PODCAST — Breakthrough Builders

Enterprising Empathy

Ocient CEO & Co-Founder Chris Gladwin reveals his methods for building businesses that meet the demands of Enterprise customers, and outlines his plan to help build Chicago into a major center for technology.

Season 5Jesse PurewalDecember 15, 2021advice for it professionals, b2b, enterprise solutions, chris gladwin, chicago, tech industry, product development, data analysis, customer experience

Currency of Creation

VaynerNFT President Avery Akkineni describes her journey to becoming a leading voice in the NFT space, and shares her view on what consumers and brands need to know about NFTs and blockchain technologies.

Season 5Jesse PurewalDecember 8, 2021avery akkineni, crypto, brand experience, nft, marketing, customer-centric growth, gary vaynerchuk, non fungible tokens, bitcoin, intellectual property

Against the Current

How Hydrow CEO & Founder Bruce Smith created a revolutionary in-home rowing experience to disrupt the sport’s culture of exclusion and introduce more people to the beauty of rowing.

Season 5Jesse PurewalDecember 1, 2021hydrow, product design, inclusivity, boston tech scene, product experience, advice for entrepreneurs, bruce smith, fitness brand, rowing, connected fitness

Educating the World

Geetha Murali, CEO of Room to Read, discusses the importance of building skills and relationships in the quest to educate 40 million children.

Season 5Jesse PurewalNovember 23, 2021international development, education, skills development, government, career advice, literacy, children, relationships, room to read, nonprofit

Faith in the Future

LivePerson Founder & CEO Rob LoCascio discusses the beautiful journey of entrepreneurship, the impermanence of failure, and the breakthrough innovations driving a new age of conversational commerce.

Season 5Jesse PurewalNovember 17, 2021rob locascio, conversational commerce, empathy at scale, artificial intelligence, technology, customer journeys, over the wall, advice for ceos, new york, chatbots, liveperson, customer experience, entrepreneurship

Inclusive Inventor

How Jenny Fleiss, co-founder of Rent The Runway, created the “closet in the cloud” to bring high-end fashion experiences to everyone, and how she’s guiding the next generation of entrepreneurs with expertise and empathy.

Season 5Jesse PurewalNovember 10, 2021rent the runway, fashion industry, inclusivity, epowerment, brand experience, advice for entrepreneurs, supply chain logistics, jenny fleiss, empathy, personalization, customer experience

Steward of Story

Peloton’s Jessica Kleiman reflects on her career and life experiences as a storyteller, and shares her perspective on the value of authenticity in corporate communications and community stewardship.

Season 5Jesse PurewalNovember 3, 2021writing advice, public relations, jessica kleiman, brand experience, brand storytelling, building communities, content-driven brands, creating a category, peloton, corporate communications, internal communications

Changing Tastes For Good

Prime Roots CEO & Co-Founder Kim Le on her company’s mission to change the hearts, minds, and refrigerator share of every omnivore and flexitarian on the planet.

Season 4Jesse PurewalSeptember 14, 2021flexitarian, food industry, building a brand, plant-based diet, kim le, prime roots, advice for ceos, climate change, eating healthy, entrepreneurship

Discovering Vulnerability

Underdog Brad Balukjian lays out the premise of his bestseller The Wax Pack, talks about the danger of expectations, and describes how discovery and vulnerability came together on his journey to discover baseball’s afterlife.

Season 4Jesse PurewalSeptember 1, 2021education, brad balukjian, baseball cards, self-discovery, scientific method, baseball, vulnerability, journalism, fan experience, baseball authors, lives of professional athletes, writing, the wax pack

Authoring Encouragement

Sean Taylor, award-winning children’s author, describes his journey as a writer and underlines the importance of staying true to one’s own story.

Season 4Jesse PurewalAugust 18, 2021sean taylor, independent booksellers, children's authors, books for kids, poetry, illustration, advice for writers, publishing

Growing Abroad

Brennan O’Donnell, Partner at Frontline Ventures, recounts lessons learned from standing up Google Europe, identifies success factors for expanding into European markets, and discusses the importance of vulnerability.

30-60Jesse PurewalAugust 11, 2021frontline ventures, brennan o'donnell, leadership guidance, high-growth startups, advice for ceos, venture capital, european markets, scaling the business

Legacy of Love

Dr. Izabel Olson shares how she found her calling through both family tragedy and protective factors, and how she built Salt & Light Coalition to give survivors of trafficking a path to thriving in the world.

Season 4Jesse PurewalAugust 4, 2021education, finding your purpose, breakthrough experiences, salt & light coalition, chicago, charitable work, prison reform, dr. izabel olson, human trafficking

Clarity in Chaos

Alex Hood, Head of Product at Asana, shares his principles for building products that resonate deeply with customers and bring clarity to chaos in our new world of work.

Season 4Jesse PurewalJuly 28, 2021advice for product managers, human-centered design, brand experience, product experience, collaboration, hybrid work, asana, alex hood

The Edge of Reason

Scott Belsky, Adobe's Chief Product Officer, joins Jesse to discuss the advancement of creative meritocracy, how to empower people to do the best work of their lives, and Adobe’s brand portfolio and product culture.

Season 4Jesse PurewalJuly 21, 2021scott belsky, advice for product managers, creative meritocracy, adobe, chief product officer, innovation, advice for authors, product experience management, the messy middle, cryptoart, behance, nft technology

Building with Purpose

Robert Chatwani, Chief Marketing Officer at Atlassian, reflects on discovering his personal purpose, building organizations and making career choices with purpose at the center, and his views on the future of Marketing and the CMO role.

Season 3Jesse PurewalJune 30, 2021best cmos, robert chatwani, chatwani, atlassian, marketing, chief marketing officers, qualtrics employee study

Leveling Up Brand

How Jason Bunge, Chief Marketing Officer at Riot Games, is leading gaming into new creative territory and entertaining broader audiences by elevating the brand experience for all of its audiences.

Season 3Jesse PurewalJune 16, 2021building a brand, jason bunge, trends in entertainment, brand experience, league of legends, advice for cmos, riot games, video gaming, e-sports

Embarking on Purpose

Embarc Collective CEO Lakshmi Shenoy on her creative approach to driving growth for brands and communities—including Tampa, Florida, where she’s leading the charge to build the country’s next big hub for tech innovation.

Season 3Jesse PurewalJune 9, 2021tampa startups, tampa tech companies, 1871 chicago, lakshmi shenoy, jeff vinik, best women entrepreneurs, top female entrepreneurs, embarc collective

Empathy Begets Excellence

Jeetu Patel, SVP & GM of Security and Collaboration at Cisco, makes the case for a highly inclusive, empathetic, and iterative approach to building the products and experiences that serve and shape our societies.

Season 3Jesse PurewalMay 27, 2021saas, cisco, inclusion and belonging, digital transformation, access to opportunity, product development, globalization, empathy, intrapreneurship, radical candor, how to scale a product

Marketer and Multiplier

How Natalie Sunderland sparked a digital transformation at American Express, handled a brand turnaround at Citi, and transitioned into tech to drive impact at scale as a Chief Marketing Officer.

Season 3Jesse PurewalMay 12, 2021best woman cmos, chief marketing officer, analytics, best marketing leaders, creating categories, growth marketing, digital transformation, addepar, finance cmos, fintech, best cmos in tech, financial services, client experience

Moving Work Forward

Stacia Garr, Co-founder and Principal Analyst at RedThread Research, shares her journey from History Professor to Entrepreneur, discusses the hidden truths she’s uncovered about our changing workplaces, and lays out a vision for a more inclusive future of work.

Season 3Jesse PurewalMay 5, 2021employee best practices, people analytics, diversity, bersin, storytelling with data, future of work, redthread, talent management, inclusion, belonging, equity, employee experience