for Moms. As the author of the new book Pay Up: The Future of Women and Work, Reshma calls out corporate feminism and society’s assumption that women have to solve the problems of workplace achievement on their own. She argues that childcare is an economic issue that should be subsidized by employers, and that the discourse around the “future of work” nee...
Transforming an idea into a movement overnight, w/Black Women For Black Lives co-founder Tokunbo Koiki
March 19, 2022 09:00 - 32 minutes - 29.5 MBWatching the news out of Ukraine, Tokunbo Koiki saw alarming reports of African and Caribbean students struggling because of racism to flee the country. The news both outraged and inspired her to take action — fast. Tokunbo, an entrepreneur and social worker, shares the real-time story of how she linked up with two strangers, Patricia Daley and Korrine Sky, to build a full-fledged aid organization for Black refugees, in a single weekend. Using only the tools and networks at their di...
The logistical challenge of supporting refugees, w/Susy Schöneberg, head of Flexport.org
March 17, 2022 09:00 - 29 minutes - 27.3 MB“My big call to action would be to support existing organizations,” says Susy Schöneberg, the founder and head of Flexport.org, the nonprofit arm of the logistics firm Flexport. Schöneberg and her team are organizing complex shipments of relief goods to Ukrainian refugee sites across Eastern Europe; she breaks down how her organization has been safely managing the flow of goods toward displaced refugees and the best way you can get involved — as a citizen or company. She leaves us w...
“We have an all-out cyber war right now,” w/Bipul Sinha, Rubrik CEO
March 14, 2022 09:00 - 27 minutes - 25.3 MB“We have to assume that cyberattacks will happen,” says Bipul Sinha, CEO of the cybersecurity firm Rubrik. He joins Rapid Response to discuss the dramatic escalation of cyberthreats in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Bipul explains how state-sponsored actors and cybercriminals are both heightened threats, and how traditional cybersecurity approaches are adjusting to counter them. He also shares what we can do to protect ourselves — from basic cyber hygiene to recovery stra...
How global markets are reacting to Russia's war on Ukraine, w/Sara Menker, CEO of Gro Intelligence
March 12, 2022 10:00 - 21 minutes - 19.6 MBRussia’s invasion of Ukraine presents a new level of disruption to an already fragile global trade system. Sara Menker, the CEO of Gro Intelligence, a data research firm with deep insights on global supply and demand, joins Rapid Response for the second time to discuss these disruptions. While her biggest focus is agriculture, Sara’s insights provide a window into how things are shifting across all parts of the economy. She also discusses what we need to understand about Russia’s tr...
On the ground in Ukraine, w/Mercy Corps’ Tjada D'Oyen McKenna
March 10, 2022 10:00 - 27 minutes - 25.6 MBTjada D'Oyen McKenna, the CEO of Mercy Corps, an NGO on the front lines of the Ukrainian crisis, provides an inside look on how they’re helping address the needs of refugees. Mercy Corps began scenario planning well in advance of Russia’s aggression, and they’re now deploying food, cash, and social services to those in need. She also cautions about potential negative impacts elsewhere, as troubles in Ukraine pull resources from other struggling populations. See Privacy Policy at ht...
Make mistakes to make progress, w/GM's Gerald Johnson
March 03, 2022 10:00 - 33 minutes - 30.7 MBGeneral Motors’ Gerald Johnson shares the process and progress of trying to accomplish two daunting goals: an all-electric vehicle future, and to become the world’s most inclusive company. One thing that Johnson, the Executive Vice President of manufacturing and sustainability, has learned: “If you're not making mistakes, you're not making progress.” He adds that progress requires us to embrace being uncomfortable — and to learn from it. Johnson, who is a pastor as well, also discus...
Invest in first principles, w/Sarah Levy, Betterment CEO
February 24, 2022 10:00 - 30 minutes - 27.9 MBIt may appear off-brand for Betterment, a digital investment adviser, to acquire a cryptocurrency investing platform. But CEO Sarah Levy explains that Betterment, positioned around its long-term diversification philosophy, has approached this volatile space with their tried-and-true principles top of mind. “Once we believe that an asset class is here to stay,” she says, “the question is: how do we responsibly incorporate that alongside a traditional investment strategy?” Levy, who b...
Announcing the Masters of Scale Summit
February 23, 2022 14:00 - 12 minutes - 11.4 MBGo to summit.mastersofscale.com to learn how to join a pantheon of scale leaders gathering in San Francisco Oct. 18-20, 2022 at the Masters of Scale Summit. The early confirmed stage program includes the likes of Bill Gates, Tyra Banks, Satya Nadella, Arianna Huffington, Ted Sarandos, Mellody Hobson, and more. The event is uniquely designed for both executives in the room and their teams back home — offering a beautifully filmed, hosted livestream that will empower your team to brin...
"Be confident enough to show your vulnerability," w/Ken Frazier (Merck/General Catalyst)
February 17, 2022 10:00 - 33 minutes - 31 MBKen Frazier, the longtime CEO of pharmaceutical giant Merck, was one of the few Black CEOs at the top of Corporate America. Now as an adviser at General Catalyst and co-founder of the social impact organization OneTen, he’s re-shaping how business addresses racial and health equity. He joins host Bob Safian to discuss crisis adjustment, the positive side of fear, and the importance of vulnerability. Plus, he addresses the rising divisiveness in American culture, and the important ro...
Scaling when you’re already at scale, w/Qualcomm's Cristiano Amon
February 10, 2022 10:00 - 27 minutes - 25 MBAs the global chip shortage unfolded last year, Qualcomm’s engineers quickly redesigned their products – an effort that tapped into “every possible capacity we could find,” says CEO Cristiano Amon. Their story is a great lesson in how an established company can and must move with the speed of a startup. One key to moving at speed, says Amon: aligning the entire organization around a single strategy. But along with an all-hands effort, he insists, must also come time to rest. “Everyt...
Tapping a new generation of consumers, w/The Drone Racing League's Rachel Jacobson
February 03, 2022 10:00 - 24 minutes - 22.4 MBWith their eyes fixed on what’s next, the Drone Racing League has established a fresh fanbase, previously left untapped by professional sports. President Rachel Jacobson, formerly an NBA executive, refers to this audience as “techsetters” – young, enthusiastic, tech-driven fans who are “invested in what the future looks like.” It’s a new demographic that could have only emerged from the league’s unique positioning that intersects sports, entertainment, and technology. As Rachel says...
Be relentless – so your team can be fearless, w/Planned Parenthood’s Alexis McGill Johnson
January 27, 2022 10:00 - 30 minutes - 27.7 MBFaced with long odds, how do you keep your team motivated and moving forward? As a leader, Alexis McGill Johnson is focused on building hope. As the president of Planned Parenthood, Johnson is preparing for the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade. But in the meantime, she’s modeling a sense of relentlessness for her team – so they can be fearless and unapologetic. Since she took over at Planned Parenthood, she’s faced both internal and external challenges. Something she learn...
Lessons of Omicron, w/Sir Jeremy Farrar, director of Wellcome Trust
January 20, 2022 10:00 - 28 minutes - 25.9 MBSir Jeremy Farrar is UK’s pre-eminent scientific authority on Covid-19 and the chief executive at the research foundation Wellcome Trust. He joins Rapid Response to discuss the latest learnings of the Omicron variant – and offers a framework for reacting to the uncertainty. Farrar, whose research specializes in infectious diseases, also shares the two most important leadership lessons he’s learned during the pandemic: find time for yourself, and take warnings seriously. “Humanity of...
How to decarbonize your business, w/John Doerr, partner at Kleiner Perkins
January 13, 2022 10:00 - 29 minutes - 27.3 MB“Go for the megatons.” That’s John Doerr’s recommendation for how we need to combat the existential threat of climate change. Doerr, a venture capitalist and author of the new book Speed and Scale, joins host Bob Safian to discuss our decarbonization efforts, what he calls “the greatest economic opportunity of the next century.” The book quantifies the specific societal needs, in six discrete areas, to achieve a carbon-neutral world. John isn’t arguing that we all need to be vegan a...
How flexibility creates momentum, w/Crate & Barrel CEO Janet Hayes
December 16, 2021 10:00 - 26 minutes - 24.7 MBCrate & Barrel CEO Janet Hayes has been on a mission to modernize the home decor company since she took over as CEO in August, 2020. When she first joined the company, stores were closed and the future of retail was uncertain as Covid-19 put in-person experiences to a screeching halt. She’s responded by leaning into digital and sustainability for her brands, and flexibility for her employees. “As soon as I said, ‘It's a flexible workplace, and I'm going to value talent, collaboratio...
How GoFundMe has facilitated $15 billion in giving, w/CEO Tim Cadogan
December 09, 2021 10:00 - 34 minutes - 31.5 MBFrom the start of the pandemic, GoFundMe has served as a consistent global outlet for help. Since its inception, the for-profit crowdsourcing platform has facilitated $15 billion in giving through more than 200 million donations. It’s also attracted big names to the platform, including Taylor Swift, the Dalai Lama, and will_i_am. The key to the company’s success? According to CEO Tim Cadogan: "You need great people who are really ambitious in service of the mission.” Cadogan argues ...
Re-founding Instacart, with first-time CEO Fidji Simo
December 02, 2021 10:00 - 31 minutes - 29 MBThis past summer, Fidji Simo departed from Facebook – where she stood among the highest-ranking female executives, serving as the head of their app – for the opportunity to become a first-time CEO at Instacart. She replaced founder Apoorva Mehta, who appeared on this show last spring to talk about Instacart’s incredible COVID-fueled growth. Since then, Fidji has emphasized an evolved company mission, diversifying the company’s leadership and focusing on providing the necessary techn...
How to turn intentions into action, w/Aurora James, founder of the 15 Percent Pledge
November 18, 2021 10:00 - 33 minutes - 30.7 MBIn May 2020, as companies began making promises about how they’d help Black-owned businesses in the wake of George Floyd’s killing, Aurora James launched the 15 Percent Pledge initiative with an Instagram post. Tagging major retailers, she declared that 15% of retail shelf space should belong to Black-owned businesses. And she's helped these companies turn promise into action, unlocking $10 billion in revenue for Black-owned businesses. It's a relatable story for any small business ...
"You should be running toward AI," w/Eric Schmidt (frmr Google CEO)
November 11, 2021 10:00 - 32 minutes - 29.4 MBEric Schmidt, former CEO of Google, breaks down his deep insights around artificial intelligence on Rapid Response. Schmidt, co-author of the new book "The Age of AI: And Our Human Future," alongside Dr. Henry Kissinger and MIT’s Daniel Huttenlocher, says that we’re entering an unknown era with technology – one that requires extra vigilance to ensure that we amplify the positives and de-amplify the negatives. His advice to businesses: You need to be running as fast as you can toward...
How Peloton keeps pushing through resistance, w/CEO John Foley
November 04, 2021 09:00 - 31 minutes - 28.4 MBSkepticism and doubt are no strangers to John Foley, the CEO of Peloton. As he says, it’s been part of the company’s DNA “since the first time I pitched the business to an investor back in 2012.” Last year, the company was supercharged by pandemic demand. However, in 2021, the company has faced a slew of new headwinds, from product-safety issues to investor skepticism. In the face of these challenges, Peloton has doubled down on innovation and ambition. Foley doesn’t see skepticism ...
The truth about what we watch, with Nielsen’s David Kenny
October 28, 2021 09:00 - 31 minutes - 28.9 MBHow do you respond when your own users resist your data? That question is top-of-mind for Nielsen CEO David Kenny. For decades, Nielsen has measured ratings and demographics across TV and media – the ultimate designator of success and failure. But as industry norms shift to streaming, Kenny has had to revamp processes and expectations, absorbing heat from traditional customers. As he notes, nostalgia is the opposite of optimism – it assumes that a known past is better than an unknow...
Launching a $500 billion startup, w/ Jet.com founder and NBA owner Marc Lore
October 21, 2021 09:00 - 22 minutes - 20.5 MBSince stepping down as Walmart’s president of e-commerce at the beginning of the year, billionaire entrepreneur Marc Lore has had a busy year of big ideas. In the Spring, it was announced that he reached a deal to purchase the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves and the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx, alongside Alex Rodriguez. And then last month, he outlined his plans to build a new American city called Telosa, centered around sustainability and inclusion. Lore, who co-founded Jet.com, an e-commer...
Overcoming institutional hurdles, w/ U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee CEO Sarah Hirshland
October 14, 2021 09:00 - 33 minutes - 31.1 MBIn the last year, Sarah Hirshland has had to face one daunting issue after another as the CEO of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee – each of which have required urgent, in-the-moment decisions. Most recently Sarah mandated that U.S. athletes be vaccinated against COVID-19 to participate in the upcoming Beijing winter games. But that’s just the latest of a slew of cultural issues she’s been tasked to act on. She’s faced pandemic disruptions, social action protests, sexual misco...
SolarWinds: Urgent lessons from a cyberattack, w/ CEO Sudhakar Ramakrishna
October 07, 2021 09:00 - 29 minutes - 26.7 MBLast year, SolarWinds became the subject of a massive and sophisticated cyberattack, potentially affecting thousands of organizations. CEO Sudhakar Ramakrishna, who joined the company soon after the breach was discovered, speaks with host Bob Safian about how he and the company responded, and how other companies should approach the ever-looming threat of cyber-risk. "There is no such thing as 'I won't be breached because I'm too secure or too smart,’ says Ramakrishna. “You could be ...
How to scale tech responsibly, with former Google ad chief and Neeva founder Sridhar Ramaswamy
September 30, 2021 09:00 - 27 minutes - 25 MBTo compete against bigger players, you need a special edge. Sridhar Ramaswamy, who led Google’s huge ad business, is now going head-to head against his former employer with an ad-free subscription-based search engine called Neeva. Ramaswamy became disillusioned by Google’s priorities and practices and argues that big platforms – including Facebook and Amazon – have failed to scale responsibly. Sharing inside stories of how big tech makes decisions, and his own experiences with a sta...
How to lead for enduring impact w/ Spelman’s Dr. Mary Schmidt Campbell
September 23, 2021 09:00 - 29 minutes - 26.7 MBYour ability to make quick decisions in the face of a crisis can define your career. That’s been the case for Dr. Mary Schmidt Campbell, president of Spelman College, the all-women's HBCU in Atlanta. In her second appearance on Rapid Response, Dr. Campbell, who recently announced her plan to retire at the end of the academic year, discusses how listening to her community has led to resolving complex conflicts. As was the case at the beginning of the school year when the Spelman facu...
Applauding the drama of the digital age, with BroadwayHD’s Bonnie Comley
September 16, 2021 09:00 - 26 minutes - 24.3 MBWhen hard times hit, the show must still go on for all of us. But as Drama League board president and Broadway HD CEO Bonnie Comley explains, even when the lights are dark, critical progress can be made. As Broadway's 41 theaters begin coming back to life in New York City, the three-time Tony Award-winning producer takes us through how the 18-month pandemic closure created an opportunity for the $16 billion industry to reimagine itself. At core are new efforts to expand and broaden ...
When to build the company before the product, with Aurora CEO Chris Urmson
September 09, 2021 09:00 - 30 minutes - 27.5 MBChris Urmson has had to take a different approach in building his company Aurora, which develops self-driving technology. As opposed to creating and iterating a product with a handful of people, and then building a company around that product, Urmson says he’s had to do the opposite. “Given the scale of the problem we're trying to solve and the complexity and breadth of it, we really had to build the company almost ahead of the product,” he says in this interview with Rapid Response...
When you should require vaccinations w/ Shake Shack founder Danny Meyer
September 02, 2021 09:00 - 31 minutes - 28.9 MB“You have to preserve your energy because this year has been about pace,” says iconic restaurateur Danny Meyer in his fourth Rapid Response interview. Meyer catches us up on the past seven-plus months of operating in the midst of the pandemic. In the beginning of the summer, when Covid rates were plummeting in New York City, he says he was full of optimism. His restaurants were back to indoor dining, and despite dealing with a limited workforce, “progress is progress.” Then came the...
How Electronic Arts grows a metaverse, with CEO Andrew Wilson
August 26, 2021 09:00 - 33 minutes - 30.8 MBHollywood may build stars, but gaming is "the biggest, fastest-growing entertainment medium in the world," says CEO Andrew Wilson of Electronic Arts. That's why businesses from Netflix to Disney to Facebook are eyeing the space, along with creators and startups eager to tap into the entrepreneurial opportunities posed by the still-evolving "metaverse." Wilson, who oversees franchises from Apex Legends to FIFA to The Sims, explains how he's playing in this ever-changing field – and h...
How mission fuels risk-taking, with Illumina CEO Francis deSouza
August 19, 2021 09:00 - 28 minutes - 26.3 MBFacing off with the FTC isn't for the timid. But when your mission and your business model are aligned, the hard decisions – about risk, about investment, about priorities – become clearer. Francis deSouza is CEO of Illumina, the world’s dominant maker of gene sequencing technology. After playing a key role in the creation of Covid vaccines, Illumina is trying to acquire a company with a breakthrough cancer screening test, over the FTC's objections. DeSouza offers a personal reflect...
How Harley-Davidson set a foundation for the long term with CEO Jochen Zeitz
July 29, 2021 09:00 - 23 minutes - 21.5 MBEven an 118-year-old company needs an entrepreneurial jolt. When Jochen Zeitz took over as CEO of motorcycle maker Harley Davidson in early 2020, he moved quickly to restructure the business – even in the midst of the pandemic's highest uncertainty. That defiance paid off, settling investors and refocusing the company. He's trimmed the product line, set up equity grants for employees including factory workers, and doubled-down on Harley’s brand power. Challenges persist, including o...
Inside J.Crew's "purpose-led" pivot, with CEO Libby Wadle
July 22, 2021 09:00 - 23 minutes - 21.8 MB"We have to reignite the energy and the fire and the love," says CEO Libby Wadle of J.Crew Group, which launched Madewell Forever this week, a dynamic bet on sustainability. The resale platform, in partnership with ThredUp, is part of a "purpose-led" pivot that Wadle first sparked as head of Madewell. Wadle takes us inside that journey, looking back to J.Crew's heyday – when she ran that brand – and forward to the opportunities that she says more circularity in apparel can unlock. F...
Scaling a mission w/TAAF's Sonal Shah
July 15, 2021 09:00 - 27 minutes - 25.1 MB"Hate is not a one community issue," says Sonal Shah, president of The Asian American Foundation, a nonprofit launched by business leaders in May, dedicated to addressing discrimination against Asian Americans. In just its first few weeks, TAAF raised $1 billion – and is now grappling with what all start-ups face: how to iterate fast, pivot, lose what's not working, and scale what is working, fast. Sonal, who launched the White House Office of Social Innovation in the Obama Administ...
How BuzzFeed Bounced Back, w/Jonah Peretti
July 08, 2021 09:00 - 28 minutes - 25.7 MBMillennials and Gen-Z want different experiences, different content, different opportunities. But catering to those distinct needs wasn't enough, says BuzzFeed co-founder and CEO Jonah Peretti; the digital-media outfit also needed to create a flywheel for value. When the pandemic trimmed tens of millions in revenue, Peretti cut back on costs – but kept the flywheel spinning. By the end of 2020 his team had engineered a rebound, finishing the year with record profitability. Now, the ...
Tapping into generosity (via Bitcoin), with Charity Water's Scott Harrison
July 01, 2021 09:00 - 29 minutes - 26.7 MBThe art of promotion can advance any enterprise, as Scott Harrison demonstrated even during the pandemic. As founder and CEO of Charity Water, Scott faced fundraising trouble a year ago but now the nonprofit is on track to bring in a record $100 million in 2021. Over the last 15 years, Scott has dramatically grown Charity Water’s footprint by taking far-sighted and often unconventional strategic steps. Just recently, he launched a Bitcoin Water Trust, to tap into a new community of ...
Fighting through headwinds at Marriott, w/President Stephanie Linnartz
June 24, 2021 09:00 - 27 minutes - 24.8 MBWith Marriott's business already reeling due to Covid, beloved CEO Arne Sorenson was lost to cancer earlier this year. Stephanie Linnartz, president of Marriott International, shares how she and new CEO Tony Capuano have picked up the reins in the most challenging travel environment in modern times. Stephanie’s journey, and her prescriptions for Marriott’s future, reveal an unrelenting entrepreneurial spirit and an inspiring dedication to Sorenson's legacy. See Privacy Policy at ht...
Why business must be a force for good, w/former American Express CEO Ken Chenault
June 17, 2021 09:00 - 26 minutes - 24.6 MB"Corporations can be a force for good – and they can also be very successful," says Ken Chenault, chair of investment firm General Catalyst and former longtime CEO of American Express. During the past year, Ken has been an outspoken advocate for business leaders to actively engage in societal matters. After George Floyd’s death, he and Merck CEO Ken Frazier launched OneTen, a coalition to create 1 million jobs for Black Americans that now includes major brands from IBM to Nike to Wa...