Learnings from Leaders: the P&G Alumni Podcast

P&G Alumni Network
  • 4.9 (77)
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  • Updated Weekly

Anyone who’s worked at a great company knows it’s all about the people. Good managers, great leaders - in and beyond the business. Through conversations with P&G Alumni leaders, we go deeper with the leaders you know, but want to know more about. This is Learnings from Leaders: the P&G Alumni Podcast. pgalums.com/podcast Learnings from Leaders is a production of the P&G Alumni Network (pgalums.com) — an officially recognized, global nonprofit by former P&G’ers committed to community, enrichment, and philanthropy. With more than 45,000 members worldwide, the Network connects through global conferences, local chapters, industry events, and online content. Our nonprofit Foundation supports economic empowerment in communities around the world.

  1. May 17

    Katya Lobynko, Danone IT & Data Director

    “Every new technology has a hype cycle, so your use case and business rationale must stay the North Star. No flashy AI solution replaces fixing your foundations, processes, and underlying business challenges first.” Katya Lobynko is IT & Data Director at Danone and a digital transformation leader with 15+ years of experience across FMCG and pharma in EMEA and Asia, with expertise spanning commercial operations, data & analytics, conversational AI, and emerging technologies. Before Danone, she spent several years at Sanofi leading innovation and emerging technology initiatives, including helping build the company’s conversational AI capability. Katya began her career at Procter & Gamble as a Project Delivery Manager for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, leading global media planning transformation initiatives for the world’s largest advertiser, before earning her MBA through the Asia School of Business, a partnership with MIT Sloan School of Management and the Central Bank of Malaysia. Originally from the Russian Far East and now based in Paris after years living and working across Asia and Europe, Katya brings a deeply international, people-centered perspective to conversations about digital transformation, AI, international careers, and women in tech. This conversation is hosted by podcast co-founder and P&G Alum Drew Tarvin, Founder & CEO of Humor That Works. Drew spent six years at P&G leading IT + brand initiatives before turning his background in engineering, improv, and stand-up comedy into a career helping organizations use humor to improve leadership, communication, and workplace culture. He’s the author of Humor That Works and his TEDx talk on "the Skill of Humor" has been viewed more than 16 million times.

    36 min

  2. Apr 26

    Sweta Mehra, National Australia Bank, Executive General Manager

    “Every time decisions were made, I thought what I would've done differently?  I knew the other path was a bit of a risk — what would I do if I was on the other side?” Sweta Mehra is the National Australia Bank’s (NAB) Executive General Manager of Personal Everyday Banking. Before joining NAB in 2025, Sweta spent nearly eight years at ANZ Bank—six years as Chief Marketing Officer across 34 global markets, followed by two years as Managing Director of Everyday Banking, where she held full P&L responsibility. During her tenure as CMO, ANZ doubled its digital sales in four years. Prior to entering financial services, Sweta built a 17-year career at Procter & Gamble in Singapore, where she held senior roles across strategy, brand management, and P&L leadership for global brands including Pantene, Tide, and Head & Shoulders. She also led P&G’s Consumer & Market Knowledge function across Asia. Sweta has been recognised on Campaign Asia’s Asia-Pacific Power List and featured in Australia’s CMO50 for three consecutive years. You’ll enjoy this inspiring conversation about the power of being very clear about who you are, and a guiding framework for navigating uncertainty and career change. This conversation is hosted by P&G Alum Sudha Ranganathan, who’s spent over 19 years in diverse Marketing leadership roles at companies like P&G, PayPal, and LinkedIn where she’s honed her passion for customer-centric marketing and talent development.

    48 min

  3. Apr 12

    Martin Hettich, Bosch Power Tools COO (Leitwolf)

    Learnings from Leaders: the P&G Alumni Podcast

    1h 18m

  4. Mar 15

    Mansi Tripathy, Shell Lubricants - SVP Asia Pacific

    “What's the end outcome? Focus on the results — not on how I'm doing it. I don't need to talk tough, I don't need to shout. There is an alternate way in solving for things.” Mansi Tripathy is Chairperson of Shell Group of Companies in India and Senior Vice President for Shell Lubricants Asia Pacific. She oversees a $2.5 billion P&L spanning 22 countries, and 9 manufacturing plants. Before Shell, Mansi spent 15 years at Procter & Gamble in roles including Global Director for Gillette and Asia-Pacific Head for Consumer and Market Knowledge. She led the post-acquisition transformation of Gillette's business model and held assignments across India, Singapore, Australia, Geneva, and the US. Mansi holds board positions at Hankook Shell (South Korea), JOSLOC (Saudi Arabia), and MRPL Aviation. Mansi’s been recognized among Fortune's Most Powerful Women Asia (2025), Business World's Most Influential Leaders (2025), and received the Woman of the Decade Award from the Women Economic Forum. A trained classical dancer and marathoner with 59 half-marathons completed, Mansi holds degrees from NIT Kurukshetra, SPJIMR, and Kellogg. She lives in India with her husband and two children. You’ll enjoy this candid conversation on conviction not as the absence of fear, but as something that overrides it. Whether you're navigating a career pivot, building your leadership style, or just trying to figure out how to balance ambition with boundaries, this one's for you. This conversation is hosted by P&G Alum Sudha Ranganathan, who’s spent over 19 years in diverse Marketing leadership roles at companies like P&G, PayPal, and LinkedIn where she’s honed her passion for customer-centric marketing and talent development.

    52 min

  5. Mar 1

    Jeff Wuest, CEO of SynFiny Advisors

    “Some failures are actually successes, you just don't realize it — that tough moment to refocus and challenge everything you're doing.” Jeff Wuest is the CEO of SynFiny Advisors, a global management consulting firm founded in 2014 by former Procter & Gamble executives, focusing on improving financial and operational performance. Jeff is a business strategist and leader who partners with organizations to achieve sustainable, extraordinary growth. Jeff works closely with executive teams to navigate today’s complex business environment where innovation, disciplined strategy, and smart risk-taking are essential for success. Jeff’s expertise spans strategic planning, rapid market expansion, and operational scale-up, helping organizations create environments where growth is accelerated and value is maximized. Under Jeff’s leadership, SynFiny Advisors has been recognized by Inc. Magazine on the Inc. 5000 list as one of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies for six consecutive years. An accomplished entrepreneur, Jeff has mentored startups and emerging companies while also serving as a trusted advisor to multi-billion-dollar global enterprises. With over 30 years of experience, he has developed and executed game-changing strategies across industries, categories, products, and services. His work is centered on enabling forward-thinking leaders to succeed through breakthrough strategy, execution, and operational excellence. Prior to founding SynFiny Advisors, Jeff spent 25 years at Procter & Gamble as a finance executive, holding leadership roles across multiple geographies and playing a key role in driving business transformation and growth. You’ll enjoy this candid conversation about reinvention across continents, saying yes before you have all the answers, and what it really takes to move from corporate leadership to entrepreneurial life. This conversation was hosted by Ida Abdalkhani, Change Catalyzer — an award-winning entrepreneur, speaker, and P&G Alumni Board Member. This is a sponsored episode with our partners at Synfiny Advisors, a proud sponsor of the P&G Alumni Network. Interested to feature your company and executives on the P&G Alumni Podcast? Reach out to jswuest@pgalums.com

    54 min

  6. Feb 22

     Hari Nair, P&G’s VP of R&D Global Fabric Care (APAC & China)

    Learnings from Leaders: the P&G Alumni Podcast

    58 min

  7. Feb 8

     True Leadership is Treating Others — John Pepper stories

    “Rare souls like John are among us — saying hello, sending notes, being present in the moments between and cheering us up when we're down — shooting off sparks of consciousness and love, triggering brighter lights in our hearts.” John Pepper is a friend to many—and many of us reflect on the ways he impacted us personally and professionally over the years. One of those people is Bob Gilbreath, who shares - and reflects on - four stories on how leaders like John Pepper sparks the best in the rest of us. WHAT’S YOUR JOHN PEPPER STORY?  So many of us have memories and moments where John left a lasting mark — we’d love to hear it. Just send an email or voice memo to pgalumpod@gmail.com — and we may just feature it on a future episode This essay was originally featured on P&G Alum Bob Gilbreath’s podcast & newsletter “The Workaround” (behearty.substack.com)  Got an idea for a future “Learnings from Leaders” episode - reach out at pgalumpod@gmail.com

    25 min

  8. Feb 1

    Austin Lally, Verisure CEO

    “The metaphor of ‘kick the ball’ —is to stress the importance of personal involvement and impact. It means that as a leader, you are there involved when it really matters.” Austin Lally is CEO of Verisure, the market leader in professionally monitored security services across Europe and Latin America - where he’s served since 2014. After a 26-year career at Procter & Gamble, Austin made the leap to scale Verisure nearly 10x — reaching an enterprise value of €20B+, serving more than 6 million subscribers, and generating €3.4B in annual revenue. In October 2024, Austin led Verisure through a landmark IPO on NASDAQ Stockholm — the largest IPO in Europe in three years, the largest private-equity-backed IPO in European history, and the biggest in Sweden in 25 years. Before Verisure, Austin spent 26 years at Procter & Gamble, where his career spanned leadership roles across Beauty, Feminine Care, Fabric & Home Care, and Corporate Marketing. He spent seven formative years in Greater China helping build P&G’s presence in the region, and later served as Global President of Braun and Appliances, leading a major turnaround and sitting on P&G’s Global Leadership Council. Along the way, he was named to Advertising Age’s Global Power 100. Austin is Scottish and a graduate of the University of Glasgow, where he won the World Universities Debating Championship and served as elected President of the Students’ Representative Council. Outside of work, he’s deeply passionate about music — including a past life as a highly rated indie-rock DJ in southern China — and is a lifelong supporter of Celtic FC and Liverpool FC. You’ll enjoy this candid conversation about leadership at scale, taking smart risks, staying close to the work, and why “kicking the ball” often matters more than measuring it from the sidelines. This conversation is hosted by P&G Alum Sudha Ranganathan, who’s spent over 19 years in diverse Marketing leadership roles at companies like P&G, PayPal, and LinkedIn where she’s honed her passion for customer-centric marketing and talent development.

    46 min
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About

Anyone who’s worked at a great company knows it’s all about the people. Good managers, great leaders - in and beyond the business. Through conversations with P&G Alumni leaders, we go deeper with the leaders you know, but want to know more about. This is Learnings from Leaders: the P&G Alumni Podcast. pgalums.com/podcast Learnings from Leaders is a production of the P&G Alumni Network (pgalums.com) — an officially recognized, global nonprofit by former P&G’ers committed to community, enrichment, and philanthropy. With more than 45,000 members worldwide, the Network connects through global conferences, local chapters, industry events, and online content. Our nonprofit Foundation supports economic empowerment in communities around the world.

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