1
00:00:04,019 –> 00:00:08,830
Speaker 1: Omni-channel transformation, digital transformation, massive change management that doesn’t happen overnight.

2
00:00:09,110 –> 00:00:11,670
Speaker 1: So the curiosity, I’d say, pushes me to see what

3
00:00:11,730 –> 00:00:14,430
Speaker 1: could be and kind of like connecting the dots. And

4
00:00:14,450 –> 00:00:20,420
Speaker 1: then also tapping into highly talented people that can go

5
00:00:20,500 –> 00:00:24,140
Speaker 1: off the deep end and help form that vision and

6
00:00:24,160 –> 00:00:26,320
Speaker 1: that aspiration of like what we can change and move

7
00:00:26,360 –> 00:00:30,150
Speaker 1: mountains together. And that moves me and gives me energy.

8
00:00:31,130 –> 00:00:34,110
Speaker 1: and tell the story of like, this is a journey

9
00:00:34,170 –> 00:00:37,620
Speaker 1: as well together. And, you know, we’re all holding hands

10
00:00:38,320 –> 00:00:39,839
Speaker 1: and I have the confidence that we’ll get to the

11
00:00:39,900 –> 00:00:40,460
Speaker 1: other side.

12
00:00:42,940 –> 00:00:45,040
Speaker 2: Welcome to today’s episode of Brave Commerce.

13
00:00:45,360 –> 00:00:48,240
Speaker 3: I’m Rachel Typograph, the founder and CEO of Micmac.

14
00:00:48,510 –> 00:00:50,989
Speaker 2: I’m Sarah Hofstetter, president of Profitero.

15
00:00:51,190 –> 00:00:53,350
Speaker 3: And this is a show that talks about what’s relevant

16
00:00:53,390 –> 00:01:04,710
Speaker 3: in e-commerce for the world’s biggest brands. Welcome to Brave Commerce. Sarah,

17
00:01:04,790 –> 00:01:10,280
Speaker 3: I had an interesting meeting happen last week. I met

18
00:01:10,310 –> 00:01:12,759
Speaker 3: with the CMO of a really large brand that we

19
00:01:12,800 –> 00:01:15,500
Speaker 3: work with, and it was the first time we were meeting.

20
00:01:15,860 –> 00:01:19,080
Speaker 3: She’s a few months into her new role. I shared

21
00:01:19,100 –> 00:01:22,120
Speaker 3: with her my strategic perspective on what I believe needs

22
00:01:22,160 –> 00:01:24,760
Speaker 3: to happen, both for her business as well as our partnership.

23
00:01:25,160 –> 00:01:28,170
Speaker 3: The person who reports into her was in the meeting

24
00:01:28,190 –> 00:01:30,229
Speaker 3: because I didn’t want him to feel like I was

25
00:01:30,290 –> 00:01:33,790
Speaker 3: overstepping my boundaries. And he’s been our day-to-day sort of

26
00:01:33,870 –> 00:01:36,750
Speaker 3: leading point of contact. And I don’t think he really

27
00:01:36,800 –> 00:01:41,280
Speaker 3: appreciated that I was providing my strategic perspective that might

28
00:01:41,319 –> 00:01:42,220
Speaker 3: be different than his.

29
00:01:42,700 –> 00:01:45,700
Speaker 2: Was there a backlash afterwards or how was it received

30
00:01:45,740 –> 00:01:46,420
Speaker 2: in the room?

31
00:01:46,700 –> 00:01:50,040
Speaker 3: In the room, it was quite cordial. And then after

32
00:01:50,080 –> 00:01:54,340
Speaker 3: the meeting, that’s where I felt like the undertone was different.

33
00:01:55,230 –> 00:01:58,760
Speaker 3: And I just held back. my stance and I said,

34
00:01:59,400 –> 00:02:02,680
Speaker 3: I’m here to provide you my strategic perspective. There’s one

35
00:02:02,960 –> 00:02:05,680
Speaker 3: thing that I have deep expertise in and you can

36
00:02:05,800 –> 00:02:08,160
Speaker 3: take it or leave it, but I feel by not

37
00:02:08,240 –> 00:02:10,620
Speaker 3: doing it, I would be giving you and your organization

38
00:02:10,680 –> 00:02:13,540
Speaker 3: a disservice. It’s interesting. Sometimes it’s not welcomed.

39
00:02:13,820 –> 00:02:18,180
Speaker 2: Trusted advisorship can only work when there’s a willingness to

40
00:02:18,200 –> 00:02:21,260
Speaker 2: be vulnerable on both sides. You took a big vulnerable

41
00:02:21,300 –> 00:02:24,760
Speaker 2: step by sharing your thoughts on what it means to

42
00:02:24,800 –> 00:02:27,690
Speaker 2: be a good partner and And it might’ve been that

43
00:02:27,770 –> 00:02:30,089
Speaker 2: the senior person that you were talking to actually would

44
00:02:30,110 –> 00:02:32,150
Speaker 2: appreciate it. And that might be why they’re in a

45
00:02:32,169 –> 00:02:36,080
Speaker 2: more senior position because usually leaders are willing, good leaders

46
00:02:36,400 –> 00:02:39,239
Speaker 2: are willing to be vulnerable. Part of it is, can

47
00:02:39,280 –> 00:02:42,420
Speaker 2: you have a conversation at a level where you actually

48
00:02:42,460 –> 00:02:45,240
Speaker 2: feel like you’re intellectually sparring, where you feel like you’ve

49
00:02:45,280 –> 00:02:48,960
Speaker 2: got that intellectual parity with the person that you’re speaking with?

50
00:02:49,040 –> 00:02:51,470
Speaker 2: So it might’ve been that with the CMO, you were

51
00:02:51,500 –> 00:02:54,650
Speaker 2: totally vibing. And with that next level, you might have,

52
00:02:54,960 –> 00:02:56,700
Speaker 2: created a degree of insecurity.

53
00:02:56,820 –> 00:02:57,179
Speaker 4: I don’t know.

54
00:02:57,320 –> 00:02:58,620
Speaker 2: I’m not going to go have them sit on the

55
00:02:58,660 –> 00:03:00,600
Speaker 2: couch and we’re going to go have a session on therapy.

56
00:03:00,700 –> 00:03:03,540
Speaker 2: But to me, it’s like, I do find that sometimes

57
00:03:03,560 –> 00:03:06,020
Speaker 2: I struggle with that, both with clients as well as

58
00:03:06,040 –> 00:03:08,710
Speaker 2: with employees. It’s like that line from a few good men,

59
00:03:08,970 –> 00:03:10,910
Speaker 2: you can’t handle the truth, but you get to a

60
00:03:10,910 –> 00:03:14,590
Speaker 2: much better place when obviously you take emotion out of

61
00:03:14,610 –> 00:03:19,690
Speaker 2: the situation and you’re able to have that back and

62
00:03:19,770 –> 00:03:22,660
Speaker 2: forth that gets you to a better place. And when

63
00:03:22,700 –> 00:03:28,119
Speaker 2: you’re collaborating and creating together and you feel like you’re

64
00:03:28,160 –> 00:03:30,340
Speaker 2: part of the action, like that’s theoretically should be helpful.

65
00:03:30,360 –> 00:03:32,340
Speaker 2: So if you’re working with that CMO, trying to help

66
00:03:32,360 –> 00:03:35,890
Speaker 2: them make them and their business better with or without you,

67
00:03:35,910 –> 00:03:38,670
Speaker 2: I don’t know that it looks like you’re overstepping bounds.

68
00:03:38,770 –> 00:03:42,430
Speaker 2: I see it as you’re being what is actually called

69
00:03:42,490 –> 00:03:46,250
Speaker 2: a partner versus sometimes we get that terrible V word

70
00:03:46,270 –> 00:03:49,560
Speaker 2: of vendor. So that plays a really big role. And

71
00:03:49,600 –> 00:03:55,380
Speaker 2: I think it speaks to how different brands and the

72
00:03:55,460 –> 00:04:01,440
Speaker 2: people that lead those brands rely on others, whether outside

73
00:04:01,470 –> 00:04:05,890
Speaker 2: their organization or inside their organization, to help improve their

74
00:04:05,930 –> 00:04:09,710
Speaker 2: craft and improve their results, right? You know whose speed

75
00:04:09,750 –> 00:04:10,650
Speaker 2: dial you’re on.

76
00:04:10,650 –> 00:04:15,950
Speaker 3: 100%. Well, it seems like you have this relationship of

77
00:04:16,190 –> 00:04:19,330
Speaker 3: intellectual sparring with your friends at PepsiCo.

78
00:04:19,350 –> 00:04:21,310
Speaker 2: I mean, Megan Archer, I think, is one of those

79
00:04:21,370 –> 00:04:23,860
Speaker 2: people who I met via Walmart. So there you go,

80
00:04:23,890 –> 00:04:26,980
Speaker 2: double partner. I met Megan via the nice folks at

81
00:04:27,020 –> 00:04:30,040
Speaker 2: Walmart at a dinner over a year ago. And the

82
00:04:30,080 –> 00:04:34,060
Speaker 2: conversations continue with that intellectual sparring where we’re trying to

83
00:04:34,100 –> 00:04:37,160
Speaker 2: figure out how do we make each other better? But

84
00:04:37,380 –> 00:04:39,730
Speaker 2: I see the way she does it within her own organization.

85
00:04:39,750 –> 00:04:42,130
Speaker 2: And I think that that’s a true testament to somebody

86
00:04:42,170 –> 00:04:44,650
Speaker 2: who is always willing to be curious. And her career

87
00:04:44,710 –> 00:04:47,979
Speaker 2: path also speaks to that. She spent time at Amazon.

88
00:04:48,060 –> 00:04:52,820
Speaker 2: She spent time working in mobile telecom. She continually challenges

89
00:04:52,880 –> 00:04:55,620
Speaker 2: herself as much as she challenges others. And I think

90
00:04:55,660 –> 00:04:58,220
Speaker 2: that’s where you end up getting people that are both

91
00:04:58,260 –> 00:05:01,320
Speaker 2: vulnerable and curious and ultimately do the best work.

92
00:05:01,580 –> 00:05:03,190
Speaker 3: Well, let’s bring Megan onto the show.

93
00:05:04,640 –> 00:05:07,030
Speaker 2: I don’t know if you can get much bigger than PepsiCo. Today,

94
00:05:07,110 –> 00:05:12,300
Speaker 2: we have Megan Archer, PepsiCo’s Vice President of Digital Commerce Sales. Megan,

95
00:05:12,480 –> 00:05:15,760
Speaker 2: we are so thrilled that you’ve joined us today.

96
00:05:15,779 –> 00:05:16,039
Speaker 4: Thanks.

97
00:05:16,279 –> 00:05:19,040
Speaker 1: Thank you. Yeah, just excited to be here with you today.

98
00:05:19,060 –> 00:05:21,320
Speaker 2: Oh, there’s a lot to unpack here. So let’s just

99
00:05:21,360 –> 00:05:25,720
Speaker 2: get into it. Well, let’s first talk about you. People

100
00:05:25,740 –> 00:05:30,170
Speaker 2: think you’re a digital native because you’re in digital commerce. Actually,

101
00:05:30,190 –> 00:05:33,250
Speaker 2: you started out in consumer electronics, moved to Amazon in

102
00:05:33,300 –> 00:05:36,260
Speaker 2: a variety of roles, starting in buying, but you seem

103
00:05:36,279 –> 00:05:38,960
Speaker 2: to be loving digital commerce specifically in the food space.

104
00:05:39,040 –> 00:05:42,060
Speaker 2: How do these dots connect? Because you look at everybody’s

105
00:05:42,180 –> 00:05:45,100
Speaker 2: career as a narrative. Help us understand yours. How did

106
00:05:45,120 –> 00:05:45,740
Speaker 2: you end up here?

107
00:05:46,300 –> 00:05:49,210
Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely. You know, my entire career, I’ve been in

108
00:05:49,350 –> 00:05:53,890
Speaker 1: retail or embedded in technology to some degree, been on

109
00:05:53,910 –> 00:05:56,969
Speaker 1: the supplier side, been on the retailer side, across all

110
00:05:57,010 –> 00:06:01,020
Speaker 1: those channels. I’d started in consumer electronics at T-Mobile, growing

111
00:06:01,060 –> 00:06:04,039
Speaker 1: key customer accounts with that wireless business. It was very

112
00:06:04,100 –> 00:06:07,539
Speaker 1: heavy brick and mortar and field execution. It was back

113
00:06:07,580 –> 00:06:10,659
Speaker 1: in the time where we’re launching the first Android phone

114
00:06:10,940 –> 00:06:13,180
Speaker 1: or selling the value of why you would want an

115
00:06:13,260 –> 00:06:16,250
Speaker 1: application on your phone and how that adds to your life.

116
00:06:16,640 –> 00:06:18,430
Speaker 1: But from there, I really wanted to move to, I’m

117
00:06:18,589 –> 00:06:22,589
Speaker 1: going to say, a tech company that built tech products

118
00:06:22,650 –> 00:06:26,130
Speaker 1: and software and so on. And so from there, I

119
00:06:26,170 –> 00:06:28,960
Speaker 1: went to Amazon. And also I wanted to learn just

120
00:06:29,140 –> 00:06:32,050
Speaker 1: the digital business. And at the time I went to

121
00:06:32,150 –> 00:06:37,330
Speaker 1: Amazon to build their wireless cell phone business. So very

122
00:06:37,350 –> 00:06:40,810
Speaker 1: applicable there. And I came in over as a lead merchant.

123
00:06:41,190 –> 00:06:43,390
Speaker 1: And these were the early days where there was two

124
00:06:43,430 –> 00:06:47,840
Speaker 1: sites and two different apps. And maybe you remember the

125
00:06:47,880 –> 00:06:51,120
Speaker 1: launch of the first Fire Phone, Jeff Bezos project for sure.

126
00:06:51,140 –> 00:06:55,190
Speaker 1: So it was during that time, fast-paced growth. And over

127
00:06:55,390 –> 00:06:59,490
Speaker 1: the course of 10 years, I intentionally sought out diverse

128
00:06:59,570 –> 00:07:03,270
Speaker 1: roles to broaden my aperture. I worked in a variety

129
00:07:03,290 –> 00:07:07,710
Speaker 1: of different businesses and functions. From there, DMM to office supplies,

130
00:07:08,330 –> 00:07:12,880
Speaker 1: went to GM, Amazon Fresh, where I led supply chain, marketing, buying,

131
00:07:13,100 –> 00:07:16,180
Speaker 1: and product tech. I was very embedded in the Whole

132
00:07:16,240 –> 00:07:20,160
Speaker 1: Foods market acquisition. And I’d say the last role that

133
00:07:20,180 –> 00:07:24,650
Speaker 1: I had at Amazon was in product development for Amazon’s

134
00:07:24,690 –> 00:07:27,600
Speaker 1: private brands, you know, sourcing, there’s a team in Shenzhen,

135
00:07:28,000 –> 00:07:31,580
Speaker 1: building a global brand for Amazon. Overall, I’d say definitely

136
00:07:31,800 –> 00:07:36,880
Speaker 1: enriched and grew my business acumen and also just my

137
00:07:36,930 –> 00:07:41,310
Speaker 1: leadership style and ability to make well-informed decisions, see bigger

138
00:07:41,370 –> 00:07:47,130
Speaker 1: picture holistically to the point of like, hey, joining PepsiCo. PepsiCo,

139
00:07:47,330 –> 00:07:49,070
Speaker 1: you know, it was really helped. It was like this

140
00:07:49,280 –> 00:07:51,420
Speaker 1: perfect marriage and it was my desire to work for

141
00:07:51,440 –> 00:07:56,450
Speaker 1: emerging trends and transformation. And in grocery, I believe that

142
00:07:56,550 –> 00:07:59,100
Speaker 1: grocery is one of the most complex and difficult businesses.

143
00:07:59,740 –> 00:08:02,320
Speaker 1: I’d say, you know, it’s still being pseudo figured out

144
00:08:02,420 –> 00:08:04,140
Speaker 1: in the digital world and we have so much more

145
00:08:04,160 –> 00:08:08,800
Speaker 1: to do. So coming to Pepsi to lead this omni-channel transformation,

146
00:08:08,840 –> 00:08:11,060
Speaker 1: which is yet kind of more of the new, the

147
00:08:11,100 –> 00:08:14,880
Speaker 1: newness here in this decade, we have much more digital

148
00:08:14,900 –> 00:08:18,890
Speaker 1: penetration to be had in grocery than on top of

149
00:08:18,950 –> 00:08:23,720
Speaker 1: working for a company, 100-year-old company with global leading brands.

150
00:08:24,200 –> 00:08:27,400
Speaker 1: How exciting is that? And that’s why I came here

151
00:08:27,480 –> 00:08:29,700
Speaker 1: and also continued on that food journey.

152
00:08:30,720 –> 00:08:34,550
Speaker 5: So with so much experience in terms of breadth and depth,

153
00:08:34,850 –> 00:08:38,349
Speaker 5: it feels like one of the connective tissues throughout everything

154
00:08:38,410 –> 00:08:41,250
Speaker 5: is that you’re clearly just a curious person that wants

155
00:08:41,309 –> 00:08:44,110
Speaker 5: to keep learning and growing. That feels like something that

156
00:08:44,170 –> 00:08:46,350
Speaker 5: can’t be taught, though I’d love to understand if you

157
00:08:46,390 –> 00:08:50,020
Speaker 5: feel curiosity can be taught versus something that’s innate. But

158
00:08:50,120 –> 00:08:53,620
Speaker 5: as a leader, how do you empower others to become

159
00:08:53,780 –> 00:08:55,980
Speaker 5: curious so they can be a part of the change

160
00:08:56,360 –> 00:08:59,020
Speaker 5: that you’re helping a large organization like PepsiCo go through?

161
00:08:59,800 –> 00:09:02,700
Speaker 1: Yeah, I agree. I think it’s a tougher thing to teach.

162
00:09:03,000 –> 00:09:05,460
Speaker 1: For me personally, I just have always had that drive

163
00:09:05,480 –> 00:09:09,270
Speaker 1: to continuously push myself. And I think it comes from part,

164
00:09:09,309 –> 00:09:11,950
Speaker 1: you know, naturally of always wanting to understand the why,

165
00:09:11,970 –> 00:09:16,370
Speaker 1: the how, always listening, asking questions, reading, you know, just

166
00:09:16,410 –> 00:09:20,270
Speaker 1: being the sponge and also just questioning the status quo

167
00:09:20,309 –> 00:09:23,850
Speaker 1: and being comfortable with ambiguity. It’s natural for me. So

168
00:09:23,870 –> 00:09:28,470
Speaker 1: for folks on, let’s say like PepsiCo today, Omnichannel transformation,

169
00:09:28,510 –> 00:09:32,610
Speaker 1: digital transformation, massive change management that doesn’t happen overnight. So

170
00:09:32,630 –> 00:09:35,340
Speaker 1: the curiosity, I’d say, pushes me to see what could

171
00:09:35,390 –> 00:09:38,060
Speaker 1: be and kind of like connecting the dots. And then

172
00:09:38,260 –> 00:09:44,020
Speaker 1: also tapping into highly talented people that can go off

173
00:09:44,059 –> 00:09:47,679
Speaker 1: the deep end and help form that vision and that

174
00:09:47,800 –> 00:09:50,479
Speaker 1: aspiration of like what we can change and move mountains together.

175
00:09:50,500 –> 00:09:55,500
Speaker 1: And that moves me and gives me energy. and tell

176
00:09:55,540 –> 00:09:58,890
Speaker 1: the story of like, this is a journey as well together.

177
00:09:59,420 –> 00:10:02,140
Speaker 1: and you know we’re all holding hands and I have

178
00:10:02,160 –> 00:10:04,319
Speaker 1: the confidence that we’ll get to the other side just

179
00:10:04,520 –> 00:10:07,699
Speaker 1: bringing the team along on the journey and that’s how

180
00:10:07,780 –> 00:10:10,280
Speaker 1: I would say you know motivating I’m pretty also very

181
00:10:10,340 –> 00:10:14,679
Speaker 1: transparent on sometimes you’re going to uncharted territories and let’s

182
00:10:14,740 –> 00:10:16,760
Speaker 1: figure it out let’s test and learn we always can

183
00:10:16,800 –> 00:10:20,349
Speaker 1: go back and and pivot so it’s worked well I’m

184
00:10:20,370 –> 00:10:23,820
Speaker 1: just going to say I have a fantastic team, highly talented.

185
00:10:23,880 –> 00:10:26,640
Speaker 1: That also helps in a large degree.

186
00:10:26,660 –> 00:10:32,920
Speaker 2: So let’s pivot into talent strategy because the mindset of

187
00:10:32,990 –> 00:10:35,930
Speaker 2: how to curate great talent at a company like Amazon

188
00:10:35,970 –> 00:10:41,650
Speaker 2: is very different at PepsiCo. Companies 100 years old versus 25,

189
00:10:41,650 –> 00:10:44,980
Speaker 2: obviously very different than the day one strategy. You have

190
00:10:45,000 –> 00:10:48,849
Speaker 2: a very much a day one mentality. So as you

191
00:10:48,890 –> 00:10:54,550
Speaker 2: think about hiring cross-skilling, what do you think it takes

192
00:10:54,650 –> 00:10:57,080
Speaker 2: both in terms of hard skills and soft skills to

193
00:10:57,140 –> 00:11:00,840
Speaker 2: win in the word you and I have talked about, omnification?

194
00:11:00,920 –> 00:11:01,179
Speaker 4: Yes.

195
00:11:01,440 –> 00:11:03,939
Speaker 2: How do you find the right talent, hard skills, soft

196
00:11:03,960 –> 00:11:07,000
Speaker 2: skills for this world in a company that is such

197
00:11:07,020 –> 00:11:07,920
Speaker 2: a machine, really?

198
00:11:08,179 –> 00:11:12,569
Speaker 1: It is, yes. A very well-oiled machine. And yeah, the omnification,

199
00:11:12,590 –> 00:11:15,970
Speaker 1: it’s a journey and it takes time, but it’s highly critical.

200
00:11:16,170 –> 00:11:19,260
Speaker 1: And so for talent, There’s like a few things that

201
00:11:19,280 –> 00:11:23,300
Speaker 1: I take into account. A digital business acumen or understanding

202
00:11:23,620 –> 00:11:27,960
Speaker 1: the complexity of the work and of the implications doesn’t

203
00:11:27,980 –> 00:11:30,179
Speaker 1: say that digital doesn’t just happen. So I think there’s

204
00:11:30,220 –> 00:11:34,520
Speaker 1: an importance to have an understanding there. It doesn’t necessarily

205
00:11:34,540 –> 00:11:38,070
Speaker 1: mean you don’t know everything there for sure. Open to that,

206
00:11:38,210 –> 00:11:42,590
Speaker 1: call it understanding because you’re building and operating the digital business.

207
00:11:42,850 –> 00:11:46,610
Speaker 1: At the same time, you’re bringing this omni experience together.

208
00:11:47,340 –> 00:11:52,260
Speaker 1: Strong communication. So Sarah, again, the soft skills, so vital.

209
00:11:52,280 –> 00:11:56,150
Speaker 1: I just like underscore this. This was even probably just a,

210
00:11:56,640 –> 00:11:58,230
Speaker 1: even a more of a learning for me coming over

211
00:11:58,250 –> 00:12:01,189
Speaker 1: to the company of, you know, bringing people together on

212
00:12:01,210 –> 00:12:06,189
Speaker 1: all different levels and functions and so on to build

213
00:12:06,230 –> 00:12:08,309
Speaker 1: that bridge of these, I’m going to say these two

214
00:12:08,350 –> 00:12:12,910
Speaker 1: worlds and drawing parallels of in-store strengths to this digital world.

215
00:12:13,750 –> 00:12:17,390
Speaker 1: And everyone has a part to play in this. much

216
00:12:17,450 –> 00:12:21,770
Speaker 1: of our growth too is coming from in-store today and

217
00:12:22,010 –> 00:12:25,560
Speaker 1: ensuring that it’s like, it’s together. It’s not in lieu

218
00:12:25,760 –> 00:12:29,020
Speaker 1: of and skillset of, I’m going to say some, you know,

219
00:12:29,040 –> 00:12:32,340
Speaker 1: we’re tenured PepsiCo people. It’s so critical to have them

220
00:12:32,559 –> 00:12:35,540
Speaker 1: as part of the team too, because they’re going to

221
00:12:35,580 –> 00:12:39,449
Speaker 1: know the operations very intimately, a lot more so than

222
00:12:40,130 –> 00:12:42,730
Speaker 1: somebody that’s been, I’m going to say for four years.

223
00:12:42,770 –> 00:12:44,989
Speaker 1: I know, I know some, but I definitely know there’s

224
00:12:45,010 –> 00:12:47,390
Speaker 1: people that know a lot more. Thinking big and just

225
00:12:47,429 –> 00:12:49,810
Speaker 1: like creative solutions. So I think it’s that status quo

226
00:12:49,850 –> 00:12:52,330
Speaker 1: piece of like, okay, can we push the envelope? And

227
00:12:52,530 –> 00:12:56,910
Speaker 1: operations for in particular, an example is like, I’m challenging

228
00:12:56,950 –> 00:13:00,130
Speaker 1: my team of the creative ways to build that virtual

229
00:13:00,190 –> 00:13:06,000
Speaker 1: store capacity. And what does that mean? And sometimes that

230
00:13:06,059 –> 00:13:10,100
Speaker 1: means it’s a different go-to-market strategy. And it is not

231
00:13:10,220 –> 00:13:13,620
Speaker 1: always in lieu of, it’s also a compliment to the existing.

232
00:13:13,700 –> 00:13:16,280
Speaker 1: Because there’s just so many ways that products can be fulfilled.

233
00:13:16,790 –> 00:13:19,250
Speaker 1: when you’re buying digital, you know, many different ways and

234
00:13:19,270 –> 00:13:22,270
Speaker 1: they’re still being invented. Hiring for versatility. So I think

235
00:13:22,290 –> 00:13:25,370
Speaker 1: just that dynamic of having a diverse group and then

236
00:13:25,410 –> 00:13:30,010
Speaker 1: also folks individually have to wear different hats. So sales

237
00:13:30,470 –> 00:13:32,689
Speaker 1: folks call out my team. They’re a bit of a

238
00:13:32,730 –> 00:13:36,340
Speaker 1: generalist as well. They need to understand the business functions.

239
00:13:36,720 –> 00:13:40,520
Speaker 1: They’re very interconnected. And, you know, it’s not a call

240
00:13:40,559 –> 00:13:44,160
Speaker 1: it that traditional sales anymore because part of it also

241
00:13:44,420 –> 00:13:47,829
Speaker 1: is this transformation. And these bridging, call it these two

242
00:13:47,890 –> 00:13:50,860
Speaker 1: worlds that are both very vital and important to go forward.

243
00:13:51,500 –> 00:13:55,199
Speaker 5: As PepsiCo continues to go on this omni-channel journey, so

244
00:13:55,220 –> 00:13:57,480
Speaker 5: do your competitors, right? Like we’re all operating in the

245
00:13:57,520 –> 00:14:01,199
Speaker 5: same world together. How does PepsiCo differentiate itself when it

246
00:14:01,240 –> 00:14:02,840
Speaker 5: comes to its omni-channel strategy?

247
00:14:02,940 –> 00:14:07,120
Speaker 1: Yeah, gosh, at Pepsi, we’re leading in the CPG space

248
00:14:07,700 –> 00:14:11,209
Speaker 1: by investing in talent and technology. You know, we had

249
00:14:11,270 –> 00:14:17,290
Speaker 1: this dedicated focus to look ahead and to… focus on digital,

250
00:14:17,309 –> 00:14:21,550
Speaker 1: digital transformation before COVID. And so when COVID did come

251
00:14:21,620 –> 00:14:25,080
Speaker 1: around too, we were even that much more ready and

252
00:14:25,500 –> 00:14:28,320
Speaker 1: soaring at a faster clip. Also, that adds a lot

253
00:14:28,340 –> 00:14:30,400
Speaker 1: of value and engagement with customers as they’re going through

254
00:14:30,420 –> 00:14:32,970
Speaker 1: that as well. We have the strengths in brick and

255
00:14:33,000 –> 00:14:37,350
Speaker 1: mortar and really drawing, I’m going to say those parallels

256
00:14:37,390 –> 00:14:42,690
Speaker 1: to how do we bring our brands to life online

257
00:14:42,710 –> 00:14:47,850
Speaker 1: and the power of our brands. is fantastic. We have

258
00:14:47,870 –> 00:14:53,190
Speaker 1: a wide breadth of brands, beverages, foods, and world-renowned brands

259
00:14:53,230 –> 00:14:59,270
Speaker 1: that help just overall the total basket on grocery and

260
00:14:59,590 –> 00:15:02,710
Speaker 1: differentiating ourself, which is our brand portfolio. And I’d also

261
00:15:02,770 –> 00:15:07,130
Speaker 1: say just on the tech side, strategically, we look at

262
00:15:07,970 –> 00:15:11,050
Speaker 1: where to build our own tech stack, say where it

263
00:15:11,090 –> 00:15:16,290
Speaker 1: makes sense. We operate with this mentality of end-to-end And

264
00:15:16,590 –> 00:15:21,790
Speaker 1: ensuring that we’re thinking end-to-end, our strategies end-to-end, that cross-functional.

265
00:15:22,830 –> 00:15:26,440
Speaker 1: And everybody, it’s so important, especially with that customer journey.

266
00:15:26,680 –> 00:15:30,500
Speaker 1: And then even with our customers too are operating a

267
00:15:30,520 –> 00:15:33,220
Speaker 1: bit more like that as well. That leads to just

268
00:15:33,320 –> 00:15:36,100
Speaker 1: a stronger partnership. So we’re leading in that space as well.

269
00:15:36,780 –> 00:15:40,970
Speaker 1: And we’re proud of that. And staying very, very connected

270
00:15:41,010 –> 00:15:43,250
Speaker 1: and breaking down those silos is critical as well.

271
00:15:43,580 –> 00:15:45,840
Speaker 2: That’s a great point. And it’s not lost on me

272
00:15:45,900 –> 00:15:48,070
Speaker 2: that you and I met at a Walmart event. So

273
00:15:48,150 –> 00:15:50,770
Speaker 2: in terms of the importance of both partnership with customers

274
00:15:51,470 –> 00:15:56,210
Speaker 2: and being that category leader in so many different areas

275
00:15:57,010 –> 00:16:01,220
Speaker 2: becomes so important. So as you think about both your

276
00:16:01,260 –> 00:16:04,340
Speaker 2: partnerships with your customers, as well as how you stay

277
00:16:04,780 –> 00:16:08,740
Speaker 2: ahead of curve, how do you think about that relationship?

278
00:16:08,780 –> 00:16:12,730
Speaker 2: Like how should best in class companies be thinking about

279
00:16:13,290 –> 00:16:16,790
Speaker 2: how to partner best with both retailers and the last

280
00:16:16,850 –> 00:16:19,330
Speaker 2: milers as well. And what advice might you even have

281
00:16:19,370 –> 00:16:20,510
Speaker 2: for the customers themselves?

282
00:16:20,850 –> 00:16:23,570
Speaker 1: Yeah, gosh, I feel like it definitely comes down to,

283
00:16:23,590 –> 00:16:26,410
Speaker 1: you know, this talent and technology, having the best in

284
00:16:26,430 –> 00:16:29,570
Speaker 1: class talent. Let’s say, for example, we’ll take national retailers

285
00:16:29,810 –> 00:16:31,930
Speaker 1: and Rachel, like you said, like they’re going through that

286
00:16:31,970 –> 00:16:34,910
Speaker 1: massive transformation as well. And like, absolutely. We see that

287
00:16:35,190 –> 00:16:37,380
Speaker 1: we need to stay ahead. I think there’s a constant

288
00:16:37,390 –> 00:16:41,290
Speaker 1: need to elevate your game. to serve customers because they’re

289
00:16:41,310 –> 00:16:44,370
Speaker 1: learning as well. And, you know, there’s new basing all

290
00:16:44,430 –> 00:16:48,670
Speaker 1: the time. And so a few things that we focus

291
00:16:48,840 –> 00:16:51,880
Speaker 1: on it, you know, co-creation is a big one and

292
00:16:51,920 –> 00:16:55,260
Speaker 1: inventing new ways together with our customers to build businesses,

293
00:16:55,780 –> 00:16:57,560
Speaker 1: you know, a little bit of like business development and

294
00:16:57,600 –> 00:17:02,180
Speaker 1: what could be embracing tests and learns, but very fast

295
00:17:02,400 –> 00:17:05,730
Speaker 1: with speed. Sometimes you don’t want the analysis paralysis and

296
00:17:05,750 –> 00:17:08,480
Speaker 1: you just got to go and figure it out. because

297
00:17:08,540 –> 00:17:12,000
Speaker 1: I think speed does give you a competitive edge. Operating

298
00:17:12,020 –> 00:17:14,990
Speaker 1: the end-to-end, which I mentioned earlier, and then also obsessing

299
00:17:15,070 –> 00:17:19,750
Speaker 1: over the fundamentals. The fundamental inputs in stock is basic,

300
00:17:19,830 –> 00:17:23,810
Speaker 1: but it’s so critical, especially in the digital world as

301
00:17:23,830 –> 00:17:28,119
Speaker 1: you’re gaining past purchases for customers to ensure that they

302
00:17:28,160 –> 00:17:30,859
Speaker 1: continue to get their favorites and it’s very easy to shop.

303
00:17:31,440 –> 00:17:34,520
Speaker 1: And that’s also just part of various customers that are

304
00:17:34,580 –> 00:17:37,510
Speaker 1: doing call it a membership, right? And They want to

305
00:17:37,550 –> 00:17:43,080
Speaker 1: ensure that for their retention as well. So it’s important collectively.

306
00:17:43,300 –> 00:17:45,700
Speaker 1: And so we’re always obsessing over the fundamentals. And I

307
00:17:45,980 –> 00:17:48,700
Speaker 1: also operate kind of on this core principle of viewing

308
00:17:48,760 –> 00:17:53,820
Speaker 1: through the lens of the consumer’s journey as key. And

309
00:17:54,020 –> 00:17:58,140
Speaker 1: you’ll always find the answer if you start there. And lastly,

310
00:17:58,180 –> 00:18:05,179
Speaker 1: maybe underpinned with technology and rapid business intelligence at scale

311
00:18:05,640 –> 00:18:06,959
Speaker 1: and the continuation of that.

312
00:18:07,810 –> 00:18:09,970
Speaker 5: It’s interesting over the years, we’ve had a bunch of

313
00:18:10,010 –> 00:18:14,449
Speaker 5: different PepsiCo alum. And even as the marketplace changes, it’s

314
00:18:14,490 –> 00:18:17,629
Speaker 5: so clear that talent is really at the core of

315
00:18:17,790 –> 00:18:19,990
Speaker 5: everything throughout PepsiCo. And we heard it from you today.

316
00:18:20,530 –> 00:18:22,580
Speaker 5: So we got to ask you our famous last question,

317
00:18:22,630 –> 00:18:24,900
Speaker 5: which is what’s the bravest thing you’ve ever done?

318
00:18:25,460 –> 00:18:25,900
Speaker 1: All right.

319
00:18:26,119 –> 00:18:26,379
Speaker 2: Okay.

320
00:18:26,420 –> 00:18:28,420
Speaker 1: Rachel, I was like, gosh, you know, I really appreciate

321
00:18:28,460 –> 00:18:30,540
Speaker 1: this question as I listened to your podcast and like,

322
00:18:30,660 –> 00:18:33,760
Speaker 1: here I am now answering this. So it’s a full circle.

323
00:18:34,440 –> 00:18:35,899
Speaker 1: you know, I thought a little bit about this and

324
00:18:36,880 –> 00:18:40,420
Speaker 1: I decided to call it the career route, but also

325
00:18:40,480 –> 00:18:44,080
Speaker 1: just embracing also who I am. I’d say there was

326
00:18:44,100 –> 00:18:48,300
Speaker 1: a time in my career where I was just thriving and,

327
00:18:48,440 –> 00:18:51,060
Speaker 1: you know, with new challenges. And I was like, all right,

328
00:18:51,119 –> 00:18:53,859
Speaker 1: I need a new challenge. And I also need to

329
00:18:53,940 –> 00:18:59,060
Speaker 1: diversify myself to just embrace the future of the world.

330
00:18:59,740 –> 00:19:03,090
Speaker 1: And that’s really when the time I I left T-Mobile

331
00:19:03,150 –> 00:19:06,320
Speaker 1: and I went to Amazon to learn, call it tech.

332
00:19:07,100 –> 00:19:09,280
Speaker 1: And it really pushed me outside of my comfort zone

333
00:19:09,300 –> 00:19:13,060
Speaker 1: because I had very little experience there at the time.

334
00:19:13,340 –> 00:19:16,840
Speaker 1: There was some crazy warnings I’m going to say about

335
00:19:16,859 –> 00:19:19,310
Speaker 1: the culture. Now, clearly I was there for 10 years,

336
00:19:19,369 –> 00:19:23,170
Speaker 1: so I had an awesome experience, but there was times

337
00:19:23,190 –> 00:19:26,270
Speaker 1: where you kind of hear these stories of turnover and

338
00:19:26,310 –> 00:19:30,020
Speaker 1: so on. And, and What it was, was there’s constantly

339
00:19:30,080 –> 00:19:31,960
Speaker 1: growing company. I mean, during the time I was there,

340
00:19:32,000 –> 00:19:36,560
Speaker 1: it grew 10X. And so it’s an environment where some people,

341
00:19:37,080 –> 00:19:38,760
Speaker 1: maybe it’s not for them and some people it is,

342
00:19:38,820 –> 00:19:41,429
Speaker 1: but you’re always working with somebody new. More often you

343
00:19:41,470 –> 00:19:43,490
Speaker 1: go to meetings and you don’t know anyone, maybe a

344
00:19:43,550 –> 00:19:46,070
Speaker 1: few people of your core group, but it’s very, very

345
00:19:46,130 –> 00:19:49,369
Speaker 1: common throughout my whole time there. The other part was,

346
00:19:49,650 –> 00:19:52,119
Speaker 1: there’s no… training and it’s like, all right, well, if

347
00:19:52,140 –> 00:19:53,340
Speaker 1: you’re going to get reporting, you just got to go

348
00:19:53,359 –> 00:19:55,580
Speaker 1: ahead and learn SQL. I was like, all right. So,

349
00:19:55,600 –> 00:20:00,200
Speaker 1: you know, teaching myself these things, homegrown systems, nearly zero help,

350
00:20:00,619 –> 00:20:04,420
Speaker 1: but that’s the culture and everybody’s in it. And so

351
00:20:04,760 –> 00:20:10,149
Speaker 1: I’d say grit, resilience, very important, having a backbone, And,

352
00:20:10,330 –> 00:20:12,010
Speaker 1: you know, I didn’t really think of it as, call

353
00:20:12,050 –> 00:20:14,270
Speaker 1: it brave at the time. But as I look back

354
00:20:14,869 –> 00:20:17,129
Speaker 1: and thinking of, gosh, I went through a lot and

355
00:20:17,150 –> 00:20:20,369
Speaker 1: I kept going, that was brave. And I did grow because,

356
00:20:20,430 –> 00:20:23,510
Speaker 1: you know, being in that environment and it’s absolutely shaped

357
00:20:23,530 –> 00:20:25,470
Speaker 1: me as the person I am today. And I’m very

358
00:20:25,520 –> 00:20:28,179
Speaker 1: thankful for the experience to be able to, you know,

359
00:20:28,260 –> 00:20:31,280
Speaker 1: move to Pepsi and bring that with me and then

360
00:20:31,320 –> 00:20:35,139
Speaker 1: also gain a great, fantastic value from just being at

361
00:20:35,180 –> 00:20:35,740
Speaker 1: Pepsi alone.

362
00:20:36,080 –> 00:20:38,260
Speaker 2: Now you know why we asked you on the show. Yeah.

363
00:20:39,880 –> 00:20:41,120
Speaker 1: I appreciate it, Sarah. Thank you.

364
00:20:41,140 –> 00:20:43,520
Speaker 2: Well, thank you so much for joining us, for dropping

365
00:20:43,540 –> 00:20:46,510
Speaker 2: so much knowledge. There’s so much that PepsiCo is doing

366
00:20:46,900 –> 00:20:49,210
Speaker 2: and we can’t wait to see not just what PepsiCo

367
00:20:49,230 –> 00:20:51,830
Speaker 2: keeps doing in the digital commerce space, but what you do, Megan.

368
00:20:51,850 –> 00:20:53,389
Speaker 2: So thank you very much for joining us.

369
00:20:53,650 –> 00:20:54,150
Speaker 1: Thank you.

370
00:20:54,369 –> 00:20:54,689
Speaker 4: Bye-bye.

371
00:20:57,590 –> 00:20:59,530
Speaker 3: If you like what you heard, you know we have

372
00:20:59,550 –> 00:21:02,700
Speaker 3: a big theme on this show and that is PepsiCo alums.

373
00:21:03,040 –> 00:21:06,500
Speaker 3: A lot of great executives have come from Pepsi. Most recently,

374
00:21:06,560 –> 00:21:10,520
Speaker 3: we recorded an episode with Danone’s Linda Bethia, who’s the CMO.

375
00:21:10,920 –> 00:21:13,139
Speaker 3: She also worked at Pepsi. So go check her out

376
00:21:13,600 –> 00:21:17,020
Speaker 3: or go way back in the way back archives of

377
00:21:17,040 –> 00:21:19,199
Speaker 3: Brave Commerce and check out an episode we did with

378
00:21:19,240 –> 00:21:22,070
Speaker 3: Lauren Hobart, who’s now the CEO of Dick’s Sporting Goods

379
00:21:22,440 –> 00:21:25,230
Speaker 3: and spent many years at PepsiCo. If you like what

380
00:21:25,270 –> 00:21:28,530
Speaker 3: you heard, tell a friend, write a review. Thanks for listening.

381
00:21:45,210 –> 00:21:49,190
Speaker 4: Hi, I’m Jackie Cooper, Global Chief Brand Officer at Edelman

382
00:21:49,230 –> 00:21:51,990
Speaker 4: and the host of Touch of Truth, a new podcast

383
00:21:52,050 –> 00:21:55,500
Speaker 4: launching on the Adweek Podcast Network. My dad gave me

384
00:21:55,520 –> 00:21:59,219
Speaker 4: this incredibly smart piece of advice. Meet everyone once. As

385
00:21:59,260 –> 00:22:01,560
Speaker 4: a result, I’ve met some of the most fascinating and

386
00:22:01,640 –> 00:22:04,760
Speaker 4: inspiring people on the planet. Now on Touch of Truth,

387
00:22:04,960 –> 00:22:08,230
Speaker 4: we’re coming centre stage and sharing the mic to experience

388
00:22:08,270 –> 00:22:11,129
Speaker 4: stories of truth, insights and visions for the future that

389
00:22:11,150 –> 00:22:13,619
Speaker 4: will challenge your way of thinking. Touch of Truth is

390
00:22:13,680 –> 00:22:17,209
Speaker 4: available wherever you listen to podcasts. New episodes come out

391
00:22:17,410 –> 00:22:19,470
Speaker 4: every Tuesday. I do hope to see you there.