The Team Gurus

theteamgurus
The Team Gurus Podcast

Inspiring, honest dialogue and reflection on team leadership with real leaders. Hosted by Mary Walter and Brian Buford.

  1. 12/01/2022

    The Team Gurus Podcast : Interview with Susan Goss-Brown, Chief DEI Officer + SVP Field Development, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society

    Throughout more than 25 years at Gap Inc., Susan Goss-Brown held various leadership roles across North American store operations for Athleta, Banana Republic, and the GAP brand. There, she was accountable for delivering profitable sales growth through the execution of customer and employee engagement strategies, human resources, operations, real estate, merchandising, and community engagement. She is currently leveraging her savvy for business operations, passion for philanthropy, and lived experience in her current role at The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society where she's been a part of the team for the past year.  At LLS, she is responsible for optimizing revenue and performance of the revenue development teams, while also establishing a culture of inclusion and advancing equity internally and externally with our constituents. Previously she led the Foundation @ Gap Inc as President where she was responsible for leading the Board of Trustees and overseeing the philanthropic and social impact work for Gap Inc., including its overall grant strategies, disaster response, global employee engagement, volunteer efforts, and the operation of two signature program:  This Way Onward and P.A.C.E.  While at Gap Inc., she was a member of the Corporate Diversity Council and an Executive Sponsor for the African American Network Group (AANG) as well as the Color Proud Council. At a very early age, she recognized her desire to help others realize their potential by creating pathways for women, girls, and underserved communities.  This has manifested throughout both her personal life and career as she's developed programs to support the advancement of talent, served as a mentor, and most recently as a previous member of the advisory board for the Center for Equity, Gender & Leadership (EGAL) at the Berkeley Haas School of Business.  She is also proud to share that she'll be taking on her first assignment as Board Chair for CollegeSpring, a nonprofit dedicated to creating equal opportunity for low-income students preparing for standardized college admission tests.  On weekends, she and her partner William can be found working on renovation projects, gardening, Zooming with the family in Southern California, or playing with our pups Ghibli and Cooper.

    48 min
  2. 24/05/2021

    The Team Gurus Podcast : Interview with Nikki Harland, President of Paradies Lagardere’s Retail Division,

    As the President of Paradies Lagardere’s Retail Division, Nikki Harland oversees approximately $800 M in sales that contribute to the organization’s continued success and standing in the Travel Retail industry.  She has leadership responsibility for Store Operations, Merchandising, Business Transformation and Human Resources.  Nikki is also a founding member of the organization’s Diversity & Inclusion Council. With over twenty-five years of business and specific HR experience, Harland has contributed to various change initiatives in her career that have propelled turnarounds and growth efforts within organizations. Her work experience includes responsibility in the dining, retail, entertainment, and professional sports industries. Prior to her role with Paradies Lagardère, Nikki was the Senior Director of Field Human Resources for Gap, Inc.’s Old Navy Stores. In this role, she provided people leadership for the Brand’s 1,000+ stores and 45,000 employees in North America. Additional leadership experiences also included Turner Broadcasting System, Inc and Toys “R” Us. Nikki is a counted-on business leader that has consistently expanded her leadership scope over time.  Most recently, she successfully acted as the Executive Sponsor of Paradies Lagardere’s acquisition and integration of Hojeij Branded Foods (HBF) and Vino Volo.  The successful integration supported the organization’s material growth in the Travel Retail Dining space.  A native of Atlanta, GA, she attended Benjamin E. Mays High School, received her BA in Psychology from Spelman College and holds an MBA in Marketing from Clark Atlanta University. Nikki is also certified as a Senior Professional in HR and is a former Senior Instructor in Human Resources with DeVry University.  She serves on the Airport Council International-North America’s (ACI-NA) HR Steering Committee and is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Jack and Jill of America, Inc., the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM), and the Airport Minority Advisory Council (AMAC.)  She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the National Blacks Arts Festival and is a Board Trustee for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.  In 2017, Nikki joined other leaders in Atlanta and was recognized as one of Atlanta’s Top 100 Women of Influence.  Nikki and her husband, Joseph, reside in Atlanta, Georgia with their 15-year-old son.

    45 min

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Inspiring, honest dialogue and reflection on team leadership with real leaders. Hosted by Mary Walter and Brian Buford.

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