Jason Bronstad is the CEO of Malk Organics, a clean-label, plant-based milk and creamer brand. Jason began his career in the food and beverage industry at Sara Lee, serving across several managerial and directorial positions between 2004 and 2010. He then went on to become VP of Sales at Mike’s Hard Lemonade and then the President of Mighty Swell Cocktail Company before joining purpose-led start up, Malk Organics, in 2020. He joins Roy to discuss the ins and outs of shaping culture, values-driven hiring, evaluating talent, learning to keep things simple, and much more.

Christiana Smith Shi is a seasoned leader in global, multichannel retail, co-author of national, best-selling book Career Forward: Strategies From Women Who’ve Made It, founder and principal at Lovejoy Advisors, LLC., and an experienced corporate director on multiple Fortune 100 boards. Christiana made an early career pivot from finance to join McKinsey & Company, where she ultimately served as Senior Partner. After 25 years in management consulting, Christiana became the President of Direct-to-Consumer at Nike. In 2016, she retired from Nike and founded Lovejoy Advisors to help provide guidance around digital transformation for consumer and retail businesses. She joins Roy to share insights into navigating a rewarding career, talent lessons from McKinsey and Nike, and much more.

Fabrizio Gamberini is a seasoned executive with nearly three decades of strategic leadership expertise and global brand management across a wide variety of business sectors. He currently serves as Vibram Corporation’s President and Global Chief Brand Officer. Prior to his time at Vibram, Fabrizio led large-scale marketing and retail management efforts for major brands like HP and Nike. He also led brand redevelopment, evolution, and acquisition for eyewear companies like Marcolin and Geox before landing at Vibram. Fabrizio joins Roy to discuss how his foundational leadership skills were honed at HP, the importance of getting out from behind the desk to engage the consumer, how truth and trust are key to effective teambuilding, and much more.

Jennifer Ingraffea is a seasoned executive leader with over 25 years of experience in the retail, apparel, product merchandising, and management sectors. In July 2025, Jennifer became the CEO of Pendleton Woolen Mills; a family-owned business since its founding in the 1860s. Before joining Pendleton, she served as Chief Product & Merchandising Officer at The North Face, prior to which, she worked at Nike in a number of high-level executive leadership roles. Jennifer and Roy discuss her new role and dig into essential leadership skills like curiosity, stewardship, and much more.

Kiernan Laughlin is the General Manager and co-creator of Deep Indian Kitchen, a growing CPG brand whose mission is to bring a modern, high-quality Indian food experience to consumers worldwide. Kiernan previously held senior brand management roles at large CPG companies like Johnson & Johnson and Unilever, and he spent his early career in marketing, promotions, and partnership leadership at Gorton’s Seafood.

Executive leader and board member Wilma Wallace joins Roy to discuss her experience recruiting and mentoring leadership teams at Gap and REI during her extensive career at both legacy brands. After spending over 20 years in senior roles at Gap, Wilma served as Chief Diversity and Social Impact Officer, as well as Chief Legal Officer at REI. In 2024, she retired to focus on impacting change, particularly from an equity, access, and justice perspective, on several boards. Her work centers social impact, environmental justice, and human rights in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Wilma and Roy discuss accounting for and addressing changing levels of trust across organizations, internal succession planning versus seeking external candidates, the link between alignment of purpose and successful performance in leadership teams, and much more.    

Talent acquisition expert Heather Flynn joins Roy to discuss the ins and outs of successful recruitment strategy. Heather recently served as the SVP of Talent Acquisition for Aritzia, prior to which she led hiring efforts for other major brands like Nike and ASML. Roy and Heather dig into the essential role of talent strategy, the importance of strong employment branding and candidate engagement, the emerging application of AI in recruiting, and much more.

Coach, speaker, and author Patrick Galvin joins Roy to discuss the principles laid out in his recent book The Connector’s Way. Patrick’s work focuses on the essential role of personal connection and relationship building in our day to day life, our business practices, our sense of success, and more. As co-founder and partner of The Galvanizing Group and author of several books exploring the nuances of social connection and trust building, Patrick helps high-performing companies and individuals achieve greater levels of success in business by strengthening internal and external relationships. Patrick and Roy dig into the many ways to practice relationship building, the pitfalls of networking without connecting, why it pays to be “the keener,” and much more.

Fred Miller and Judith Katz of The Kaleel Jamison Consulting Group have spent the last few decades on the cutting edge of diversity and inclusion thought leadership and organizational development. For the last 50 years, KJCG has assisted organizations in creating inclusive, collaborative workplaces that leverage differences to achieve higher performance and engagement. Judith and Fred have co authored multiple books on diversity, inclusion, collaboration, trust, authenticity, and teamwork, and they join Roy to discuss their latest groundbreaking book, The Power of Agency: Cultivating Autonomy, Authority, and Leadership in Every Role.

Career coach and HR consultant Kate Sargent returns for the third installment of our series exploring tips, insights, and advice for job seekers. Kate is the founder of KJS Consulting, where she helps candidates prepare and polish all aspects of their job search strategy. Prior to starting her coaching business, she recruited for brands like The North Face, Allbirds, Method, and The Citizenry. In Part 3 of their deep dive, Kate and Roy discuss the art – and science – of negotiation. Together, they dig into the complexities of reaching agreeable compensation for a new role, the pros and cons of equity, how to leave a job graciously, and the importance of maintaining positivity through employment changes.

Career coach and HR consultant Kate Sargent is back for Part 2 of our three-part discussion series around strategies, guidance, and best practices for job seekers. Kate is the founder of KJS Consulting and has led extensive recruiting efforts for brands like The Citizenry, Method, The North Face, and Allbirds. In Part 2, Kate and Roy explore the ins and outs of interviewing. Together, they dig into important topics like recommendations for feeling and appearing prepared, ways to successfully frame competencies and experience, how to best approach challenging interview questions, and much more.  

Career coach and HR consultant Kate Sargent returns to the podcast for a special, three-part deep-dive into advice, insights, and recommendations for job seekers. Kate is the founder of KJS Consulting and has an impressive track record in recruiting for major brands like The North Face, Allbirds, Method, and The Citizenry. At KJS Consulting, Kate helps job seekers contextualize, articulate, and organize their stories in order to land ideal opportunities. In Part 1 of this conversation series, Roy and Kate dig into the functions of different kinds of recruiters, best practices for candidates in cultivating relationships with search firms and consultants, major do’s and don’ts during the hiring process, and the long range perspective necessary to building a comprehensive job search strategy.

Board recruiting advisor Kris Stred breaks down the role and impact of an effective board and how to find experienced directors. Kris has over 15 years of board search experience and is the founder of Stred Executive Search LLC. Before starting her own firm, Kris was a lawyer publicly-traded and privately-held companies. Her first-hand involvement with the board’s fiduciary duties in high-stakes situations and the important dynamics of teams of business leaders propelled her to become a recruiter. She gained a deep understanding of what it takes to form a balanced and functional board of directors.

Noto Group’s team of principal search consultants break down key workforce and leadership trends they’re seeing for 2025 and beyond. Sara Spirko, Lena Knofler, and Tami Bumiller discuss predictions and actionable advice for those seeking top talent in the year ahead.

When the stakes are high, hiring the right leader can make or break your business. How I Hire dives into bold hiring strategies, historic market shifts, and heroic leadership stories from the best executives in the game.

Organizational psychologists Dr. Ted Freeman and Dr. Stacey Philpot return to the podcast with a deep dive into their approach to working with teams. Ted, Stacey, and Roy delve into the complex dynamics inherent to working with teams. They discuss challenges they consistently hear from leaders, how to enhance a sense of inter-team competency, the necessity of translating and communicating context between leaders and teams, as well as commonly accepted myths about what constitutes a high-performing team.

Jackson Jeyanayagam is an accomplished executive leader whose work has spanned across many industry sectors and a wide range of organizations. He began his career on the agency side, where he worked for 15 years before pivoting into digital marketing, P&L management, and DTC growth for top brands like Chipotle, Clorox, and AB InBev. Jackson also has experience on the startup side, having served as CMO for Boxed, a DTC startup. Most recently, Jackson was responsible for founding and scaling RTD brand Hey, Hei for AB InBev, helping to incubate the brand and develop a startup mentality under AB InBev’s larger corporate umbrella.

Ben Steele is a seasoned marketing and brand development leader, having most recently served as REI’s inaugural chief customer officer. Prior to carving out this new role at the Co-op, Ben began at REI in 2014 as chief creative officer. Over more than ten years at one of the country’s largest and most preeminent outdoor retailers, Ben has led brand stewardship and strategy, shepherded large-scale marketing initiatives, engaged and grown REI’s 24.5 million-strong worldwide membership, and connected essential merchandising, digital, and physical assets – amongst many other functions at the Co-op – all with the goal of sharing and facilitating a deep passion for the outdoors.

Jamaliya Cobine is an accomplished chief digital officer and digital marketing expert, having spent the past decade plus helping businesses develop their user experience, e-commerce platforms, and strategic digital initiatives. Jamaliya has an impressive track record, working for major brands like Urban Outfitters, Burton Snowboards, Wüsthof, and Topshop. She is currently the CDO of Omorovicza Cosmetics, where she continues her legacy of implementing consumer-centric business strategy, omni-channel technology, and transformative approaches to digital marketing. With in-depth experience across the apparel, outdoor, beauty, home goods, and fashion industries, Jamaliya is the perfect leader to help us learn everything there is to know about the chief digital officer role.

Nadine Hall is a cross-functional business leader, having spent decades innovating in apparel and consumer products at companies like HanesBrands and Sara Lee. At both the president and SVP levels, Nadine oversaw billions of dollars of retail value, built and developed successful teams, and established high-growth business models across a variety of product lines and business units. Nadine’s leadership style includes a collaborative approach to innovative business strategy, data-driven analytics, and breakthrough models for brand growth and development. She’s also a board member, consultant, and advisor for companies in and outside the apparel industry.