Stuckey’s Corporation which started as a roadside pecan stand during the Great Depression and grew into 350+ stores by the 1970s, has evolved itself under the leadership of Stephanie Stuckey, who brough the company back into family hands in November 2019. On this episode of the Reboot Chronicles, Stuckey’s CEO Stephanie Stuckey discusses how her unique background translates into her leadership style, how the organization is rebranding itself for the new retail space and its goals of expanding further into B2B retail. Restoring Stuckey’s   Stuckey’s started out as a simple, family-owned Georgia pecan stand selling pecan rolls in the 1930s, eventually morphing into America’s favorite roadside oasis with over 350 stores in the 1970s. Like many companies experiencing tremendous growth, Stuckey’s was bought out by a larger company, leading to a “perfect storm,” where Stuckey’s fell out of favor with its owners, slipping into obscurity and decline. Seeking to turn the tide of the company, Stephanie took the wheel with a plan to reacquire the company, bringing it back into the family and rebooting it for the 21st century.  

As a founder of 1871 in Chicago, one of the largest incubators in the world, I'm often on the lookout for hybrid business acceleration platforms, and recently found one that looks like a rollup with an incubator on the side! On this episode of the Reboot Chronicles, I caught up with Chris Hobson, CEO of Rare Beauty Brands, who helps high-growth indie brands scale innovation, product and channel development—while empowering founders with access to new markets, funding, personnel, and highly relevant industry mentorship. Dancing with Startups In recent years, the indie beauty boom has presented a challenge to cosmetic conglomerates like Sephora, forcing them to rely on both partnering with and incubating beauty brands. Similarly, to grow at scale, indie beauty brands need funding to build out their tech and logistics teams, investing in marketing, new hires, geographic expansion opportunities, and even bringing in professional-grade management. Chris and his team set out to help young brands scale indie beauty startups through their friendly partnerships with prestige retailers like Sephora, Macy's, Neiman Marcus and Ulta, to place their products online and in-store. Secret Sauce Blend The chemistry of having a team of people on the cutting edge of the latest industry developments and consumer trends are what sets Rare apart from the rest. Their secret formula truly lies within its team of experienced scientists, innovative R&D and marketing experts that indie brands could otherwise not access themselves. As Chris states, “Our vision is, as we grow our capabilities, we also expect to grow our staff of scientists.” Unlike other incubators, accelerators and inno-labs, Rare’s’ approach is to bring the company in and keep the young brand’s unique culture. The company has seen success so far with its first launch, “Patchology,” and its first acquisition of “Plant Apothecary.”  They prefer to work with brands that are on a profitability track and active in the professional, direct-to-consumer and traditional retail segments, generating $500,000 to $10 million in annual revenue.

With more than $8 billion in revenue and a team of 15,000 employees, Amway has helped entrepreneurs in more than 100 countries see success selling health, beauty, and wellness products through a program called “A Million Entrepreneurs.” According to Fortune magazine, Amway is among the Top 50 privately held family-owned companies in the U.S. Founded in 1959, the company is still headquartered in the small town of Ada, Michigan, and today is the world's largest direct to selling company. I talked with their CEO, Milind Pant, on The Reboot Chronicles about how he is rebooting the future of the company. Stumbling Into Action Too often, new CEOs forget to take a step back and listen before taking action. As the first CEO to not be part of the founding family, Milind embraced what I like to call “the stumbling around phase” approach when he took the position, spending his first one hundred days traveling the world listening to and learning from colleagues, customers and partners. Milind's approach proved successful as he learned the business—seeking diverse perspectives from the one million entrepreneurs that sell their products to the trenches and fields behind-the-scenes. Along the way, he also took a deep dive into better understanding the integration of holistic, wellness and sustainability ethos, which is at the heart of the company's culture. By taking the long-view, and asking hundreds of questions, he built lasting relationships and gained allies who helped him as he began to reboot the company—from its historical strengths of direct selling into the next-gen of personalized social commerce. Global Entrepreneurial Ecosystems About 90% of Amway's revenue is from outside of the United States. Though this points to numerous growth opportunities in North America, Milind points to massive growth markets in China, India and various Asian markets where they are strong. An impressive 75% of Amway's revenue comes from geographic territory stretching from Mumbai to Tokyo—not many organizations can say that yet. This approach has made Amway, like Amazon Sellers now, a company that entrepreneurs have looked to as a platform for their personal financial growth. Those of you that follow my Dancing with Startups programs know that tapping into entrepreneurial ecosystems is one of our secret weapons that creates sustainable competitive assets for large corporates. I think Amway's entrepreneurial network is one such asset which will serve them well into their long-view connected-economy journey.

On this episode of the Reboot Chronicles, I talked with Matthew Putman, CEO Nanotronics,  a dynamic group transforming a broad spectrum of manufacturing and processing industries, through artificial intelligence, science and other cutting-edge stuff. I don't say this often, but if you are involved in the manufacturing space, you should check out what they are doing to bring manufacturing into the 21st century. Matthew and his team started out creating a platform that combined AI, automation, and imagining to find flaws in factories. The global Automated Optical Inspection market is a hot space, which promises to reduce waste and costs, while speeding up designs across most all industries.  His vision evolved into a dynamic platform that tackles this whitespace bringing the next-generation of capabilities to a sector that has not experienced enough change in the last 100 years—manufacturing. Thinking beyond the core of manufacturing Mathew and his Dad also began to focus on home healthcare innovation. In the depths of the 2020 pandemic they launched Nanotronics Health, and a new product nHale™, which quickly received EUA from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration to assist patients suffering from COVID. It is a non-invasive approach designed to be used in non-life-threatening situations, without invasive ventilatory support. Next up, potentially producing personalized medicine to best-fit consumer needs through genomic sequencing. Nanotronics is currently working with some of the largest genomic sequencing companies to curate out-of-the-box thinking and create new products, services and ventures. A talented musician, Matthew points out the parallels of playing jazz music to the art of innovation. When a musician plays, they must utilize different parts of the brain to create or play music. Like musicians jamming together, working together, either in person or virtually across the globe, is often about serendipity and improvising, so it is  essential to trust your gut—because it's all that you may have in the spur of the moment. We covered and eclectic mix of topics in this episode, you can watch Matthew  here or tune in wherever you listen to your podcasts.About The Reboot Chronicles Podcast: Hosted by Dean DeBiase, The Reboot Chronicles is a popular no-holds-barred podcast on iHeart Radio, iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts and YouTube that has been bringing together CEOs, entrepreneurs, authors, and global leaders, for over a decade, to discuss how organizations are rebooting their leadership-competitiveness of everything from growth, innovation, and technology to talent, culture, and governance. Tune in wherever you listen to podcasts or at https://www.revieve.com/rebootchronicles

When Heather Wallace joined Revlon as President of Americas just about a year ago, she had a plan— to reboot the iconic brand and help prepare it for the future. Then, before she could even meet her team, the pandemic hit. And as Mike Tyson said, “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face.” On this episode of the Reboot Chronicles, I talked with Heather about how she grabbed the wheel of this 90-year-old brand, took on a reboot challenge of truly historic proportions, and orchestrated an agile pivot inside an already tough turnaround. “We are well positioned to capture the reemerging opportunities ... accelerating brands, China and e-commerce.” Revlon president and CEO Debbie Perelman COVID Wrenches Like many in-retail brands, the 2020 lockdowns threw a wrench into topline revenues—dropping a whopping 20%. However, these punched in the face impacts also created growth optionality that Revlon can seize upon now—my favorite being the growth of their ecommerce businesses, which was jolted up to 20% of revenues. “We are seeing signs of broader positive momentum in the business, and with several major 2020 challenges behind us, we believe we are well positioned to capture the reemerging opportunities in the beauty industry…Revlon plans to focus on accelerating brands, China and e-commerce going forward.”  Revlon president and CEO Debbie Perelman Right Team – Right Time As Revlon quickly discovered, they brought in the right leader at the right time. Heather is an inspiring leader, and according to her competitors, a tough operator who delivers. While Revlon had already been in the process of making much-needed changes when Heather joined, including the Revlon 2020 Restructuring Program, the pandemic brought about a whole host of new challenges. With the beauty industry getting hammered, the crisis forced her to navigate the existing culture while increasing the speed of change and adjusting—often on the fly—to significant shifts in consumer shopping habits. Rather than focusing on the negatives that faced them, she and her team stayed unified in working towards a common goal, which she says enabled them to adapt well to a shifting environment. The effort was anchored by an emphasis on consumer analysis, which Heather says allowed her team to assess how purchasing habits were changing and how to best meet new consumer needs and demands. As a result, Revlon was able to effectively identify what consumers were looking for and where and what their preferences were for engaging with brands, influencers and products.

Way before Dermalogica, the world’s top professional-grade skincare brand, was acquired by Unilever in 2015, and even before the company had a product line, it was known as the International Dermal Institute, where innovative cutting-edge skincare treatments were taught. Unlike many indie-brands owned by corporate-motherships, who learn the hard way that tigers eat their young, Dermalogica provides a rare story about how a $60B corporation can continue to nurture the culture and growth of the asset they acquired. A pioneer in the space, the DNA of education and engagement has served the company well throughout the pandemic, says Aurelian Lis, CEO, and is helping it even now to innovate in ways that will define the brand in the decade ahead. Lis, a brilliant leader who recently joined me for a lively episode of the Reboot Chronicles, says that even though Dermalogica today is sold in more than 80 countries by more than 100,000 skincare professionals, it is still very much defined by the core principles established by co-founders Jane and Raymond—dedication to education, personalization, human touch and sustainability. Human Touch, in particular, he says, is a point of difference for the them, always driving the brand to want to find new ways to connect with consumers. Saving an Industry (No Touching) As the 2020 pandemic hit, Dermalogica saw the drastic impacts it was having on skin therapists—in 20,000 salons worldwide—that have been so central to the company’s success and immediately called upon their education roots to help them. The brand implemented a number of programs to support this community including starting an affiliate sales program to help increase commission rates for all accounts; offering free returns; extending credit card payment terms; doubling digital streaming classes and creating business resources that ranged from financial planning guides to online marketing opportunities, digital classes and bi-weekly live streams. Scaling Personalization and Education They also introduced a program called Clean Touch, which provided a safe way for skin therapists and consumers to continue to engage, at a time when it was off limits. Dermalogica even scaled up certification classes to industry professionals on how to survive and thrive—and rapidly certified and astounding 60,000 therapists! This is now expanding into more hard-core educational programs across sectors. Aurelian has also been an innovator in using technology to enhance consumer engagement. For example, Dermalogica utilizes AI powered face mapping, which is essentially a personalized assessment for consumers to get professional insights into their unique skin needs—making personalization both a product and a service—and they are just getting started. Watch us here or tune in wherever you listen to podcasts.

In the Amazon fueled ecommerce marketplace wars, with aggressive competitors—from eBay and Google to Walmart and Target — Supermarket Mega-chain Kroger seized the lock-down pandemic era to launch its own marketplace in 2020. In this bold move Kroger’s shifted from its old store-based model into a co-created marketplace that offers tens of thousands of indie and global product brands—from food and household goods to health, beauty, and wellness companies. “We’re continuing to invest in technology that enables us to expand our digital services to deliver anything, anytime, anywhere.” Jody Kalmbach, Kroger With many organizations still jumping on the band wagon—even Hudson’s Bay is planning a 2021 launch—many have turned to marketplace SasS providers, like Mirakl, to create, launch and host transaction platforms between global buyers and sellers of products and services. Not surprisingly, Mirakl’s growth in transactions on the marketplaces they operate was up 110% to $3.1 billion in 2020! On this episode of the Reboot Chronicles, fresh off of closing their $300 million funding round, we go under the Mirikal hood with Co-founder and Co-CEO, Adrien Nussenbaum to see how they are helping to drive disruption and innovation for these B2B and B2C companies. “Ecommerce accelerated dramatically in 2020, with marketplaces capturing a disproportionate share of that growth.” Philippe Corrot, Mirakl CEO Marketplaces are extremely complex models, with multi-factor optionality, so managing key growth variables is a powerful tool to build successful platforms that can keep-up and compete with the big-dogs. After working with over 300 B2B and B2C companies in over 40 countries such as Best Buy Canada, Kroger, HP Enterprise, AIRBUS, and Toyota, Mirakl has figured out how to partner with high potential companies that have great assets—and seek to evolve their business models and target changing consumer buying habits. Adrien puts it this way, “ imagine yourself ten years from now, do you see yourself as a consolidator or being consolidated ... on a consolidator site such as the Kroger’s and Best Buy’s of the world."

On the heels of Australia’s top 2020 public offering—the largest female-led IPO in that market’s history—Adore Beauty’s CEO, Tennealle O'Shannessy, shares her unique journey of taking a company public in the midst of  a seriously strict Stage Four Lockdown. Already the leading profitable online retailer in their category—with $200 million of fresh IPO powder in the bank, Tennealle provides some insights into their aggressive expansion plans and a sneak-peak into the road ahead. Founded in in  Melbourne in  2000 (think early internet dial-up days), with a lofty mission to provide empowering and disruptive new shopping experiences to consumers, Kate Morris and James Height built-up a reputation for fast, easy and friendly services. During Tennealle's CEO tenure, she has rebooted the company even further, pushed the boundaries of beauty, and challenged the company to expand to what is now the leading platform with over 230 brands representing 11,000 products. Being the number one beauty online retailer comes with a lot of pressure to grow and innovate. On The Reboot Chronicles Podcast, we often explore the importance of not just talking to consumers but really listening. This is exactly what Adore has done well, often finding early trends and repetitive patterns in consumer learning, influencing, trying and buying behaviors.  One example, taking an early lead to offer emerging products—such as ingestible skincare supplements—as the beauty category shifts toward the health and wellness space. Tennealle shares other approaches to grasping consumer interest. They have taken a sustainable yet careful approach, to adapt to consumer behavior and preferences, by analyzing data to create better engagement, education and shopping experiences. The goal is to give consumers what they want because Adore is all about "beauty democracy" and meeting consumer needs.  Identifying how to leverage technology, while creating more natural digital experiences, allows them to improve and personalize core customer experiences. Tennealle reveals some challenges she has dealt with along the way, and advice for fellow entrepreneurs and indi-brands, to spend time identifying the problem you are solving in the marketplace. Once you figured out this whitespace (gap in the market), identify how you will draw in consumers and how they will resonate with your product. The best thing to do is be transparent on who your brand is for, what you provide, what you stand for, and create an open conversation of your message to consumers—including education.

As a co-founding board member at 1871 in Chicago and creator of the Dancing with Startups program, I am always on the lookout for potential global expansion partners, like Founders Factory. They are a very dynamic startup accelerator and venture studio, launched five years ago in London by Brent Hoberman and Henry Lane Fox, on the principles of aiding founders with hands-on resources. On this episode of the Reboot Chronicles we dig into how entrepreneurs and startups should evaluate incubators, accelerators or venture studios with Founders Factory Managing Director, Isabella Chick. With a growing list of corporate partners, 100 people (wow) and 4 global locations, they have funding from numerous organizations, allowing them to invest in and rapidly scale and transform global sector challenges—opportunistically. How it Works Standing out from the rest, Founders Factory provides a different perspective, separating their accelerator and venture studio, enabling a more direct operating approach. Moving beyond the typical "cohort" model, over 200 startups have been in their six-month accelerator factory—68 in 2020 alone. Most of these ventures have received bespoke tailored services and advice focused on growth—with a keen understanding about the (land mine) spaces between retail and brands. Another secret sauce they provide founders is coveted all-access passes to world-renowned companies like J&J, M&S and L'Oréal who has a strong CVC group. The venture studio program allows entrepreneurs to start with funding and some de-risking. Isabella shares the two ways the venture operation works: either Founders Factory develops an insight or target area with a corporate partner and brings talent into the mix, or founders bring their concepts to the group and pitch for inclusion in the program. Corporate Partners Isabella points out, the importance of relationships with their corporate partners across multiple sectors, including education, media, beauty, travel, finance, AI & big data, retail, and home. This is not the typical demo-day/corporate entertainment format, but a more serious corporate commitment program. Within these sectors, the industry relationships they have, plus the corporate partners clout, have been crucial market accelerators for the entrepreneurs and startup teams. These corporate partners often de-risk too, as they can engage with the startups ahead of investment. Once a vote through the investment committee has been determined, based on the relationship momentum, concept feasibility and other insights, they can commit. With L'Oréal alone they have run over 200 pilots with entrepreneurs and startups!

Next-Gen Media, Entertainment and Leadership On this episode of the Reboot Chronicles, fresh out of my COVID-19 recovery, I discussed one of my favorite sectors, the entertainment industry, with Jacqueline Parkes, CMO, and SVP of Digital Studios Entertainment Youth Group and ViacomCBS. Responsible for overseeing marketing, creative and digital content, and social media for MTV, Comedy Central, the Paramount Network, Smithsonian Channel, popT.V.V, and CMT, Jacqueline has rebooted some of TV’s most famous brands. She and her team have made many creative moves, including rebooting original content to build new brands and digital audiences. Not Your Dad's MTV In 2020, Jacqueline's team took a hard and fast look at their assets and identified what they could do, in their role as a global media company, to best help consumers (people). With a 93% reach in 18-34-year-old audiences and an impressive 750 million followers across platforms worldwide, they quickly went to work. With the goal to create information that would provide lasting impressions within the minds of existing and new consumers, they developed the first digital campaign. The idea was to hit home in young people's hearts, educating and informing them on the virus—and to help slow the curve. The provocative campaign was a great success, and in partnership with the Ad Council, her team developed over 1000 pieces of cross-platform content. Digital Content Partnerships Content, especially digital content, has shifted dramatically in 2020. Now more than ever, content creation matters, and brands need to be ready to step up to the plate and place society considerations into the forefront of their brands M.O. Moving forward CEO's and CMO's must follow the everchanging habits of consumers, and be mindful of these radical shifts, in order to stay ahead, draw consumers in and resonate with their audiences. One of the partnerships Jacqueline shares is with Twitter, is a prime example of consumer consideration. In preparation for a prior VMA show, Jacqueline and her team worked with the social media giant to produce a unique product to drive business to the brand and give fans insight into the show. It turned out to be a quarantine hit and a direction we will likely see more of in the future—partnerships creating unique perspectives and products to benefit both partners and the audiences. Advice To Gen Z Generation Z is one of the most socially-minded generations—and more demanding of brands and on businesses. Those graduating from college, looking to pursue media or content related careers should look to a organizations and brands that they best resonate with. For those looking to start their own company, remember to put the clients or consumers first, think of what they need and ask yourself ... is there really a need for what you want to develop? Step up to the plate and do not conform, but rather create relevant, original products, services and content.

Can we Crowdsource Government? NASA’s Deputy Director for the Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation (CoECI), Steve Rader, joined me for an episode of the Reboot Chronicles, to discuss how our government went from “not-invented-here” to crowdsourcing and the art of Dancing with Startups. Founded in 2011 by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, NASA's CoECI goal was to drive crowdsourcing programs to further research and development efforts, assist other federal agencies in solving mission-critical projects, and bringing a new level of co-creation and open-innovation culture to NASA. This decade’s overused buzzword, co-creation, was introduced into NASA's culture a decade ago by Dr. Jeff R. Davis, NASA's prior Director, Human Health and Performance. During a time when NASA was experiencing heavy budget cuts with increasing R&D needs, Jeff found he could expand his resources in various industries, through open-innovation challenges. He took this discovery, and often without permission, ran pilot projects with entrepreneurs and startups to prop-up research projects—and the rest is history. "If I had an hour to solve a problem, I'd spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and five minutes thinking about solutions." - Albert Einstein NASA was able to elevate the center to the agency level, tasked to teaching other government agencies to understand how to re-frame problems and reboot their closed mindsets. Similar to what I teach students, executives and board members at Kellogg School of Management, through my Dancing with Startups Program, NASA has guided the US Space Program and over 30 other agencies, on how to discover better solutions by driving more open-innovation, co-creation and crowdsourcing. Listen in here for some good stories here or tune in wherever you get your podcasts.

Why did Accenture Stock rise 24% in 2020? Leadership, talent, digital and focus— and with record earnings for its software products and services, management has just increased their fiscal 2021 outlook from 2%-5% to 4%-6% revenue growth. Sitting as Number 279 on the Fortune 500 list and about $43 billion in annual revenue, Accenture is one of the world's largest consulting companies, with over 500k employees companies, helping over 6k clients in over 120 countries reboot their businesses and brands. Today, the company has over 4.8k patents and about 2.5k pending, with a very robust partner network of nearly 200 organizations worldwide, while growing their digital footprint through high-profile acquisitions like the agency Droga5. Rotating to the New - Digital Since Julie Sweet became CEO of Accenture a lot has changed under her remarkable leadership, from transforming their market approach and culture to reinvigorating their service platforms and brand. Today, 70% of their business has rotated to the "New": digital, cloud and security, all supported by Accenture's biggest brand relaunch in a decade, spearheaded by Accenture’s dynamic CMO Amy Fuller, who joined us for an episode of the Reboot Chronicles to talk about what’s new and what’s next. Speed, Scale and Agility During the 2020 pandemic, consumers have moved dramatically toward online channels, and companies and industries have responded in turn. Today, more than ever, organizations have to accelerate the pace of transformation to supplement and further strengthen their relationships with clients. Most of the companies who have overseen a digital transformation were fraught with challenges: they wish they had - and could have- moved faster. We see companies that emerge stronger from the crisis are those that innovate through it, using the current crisis as an opportunity to transform their company digitally. In short—2020 lit a fire under corporates and acceleration has been good for Accenture and a few of their peers. The rapid shift to working from home is a good example. A vast number of companies were forced to move to digital channels and communication platforms, like  Microsoft Teams, to work remotely. Accenture, for instance, has converted more than a million NHS people in a matter of days - onto Teams. Similarly, retailers are going through the “digital makeover” to adjust according to customer changes and preferences. Grocery delivery is now the norm for many people who wouldn’t bother in the past. In light of this, Walmart, for the first time, activated and scaled curbside pickup at a mass scale. Optimal Experiences With Accenture’s deep industry knowledge, they have discovered recently that the problem lies in understanding how humans interact with technology. And for many clients, the biggest concern was how to interact with advanced technologies and make the most of it. In a world of uncertainty, businesses have to deliver promises of consequence that drive everyone's purposeful change through experiences. Accenture Interactive, the consultancy giant's agency arm, connects deep human and business insights with the possibilities of technology to define and deliver new experiences that can make lives more comfortable and more rewarding.

Should you get the COVID-19 Vaccine? I’ve been off the air for a while—personally recovering from COIVD-19—and with Pfizer shipping vaccines to a provider near you today, kicking off the largest vaccination rollout in U.S. history, I talked with Dr. Nicole Saphier about the question on the year: should you get the shots? Author of the new book Make America Healthy Again, Fox News guest anchor and board-certified radiologist at Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Nicole has unique perspectives about who should get the vaccine, why she will not, why her husband (also a doctor) will, and what about their children. Before you (U.S. listeners) head to your local CVS, Walmart or Walgreens, you should know Pfizer and Modernaare two shot deliver systems and require the second injection two or three weeks after the first. According to Pfizer research, the immunity skyrockets after that second injection to about 95% effective. Nicole states that there will likely be a limited supply of coronavirus vaccines at first, so "determining who has already had COVID-19 is crucial.” According to the recent studies, antibodies for people who have been exposed to the virus, like me, would likely be present for about four to five months, at least. And with limited vaccine supply, we want to make sure that we are vaccinating the vulnerable, those who have no level of immunity to this virus and who are most at risk for being hospitalized or dying, starting with caregivers, health care workers and other people deemed as "essential" employees. Luckily, children are less vulnerable to coronavirus's effects, but they can still be infected. According to Nicole, kids can also transmit the virus, but children have not been included in the clinical trials that are being put forth right now. Therefore, Nicole recommends children not to take the vaccine now–but rather get the flu shot to help keep people and children out of hospital. Older adults and patients with underlying health conditions should get first dibs on a new vaccine because, for them, getting sick is more likely to be serious or fatal. She also adds that frontline health care workers, nursing home residents and high contact essential workers will get the first doses, like Long Island Jewish Medical Center nurse Sandra Lindsay, who said “I feel hopeful today. Relieved,” after she was the first one to receive a shot in America. "I would encourage as many people as possible to get the vaccine, especially if you are over the age of 55. If you are over 55 and have comorbidities and obesity, you should absolutely get the vaccine," says Nicole.

How The World’s Largest Company Can Be The Most Innovative From its beginnings as a discount store with a simple way of helping people save money and live better lives, Walmart, with 2.2 million employees serving 265 million customers weekly and annual revenues over a half-trillion dollars, has become not only the world’s largest retailer, but the quintessential example of the traditional retail approach. Now, they are looking to turn that approach on its ear and reboot the future. Tom Ward, Walmart's very thoughtful Senior Vice President of Consumer Product, and a key figure behind Walmart’s “digital makeover,” joined me for a “look-under-the-hood” episode of The Reboot Chronicles. Tom took me through how Walmart today is running on all cylinders and how they are driving some serious growth initiatives and timely partnerships that are pivotal to their future. Juggling a Bizarre Christmas Season I think 2020 will be the strangest Christmas season we have ever seen, morphing Black Friday into hybrid events—which started in October with Prime Day and will last all season long! Before the pandemic, people would line up and crowd into stores, but now companies must make sure that the way customers engage and shop with them is smart and safe—but still easy. With contactless delivery becoming a prerequisite across industries, people have become reliant on online grocery delivery and pickup options to safely obtain necessities. In light of this and in preparation for the holiday season, Walmart, for the first time, will be activating curbside pickup at a mass scale. But Tom says the retailer knows the in-store experience is still a significantly important experience. Certainly, as the omnichannel approach has changed forever, retailers must bridge online and physical worlds to include hybrid touch-point solutions. Instead of one big Black Friday event, they have three so far and will be extending hours, which should help flow control for you late night shoppers like me. Target ‘s CEO Brian Cornell has echoed this, following Walmart’s lead to close for Thanksgiving Day, stating that they are taking a “completely new approach to Black Friday, minimizing the event-day shopping behavior that is typical for this time of year.” You can now check wait times online,  make reservations  at Target.com/line, use  contactless checkout and make last minute pickup time changes. Tom in our conversation frequently referred to the focus on solving customers' problems, regardless of the channel that they select. To that end, Walmart's app is going to play a leading role in the physical shopping experience—whether it's about navigation, scanning, drive by pickup or payment—helping to remove pieces of friction that traditionally slowed the retailer down. There is much more going on here, with many co-created innovations coming to a store near you soon...one common denominator seems to be a need for speed! "I think it is going to a huge lift in speed and convenience as a focus. I'm always excited and keen to see what the next innovation is going to be around the corner, and whom we can partner with to accelerate that," says Tom.

To the Future and Back On this episode of the Reboot Chronicles, I invited Ian Ginsberg, third-generation President of C.O. Bigelow Apothecaries, to join me for an action-packed episode about the past, present and future. Founded in 1838 by Dr. Galen Hunter, Bigelow is the oldest apothecary in the United States, with some amazing history. Ian and his ancestors have stayed true to the company’s traditions of focusing on personalized products, services and formulas. Two centuries later, a Bigelow experience seems to transport us back in time and into the future simultaneously. Today, the company has been rebooted itself from the historical landmark in NYC into a vast global platform with over 10,000 personal care products, gaining the attention of multi-generational e-commerce shoppers. An Essential-Connected Business Unlike most companies that were founded after WWII, Bigelow has undergone some extreme times like two world wars, the Great Depression, 9-11 and COVID-19.  Deemed essential during the 2020 lock-down, they reacted quickly, never closed and continued prioritizing emotional connections with wary shoppers—something they are good at in good times and bad. Not Your Father’s Store Ian continues to expanded the brand, including a rebooted retail business which still has the original functioning pharmacy, an expansive commerce site, and Bigelow Trading, which imports and distributes several brands.  Having been on a few large family-enterprise boards myself, I like how Ian, who runs one of the oldest US family companies himself,  seeks out and represents other family brands and products, who also have multi-generational heritage stories. Focus and Passion Ian provides some advice to aspiring entrepreneurs to set your sights on something you love. Many of us have set out to disrupt markets mostly for profit reasons, which can limit results. He prefers to focus on creating something you are very passionate or even obsessed about. Starting a business should be for the right reasons first and often things will fall into place financially. It is important not to get sidetracked, so listen in here, or where ever you listen to podcasts, to find out what type of sign you should hang up in your office to remind you of just that.

Challenges of the Female Entrepreneur in the Beauty Jungle In this Startup Stories episode of the Reboot Chronicles, I talked with Franziska Leonhardt, co-founder of AVE + EDAM, an award-winning company based in Berlin, that offers tech-enabled personalized products. As you may have guessed, the company's name is a play on Adam and Eve and was founded in Silicon Valley at Stanford University, on the principles of influencing change in the beauty industry. Levels of Personalization Personalization of beauty products and experiences are increasing in popularity. A recent survey found that eight in ten consumers stated they had purchased personalized skincare products, with 35% spending around $100 on customized products. With that, is personalization here to stay—or is it a fad? Looking at the past, Franziska notes that products started off being highly personalized, as they were developed from the pharmacy, but were not available to everyone for price reasons. She believes personalization will grow, and could become a standard across many categories, if it can be developed and delivered at affordable costs. However, given mass-scale issues, I do not see the big brands moving quickly to introduce custom formulations. To unpack the real trend, it is important to understand two different levels of personalization: SKU level personalization and formula level personalization. SKU Level Personalization: Using AI/selfie skin data and analysis, brands and retailers recommend currently available products—potentially narrowing a search from 50 to five specifically targeted SKU’s. Formula Level Personalization: Using the same AI/selfie skin and data analysis, brands offer custom-formulated products targeted to a person’s specific profile data. Personalized customer journeys and product/service choices can be achieved by partnering with AI solutions providers like Revieve. Female Entrepreneur Challenges are Real Starting a company, in what industry experts call “The Beauty Jungle,” has been a huge challenge for Franziska—especially when it came to differentiating herself and brand. In the beginning, she had her hands full with all the startup challenges entrepreneurs face, while being a single mom. She experienced fundraising issue with European investors, who saw her as a single mother rather than an entrepreneur. Given the strong women in tech movement in America, especially in Chicago with programs like WiSTEM at 1871 where I mentor CEO's, she eventually found supportive U.S. investors. It's a remarkable story that is still evolving, and Franziska’s passion and determination is contagious

The Rise of Luxury Indie Brands In another Entrepreneur Indie-Brand episode of the Reboot Chronicles, I invited KYPRIS Founder  Chase Polan to discuss emerging luxury in the booming global skin care market. As many know, skincare is one of the fastest-growing segments within the beauty industry with high demand for quality product formulations and self-care. According to the NDP Group, skincare sales within 2020 have risen $1.4 billion and are expected to continue growing by 2023, with an estimated 3.5% annual increase reaching $180 billion in global spend by 2024.  With over 15 years of entrepreneurial experience, Chase proves to be a natural-born leader as she has founded two of her own companies. The first being the Beautiful Minds Group, founded in 2005, a comprehensive educational consulting and support program for students K-12 grade and college; the program provides a new approach to better educate students. Also, she founded KYPRIS, a high-performance luxury skincare line of organic and sustainably sourced ingredients to ensure a unique and safer beauty experience for consumers. In creating the brand, she saw a niche in the market for a safe and quality ingredient skincare line. Breaking Barriers With buzzwords like “natural," "clean" and "non-toxic" trending, they are increasingly being used by brands to entice consumers—but are they all authentic? Navigating through such a saturated market, filled with these claims, is often difficult, especially for consumers who are not well-versed. Talking with Chase, I learned her thoughtful approach with KYPRIS. She instilled trust within her clientele base by creating a safe space to educate and provide superior sourced ingredients—going beyond the industry natural standards. The strategy is paying off and momentum is building, with the newly restructured and energized Nieman Marcus adding KYPRIS to their ecommerce lineup. Falling Cactus Sustainability and an ethically sourced supply-chain play heavily into KYPRIS. One brand ingredient, prickly pear (yes it exists), is locally sourced through a practice known as wildcrafting, aka the practice of going into the wild and strategically collecting an ingredient. Chase mentions the challenges that go hand in hand as there is a high risk, but is known for being an ethical and beautiful practice. The Pillars of Growth and Innovation The growth and innovation process for any brand is crucial; KYPRIS has a great guide to the seven core pillars they stand by. There should be no harm; this is really the brand's overarching motto they use to guide innovation—I expect others will follow. What’s an Indie-Brand To Do For all the entrepreneurs out there, it is important to focus on where the opportunity lies, especially in today's current climate. Although the market seems saturated, and retail stores and sites looking more like a “beauty-jungle”—there is still much room for innovation. One Indie-brand tip: rather than only hopping on the current trend bandwagon, that are likely to be short-lived, entrepreneurs should seek to develop out-of-the-box ideas to revolutionize the market—like in the areas of technology and personalization. Whatever you decide, do it authentically well.

Driving Cadillac's Tech Innovation On this episode of the Reboot Chronicles Podcast, Cadillac’s CMO, Melissa Grady, and I look at how they are driving innovation and technology—and what's next for the auto market. Arriving Home - Back in the Auto Industry Coming out of grad school, Mellissa started her career in the auto industry, and the years, she has been on the digital industry's leading-edge, from starting her own companies to Motorola, MetLife, and now Cadillac. Since appointed CMO of Cadillac, Melissa has been driving the future of the luxury automotive brand. She's launched various campaigns, including the "Make Your Way", which debuted the 2021 Cadillac Escalade addressing COVID-19 and the unprecedented times we are going through: stating the brand has its consumers' backs. Building the Next-Gen for the Next-Gen A lot has changed since I took digital pioneer Autoweb public, when I was their CEO. The automotive industry remains a bit fragile in 2020, with sales down anywhere from 10 to 30%, depending on the brand and country. Unlike other automotive companies, Cadillac has gained momentum to accelerate growth and scale up the manufacturing process. While, my fav, the Escalate launch has been slightly delayed, the company has moved forward towards an electric future 'with Zero Crashes, Zero Emissions, and Zero Congestion' and has launched its new and exclusive platform. Unlike Baby Boomers and Gen X, the latest up-and-coming generations are less car crazed and prefer shared mobility—at least before a global pandemic hit the world. Now, as economies gradually reopen, we are seeing significant changes in drivers' behavior. The coronavirus has led to a sharp rise in new car use patterns as commuters, like you, shun public transport. Cars have become the ultimate form of personal protection, understanding that people are comfortable in their "own germs" at home and in car. Personalization Technology We live in a time when technology has never been more critical in consumer segments, including luxury cars, and Cadillac is no exception. Melissa believes that "the two things that are important right now are technology and personalization:  Technology brings a whole new level of vehicle personalized experience to life—from the performance driving to advanced AI & AR. Cadillac is known for its high standards, and the company continues to innovate, define and take advantage of tech trends. I was fascinated by the number of different features they offer, like huge OLED screens, 36 speakers and next-gen augmented reality elements to the navigation display.

The Art of Serendipitous Innovation On this episode of the Reboot Chronicles Podcast, Rose Fernandez, CEO of Algenist, and I explored how her company was accidentally discovered and born in a lab, and instead of being cast aside, it was repurposed, carved out and acquired. Throughout Rose's career, she's helped build a handful of well-known beauty companies in executive roles,  including Murad, Kate  Somerville, and Jurlique.  She joined around the time it was being spun out its parent company and acquired by Tengram Capital Partners, and eventually she took on the (her first) CEO role. Her journey was not easy,  as she stepped up to the plate with much to learn about running a company, creating ingredients—and the legal, governance and growth issues that followed. Algae Lab Experiment to Beauty Brand Their core ingredient, alguronic acid, was accidentally discovered for another project and later turned into a patented skincare ingredient, expanded and imbedded into their broad productline. Unlike other health, wellness and beauty brands, Algenist was born from robust biotechnology, and turned into a culture that gets the science, and can actually make the ingredients, not just source it like most brands. They pride themselves on being a safe and clean brand with natural, quality ingredients suited for the emerging mass-market. Health, Beauty & Food Today consumers are more educated and informed about the foods they buy and the products they put on their bodies, a trend that is headed to the mass-market. Whole Foods paved the way, informing the average consumer on quality ingredients and what is going into their bodies. This is becoming the overarching theme in the health, wellness and beauty sectors, with many brands taking the initiative to provide consumers with quality ingredients while informing and providing clarity on the benefits. Larger CPG companies are also jumping on the bandwagon, building and acquiring brands in order to leverage these new ingredient claims—but they have a way to go. Entrepreneurial Tips Rose shared some tips she has learned about building a business.  First, know your customer. This is key to draw them in and create appealing products. Second, find the best distribution options for your customer—DTC is just one. Three, do not just do what's currently trending. This can be a distraction; one you may have to undo later. Lastly, do not try and do everything, I have made this mistake as a CEO. Do what is true to you; this will set you apart from the rest. I might add, having some unique and patented products in your portfolio doesn’t hurt either!

On this episode of the Reboot Chronicles, I invited the head of Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) at The Clorox Company, Jackson Jeyanayagam  to discuss consumer shifts and the future of consumer packaged goods (CPG). For over 100 years, this $7 billion dollar giant, with over 9,000 employees in over 200 markets, has been developing and acquiring market leading products that consumers rely on worldwide. With a wide assortment of cleaning oriented brands, Clorox has experienced a massive increase in demand in response to the coronavirus.  According to CNBC, Clorox reported their third fiscal quarter being a net income of $241 million with $1.89  earnings per share has increased from year prior of $187 million. See  Opportunity, Take It No longer just considered the company your mom buys bleach from, Clorox has worked to revamp their image with new brands tapping into the DTC space. CPG companies have pursued DTC brands to fill market whitespaces, steal share and appeal to more consumers. Clorox acquired Burt’s Bees and Nutranext,  and has been expanding their consumer facing brands, a move which also helped them segway into future investments. Jackson is continuing this growth by investing in future products, projects and companies, leveraging data tracking, creating customer brands relationships and loyalty experiences, getting new consumer insights, and creating more personalization experiences. Dancing with Startups? Build-Buy-Borrow As serial CEO, I have scaled companies unnaturally faster than the competition by addressing growth and innovation through a Build-Buy-Borrow lens that favors the speed and robustness of co-creation of new products, services, channels and ventures. Nowadays, it is becoming increasingly popular for larger companies, like Clorox, to simply acquire DTC companies to expand, and often that is still the smart move. Clorox on the other hand, as Jackson shares, is taking more of a hybrid approach ,not starting from scratch, but instead of investing in, white labeling, partnering or acquiring—and then assembling the right people to take over and finding what works at scale. Opportunity  Lies Ahead for Entrepreneurs and Startups Although there will continue to be bumps in the road triggered by the pandemic, there are new opportunities for entrepreneurs and startups to blossom. With ecommerce and Shopify type platforms, there is a lot of whitespace out there to create new ventures and growth partnerships. Jackson’s experience has taught him the importance of treating your people well, not  as a dollar sign—but as humans, while encouraging, supporting and motivating them. With motivated people and a solid path toward profitability you can be unstoppable.

Ivan Markman, Chief Business Officer of Verizon Media, joined me on the Reboot Chronicles to discuss all things tech, media, advertising and the next-gen of content for Verizon Media. With an impressive background, Ivan also serves as an advisor, investor or director at  CreatorIQ, Measured, Holly by Nimblr.ai, TrueData, PetInsurer, Wonder, QLess, and Local ID.  At Verizon he is responsible for the advertising and media platform businesses, B-to-B partnering, and innovating around an evolving set of offerings and solutions for the future. 2020 Trends: What’s Here To Stay? With 900 million users worldwide, Verizon has seen a profound shift in consumer consumption patterns due to the pandemic, lock-downs, and here in the US, election year impacts. Specifically, there’s been an increase of new, life-oriented content, entertainment, and finance with interest in following market volatility and what is currently happening in a somewhat upside-down world. The pandemic has realigned consumer media expectations, especially when it comes to connected TV consumption (CTV), which as of last year hit 200 million viewers and growing. OTT vs CTV During the course of the year, this dynamic space has seen a lot of change. They launched the Verizon Media Platform, with heavy partner participation and capabilities surrounding content delivery and video streaming. Verizon developed an integrated digital media platform to deliver, display and monetize online content on any device.  The platform has over 10,000 of the world’s largest brands and publishers including Disney, Fox, and Discovery. The crucial aspect is, as Ivan explains, is to continuously innovate when it comes to technology. Now more than ever, companies must adapt to the tech-driven digital revolution, leveraging the power of data and deploying AI for quicker optimization of assets. Because of the unprecedented coronavirus challenge, online grocery shopping is now the new normal and Verizon Media is well-positioned to take advantage of the behavior shifts. Guru Gowrappan, CEO of Verizon Media

Robert Foye, CEO of Accolade Wines , an amazingly thoughtful global leader who knows how to scale big-time, joined me for a fun episode of The Reboot Chronicles to dive into what’s next for one of the world’s largest wine companies, on track to be a global powerhouse. From 1836 to The Millennials With their first winery founded in 1836, Accolade has a fascinating history and expanding footprint, up to becoming a part of one of the largest private equity firms, Carlye Group. The company is built on a rich heritage and has been grown into a leading global wine company that produces some of the best-known brands admired worldwide. With over 70 brands and 50 vineyards, Accolade is number one in the UK market, number two in the Australia market and, in my opinion, just beginning to tap the massive potential of the U.S. and China markets....not to mention Millennials. Shared Experiences: People-Food-Wine-Conversation Wine has stood the test of time as it has been around since the beginning of civilization. Not everyone drinks the same bottle of wine, but it shares a commonality, bringing people together. With this mentality, Robert has led the company in newer directions, one of which is targeting Millennials. He explains when the company innovates, they use a millennial lens to create a very appealing product experience. Millennials are known for being adventurous, enjoy trying new experiences, and fond of out of the box products or services. In response Accolade has invented some cool drinks, like Madam Sass and Jamshed, two catchy, innovative brands with playful names and great taste.

Elana Drell- Szyfer, CEO of ReVive Skincare, and Algenist and This Works board member joined me on the Reboot Chronicles to dive into what’s happening in the beauty industry. A Startup Journey ReVive Skincare was founded in 1997 by Dr. Gregory Brown, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon who crafted the luxury skincare company. Before its founding, Brown spent most of his time dedicated to researching how to accelerate the healing process of burns on people’s skin. During the span of his research, he discovered restorative benefits to speed up healing damaged skin. Building on that research Brown built a solid foundation creating specially formulated products that rejuvenate customers changing skin behaviors. Elena calls it the “twenty-three-year-old startup” , because during its lifespan the company has been owned by Amway, while I was on their venture board, acquired by Shiseido and then acquired by private equity firm Tengram Capital Partners. Corporates To Startups With a long corporate career, Elena decided to make the switch to working with startups. Like me, she found that she really enjoys the challenge of working on startups. She worked with L’Oreal, Avon, Estee Lauder, and spent some time with Kenneth Cole. Before joining ReVive, she also worked with Laura Geller, where she learned the ropes. In 2017, Elena joined ReVive Skincare, taking on the role of CEO, where she rebooted the company instilling a strong sense of company culture, while keeping true to the company’s roots. For those of weighing the pros and cons of corporates vs. startups, remember to look for what will keep you professionally sustained and stimulated—while you balance Fun-Money-Purpose.

On this episode of The Reboot Chronicles, beauty health and wellness industry leader Joel Palix joins me to discuss the brand and shopping “Jungle” consumers are faced with. Over the years, Joel has been a game-changer across various industry sectors including beauty, wellness, fashion, luxury, and premium service brands. His experience has led him to advise brands, startups, and private equity funds, with this he founded  Palix Unlimited a boutique consultancy. Prior, Joel served as CEO of Feel Unique, a cool e-commerce brand selling various inclusive beauty brands ranging from skincare and fragrance to cosmetics and supplements—and is currently run by CEO, Sarah Miles. Beauty Is A Jungle The beauty industry is really like a jungle, as Joel explains. There are so many ingredients, claims, products, and brands, that it is overwhelming for consumers. This has led to  beauty tech solutions that help consumers navigate the jungle of choices, with personalized  diagnostics and pinpointed product  recommendations. Providing consumers personalized search for products and the option to receive assistance as needed, is becoming a preferred combination of human touch and tech.  Consumers no longer need to deal with human intervention, and can virtually try on and buy products.Revieve is a prime example, making it simple for consumers to virtually try on and buy products, through simple selfie-based solutions, in partnership with retailers, brands, ecommerce and social platforms.

The travel and leisure industry has been devastated in 2020. I invited my friend, colleague and digital thought leader, Atif Rafiq President at MGM Resorts International on the Reboot Chronicles to explore how he is helping to reboot Vegas and the global hospitality industry. Over the years, Atif has worn a variety of hats as an exec. at Amazon, McDonald’s, and Volvo. Now, at the $14 billion dollar Fortune 300 company, Atif has a full plate overseeing marketing, sales, revenue management, direct marketing, digital products, IT, and business and corporate development. Additional key components include rebooting MGM's growth strategies including business models, customer experiences and commercial approaches. Bringing a diversity of experience, Afit describes his career pivot as “an art as much as it is a science”, with an evolving toolkit of tips you can use when rebooting your organization

Pivoting Your Culture and Taking Flight On this episode of the Reboot Chronicles, we take a trip down memory lane with Robert Pasin, CEO of Radio Flyer, and explore why brave leaders are needed to reboot their organization's People, Platform and Passion. Humble Beginnings Radio Flyer was founded in 1917 by Robert’s grandfather, Antonio, an Italian immigrant who moved to America,  at the age of sixteen, searching for a better life. The young entrepreneur found work in Chicago and eventually opened a shop to continue the family carpentry tradition. His work began with furniture and cabinets and shifted to wagons after Antonio built one  to haul around his tools. This bit of serendipity eventually pivoted the shop into creating the iconic red wagon, which grew in popularity over the decades, and became a part of American history. Engaging iPhone Kids Through ethnographic research, Robert's team observed what people like and don’t like about existing  toys and created white-spaces to make them better, like creating longer-lasting battery-operated children's cars. This discovery led them to partner with Tesla to create a lithium-ion battery-powered mini Tesla for kids. This very cool car Platform,  is just like an actual Tesla, and allows for customizing the car's color, license plate, and allows for a phone or mp3 player plugin. Nowadays, children are drawn to devices rather than playing outside. Children spend only ten minutes a day on average compared  to approximately five hours a day using electronic devices. Radio Flyer combats this and brings innovation and fun toys for kids to use their imagination while riding in style.

Join Dean 迪恩 DeBiase and Author & CEO at OutThinker, Kaihan Krippendorff – Strategy and Innovation Speaker, business strategist, keynote speaker, former McKinsey consultant, and author of four business strategy books, for a discussion about Rebooting Companies: The new challenges in technology and strategy.

Named “one of the most creative and brilliant business minds of our time” by Forbes, Salesforce’s Global Innovation Evangelist, best-selling author, keynoter and futurist Brian Solis joined me for a fun episode on The Reboot Chronicles. Over the years, Brian has immersed himself in mastering business market disruption, society and the future in a digital anthropologist role. Now working at the $17 billion dollar giant Salesforce, analyzing trends and technologies to gain new perspectives, he has no shortage of insights to share in and around digital transformation, innovation, cognitive experiences and human behavior. Who Moved My Playbook? The 2020 pandemic will have a lasting impact on all of our businesses, some permanently! It seems that most everyone is struggling to figure out their next steps without a Playbook. Brian labels it the Novel Economy, with a new normal that, in my opinion, is too new, too foreign and way too unusual for society. And, since we don't have a current Playbook, many of us are searching for the best way to re-establish forward momentum in our lives and organizations, including what specific steps to take and how to re-invent most everything. Our challenge and the gift before us is that we’re looking at a blank canvas for what lies ahead,” Solis

I recently spoke with Carl Martin Lindahl, CEO of SVP Worldwide, on an episode of The Reboot Chronicles about how millennials are driving the company’s growth, what the latest technological advancements are in sewing and what new opportunities lie ahead for the company in terms of innovation and partnership. SVP Worldwide is the world’s largest consumer sewing machine company and home of the legendary SINGER®, HUSQVARNA VIKING and PFAFF® sewing machine brands. Through their innovation and pioneering of offerings in the Internet-of-Things (IoT) segment, SVP Worldwide has helped make sewing today not only bigger and better but also higher-tech than ever before. Millennials are Making Sewing Trendier Than Ever According to an industry report, the sewing market is growing at a steady rate and surprisingly much of this growth is coming from millennials. “During the coronavirus lock-down, we have seen an explosion in growth - people have gotten into sewing to the extent that we had not anticipated at all,” says Lindahl. The 2020 shortage of everything from boats to bicycles has extended into sewing machines, according to CNN. He says millennials are accounting for about 65% of the total growth of the industry on a global basis. According to Lindahl, there are multiple trends driving this growth among the demographic: Upcycling. Lindahl believes that sewing can reach the level of art, or be a form of recessionary self-expression for consumers, especially Comic-Con attendees, who are willing to spend $500 dollars on a costume. Lindahl believes that the upcycling trend is primarily responsible for attracting customers, particularly those who are very conscious about sustainability, the environment and reuse. Home Entertainment. Children who have been locked down during the pandemic are also now finding a way to learn how to sew with parents teaching their kids how to sew. Urgent Care. Lindahl says sewing market growth was also driven by the increased demand for facemasks, respirator covers and the desire of consumers to donate to local healthcare systems. He states in support of this SVP has donated thousands of machines to help consumers and local non-profit organizations. “We are donating sewing machines directly to hospitals and organizations to help sew face masks, gowns, respirator covers, and other PPE. We are in a unique position to help during this challenging time," says Lindahl

On this episode of The Reboot Chronicles, industry veteran Stirling Murray, CEO of Red Tree, the UK's leading international brand consultancy, joined me to discuss the challenges facing the global health, beauty and wellness industries. Deep Roots Stirling’s roots are deep in the beauty industry, having worked for copious companies, including Unilever, Estee Lauder, and Chanel globally. Red Tree is one of the top action-oriented consultancy groups that provides strategic advisement to a mix of large and startup brands, and the group also manages certain brands in specific regions around the world. He calls it “country managers” managing brands internationally, a new gig-economy type service that I think most startups and many large companies, across sectors will be considering in the 20's. “This crisis has taught us - if we didn’t know this before - that we have no control over most of what happens. Yet the things we can control - our reaction to events - need to step up big time.” - SM

On this episode of The Reboot Chronicles, I took a look at startup Atolla, a custom skincare subscription company created by Co-Founder and CEO Meghan Maupin to dive into the insights of AI in skincare data and technology. Meghan, an MIT graduate, created Atolla to target customer skincare concerns at a very personalized level. Her background lies in design, mass customization, 3D printing, and manufacturing. During her time at MIT, she struggled to take care of her skin and figure out the best products to target her skincare needs. With her creative background, she assembled a team where she and her fellow co-founders tackled skincare concerns through design, data science, and dermatology. After graduating, she began working with her team to build the technology, secure a patent to apply to their custom formulation process, and eventually launch in 2019. Atolla sales have skyrocketed, reaching more consumers, and increasing revenue monthly.

On this episode of Reboot Chronicles I had a no BS conversation with Rishad Tobaccowala on how we can stay human in the data-driven age, and what it means to be human in light of all the technology and data that’s flying around us. Named by Business Week as one of the top business leaders and top five marketing innovator by TIME, Rishad uncovers insightful secrets in his book Restoring the Soul of Business: Staying Human in the Age of Data about how balancing the analytical and intuitive sides of business can lead to increased profitability and even joy! As most of us have plunged deeper and deeper into digital-data-driven worlds, the power of originality, storytelling and genuine human connections has never been more critical. But as data has become more available and we are more depended on it, common sense and empathy have often been discounted with negative results. So I wanted to know: how do we stay human in the age of data and can CEOs actually reboot or restore the soul of their businesses?

"I have been fascinated by the amount of innovation happening in the food and beverage sectors by big corporations and startups around the world. I invited Ellie Rubenstein a friend and CEO of a new private equity group, Manna Tree Partners, for an episode of The Reboot Chronicles to discuss the future of food and the importance of private equity and venture investing in the next-gen of human health."

We recently sat down with Jesus Mantas, IBM’s Senior Managing Partner, who provided us with some powerful insights into how the company is approaching digital transformation while also humanizing technology.  For digital transformation strategy to succeed, companies need to be designed to excel at time-to-market and time-to-customer performance at scale. According to Forbes 45% of organizations believe faster speed to market is their primary goal in digitizing their efforts by adding in AI and machine learning-driven intelligence. Read the full article here: https://www.revieve.com/blog/digital-acceleration-and-the-humanization-of-technology

In this episode of The Reboot Chronicles Podcast, Dean DeBiase interviews Ann Winblad, Founder & Managing Director Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, a venture capital firm she co-founded in 1989. She is a well-known and respected software industry entrepreneur and technology leader. Her background and years of experience in the software industry have been chronicled in many national and international business publications. Hummer Winblad Venture Partners was the first venture firm focused exclusively on software. In her 30-year career as a venture capitalist, Ann’s firm has launched over 160 enterprise software companies and led investments that pioneered successful companies across the enterprise software sector: Business Intelligence, Analytics, Software Development, Integration, Data Center Optimization, Cloud Computing and Security.

In this episode of The Reboot Chronicles Podcast, Dean DeBiase interviews Matt Renner, Microsoft President US Enterprise. Matt is a tech industry veteran who leads a $13B division with an organization of over 2,000 people servicing thousands of clients. In this interview, they discussed what Matt’s team is doing to help the world’s largest brands reboot their growth and innovation in unprecedented times.

In this episode of The Reboot Chronicles Podcast, Dean DeBiase interviews Tim Draper, founder of Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Draper Associates, and Draper University and early investor in Skype, Hotmail, Tesla, Baidu, Twitch, and SpaceX. They discussed how the global economy is being transformed in the age of cryptocurrency and Coronavirus.

Join Dean DeBiase and SiriusXM host and former NA chairman of LVMH, Pauline Brown, who oversaw a portfolio of 70 brands in 5 sectors ranging from fashion to cosmetics, as they discuss her new book, Aesthetic Intelligence, and unpack how aesthetics impacts retail success (and failure), why style and design are as important as scale and speed for emerging brands, and her time in global private equity at The Carlyle Group.

In this episode of The Reboot Chronicles Podcast, Dean DeBiase interviews Toby Redshaw, global thought leader and SVP Innovation and 5G at Verizon, where he is focused on Building the Future, 5G inside and the 4th Industrial Revolution. At Number 19 on the Fortune 500 list and $132B in Annual revenue, Verizon is one of the largest communication technology companies in the world, with 135K Employees serving 99 percent of all Fortune 500 companies in over 150 locations with 1,600 retail locations.

In this episode of The Reboot Chronicles Podcast, Dean DeBiase interviews Bracken Darrel, Chief Executive Officer from Logitech, a $3 Billion electronics company with a wide range of products that most of us are using RIGHT NOW. Headquartered in Switzerland with major operations in Silicon Valley it has become a multi-brand company designing products that bring people together through music, gaming, video, computing, streaming, and the ever-present WORK FROM HOME MOVEMENT. Through a series of smart developments and acquisitions, Bracken and his teams have delivered double-digit growth consecutively over the last five years.  And with their 2021 Fiscal year just underway, an at home global lock-down and continuing work from wherever trend, this is a company to watch.

EVP & CMO at Franklin Covey and Best-Selling Author - Scott Miller ‍ Boardroom Innovation –  How to move from Management Mess to Leadership Success ‍ Join Dean DeBiase and best-selling author and EVP/CMO at Franklin Covey, Scott Miller, as they unpack Scott’s latest book, Management Mess to Leadership Success, and explore leadership challenges like creating an actionable vision,  leading difficult conversations, inspiring trust, actively listening, putting the right people in the right roles, getting the right results—the right way... and how you can become a leader people will follow.

In this new episode of The Reboot Chronicles, Join Dean DeBiase and CEO and Founder of Five Dot Botanics, Zaffrin O'Sullivan.

‘Badass Women’ – Ditching The Dirty List for Clean Products and Fun Retail Join Dean DeBiase and Credo Co-Founders Dawn Dobras and Annie Jackson to learn how these Silicon Valley entrepreneurs built the largest clean beauty retailer on the planet—partnering with 130  brands run by badass women—to serve consumers who are demanding more sustainability, transparency and education in everything from their food and beverages to cosmetics and skincare. ‍

The Future of Health and Beauty – Rebooting Innovation and Global Growth at Scale Join Dean DeBiase and Raheel Khan Estée Lauder’s Head of Innovation Strategy, to discuss how Estée Lauder, with a $14 billion portfolio of 25+ prestige makeup, skin care, fragrance and hair care brands in 150 countries, infuses a passion for creativity and innovation throughout the organization.

Next Gen Companies  – How to harness light and love to create  resilient organizations ‍ Join Dean DeBiase and Zappos's Head of Organizational Sciences, Forbes Contributor and author of 16 books, Pravir Malik, for a discussion about Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS) and how AI, machine learning, light, and love can help to create and incubate a more a resilient organization that will withstand the test of time. ‍

Boardroom Innovation – Making sense of the changing global business landscape ‍ Join Dean DeBiase and Silicon Valley veteran, author and co-chairman of Deloitte's Center for the Edge, John Hagel, as they explore emerging business opportunities that are not on enough CEO agendas... and also discuss John’s provocative book, The Power of Pull.

Join Dean Debiase and Steven Galanis, CEO of Cameo as we discuss the celebrity reaction to the worldwide pandemic. Named one of the "50 Genius Companies on Earth" by Time Magazine, Cameo is the world’s leading marketplace for personalized video shoutouts, from over 30,000 celebrities, on everything from promoting events and brands to COVID-19 fundraising that is making a big impact around the globe.

The Future of Health – How to make illness optional ‍ Join Dean DeBiase and EY’s Entrepreneur of the Year, India's "Most Admired Serial Entrepreneur," and Albert Einstein Technology Medal recipient, Naveen Jain, founder of Viome, Moon Express, World Innovation Institute, iNome, TalentWise, Intelius, and Infospace, as they discuss tech  investing, traveling to the moon, the future of food and how to make illness optional.