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Speaker 1: Yes, I love change. I’m comfortable in change.

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Speaker 2: But it also requires first being emotionally aware and okay

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Speaker 2: and recognizing those moments. But then two, being able to

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Speaker 2: take a step back with that executive discipline and presence to.

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Speaker 1: Then say, yes, landscape’s changing. Two, what does this mean?

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Speaker 2: But then three, how do I start organizing myself as

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Speaker 2: an individual and also my teams around those, what I

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Speaker 2: would say, inflection points? So then you can bring not

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Speaker 2: only just a measured and disciplined approach to some of

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Speaker 2: the things in the landscape, but also then inspire the

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Speaker 2: right level of confidence.

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Speaker 3: Welcome to today’s episode of Free of Commerce.

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Speaker 4: I’m Sarah Hofstadter.

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Speaker 5: And I’m Rachel Tippegraph. And this is a show that

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Speaker 5: talks about what’s relevant in commerce for the world’s biggest brands. Sarah,

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Speaker 5: would you consider yourself a growth leader or a turnaround leader?

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Speaker 3: I have always wanted to be a growth leader and

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Speaker 3: I’ve had my moments of growth leadership.

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Speaker 4: I have ended.

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Speaker 3: Up in a couple of turnarounds that I thought were

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Speaker 3: not turnarounds when I joined the company.

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Speaker 6: Oh, wow.

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Speaker 5: They really fooled you in the interview process.

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Speaker 4: Yeah.

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Speaker 3: I mean, I mean, I can talk about it now.

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Speaker 3: Profitero ultimately, when I got there was in many cases,

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Speaker 3: a turnaround, like it, it, just had a lot of

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Speaker 3: the right ingredients, but the recipe was just not there.

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Speaker 3: And so sometimes you got a lot of like different

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Speaker 3: disparate parts of an organization. Even if you check the

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Speaker 3: boxes in your due diligence on all of the ingredients,

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Speaker 3: my blind spot was I missed the questions about the recipe,

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Speaker 3: I would say. And then in other instances, like when

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Speaker 3: I got to 360i, it was like, you know, it

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Speaker 3: was rocket ship. It was 5 million when I got

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Speaker 3: there and it was 200 million when I left.

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Speaker 4: I’m guessing you’re all worth all the time.

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Speaker 5: That’s my preference. But obviously operating at the center of

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Speaker 5: media and commerce, like even as a founder who built

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Speaker 5: something from the ground up, you had to pivot and

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Speaker 5: make really tough decisions and go through so many iterations.

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Speaker 5: So I would say I have the experience of both.

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Speaker 5: I prefer growth. That’s where I personally get my joy

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Speaker 5: and energy from. Yeah.

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Speaker 3: Well, each one of those comes with a high degree

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Speaker 3: of combining vision with like, I used to say this

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Speaker 3: in my old job and somebody had just referenced it

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Speaker 3: on LinkedIn. The difference between seeing big ideas and getting

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Speaker 3: shit done. It’s the SBI versus the GRC.

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Speaker 5: Oh, I love that post. One of your former, your

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Speaker 5: former folks.

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Speaker 1: Yeah.

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Speaker 3: So, you know, is that person an SBI? Do they

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Speaker 3: see big ideas or are they a GSD? Do they

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Speaker 3: get shit done? There’s a time at every company where

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Speaker 3: you need more of one and less of another, or

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Speaker 3: as a leader, you need to lean more into one

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Speaker 3: versus the other. You got to be ambidextrous once you

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Speaker 3: get to a leadership role, but saying, you know, we’re

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Speaker 3: going to go to the moon is one thing.

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Speaker 4: The path to getting there is totally different.

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Speaker 3: And you’ve had this both as a growth leader and

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Speaker 3: but you’ve also had that as you’ve incorporated other companies

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Speaker 3: and capabilities into your organization. And in that case, if

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Speaker 3: you’re going to buy a company or if you’re going

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Speaker 3: to sell a company, you got to have the SBI.

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Speaker 3: But one of the reasons most acquisitions fail because nobody

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Speaker 3: gets it done.

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Speaker 5: 100%. It’s interesting now being on the other side of

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Speaker 5: the coin where we’re being integrated into a larger company.

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Speaker 5: And what’s just so abundantly clear is that, Communication is paramount.

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Speaker 5: If people feel blindsided by anything, but especially the things

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Speaker 5: that matter to them, like pay, well-being, how to get

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Speaker 5: work done, those things just create exhaustion in the system,

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Speaker 5: which even if someone innately wanted to get shit done,

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Speaker 5: they’d just get tired from it. And so as a leader,

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Speaker 5: you’ve got to operationalize change so people don’t get exhausted

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Speaker 5: by it. We’re about to bring Amy onto the show,

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Speaker 5: who is very comfortable with this model. And if you

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Speaker 5: listen closely, I feel like she actually articulates a really

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Speaker 5: nice playbook on how to operationalize change.

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Speaker 4: We talk about the world’s biggest brands.

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Speaker 3: You might not have heard of Miss Can America, but

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Speaker 3: I’m confident that you’ve got at least a handful of

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Speaker 3: their iconic products in your pantry.

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Speaker 4: Amy, thank you so much for joining us today.

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Speaker 2: Thank you for having me. I’m very excited to be

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Speaker 2: on the podcast and to speak with the Brave Commerce

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Speaker 2: audience and team.

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Speaker 3: Well, they are in for a treat because one of

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Speaker 3: the things that I really would love to kick off

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Speaker 3: about is talking about your more recent career breadth of

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Speaker 3: what’s been happening, because you have a beautiful resume, and

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Speaker 3: you guys should all check her out on LinkedIn, no

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Speaker 3: question about it.

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Speaker 4: But of late, there’s a much broader remit that you

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Speaker 4: have added.

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Speaker 3: And so this idea of a chief customer officer in

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Speaker 3: many organizations can mean be a nice way of.

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Speaker 4: Saying head of sales. But for you, it means so

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Speaker 4: much more.

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Speaker 3: It’s got sales, it’s got marketing, it’s got RGM, it’s

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Speaker 3: got R & D, demand planning, innovation, it’s fabulous. And

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Speaker 3: it’s a reflection of kind of where I think Rachel

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Speaker 3: and I see the world going. So now that your

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Speaker 3: remit is so much broader, how have you shifted the

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Speaker 3: way you think about it? Or are there any like

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Speaker 3: myth busters that might be worth sharing?

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Speaker 1: This is really a very meaningful question.

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Speaker 2: And without a doubt, this new role for me, personally, professionally,

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Speaker 2: has really stretched and pulled and pushed. And I would say,

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Speaker 2: First and foremost, for me, probably the quickest and deepest

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Speaker 2: understanding as you go into a role that’s a chief

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Speaker 2: commercial officer, whether you call it chief revenue officer, it’s

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Speaker 2: really not about just the number anymore. It’s about approaching

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Speaker 2: this type of role with a lot of humility and curiosity.

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Speaker 1: One of the things I can say.

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Speaker 2: Very clearly is winning a growth mindset across an organization

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Speaker 2: It’s not a one single function responsibility, nor is it

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Speaker 2: one single function is going to carry the day. Commercial success,

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Speaker 2: to me, what I have learned immediately is probably the

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Speaker 2: ultimate team experience. And so as I have come into

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Speaker 2: this role, what has that meant for me is one,

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Speaker 2: having the, what I would say, humility to lean on

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Speaker 2: the subject matter experts to across my team, across the

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Speaker 2: leaders in order to find the ways that we’re going

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Speaker 2: to pivot and unlock as a full commercial team. So

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Speaker 2: right away, it’s not, trust me, we have to deliver

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Speaker 2: the numbers, we have to deliver the growth, but it’s

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Speaker 2: about having that humility and quite honestly, respect for what

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Speaker 2: each of the different functions will deliver across the commercial journey.

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Speaker 3: So Within that, as you look at some of the

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Speaker 3: newer areas that you’ve led, if you don’t mind my asking,

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Speaker 3: is there something that really surprised you that you’re like, wow,

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Speaker 3: I did not realize how deep this particular thing goes.

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Speaker 4: Maybe it’s innovation. Maybe it’s, I don’t know.

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Speaker 3: I feel like RGM is like one of the things

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Speaker 3: that everybody talks about internally.

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Speaker 4: Nobody talks about externally, but.

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Speaker 1: I can be wrong. What actually stood out to me

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Speaker 1: is how disconnected everything is. Meaning, and I wouldn’t say

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Speaker 1: this is MISCOM specific.

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Speaker 4: Oh, definitely not. Whatever you’re about to say, because I

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Speaker 4: think I know where you’re going.

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Speaker 6: Yes.

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Speaker 3: You may be baring your soul, but I’m sure there

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Speaker 3: are a lot of people that are listening to this

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Speaker 3: episode and their heads are just nodding along wherever they are.

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Speaker 4: So you go.

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Speaker 1: I hope so. I don’t see this as MISCON specific.

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Speaker 2: And having spent a tremendous time in this industry and space,

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Speaker 2: what I would say, it’s amazing the things that we

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Speaker 2: accomplish at CPG, knowing that I think every organization is

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Speaker 2: probably struggles with some silos, some built-in, you know, just

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Speaker 2: kind of functional approaches and the way that they’re tackling

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Speaker 2: even the same problem.

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Speaker 1: So to me, the big eye.

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Speaker 2: Opener has been one, wow, we’ve driven a lot of

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Speaker 2: success in that kind of landscape, but if we’re really,

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Speaker 2: really going to get to the next level that I

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Speaker 2: think quite honestly, as we see all the changes in

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Speaker 2: autonomous retail, things happening, it, Honestly, for us as individuals,

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Speaker 2: regardless of the company we’re in, it is forcing a

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Speaker 2: new level of working as a business partner, both internally

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Speaker 2: and externally across the landscape. So to me, when you say, hey,

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Speaker 2: has anything really stood out? What stood out to me

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Speaker 2: is just, I think across the businesses and industries, we

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Speaker 2: have really as humans ways kind of defined set ways

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Speaker 2: of working.

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Speaker 1: That requires all of us to stretch differently. So that

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Speaker 1: to me was a big aha. I’m also happy to.

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Speaker 2: Share some defining moments in my career that I think

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Speaker 2: forced me.

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Speaker 1: To pivot out of those spaces, which is why as.

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Speaker 2: I’m seeing this, I believe I’ve been able to recognize

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Speaker 2: where and how we should start to shift.

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Speaker 5: Absolutely, wanna double click in that in one second. But

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Speaker 5: you mentioned something a bit earlier. You were like, I’m

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Speaker 5: chief customer officer. Sometimes it’s called chief revenue officer. We’ve

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Speaker 5: also seen it called chief growth officer. So, like, curious

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Speaker 5: your perspective on why Mizcan went with the C, the customer.

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Speaker 1: Well, it’s actually commercial. Oh, it’s commercial.

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Speaker 4: Sorry.

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Speaker 5: The other C.

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Speaker 1: Yes, the other C.

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Speaker 2: Why we went with really the commercial, to me, that

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Speaker 2: represents that broader and fuller scope. of everything that’s required.

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Speaker 2: Because when you stay in the customer, just the customer lens,

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Speaker 2: I think it can overlook all of the requirements and

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Speaker 2: quite honestly, what a winning team has to bring to

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Speaker 2: the table, because if you can’t click and bring all

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Speaker 2: of your expertise across your supply chain, across your R & D,

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Speaker 2: across your revenue management, if you can’t find a way

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Speaker 2: to bring that together and then provide that value to

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Speaker 2: the customer, I think you will under-realize your potential in

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Speaker 2: the market. So that’s why it’s really the commercial and

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Speaker 2: not the customer, because the best way I’m is by

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Speaker 2: starting with the consumer and then making sure I have

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Speaker 2: that full behind the scenes dependability and reliability to create

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Speaker 2: a value proposition for the customer that will make them

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Speaker 2: immediately gravitate to the brands and solutions that we have

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Speaker 2: at MISCON.

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Speaker 5: So you took that commercial lens and you paired it

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Speaker 5: with your curiosity to start to get to know the

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Speaker 5: org and bring it together.

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Speaker 6: Yeah.

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Speaker 5: How does that then translate into KPIs that the team

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Speaker 5: is driving towards? Because what Sarah and I often see

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Speaker 5: in the ecosystem is there’s one exercise, which is obviously

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Speaker 5: putting a single leader and then creating a unified org chart.

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Speaker 5: But then in practice, it’s the KPIs that drive people’s behaviors.

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Speaker 5: So curious how you’re tackling that.

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Speaker 1: Here’s what I would say. I absolutely agree with that.

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Speaker 2: Because if you do not have shared KPIs, you will

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Speaker 2: automatically always behave in what I consider very fractional behaviors

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Speaker 2: across the organization, meaning you could have a functional sales team,

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Speaker 2: a marketing team, an R & D team that could

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Speaker 2: be knocking it out of the park in what their

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Speaker 2: assigned KPIs were, but that doesn’t mean it automatically leads

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Speaker 2: to commercial growth and success, which is ultimately sustainable, profitable

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Speaker 2: revenue is critical for every organization. So I think first,

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Speaker 2: you know, the recognition shared KPIs play a role in that.

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Speaker 2: To me, I see it even a bit deeper. So

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Speaker 2: what we’ve done at MISCON as we’ve created in our

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Speaker 2: annual planning process, the OGSMs this year, in addition to

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Speaker 2: having those shared KPIs, it was more of a fundamental

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Speaker 2: shift for the entire organization to understand by far our

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Speaker 2: first priority is driving sustainable revenue growth. and then defining

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Speaker 2: what each team’s role within that will be. And it

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Speaker 2: has allowed just within the commercial span of scope, as

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Speaker 2: we went into our FY26 commercial planning, we were speaking, one,

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Speaker 2: the shared understanding and language of what that top priority is. Two,

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Speaker 2: we all understood what our teams and then individuals within

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Speaker 2: our teams have to accomplish that is actually going to

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Speaker 2: lead and deliver growth and get us out of that

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Speaker 2: fractional kind of behavior and mindset. And then ultimately, now

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Speaker 2: that we have the shared KPIs on paper, to me,

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Speaker 2: that’s just a measurement. It’s more about that bigger way

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Speaker 2: of working across our teams that I actually believe is

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Speaker 2: what’s most critical for us to drive that long-term commercial

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Speaker 2: success that we need.

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Speaker 3: As you think about that, so there’s like all of

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Speaker 3: these internal things that you’ve got to get alignment on. And,

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Speaker 3: you know, the fact that there’s so much fragmentation organizationally,

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Speaker 3: like you said, is not new to anybody. And if

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Speaker 3: you are in a multi-category CPG, it’s just multiplied.

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Speaker 4: Over and over and over again. So you’ve got the

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Speaker 4: internal stuff.

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Speaker 3: Then there’s the consumer and there’s changes in behaviors. There

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Speaker 3: is massive economic pressure. So you’ve got headwinds coming from

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Speaker 3: private label. You’ve got the big giants trying to outspend.

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Speaker 4: You’ve got insurgents, you know, as coming off of you

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Speaker 4: and Rachel being at Expo.

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Speaker 3: West, insurgents who don’t have all the legacy and scale.

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Speaker 3: So how do you prepare Ms. Kent for something like

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Speaker 3: this in this quote unquote new world, almost taking like

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Speaker 3: a day one approach? approach where discovery, conversion, all of

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Speaker 3: that is becoming more driven by algorithm than the human.

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Speaker 4: Element of it all?

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Speaker 1: Yeah, that’s a big question.

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Speaker 2: And I think it’s something that every CPG and quite frankly,

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Speaker 2: many business leaders, if it’s not top of mind, we

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Speaker 2: need to be thinking deeply about it and what that means.

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Speaker 1: Because it’s not.

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Speaker 2: Just another tool in the toolkit, how other changes have

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Speaker 2: been in the past. And For me, some of the

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Speaker 2: steps we have taken at MISCON, personally, what I’ve been

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Speaker 2: accountable for is to ensure I can bring the entire

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Speaker 2: organization along the journey with me. And part of this,

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Speaker 2: you know, I think it’s more intuitive for marketing and

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Speaker 2: sales leaders, for my partners in supply chain, IT, HR, legal, etc.

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Speaker 2: It’s first been about How do I ensure they understand

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Speaker 2: the change in landscape? Because what that means is as one,

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Speaker 2: we adjust and change our team talent, our structures, our

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Speaker 2: agency partners, and ultimately the work that’s going to occur.

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Speaker 2: I need them on the journey with me because that’s

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Speaker 2: also going to bring change in what they need to

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Speaker 2: support us in. So one of the things first and

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Speaker 2: foremost we did is we just kicked off our fiscal

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Speaker 2: commercial share out across our leadership team. I was actually

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Speaker 2: very thankful that we got to have retail geek Jason

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Speaker 2: Goldberg join us. So the first thing we did is

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Speaker 2: let’s bring that in as a starting place for the

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Speaker 2: broader organization to understand how things are changing in this

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Speaker 2: retail landscape. And I can tell you that was a hit.

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Speaker 2: And I had so many leaders there that were outside

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Speaker 2: the sales and marketing scope that were not only intrigued, but,

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Speaker 2: you know, you could see those questions, you know, starting

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Speaker 2: to bubble up and wait, what will this mean?

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Speaker 1: How does that impact this?

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Speaker 2: And understanding what those new consumer moments and journeys will be.

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Speaker 2: And he was kind enough to answer questions for an

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Speaker 2: additional hour after his presentation. And I can tell you

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Speaker 2: the room was electric. So thanks to Jason, one, he

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Speaker 2: helped me cover a ton of ground in one hour.

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Speaker 2: And then secondarily, you know, help me then get everyone

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Speaker 2: on board with what some of these changes we are

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Speaker 2: making and why are. And I can tell you, this

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Speaker 2: has been something that we’ve looked at our commercial journey

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Speaker 2: as we start to make those changes and, you know,

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Speaker 2: how we’re going to.

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Speaker 1: Market, how we prepare our partnerships.

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Speaker 2: I now believe that our organization is much more strongly

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Speaker 2: grounded in what to expect and the why.

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Speaker 5: So you seem very comfortable with change.

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Speaker 1: Oh, extremely comfortable with change.

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Speaker 6: Yes.

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Speaker 5: It comes across. A lot of leaders aren’t for a

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Speaker 5: variety of reasons. And so I imagine you do have

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Speaker 5: to work with some people who might be less comfortable

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Speaker 5: with change. It’s just natural human behavior. So talk about

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Speaker 5: where does this come from, your comfort level with change?

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Speaker 5: And what have you found as effective ways to bring

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Speaker 5: people along and get them more comfortable with it?

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Speaker 2: I love that we’re talking about this because When change

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Speaker 2: happens to someone, whether that’s personal, professional, however change comes

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Speaker 2: about in life, you can have multiple reactions to that.

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Speaker 2: And some people just jump right in. Hey, I’m going

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Speaker 2: to embrace the change. Here I go. I oftentimes see

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Speaker 2: other people get paralyzed. And that can be very detrimental,

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Speaker 2: the same as sometimes just blindly jumping in. So for me… yes,

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Speaker 2: I love change, I’m comfortable in change, but it also

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Speaker 2: requires one, I think, first being emotionally aware and okay

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Speaker 2: and recognizing those moments, but then two, being able to

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Speaker 2: take a step back with that executive discipline and presence

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Speaker 2: to then say, yes, landscape’s changing, two, what does this mean?

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Speaker 2: But then three, how do I start organizing myself as

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Speaker 2: an individual and also my teams around those, what I

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Speaker 2: would say inflection points So then you can bring what

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Speaker 2: I would say, not only just a measured and disciplined

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Speaker 2: approach to some of the things in the landscape, but

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Speaker 2: also then inspire the right level of confidence. And I

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Speaker 2: think it is so critical for leaders to understand that

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Speaker 2: component that they set the tone, they set the pace.

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Speaker 2: If they want a team that’s inspired and can navigate

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Speaker 2: through change at the right speed and agility, they have

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Speaker 2: to personally demonstrate that. That also means having humility, knowing

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Speaker 2: when to raise your hand for help. It also means

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Speaker 2: recognizing there might be mistakes and embracing those mistakes and

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Speaker 2: then pivoting into the next direction. And I think having

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Speaker 2: some of those experiences in my career and then also

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Speaker 2: that mindset has made me comfortable knowing, boy, if I

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Speaker 2: get paralyzed, things really aren’t going to work out. And

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Speaker 2: then if I jump blindly, that may not work either.

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Speaker 2: But then Having that balance to know making decisions and moving,

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Speaker 2: like that’s not going to be an option. And then

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Speaker 2: doing it with that right level, I would say, of

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Speaker 2: humility and candor back is actually critical. And I will never,

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Speaker 2: you know, in my leadership journey, I will say never

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Speaker 2: underestimate the importance that the leader sets for the tone

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Speaker 2: and the inspiration.

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Speaker 1: 100%.

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Speaker 5: And I agree, inertia is the worst thing you can

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Speaker 5: do in business. Gotta keep moving, even if it’s not

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Speaker 5: the right decision. We could pick your brain all day

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Speaker 5: about leadership, but we have to ask you our famous

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Speaker 5: last question, which is, what’s the bravest thing you’ve ever done? Oh, yeah.

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Speaker 2: This is one that I was really excited about this question.

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Speaker 2: And for me personally, it means a lot when I

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Speaker 2: give my answer. So for me, the bravest thing I

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Speaker 2: have ever done incorporates both that stretch between personal and professional.

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Speaker 2: So those who do know me personally know that I

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Speaker 2: am the proud mother of 19 year old triplets.

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Speaker 1: And so 19 year olds are adults.

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Speaker 2: So in theory, I’ve made it to some degree. So

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Speaker 2: I have 19 year old triplet daughters, sophomores in college

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Speaker 2: who are absolutely thriving in life.

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Speaker 1: They’re passionate.

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Speaker 2: And most importantly, they have found what is sparking their

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Speaker 2: joy in the world. Now, I say that That is

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Speaker 2: the stretch of personal and professional because what for me

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Speaker 2: that has meant is I continue that journey towards an

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Speaker 2: executive level career. And what I often share with many,

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Speaker 2: what I would say emerging leaders who find themselves trying

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Speaker 2: to balance the push and pull of family life, other

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Speaker 2: personal interest is learn to play that long game. And

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Speaker 2: when you learn to see that long game for your

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Speaker 2: career in life, that is when you were absolutely going

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Speaker 2: to unlock, I think, the most beautiful things. And that

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Speaker 2: for me has been the bravest thing I have done

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Speaker 2: is to lean in, in both spheres. And I really,

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Speaker 2: today on this podcast, just want to thank everyone in

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Speaker 2: my both personal and professional network that has surrounded me

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Speaker 2: with the support and guidance that in order to take

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Speaker 2: that journey. So then I can share, that is honestly

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Speaker 2: the bravest thing I have ever done.

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Speaker 3: This whole, I don’t know, I keep calling it balance thing,

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Speaker 3: but the idea of playing the long game, I think

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Speaker 3: is something people don’t talk about enough in that context.

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Speaker 3: I’ve talked to a lot of people about what’s right

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Speaker 3: for right now and what’s right for the long term,

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Speaker 3: but I’ve never heard it articulated so beautifully as you

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Speaker 3: just have. And so- I love that this is such

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Speaker 3: a inspiring message to give to so many of our

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Speaker 3: listeners and to Miss Typograph here, new mommy.

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Speaker 1: Oh, congratulations. Thank you.

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Speaker 5: New mom of one. I’m just like thinking about triplets

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Speaker 5: right now and you go like that is incredible.

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Speaker 1: Thank you. I appreciate that.

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Speaker 2: And if I could leave your listeners with one thing,

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Speaker 2: you know, around those topics and The topics we’ve talked

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Speaker 2: about today with the pace of change on agentic, you know,

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Speaker 2: going into new roles, thinking about things differently in today’s environment.

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Speaker 2: What I would ultimately say is don’t be afraid of

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Speaker 2: the big challenges. That’s when you’re going to find true,

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Speaker 2: meaningful experiences.

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Speaker 5: Reach of that.

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Speaker 4: Yeah.

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Speaker 5: Thank you, Amy. We’re so appreciative for your time.

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Speaker 2: Oh, thank you. And thank you for having me. It’s

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Speaker 2: been a wonderful experience. And thank you for all the

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Speaker 2: listeners out there as well. Continue to success for you each.

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Speaker 5: If you like what you heard and you want to

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Speaker 5: listen to episodes from other people who really end the

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00:23:39,470 –> 00:23:44,070
Speaker 5: entire go-to-market function, go check out an episode we recorded

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00:23:44,109 –> 00:23:47,629
Speaker 5: a few months ago with Neil Reynolds from Mars. And

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Speaker 5: don’t forget, share on LinkedIn, tell a friend. Thanks for listening.

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Speaker 6: Hi, I’m Jackie Cooper, Global Chief Brand Officer at Edelman

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Speaker 6: and the host of Touch of Truth, a new podcast

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00:24:12,560 –> 00:24:16,000
Speaker 6: launching on the Adweek Podcast Network. My dad gave me

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Speaker 6: this incredibly smart piece of advice. Meet everyone once. As

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Speaker 6: a result, I’ve met some of the most fascinating and

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Speaker 6: inspiring people on the planet. Now on Touch of Truth,

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Speaker 6: we’re coming centre stage and sharing the mic to experience

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Speaker 6: stories of truth, insights and visions for the future that

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Speaker 6: will challenge your way of thinking. Touch of Truth is

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Speaker 6: available wherever you listen to podcasts. New episodes come out

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Speaker 6: every Tuesday. I do hope to see you there.