“ Instincts are not wrong — intellect can only capture so much of instinct. It has is a much bigger part of the funnel.”

Srikant Nayak is Google’s Director of Marketing in APAC for the Play Store, Chrome, Chromebooks, and Google One. Srikant has spent 18+ years as a marketing leader working on billion dollar brands across industries in Asia, from Consumer Tech to QSR and CPG. Prior to Google, Srikant served as Yum! Brand Asia’s Chief Marketing Officer & Chief Strategy Officer. Srikant got his career start at P&G working in Fabric Care & Baby Care across India and ASEAN Markets. Srikant has a personal passion for being a culture champion and growing people. You’ll enjoy this candid conversation on honing and trusting our instincts to navigate those sliding door moments in our careers and lives.

This episode is hosted by P&G Alum Sudha Ranganathan, who’s spent over 19 years in diverse Marketing leadership roles at companies like P&G, PayPal, and LinkedIn where she’s honed her passion for customer-centric marketing and talent development.

As 2024 comes to a close, we compiled the many learnings - from leaders - we heard this year. So sit back with your beverage of choice and enjoy! And give us the gift of a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts - https://apple.co/2L85TsT

Featuring the voices - and learnings - from John Pepper, Ursula Burns, Isaac Saul, Karen Francis, Katherine Vellinga, Andrew Swinand, Barbara Oakley, Tristan Walker, Gordon Brunner, Stefan Homeister, Bonnie Wan, Bernice Ang, Trevor Lai, Denis Beausejour, Roula Clerc-Nassar, Bernd Pichler, Alex Keith, Dawn Garibaldi, Manreet Sodhi Someshwar, Shaun Reinsurance, Mary Carmen Gasco-Buisson, Ravi Chaturvedi, Mark Ciccone, Sam Avivi, Raman Sehgal, Nir Eyal, Jorge Montoya, Jessica Gleeson, Bob McDonald, Rajiv Satyal, Drew Tarvin, and Bob Gilbreath. Thank you for YOUR continued support of our podcast and our amazing guests!

Heard something you missed? Be sure to go back and check out each guest’s full episode. Got a suggestion for a future episode? Send a note to pgalums@gmail.com — we’d love to hear from you! Thanks for your continued support of our Learnings from Leaders podcast!

“ The crowd will pay attention to whatever you give power to — it comes back to brand equity. Stand-up is a window and it's a mirror. Whatever you choose to talk about in stand-up and in art, it is truly yours.”

Rajiv Satyal is a Los Angeles-based comedian and host known for his clean, versatile humor. Originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, he is the only comedian to perform standup on all seven continents and co-created Make Chai Not War, a Hindu-Muslim comedy tour sponsored by the U.S. State Department. Rajiv has opened for stars like Russell Peters, Tim Allen, and Dave Chappelle and once followed Jerry Seinfeld at Gotham Comedy Club. A former P&G marketer, he speaks to Fortune 500 companies — including P&G and Alumni events around the world — on innovation and branding and has written acclaimed one-person shows, blending comedy and storytelling to captivate audiences worldwide. You’ll enjoy this conversation on not just Rajiv’s journey from brand-marketing to stand-up comedy, but his reflections on where we are in the world today, and how maybe we just need to laugh a little more.

This episode is hosted by P&G Alum Sudha Ranganathan, who’s spent over 19 years in diverse Marketing leadership roles at companies like P&G, PayPal, and LinkedIn where she’s honed her passion for customer-centric marketing and talent development.

"The bigger the roles that I got, the more I ended up drawing on what I had learned in improv and standup. Why was no one talking about how valuable humor is as a skill? So I realized maybe I should.”

Drew Tarvin is the world’s first and only Humor Engineer (not just this podcast’s co-host). On a How To Live podcast conversation with co-host Sharad Lal, Drew shares not just his career journey - but practical skills on how humour can amplify leadership and why it’s more than just a tool for entertainment. Drew studied engineering at THE Ohio State University, and was hired to P&G for his technical skills where he worked on global roles in his hometowns of Cincinnati and New York City. Yet, it was humour—not engineering—that became his edge in the workplace. By using humour, he diffused tension, built strong relationships, influenced others, and accelerated his career — in fact, he became P&G's first ever - self proclaimed - corporate humorist. Ultimately this led Drew to make the entrepreneurial leap — founding Humor That Works, a company that has helped 10,000+ leaders in over 100 organisations—including IBM, GE, the FBI, AND P&G —harness humour to lead effectively. His TEDx talk on the skill of humor has been viewed 15MM+ times. You can learn more about Drew’s work @ drewtarvin.com. You'll enjoy this candid conversation on how humor can add depth, purpose, and fulfillment to even the most serious work.

This conversation is from from P&G Alum Sharad Lal’s top podcast “HOW TO LIVE” - for lots more great conversations with Sharad and thought leaders, subscribe to How To Live wherever you get your favorite podcasts, or visit howtolive.life

Got an idea for a future “Learnings from Leaders” episode? Reach out at pgalumpod@gmail.com

“ Celebrating success is essential. As is celebrating our existence together. A company culture is what employees do when no one is watching.“

Bob Gilbreath is longtime friend of the Pod, and fellow P&G Alum - who's also a repeat startup founder with two exits. His latest post shares how one of his business teams taught him to take pride in the little things. Whether it’s a struggling company or a city with challenges, investing to spruce things up is not necessarily painting over problems. Celebrating success is essential, as is celebrating our existence together. Bob now serves as Co-Founder and CEO of Hearty, a people-tech company, as well as a few other interesting ventures. While at P&G, Bob worked on brands like Tide, Mr. Clean, and more. Bob authored books and shares real-life stories of his business ups-and-downs in his weekly newsletter “the Workaround” - which you can subscribe to @ beheartly.substack.com

This is a feature of an Alumni Leader’s frequently published thought leadership. Got an idea for a future “Learnings from Leaders” episode - reach out at pgalumpod@gmail.com

“Focus on people's strengths and give people confidence by pushing them outside of their comfort zone. Let them know you will support them, that they will make mistakes, but that's the way you learn and grow.”

Ute Hagen is currently Vice Chair of the P&G Alumni Network, and a leader with 30 years of industry experience, now also leading her own consultancy ‘Your Success Counts,’ helping organizations sharpen their marketing, strategy, and leadership approaches. Ute is also a certified Power Facilitator, offering a unique blend of guidance to her clients. Ute had a 23 year career at Procter & Gamble, where she held key marketing leadership roles in business units across Western Europe, Central & Eastern Europe, Middle East & Africa, and North America. Ute also led a multi-functional team in the development & training of “best practices” and “assessment tools” for application of “consumer is boss” across P&G. You’ll enjoy this candid conversation rooted in Ute’s clear passion for customer centricity — a defining force throughout her personal and professional life.

This episode is hosted by Sudha Ranganathan, who’s spent over 19 years in diverse Marketing leadership roles at companies like P&G, PayPal, and LinkedIn where she’s honed her passion for customer-centric marketing and talent development.

“Leadership is about doing the right thing - beyond politics - for the purpose and values of the country.”

Once again, this election may be the most important of our lifetime, so we hope you’ve made your plan to VOTE.

Bob McDonald - former P&G CEO and US Secretary of Veterans Affairs - returns to our podcast to share his unique perspective on service, leadership, people, and values and the choice we are making at this moment in our history. Beyond being a P&G Alum and an army veteran, Bob’s served Republican and Democratic Presidents. His political engagement is wide, and purpose-driven - always seeking to transcend party politics. This is a reply of our conversation from October 2020 - in the midst of our LAST presidential election - but much of what we discussed is still relevant in THIS election.

Many of our leaders - across both sides of the aisle - have expressed their concerns in THIS 2024 election for our community and country. On one hand, we face a retreat and possible return to our nation's darker impulses of grievance and division. On the other, a new path forward, rooted in a greater purpose, values and principles, for the next generation. No matter what generation you belong to...if you can vote, please do. If you have friends who are on the fence, talk to them, make the case rooted in our common purpose values, and principles, and get them to vote. It's all on the line. And the next generation of leaders is counting on all of us.

“We shouldn't follow leaders, mentors, and gurus, but we should listen for their words that affect us. See if they spark insight or truth for you. Keep what works, leave the rest behind. “

Bob Gilbreath is longtime friend of the Pod, and fellow P&G Alum - who's also a repeat startup founder with two exits. His latest post “Don't Follow Mentors, Seek Signposts” shares a personal anecdotes that is applicable to us all. There are countless people, living and dead, who have shared a scrap of useful advice that helped in a moment and has sticks with us over time. These words - or signposts - can literally re-shape our way of seeing the world, making us better at work and life. Bob now serves as Co-Founder and CEO of Hearty, a people-tech company, as well as a few other interesting ventures. While at P&G, Bob worked on brands like Tide, Mr. Clean, and more. Bob authored books and shares real-life stories of his business ups-and-downs in his weekly newsletter “the Workaround” - which you can subscribe to @ beheartly.substack.com

This is a feature of an Alumni Leader’s frequently published thought leadership. Got an idea for a future “Learnings from Leaders” episode - reach out at pgalumpod@gmail.com