Learnings from Leaders: the P&G Alumni Podcast P&G Alumni Network

“It often pays to believe in people more than they believe in themselves. Give them a bit more than they think they can handle. And everyone is going to be rewarded.”



Stefan Homeister is the host of Leitwolf, a business podcast exploring the key to leadership performance sustainably and improving business results - where he’s had conversations with P&G Alums like David Taylor, Paul Polman, and many leaders beyond the Alumni universe. Stefan’s also the Founder of Stefan Homeister Leadership, a consultancy whose focus is on improving leadership performance and strategy via consulting, training, coaching, keynotes. Stefan’s held a diverse career as Sales & Marketing Director of SAB Miller Europe and CMO for T-Mobile Germany where he had P&L responsibility for more than $8 billion. Stefan started his career at Procter & Gamble in various sales and marketing roles in Frankfurt, Brussels, and Geneva before becoming the Marketing Director for Healthcare and Pharma DACH.



In this candid conversation - we’ll explore principles and ideas on leadership, branding, legacy, and what can can be learned through the lens of podcasts, conversations, and storytelling. Be sure to check out Leitwolf wherever you get your favorite podcasts. https://stefan-homeister-leadership.com/en/podcast

“There's no question — if you want to keep a brand viable, you have to continue innovating. If you don't, it's not going to last.”

Gordon Brunner, is P&G’s former Chief Technology Officer - leading the company’s technical community, and even serving on the Board of Directors. Gordon’s a returning P&G Alumni Podcast guest also the co-author of SUPERIOR PRODUCTS, a new book sharing a first-ever look at the technical innovations behind some of world’s leading consumer brands — as well as the systems, culture, and leadership principles that produced the products and sustained innovation. While many pay lip service to the importance of innovation and product superiority - Gordon and many other technical leaders know that words simply won’t cut it. Product superiority must be demanded, rewarded, and celebrated - with org structures and processes built to achieve it, led by senior line and R&D leadership, but importantly starting with the CEO and Board of Directors. In this conversation Gordon shares stories behind the products we love - what worked and didn’t - with lessons that are for more than just R&D’ers, but also rising business executives and students who want to foster an environment of innovation.



Check out SUPERIOR PRODUCTS as an eBook / Kindle, or wherever your favorite books are sold. And for even more of Gordon Brunner’s learnings from his time as P&G’s CTO, be sure check out our past podcast conversation from September 2021 and November 2022.

"I had an authentic connection to the problem - a perspective on cultural connection. So it wasn't powering through rejection, it was neglecting it - because I just knew something they didn't.“

Tristan Walker is the Founder of Walker & Company Brands, where he was also the CEO when it was acquired by Procter & Gamble in 2018. Walker & Co. is best known for best-selling brands like Bevel & Form - Healthy and Beauty designed for communities of color. Prior to Founding Walker & Co, Tristan was Entrepreneur-In-Residence at Andreessen Horowitz, the prominent venture capital firm. He also served as Director of Business Development for Foursquare - managing strategic partnerships with brands like American Express, The New York Times, CNN, MTV, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, and Starbucks. Tristan’s also had experiences with Boston Consulting Group and Twitter. Currently, Tristan serves on the Boards of Foot Locker, Shake Shack, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, and the Metro Atlanta Chamber. Tristan is also the Founder and Board Chairman of CODE2040, a program that matches high-performing Black and Latino undergraduate and graduate coders and software engineering students with Silicon Valley start-ups for summer internships. Fortune Magazine named him as one out of 50 of the “World’s Greatest Leaders.” You’ll enjoy this candid conversation about neglecting the laziness of others, and truly empathizing with your customer’s experiences.

This is a replay of a past episode from February 2022 - from our partners at 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 and AI Integration Strategy. Interested in learning more about P&G’s “More Than Soap” podcast, or P&G Studios? Reach out directly to Dorion on LinkedIn. GetMoreThanSoap.com

“I was speaking up to respected people in the industry and telling them they were wrong. But we were getting the story right.”

Geraldine Moriba’s a 5-time Emmy Award winning journalist, filmmaker, and advocate — the host and executive producer of “Sounds Like Hate,” a podcast by the Southern Poverty Law Center - documenting how American extremists become radicalized and how some of them change. Geraldine’s also SVP of of news and entertainment at The Grio - a black-owned media platform owned by businessman and philanthropist Byron Allen. A media and journalism veteran, Geraldine’s held senior roles at CNN, NBC, PBS, ABC, and CBC - including being vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion for CNN Worldwide. A Canadian-Jamaican living in New York, Geraldine’s never accepted setbacks on her journey - they were just challenges to overcome. From confronting racist administrators in college, to accepting a fax-machine invitation, Geraldine built a career that would always challenge for the right story to be told. You can learn more about Geraldine’s work at Soundslikehate.org // splcenter.org

This is a past conversation from Raman’s other podcast, Modern Minorities, where each week we share minority conversations for all of our majority years. You’ll enjoy this candid conversation that we hope will provide new perspectives and learnings.

“Making improvements is challenging. But we can't give up and we've got to learn how to do it better.” “Speak, engage, help, be helped. Be part of society. Be an optimist towards the fact that people can change, that people can learn.”



John Pepper, P&G’s former CEO, and Ursula Burns, Xerox’s former CEO, sit down for a candid conversation on race, understanding and our discourse with each other. This is a conversation the two longtime friends have been having for years - alongside many of us. While John needs no introduction to many, Ursula’s impressive career is worth sharing...



Ursula M. Burns is the Retired Chairman and CEO of Xerox Corporation and VEON Limited — and among the first Black women to become CEO of a Fortune 500 company. Ursula is also a founding partner of Integrum Holdings, Non-Executive Chairman of Teneo Holdings LLC, and the Executive Chairman of Plum Acquisition Corp. At Xerox, Ursula served from 2009-2017, having joined as a summer intern in 1980, after which she rose through the ranks across corporate services, manufacturing and product development. Ursula also serves on several corporate boards, including Uber Technologies, Exxon Mobil, Endeavor Group Holdings, Waystar and Hear.com Ursula’s also involved in leadership counsel for the Ford Foundation, MIT, the Cornell Tech Board, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Mayo Clinic, among others.

From 2009-2016, President Barack Obama appointed Ursula to lead the White House national program on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). Ursula also led the President’s Export Council from 2010 - 2016. In February 2022, Burns joined the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Ursula is a mechanical engineering alumni of Columbia University and NYU - and she’s a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the G7 Gender Equity Advisory Council.



This is a replay of a past episode, originally recorded on February 25, 2022. This is an important conversation we hope will make many think and feel more deeply. While each of our guests are part of some great organizations who support the sharing of our views, these are the views of our guests alone. Got ideas for future deep dive topics with past and future guests? Reach out to pgalumpod@gmail.com

“Really great leaders oftentimes will surround themselves with people who have contrary opinions who have differing sorts of thoughts.”

Dr. Barbara Oakley is a Professor of Engineering at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan and her work focuses on the complex relationship between neuroscience and social behavior. Barbara was a captain in the U.S. Army, a Russian translator on Soviet trawlers, a radio operator in the South Pole, and the author of 8 books. She is also the creator and instructor of Learning to Learn, the most popular Massive Open Online Course ever with over one million enrolled students.

But Barbara 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 and AI Integration Strategy. 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