Learnings from Leaders: the P&G Alumni Podcast P&G Alumni Network

"A lot of these values and principles are very universal — it applies in China, but it applies anywhere.”

Trevor Lai is an award-winning entrepreneur, author and illustrator who published his first children's book at the age of seventeen. He is also the founder and CEO of Up Studios, a China-based production company — featured as one of the "Top 25 Animation Studios" in the world to watch by Animation Magazine. Up Studios - the creative force behind much loved Chinese shows like Piggy, Tomo and BOOMi - has received large investments from Chinese tech giant Tencent. When he’s not creating world-class animated stories, Trevor loves to play ice hockey in China and traveling around the world. You’ll enjoy this candid conversation about creativity, inspiration, and perseverance .

This is the first in our series of Learning from Leaders from China - hosted by P&G Alumni Emily Chang. Got an idea for a future “Learnings from Leaders” episode? Reach out at pgalumpod@gmail.com

"It truly is a matter of exploring, discovery, knowing your boundaries - to gradually get there. The key is to keep your eye on the North Star - what is it that makes you come alive?”

Bernice Ang is an Executive Coach who helps senior leaders design a purpose-centered personal brand, enabling them to integrate their work and personal lives so they can thrive, not just survive. Bernice started her career in Brand Management in P&G Asia Pacific. From there, she took on several Global Marketing leadership roles in the US with Coca-Cola, Pepsico, and Mars-Wrigley. Five years ago, Bernice left her corporate career to pursue her dream of becoming an Executive Coach. Today, she is among the top 4% of professional coaches who holds a Master Certified Coach designation, the highest credential awarded by the International Coach Federation. Bernice also helped co-found the P&G Alumni Network Coaching program, ringing together Professionally certified Executive Coaches with proven track records. You’ll enjoy this candid and very personal conversation about IKIGAI - the Japanese concept which encourages people to discover what truly matters to them - to live a life filled with purpose and joy.



This is a continuation of our series with P&G Alumni Coaching where leading Alumni will dive deep on relevant topics. Just as professional athletes have a coach to help them perform at their best, coaching can help you thrive in career and life life, through powerful questioning, exploration, and action planning. P&G Alums can learn more and sign up for their first free first session @ coaching.pgalums.com.

"How do you express what you want in a way that activates you, is unignorable, and automatically aligns your beliefs, your values, and how you show up in the world?”

Bonnie Wan knows what it feels like to struggle with burnout and uncertainty about where to go next. As a celebrated advertising strategist she spent years helping brands like Pepsi and BMW get clarity on their values and purpose, but she one day found herself mired and directionless in her own life–a “recovering perfectionist” with a crumbling marriage, a big job, and three young children. So she put her “work brain” to work - and sketched out a creative brief (one of the key tools of the ad trade) for herself, granting clarity on what was missing and what she really wanted in her life. Not only did “the Life Brief” save Bonnie’s marriage, recenter her parenting, and catapult her career (she was named Ad Age’s Chief Strategy Officer last year)—it has since gone on to help thousands of others through her speaking at Apple, Bain & Co, Change.org, Google, Goop, Jane Goodall’s “Activating Hope” Summit, SXSW and more. Her new book — “THE LIFE BRIEF: A Playbook for No-Regrets Living “ — creates a clear guide for anyone to break through life’s clutter and create deeper meaning through three simple stages: Get Messy. Get Clear. Get Active. This is a perfect conversation to help so many of us who seem to “have it all” yet feel restless or rudderless.



This is a past conversation from Raman’s other podcast, Modern Minorities, where each week we share minority conversations for all of our majority years. You’ll enjoy this candid conversation that we hope will provide new perspectives and learnings.

“It often pays to believe in people more than they believe in themselves. Give them a bit more than they think they can handle. And everyone is going to be rewarded.”



Stefan Homeister is the host of Leitwolf, a business podcast exploring the key to leadership performance sustainably and improving business results - where he’s had conversations with P&G Alums like David Taylor, Paul Polman, and many leaders beyond the Alumni universe. Stefan’s also the Founder of Stefan Homeister Leadership, a consultancy whose focus is on improving leadership performance and strategy via consulting, training, coaching, keynotes. Stefan’s held a diverse career as Sales & Marketing Director of SAB Miller Europe and CMO for T-Mobile Germany where he had P&L responsibility for more than $8 billion. Stefan started his career at Procter & Gamble in various sales and marketing roles in Frankfurt, Brussels, and Geneva before becoming the Marketing Director for Healthcare and Pharma DACH.



In this candid conversation - we’ll explore principles and ideas on leadership, branding, legacy, and what can can be learned through the lens of podcasts, conversations, and storytelling. Be sure to check out Leitwolf wherever you get your favorite podcasts. https://stefan-homeister-leadership.com/en/podcast

“There's no question — if you want to keep a brand viable, you have to continue innovating. If you don't, it's not going to last.”

Gordon Brunner, is P&G’s former Chief Technology Officer - leading the company’s technical community, and even serving on the Board of Directors. Gordon’s a returning P&G Alumni Podcast guest also the co-author of SUPERIOR PRODUCTS, a new book sharing a first-ever look at the technical innovations behind some of world’s leading consumer brands — as well as the systems, culture, and leadership principles that produced the products and sustained innovation. While many pay lip service to the importance of innovation and product superiority - Gordon and many other technical leaders know that words simply won’t cut it. Product superiority must be demanded, rewarded, and celebrated - with org structures and processes built to achieve it, led by senior line and R&D leadership, but importantly starting with the CEO and Board of Directors. In this conversation Gordon shares stories behind the products we love - what worked and didn’t - with lessons that are for more than just R&D’ers, but also rising business executives and students who want to foster an environment of innovation.



Check out SUPERIOR PRODUCTS as an eBook / Kindle, or wherever your favorite books are sold. And for even more of Gordon Brunner’s learnings from his time as P&G’s CTO, be sure check out our past podcast conversation from September 2021 and November 2022.

"I had an authentic connection to the problem - a perspective on cultural connection. So it wasn't powering through rejection, it was neglecting it - because I just knew something they didn't.“

Tristan Walker is the Founder of Walker & Company Brands, where he was also the CEO when it was acquired by Procter & Gamble in 2018. Walker & Co. is best known for best-selling brands like Bevel & Form - Healthy and Beauty designed for communities of color. Prior to Founding Walker & Co, Tristan was Entrepreneur-In-Residence at Andreessen Horowitz, the prominent venture capital firm. He also served as Director of Business Development for Foursquare - managing strategic partnerships with brands like American Express, The New York Times, CNN, MTV, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, and Starbucks. Tristan’s also had experiences with Boston Consulting Group and Twitter. Currently, Tristan serves on the Boards of Foot Locker, Shake Shack, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, and the Metro Atlanta Chamber. Tristan is also the Founder and Board Chairman of CODE2040, a program that matches high-performing Black and Latino undergraduate and graduate coders and software engineering students with Silicon Valley start-ups for summer internships. Fortune Magazine named him as one out of 50 of the “World’s Greatest Leaders.” You’ll enjoy this candid conversation about neglecting the laziness of others, and truly empathizing with your customer’s experiences.

This is a replay of a past episode from February 2022 - from our partners at P&G’s “More Than Soap” Podcast - available exclusively each week to P&G Employees at GetMoreThanSoap.com. On “More Than Soap,” P&G shares weekly conversations with Inspiring guests, unique perspectives, and unconventional ideas. “More Than Soap” is P&G’s official internal podcast - available to all 100,000 P&G employees worldwide, and hosted by Dorion Positano, P&G’s Director of New Business and Content Innovation and AI Integration Strategy. Interested in learning more about P&G’s “More Than Soap” podcast, or P&G Studios? Reach out directly to Dorion on LinkedIn. GetMoreThanSoap.com