Lead With Your Brand!™

Jayzen Patria

Are you ready to Lead With Your Brand™ to your next career breakthrough Welcome to the podcast that showcases exceptional career success stories through personal brand journeys from entertainment, tech, media, and more.  Each episode, Jayzen Patria explores how successful leaders rise above by having a super-premium brand that drives their career forward, and you’ll get plenty of inspiration and practical tools to help you lead with your brand everyday as you drive towards your next career breakthrough.

  1. 1 day ago

    Season 7, Episode 14: How to Get Back on Brand When You Go Off Track with Guest Jen Randle, Co-Architect of SGNL

    This week on the Lead With Your Brand! podcast, Jayzen Patria tackles a question every professional and leader eventually faces: What do you do when you go off-brand? Fresh from a visit to the original Starbucks in Seattle, Jayzen revisits his signature question, "Are you coffee or are you Starbucks?" and explores what makes a great brand truly valuable. Starbucks transformed an everyday commodity into a super-premium experience that customers are willing to pay more for. But even the world's most recognizable brands can lose their way. Drawing on Starbucks' history of navigating major brand challenges, Jayzen explains how the company's pursuit of growth and efficiency sometimes took it away from the very things that made its brand special. The lesson applies directly to our own careers. Whether it's a difficult meeting, a poor decision, or simply losing sight of what makes us unique, we all have moments when our behaviors don't align with the personal brand we want to project. The good news? Going off-brand doesn't have to define you. What matters is how you respond, reconnect with your strengths, and take action to rebuild trust. Key Takeaways: Own it when you go off-brand. Everyone makes mistakes. The first step to getting back on track is acknowledging when your actions or behaviors haven't reflected the professional brand you want to be known for.Get back to your roots. Reconnect with your supersized superpowers—the unique strengths, qualities, and abilities that make you stand out, regardless of your role or job title.Take action to rebuild your brand. Acknowledging a problem isn't enough. Rebuilding your brand requires intentional, consistent actions that demonstrate who you are and what you stand for.Remember, your brand is an experience. Just as Starbucks built its brand around more than coffee, your personal brand is about more than your résumé, LinkedIn profile, or professional image. It's what people see you do and hear you say every day.  Joining Jayzen for this episode is Jen Randle, Co-Architect of SGNL Advisory, a strategist and cultural architect whose career has centered on building and restoring trust. Jen shares her remarkable experience helping Starbucks navigate a major brand crisis, the career journey that led her to identify trust as her professional through line, and why aligning who you are with how you show up is essential to building a powerful personal brand. Together, Jayzen and Jen explore how embracing your unique qualities, trusting your internal compass, and leading with authenticity can help you build stronger relationships, navigate difficult moments, and unlock your next career breakthrough. Guest Bio Jen Randle, CEO-Founder/Co-Architect, SGNL Jen is a strategist, systems thinker, and cultural architect whose work makes one truth clear: trust is the business multiplier. As a Co-Architect of SGNL, Jen partners with organizations navigating crucible moments—when trust is fractured, alignment is unclear, and the next chapter demands more than a surface fix. She activates Brand Trust Networks: strategic, cultural, and behavioral systems that allow organizations to move with integrity and coherence—inside and out. Her perspective is simple but profound: strategy stalls without trust. Culture fractures without trust. Capital erodes without trust. Jen’s work builds the conditions where trust doesn’t just hold, it compounds—turning bold ambition into enterprise value. Her portfolio includes transformative work with companies like Nike, Pinterest, Virgin Brands, Juul Labs, WeWork, and Starbucks. Notably, in 2018, she guided Starbucks’ response to a racially charged incident in Philadelphia, shaping an unconscious bias conversation for 175,000 employees across 8,000 stores. A system-wide intervention to begin repairing trust. Beyond organizational systems, Jen is the creator of Intrinsic Wayfinding. A practice that helps individuals realign with their internal compass. This work is uniquely personal: a space for clarity, wholeness, and alignment that doesn’t have to translate into an org chart or a shareholder report. It belongs to the individual. Her organizational work, by contrast, is both systemic and human—rooted in the belief that lasting change only takes hold when trust is present: between leaders and employees, companies and customers, investors and markets. A native Californian, Jen now lives on the coast with her two pups, where ocean air, nature, and community are her sanctuary. Links  To book Jayzen for a speaking engagement or workshop, visit Jayzenpatria.com Learn more about Jen and SGNL at https://www.sgnladvisory.com

    Season 7, Episode 14: How to Get Back on Brand When You Go Off Track with Guest Jen Randle, Co-Architect of SGNL
  2. 14 Oct

    Season 7, Episode 13: How to Future-Proof Your Career in the Age of AI with Guest, Jamie Cutbirth, EVP of Marketing, iHeartMedia

    This week on the Lead With Your Brand podcast, Jayzen Patria challenges listeners to think about what truly makes them stand out in a world where everyone has access to the same AI tools. AI is transforming the way we work, changing job responsibilities, and creating new opportunities. But as technology becomes more accessible, the real differentiator isn't just what you do. It's how you do it. Your unique strengths, experiences, and the way you connect with others are what make your personal brand valuable and ultimately help future-proof your career. Jayzen explores why even the most technology-driven brands need to remember the power of human connection. Jayzen also shares practical ways to leverage AI to better understand and strengthen your personal brand. Rather than asking ChatGPT or other AI tools to define your brand for you, start by gathering real feedback from your SuperFans and career audience. Ask what makes you stand out, how you show up under pressure, and why people turn to you. Then use AI to uncover patterns and insights that help you build a brand that is authentically yours. The challenge is clear. Don't outsource your personal brand to AI. Use technology to amplify what makes you uniquely you. Key Takeaways: AI can change what you do, but your personal brand is defined by how you do it and the unique value you bring to every interaction.Future-proofing your career means mastering new technologies while continuing to develop the human strengths and experiences that differentiate you.Technology should enhance the brand experience, not replace the authentic human connections that make it memorable.Use AI as a coach and facilitator to identify patterns in real feedback, not as a shortcut to create a personal brand that doesn't genuinely reflect who you are.Jayzen is joined by Jamie Cutbiurth, EVP of Marketing at iHeartMedia, whose career has taken him from the early days of the internet and Chicago's Second City comedy scene to some of the biggest brands in entertainment and media. A passionate storyteller and connector, Jamie shares how he's built a career bringing people, brands, and culture together through his work at A&E Networks, NBCUniversal, and iHeartMedia. From creating memorable brand experiences and embracing the growing creator economy to finding the opportunities that bring you joy, Jamie offers a behind-the-scenes look at what makes great brands stand out. He also introduces his memorable "caller ID test," a simple but powerful way to understand the lasting impression your personal brand leaves on others. Guest Bio Jamie Cutbiurth, EVP of Marketing, iHeartMedia Jamie Cutburthburth is an award-winning marketing executive, creative leader, and storyteller who has spent his career turning big ideas into cultural moments that connect brands, audiences, and entertainment. Currently Executive Vice President of Marketing at iHeartMedia, Jamie leads marketing strategy and storytelling initiatives that showcase the power of audio, creators, and culture to build meaningful connections between brands and consumers. Previously, Jamie spent 14 years at NBCUniversal, where he served as Executive Vice President of Marketing and Brand Partnerships. He helped bring to life some of entertainment's most recognizable franchises and cultural experiences, including BravoCon, Top Chef, The Real Housewives, The TODAY Show, Saturday Night Live's 50th Anniversary, and E!'s Red Carpet coverage. His work has earned industry recognition, including an Interactive Emmy Award for Top Chef: Last Chance Kitchen. Throughout his career, Jamie has built high-performing teams, developed groundbreaking brand partnerships, and championed creativity as a powerful driver of business growth. Known for blending strategic thinking with bold ideas, humor, and authenticity, he believes the best leadership starts with curiosity, collaboration, and a willingness to challenge what's possible. Beyond his executive roles, Jamie is passionate about storytelling, mentorship, and helping others build careers that reflect who they truly are. Links  To book Jayzen for a speaking engagement or workshop, visit Jayzenpatria.com

    Season 7, Episode 13: How to Future-Proof Your Career in the Age of AI with Guest, Jamie Cutbirth, EVP of Marketing, iHeartMedia
  3. 3 Jun

    Season 7, Episode 12: How to Celebrate Pride On Brand! : A Special Collection of LGBTQ+ Executive Conversations

    Happy Pride Month! In this special Pride Month episode of the Lead With Your Brand Podcast, Jayzen celebrates and amplifies the voices of LGBTQ+ leaders, executives, creatives, advocates, and changemakers from the Pride On Brand collection. But before diving into these powerful conversations, Jayzen opens with an important reminder: you have a brand, whether you realize it or not. The real question is whether you are consciously and strategically leading with the brand you want, or are you allowing others to define it for you? Jayzen shares a personal story from early in his career, when he realized that others were assigning a brand to him based on only one part of who he was. At first, it felt light and fun. But over time, he began to understand that the perception being created was not necessarily the brand that would help him move into the next level of leadership. It became a powerful “aha” moment: when you do not put your own brand forward, people will create one for you. This episode brings that lesson to life through a powerful Pride Month clip reel featuring LGBTQ+ leaders who have turned their identities, lived experiences, values, and visibility into sources of strength, impact, and career breakthrough. Key Takeaways Your lived experience can become one of your greatest leadership superpowersBeing authentic at work is not separate from professional excellenceYour brand will not be everyone’s cup of tea, and that is exactly why finding the right brand fit mattersVisibility, service, and giving back can all become powerful career accelerators In this special episode, Jayzen revisits conversations with an incredible group of LGBTQ+ leaders and changemakers, including: Congressman Mark Takano, on becoming the first openly LGBTQ+ person of color elected to Congress.Jen Henderson, technology executive, on being known for your expertise and leadership and also proudly owning the identity and lived experience that shape who you areErin Uritus, CEO of Out & Equal Workplace Advocates, on stepping into leadership with authenticity and not trying to be anyone but herselfChris Mossiah, Executive Director at JPMorgan Chase, on turning insecurities into superpowers and treating their name as a brandSarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO of GLAAD, on visibility, media representation, and using your platform to make the world safer for LGBTQ+ familiesBeck Bailey, Chief Diversity Officer at Accenture, on combining business expertise with lived experience to create systemic changeChristelle Miller, Senior Creative Executive at Fable Entertainment, on the importance of representation behind the scenes and on screenWilson Cruz, actor and activist, on breaking barriers in the Star Trek universe and engaging in meaningful dialogue about representationStephen Macias, Chief Inclusion Officer for Octagon, on building a career rooted in values, advocacy, entertainment, and cultureLouis Vega, President of Dow North America, on giving back and helping make the path easier for the next generationMatt Brooks, Vice President and head of enterprise data tech and solutions at Nationwide, on how employee resource groups can build confidence, visibility, skills, and career momentum.Legendary Disney Imagineer Bob Gurr, on how far the LGBTQ+ community has come and why visibility across generations matters This Pride Month, Jayzen challenges listeners to ask themselves: What are the unique lived experiences, perspectives, and strengths that can become your calling card as you lead with your brand to your next career breakthrough? Links  To book Jayzen for a speaking engagement or workshop, visit Jayzenpatria.com To hear the full conversations from the Pride On Brand collection, visit leadwithyourbrand.com/pride

    Season 7, Episode 12: How to Celebrate Pride On Brand! : A Special Collection of LGBTQ+ Executive Conversations
  4. 20 May

    Season 7, Episode 11: How to Turn Your Network Into a Career Advantage with Guest, Andrew Turner, Employee Engagement Director, Diageo North America

    This week on the Lead With Your Brand podcast, Jayzen Patria challenges listeners to think about their network not as a contact list, but as one of the most powerful amplifiers of their career brand. It is not enough to deliver great work, build a strong reputation, and know what you stand for. If no one sees it, hears it, or can speak to your value when you are not in the room, your brand can only go so far. Inspired by a recent trip to New York and a reconnection with this week’s guest, Andrew Turner, Jayzen breaks down how to keep your network alive with intention. Jayzen also explores how self-similarity bias and proximity bias can quietly shrink your professional world. It is easy to spend time with the people who look like you, think like you, work near you, or sit in the same functional lane. But the strongest career networks are built by intentionally reaching beyond the familiar. To help listeners put this into action, Jayzen shares practical tools, including creating a personal network “treasure map,” asking for AIR (Advice, Insights, and Recommendations) as an easy way to reconnect, and treating LinkedIn as technology that powers your professional network, not just another social media platform. The challenge is clear - do not just build your network. Keep the embers alive. Key Takeaways: Your network is not just a list of people you know; it is a system of influencers who can amplify your brandSelf-similarity bias and proximity bias can limit your network if you do not intentionally break out of themUse a network treasure map to diagnose where you already have strong connections and where you need to build new onesAIR (Advice, Insights, and Recommendations) is a simple, authentic model to reconnect without making it feel awkwardLinkedIn only works if you are active. Like, comment, post, and show up consistently so your brand stays top of mind Jayzen is joined by Andrew Turner, Employee Engagement Director for Diageo North America. Andrew’s career is a powerful example of how your passions and past experiences can become a differentiator in the work you do today. A classically trained actor and self-described “reformed actor,” Andrew has built a career helping major organizations connect with employees through communications, culture, and engagement. From Universal Studios and NBCUniversal to Travelers and now Diageo, Andrew shares how he learned to meet audiences where they are, create community inside large companies, and bring creativity, storytelling, and performance into corporate life. Guest Bio Andrew Turner, Employee Engagement Director, Diageo North America Andrew Turner is an experienced employee engagement and communications leader who’s spent his career helping large organizations connect more meaningfully with their people. As Employee Engagement Director for North America at Diageo, he leads strategies that bring the company’s culture, purpose, and performance ambitions to life—making sure employees feel informed, involved, and motivated to play their part. He’s particularly focused on strengthening a sense of ownership and pride across the business, while finding creative ways to tell the stories behind Diageo’s brands and people. Andrew is known for turning complex ideas into clear, engaging communication that actually resonates. Before joining Diageo, he held senior roles at Travelers, where he helped modernize internal communications for a 30,000-person workforce, and at NBCUniversal, where he spent over a decade leading global engagement efforts, executive messaging, and large-scale change communications. He started his career at Universal Studios, working at the intersection of communications and digital during a time when companies were just beginning to rethink how they connect with employees online. What sets Andrew apart is his belief that culture isn’t just something you talk about - it’s something you actively shape. He brings a mix of strategic thinking and storytelling to his work, helping organizations build environments where people feel connected, valued, and ready to contribute. He holds a degree from Boston College and completed postgraduate studies at the London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art, which explains his natural instinct for a good story. Links  To book Jayzen for a speaking engagement or workshop, visit Jayzenpatria.com

    Season 7, Episode 11: How to Turn Your Network Into a Career Advantage with Guest, Andrew Turner, Employee Engagement Director, Diageo North America
  5. 6 May

    Season 7, Episode 10: From Imposter Syndrome to AI Success with Guest Anya Cheng, Founder and CEO of Taelor

    This week on the Lead With Your Brand podcast, Jayzen Patria challenges you to look beyond external obstacles and take a deeper look at what may really be standing in the way of your next career breakthrough. Before your brand, before your next move, before your next opportunity, there is your career strategy. And at the center of that strategy is your mindset. So the question becomes,” What is actually getting in your way?” For many of us, it’s not the market, the role, or the timing. It’s the self-limiting beliefs we’ve built over time the ones that helped us succeed early on, but may now be holding us back. Jayzen shares a personal story about how his belief that he needed to “be the best” helped him stand out and accelerate early in his career. But as he moved into leadership, that same belief created friction, driving competition over collaboration and limiting his ability to lead effectively. The breakthrough came from shifting that belief, from needing to be the best to focusing on being excellent and helping others be excellent too. Because the mindset that helps you survive one stage of your career is not always the one that will help you thrive in the next. Key Takeaways from Jayzen’s Teach: Your mindset drives your career strategy, not the other way aroundThe beliefs that helped you succeed early in your career can become barriers laterSelf-limiting beliefs often show up as habits or patterns you don’t questionGrowth requires identifying those beliefs and intentionally rewriting them In this episode, Jayzen sits down with Anya Cheng, Founder and CEO of Taelor, an AI-powered styling platform helping professionals show up with confidence without the time, effort, or stress of managing their wardrobe. Anya’s journey is a powerful example of building a career by creating opportunities instead of waiting for them. After moving to the United States from Taiwan and graduating during the 2008 recession, she had no network and no clear path forward. Instead, she built one, reaching out to hundreds of people, finding ways into rooms she wasn’t invited to, and consistently asking for opportunities. That persistence led her to leadership roles across major brands, including Target, eBay, McDonald’s, and Meta, where she helped launch Facebook and Instagram Shopping. Today, she is a venture-backed founder building at the intersection of AI, personal branding, and how people show up in their daily lives. This episode is a reminder that your next breakthrough doesn’t come from trying to be everything to everyone. It comes from understanding what makes you distinct and building from there. Guest Bio Anya Cheng,  Founder and CEO of Taelor Anya Cheng is the Founder & CEO of Taelor, an AI-powered men's clothing subscription service promoting sustainable fashion. A Silicon Valley entrepreneur, she has been recognized among "Girls in Tech 40 Under 40" for her expertise in tech product management and marketing. Anya played a pivotal role in launching Facebook and Instagram Shopping at Meta, led new business expansion at eBay, and helped grow McDonald’s global food delivery. She also shaped Target’s mobile commerce and has led teams in AI, eCommerce product management, and marketing across Fortune 500 companies. Anya’s award-winning venture, Taelor AI, was named one of the Bay Area’s Most Innovative Startups to Watch by Business Journal and is backed by early investors in NVIDIA, TikTok, Facebook, Lyft, and Spotify.  Anya’s work has earned her 30+ prestigious tech and marketing awards. A best-selling author and two-time TEDx speaker, she teaches at Northwestern University and is a popular keynote speaker worldwide. She holds a Master’s in Integrated Marketing Communications from Northwestern University and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Links  To book Jayzen for a speaking engagement or workshop, visit Jayzenpatria.com Check out Taelor with these deals! Taelor: Get 25% OFF your first month of men's clothing subscription. Use code: PODCAST25 Sign up at: https://taelor.style/pages/membership Armoire: Get 50% OFF your first month of women's clothing subscription. Use code: ArmoirexTaelor Sign up at: https://www.armoire.style/refer/ArmoirexTaelor Taelor Gift Cards: Get 10% OFF Use code: PODCASTGIFT Purchase at: https://taelor.style/products/menswear-rental-gift-card

    Season 7, Episode 10: From Imposter Syndrome to AI Success with Guest Anya Cheng, Founder and CEO of Taelor
  6. 22 Apr

    Season 7, Episode 9: Finding the Opportunity in the Storm with Guest, Christine Escribano, Owner & Chief Design Officer, Cherry Home Designs LLC

    In this episode of the Lead With Your Brand! podcast, Jayzen Patria challenges listeners to rethink how they show up during times of uncertainty. When everything around you feels like it’s shifting: your company, your industry, even your role, it can be tempting to wait for clarity. But Jayzen makes it clear: this is exactly when you need to take action. He introduces one of his most practical pieces of career advice: “Find a hole and fill it.” Instead of chasing the perfect job or waiting for the right moment, Jayzen encourages you to focus on where you can create value right now. By identifying the real needs of your organization, your clients, and your industry and aligning them with your strengths and passions, you position yourself for your next breakthrough. He also reinforces that your career is not about perfection, but about a series of intentional choices, trade-offs, and moves that build momentum over time. Tune in to learn how to navigate uncertainty with confidence, take ownership of your career direction, and ensure your brand is defined by the value you deliver, not just the work you do. Key Takeaways: Don’t wait for the storm to pass. Moments of uncertainty are where breakthroughs happen.“Find a hole and fill it.” Focus on solving meaningful problems that create real value.Your brand is not about you—it’s about the value and service you provide to others.There is no perfect job. Focus on the right next step that moves your career forward.The strongest opportunities sit at the intersection of your talents, passions, and organizational needs.Readiness matters. Being prepared allows you to act when opportunity shows up.Career growth is a series of choices and trade-offs—be intentional about each move. The episode then transitions into an inspiring conversation with Christine Escribano, Founder and Chief Design Officer of Cherry Home Designs. After a 30-year career in media, including leadership roles at NBCUniversal, Christine shares how she made a bold pivot from corporate executive to creative entrepreneur. What started as a side hustle evolved into a thriving business rooted in storytelling, design, and personal expression. Christine’s journey brings Jayzen’s message to life—demonstrating how small, intentional moves, continuous learning, and a willingness to follow both passion and opportunity can lead to meaningful reinvention. From embracing her authentic, “edgy” brand to learning how to balance fearlessness with compassion, her story is a powerful reminder that your next chapter doesn’t require a perfect plan—just the courage to take the next step. Guest Bio Christine Escribano Founder & Chief Design Officer Cherry Home Designs LLC  Christine is an award-winning marketer, writer, and interior designer whose work is rooted in storytelling. Before launching Cherry Home Designs, Christine spent over 30 years shaping some of the most recognizable media brands in the world. She began her career at McCann Erickson as a media buyer, before transitioning into marketing at Time Inc., where she worked across the iconic People portfolio—including Teen People, People, and People en Español. She later joined Telemundo as Head of Integrated and B2B Marketing, and went on to serve most recently, as SVP at NBCUniversal, where she built and led a 60-person integrated marketing team across a dynamic portfolio of brands. After decades of building stories for others, a COVID-era reset sparked a pivotal shift—one that led Christine to pursue her lifelong creative calling in furniture artistry and interior design. Today, she is known for her ability to translate a client’s life into a deeply personal design experience—creating spaces that reflect not just how people live, but who they are. Christine believes personalized design is an art—one that should feel collected, meaningful, and livable, never overdone or untouchable. Her work centers around helping clients reimagine their homes to reflect a life well-lived. With a passion for sensory design, she thoughtfully weaves together sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell to create immersive, layered environments. At the heart of her work is a simple intention: to create spaces that feel like a warm hug—welcoming, comforting, and deeply personal. With an eye toward customization, she often incorporates vintage and sentimental pieces, honoring the history behind each home while elevating its future. Her work has been featured on Freeform and Hulu’s That Thrifting Show with Lara Spencer, Magnolia Network’s Beachfront Bargain Hunt Renovation, and NBC’s George to the Rescue. Cherry Home Designs has also been recognized as a Best of Houzz winner for customer service. Christine’s partner in life and in business, her husband John Pizzi of Casa Construction & Development, brings nearly four decades of experience in construction, architectural design, and project management. Together, they offer a seamless design-build experience, guiding clients from concept through completion. Their shared mission is simple: to inspire others to live their story. Links  To book Jayzen for a speaking engagement or workshop, visit Jayzenpatria.com Check Cherry Home Designs: https://cherryhomedesigns.com/

    Season 7, Episode 9: Finding the Opportunity in the Storm with Guest, Christine Escribano, Owner & Chief Design Officer, Cherry Home Designs LLC
  7. 8 Apr

    Season 7, Episode 8: Be Your Own CMO with Guest, Matt Brooks, VP and Head of Enterprise Data and Technology Solutions, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company

    In this episode of the Lead With Your Brand! podcast, Jayzen Patria wraps up his five-step framework by breaking down Step 5: Be Your Own Chief Marketing Officer. If the earlier steps focused on defining and shaping your brand, this final step is all about visibility and making sure your value is seen, heard, and recognized. Jayzen explains that great work alone isn’t enough. If no one knows about it, it doesn’t move your career forward! Drawing from classic marketing principles, he outlines the three key ways to promote your brand: advertising (what you say about yourself), influencers (what others say about you), and word of mouth (what’s said when you’re not in the room). He introduces concepts to emphasize the importance of repetition and consistency, and challenges listeners to take ownership of how they show up, especially on platforms like LinkedIn and in everyday professional interactions. Tune in to learn how to step into the role of your own CMO, build visibility with intention, and ensure your brand is consistently communicated across every touchpoint in your career. Key Takeaways: You are the chief marketing officer of your career. No one will promote you better than you.Visibility matters. Great work without exposure limits your opportunities.The “rule of seven” shows that repetition is required before people even notice your brand.LinkedIn is your digital billboard. Optimize it or risk being invisible.A clear elevator pitch helps you communicate your value quickly and effectively.Consistency in how you show up builds recognition and trust over time.The episode then transitions into a compelling conversation with Matt Brooks, Vice President of Enterprise Data Tech and Solutions at Nationwide. With over two decades of experience across GE, Bank of America, and Nationwide, Matt shares how he built a career at the intersection of data, technology, and human impact. He offers a fresh perspective on AI, not as a replacement for thinking, but as a thought partner, and explains how using real data, curiosity, and intentional questioning can unlock better insights and outcomes. From leading high-performing teams to redefining how technology serves people, Matt’s story highlights the power of aligning your career with purpose, staying adaptable, and raising your hand when opportunity calls. Guest Bio Matt Brooks VP and Head of Enterprise Data and Technology Solutions  Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company  With over 20 years of experience in leading data and analytics teams, Matt is a trailblazing Technology Executive at Nationwide, where he drives digital transformation across the enterprise.  Matt has led teams across technology, learning and development and audit in three different mega corporations spanning the energy, aerospace, digital, financial services, and insurance industries. Matt is highly adaptable and can make strategic connections across domains in a way that inspires and motivates his business and tech partners. His personal mission is to build technology solutions powered by data to better the lives of clients, especially in their times of greatest need. Matt is a technical trailblazer and talent maximizer. He brings the best out in teams and colleagues using his dynamic energy and infectious, problem-solving mindset. He’s strategic, but also a maverick, ready to try new solutions that nobody has successfully tried before.  In his free time, he loves experiencing new cultures, creative writing, and learning new languages...while he’s not building new GPT agents.  Links  To book Jayzen for a speaking engagement or workshop, visit Jayzenpatria.com Check out Matt’s substack : daitapoints.brooksny.net

    Season 7, Episode 8: Be Your Own CMO with Guest, Matt Brooks, VP and Head of Enterprise Data and Technology Solutions, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company
  8. 25 Mar

    Season 7, Episode 7: How to Build Your SingatureStyle with Guest,Malinda Sanna, Founder and CEO, LookLook

    In this episode of the Lead With Your Brand! podcast, Jayzen Patria continues his five-step framework by breaking down Step 4: Keeping Up Your Image and Shaping Your Signature Style. If earlier steps focused on defining your brand DNA, this installment challenges listeners to operationalize it and turn who you are into a consistent, recognizable experience across everything you do. Shaping Your Signature Style. Jayzen explains that powerful personal brands are not just defined, they are designed. Your signature style is your “formula” or “recipe card”: a set of repeatable behaviors, visual cues, and execution patterns that make your work unmistakably yours. Drawing on examples from Hollywood storytelling and media brands like Bravo, he shows how the most successful brands apply a clear filter to everything they create, ensuring consistency, clarity, and connection with their audience. Tune in to hear how defining your personal “secret sauce” can eliminate inconsistency, strengthen your presence, and ensure that no matter where you show up—or what role you’re in—you are always delivering work that feels distinctly and memorably you. Key Takeaways: Your signature style is your brand in action—a repeatable formula, not a one-time statementConsistency across your work is what makes your brand recognizable and trustedYou can succeed in any role or industry if you apply your unique brand filter to everything you doYour visual presence (appearance, environment, presentation) must align with your brand—or risk creating a disconnectYour best past projects hold clues to your “secret sauce”—study them to define your formulaStrong brands rely on repeatable actions and behaviors that can be applied across any projectYou are not meant to blend in—you are meant to build a signature that stands out The episode then transitions into a dynamic conversation with Melinda Sanna, CEO and Founder of LookLook, a global consumer insights platform serving luxury brands. With a career spanning Coca-Cola, top advertising agencies, and entrepreneurship, Melinda shares how she built a seven-figure business by identifying gaps in traditional market research and creating a more human, high-touch approach. From her “white-glove” philosophy to building curated communities like the Luxuryverse and Beautyverse, she offers powerful insights on brand as a belief system, the importance of curiosity and authenticity in leadership, and how solving real problems can become the foundation for long-term success. Guest Bio Malinda Sanna Founder and CEO LookLook Malinda Sanna is the founder and CEO of LookLook, a 7-figure proprietary consumer insights platform she's built over 15 years with a team of 16, specializing in luxury market research through what she calls "Cultivated Communities", recruiting participants one relationship at a time rather than relying on third-party panels. She created the Beautyverse (1,000+ high-net-worth women focused on luxury beauty) and Luxuryverse, two proprietary communities for luxury studies. With a global team of executives in New York, Paris, Dubai, São Paulo, Beijing, and Shanghai, she's conducted over 900 studies with 30,000+ research participants, serving clients including Shiseido, BMW, LVMH, Google, Mondelez, and Nestlé, while also running a Substack newsletter with ~600 subscribers including major luxury brand executives from around the world.  As a bootstrapper who built profitable software without venture capital and a former singer who studied classical music and English literature at Goshen College, Malinda has been featured in The New York Times, CNN, CNBC, HuffPost, Forbes, Bloomberg, Business Insider, The Washington Post, AdWeek, and Inc. Links  To book Jayzen for a speaking engagement or workshop, visit Jayzenpatria.com

    Season 7, Episode 7: How to Build Your SingatureStyle with Guest,Malinda Sanna, Founder and CEO, LookLook

About

Are you ready to Lead With Your Brand™ to your next career breakthrough Welcome to the podcast that showcases exceptional career success stories through personal brand journeys from entertainment, tech, media, and more.  Each episode, Jayzen Patria explores how successful leaders rise above by having a super-premium brand that drives their career forward, and you’ll get plenty of inspiration and practical tools to help you lead with your brand everyday as you drive towards your next career breakthrough.