Paul Damico is the CEO of Ascent Hospitality Management, parent company of Perkins and Huddle House, two breakfast brands that have been serving guests for generations. Paul brings more than four decades leading brands from Moe's Southwest Grill and Cinnabon to Fuzzy's Taco Shop, NAF NAF Grill, and Global Franchise Group.

Paul shares what it truly means to lead iconic brands that can outlast pandemics, recessions, labor shortages, new concepts, and more. He shares advice about what to protect, what to evolve, and how to create teams that drive long-lasting results.

In this episode, you'll learn:

✨ How to protect and leverage legacy brand equities to continue success

✨ What to look for to create and motivate high-performing teams

✨ How to introduce brands to new audiences while retaining loyal guests

✨ Why the best franchise systems scale people and not just new stores

✨ How servant leadership drives better teams, stronger culture, and lasting results

A conversation for leaders ready to revive legacy brands, build top-performing teams, and create what truly stands the test of time.

Paul's Creative Inspiration

Book: The Monday Morning Emails by former Focus Brands CEO Russ Frith

Brand: Steak 48

Beverage: Classic Negroni (Monkey 47 gin, Italian sweet vermouth, Campari)

Song: "September" by Earth, Wind & Fire

Kate Assaraf is the founder of Dip, the plastic-free haircare brand that has sold thousands of shampoo and conditioner bars without paid advertising, Amazon, or influencers. Instead, Dip has grown through word of mouth, independent refill retailers, authentic storytelling, and products people want to share with their favorites.

After decades behind the scenes in the beauty industry, Kate saw how much modern marketing relied on hype, imitation, and manufactured trust. So she built Dip differently: salon-quality products designed to last longer, reduce waste, and create a brand experience rooted in nostalgia, emotional connection, and real customer advocacy.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

✨ How to grow through trust and word of mouth instead of paid hype

✨ Why authentic community beats chasing scale at all costs

✨ How nostalgia, emotion, and distinctiveness make brands memorable

✨ Why independent retailers can become your strongest growth engine

✨ How to decide which opportunities strengthen your brand and which dilute it

A refreshing conversation for founders and brand leaders who want to create something more distinctive, intentional, and lasting inspired by another kind of book.

Kate’s Creative Inspiration

Book: Company of One by Paul Jarvis

Brand: Vacation

Beverage: Spicy margarita

Song: Anything by Steven Page / Barenaked Ladies

Jennifer Dodd is CEO of Main Squeeze Juice Company, and Tyler Owen is a new franchisee who recently joined the brand after a career at Panera. Together, they share two perspectives about building a brand: the leader shaping its future and the operator executing it, highlighting the special relationship between franchisor and franchisee.

Jen shares how her own health journey reshaped the way she thinks about leadership and why the next generation of brands will win by making better choices easier. Tyler shares what he looked for before investing as an operator, what gave him confidence to make the leap into entrepreneurship, and how he invested all he had into his business.

Together, they discuss product quality, partnerships, community connection, and how to stay close to customers and teams as you expand a franchised brand.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

✨ How to turn personal conviction into a stronger brand purpose

✨ Why pausing to refine your brand can unlock stronger growth

✨ How to operate like an owner and make better decisions no matter your role

✨ How to use partnerships and limited-time offers to drive trial and relevance

✨ Why your “customer” isn’t just the end user and how to serve every target audience

For leaders building brands that customers choose, teams are proud to stand behind, and partners believe in to expand.

Jen and Tyler’s Creative Inspiration

Book: Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink; Start Before You’re Ready by Mick Spencer

Brand: Sweetgreen; Chick-fil-A

Beverage: Main Squeeze’s Burn (Apple, Lime, Ginger, Jalapeño)

Song: “I Believe That We Will Win” by Pitbull; anything Morgan Wallen

Esther McIlvain is Head of Marketing at Hawkers Asian Street Food, where she leads brand strategy, creative, marketing, and communications for the fast-growing concept. Since joining, she has helped shape Hawkers’ evolution and doubled their store count with the power of repeat guests, recommendations, and community connection.

Esther shares how her start in PR shaped the way she thinks about branding today. She explains why the best brands don’t chase attention, how Hawkers uses customer personas to guide decisions, and why saying “no” is one of the best ways to protect a growing brand. She also gets into community-led marketing, why group chats matter more than reach, and how to create experiences guests actually want to talk about.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

✨ Why the best brands don’t pay for PR, they create what’s worth talking about

✨ How to define your guest by stage, not age, and why it leads to better decisions

✨ How to turn discovery and surprising experiences into emotional connections

✨ Why smaller community creators matter more than the biggest influencers

✨ How to view your brand like a customer would and spot what to optimize

A conversation for leaders who want to build brands with stronger stories, deeper loyalty, and more meaningful consumer connections.

Esther’s Creative Inspiration

Book: Start With Why by Simon Sinek

Brand: Graza

Beverage: Hawkers’ Coco Kobe

Song: “Enter Sandman” by Metallica or “…Ready For It?” by Taylor Swift

Eric Martino is President of the Hard Rock Cafe Division at Hard Rock International, where he leads 170 cafes around the world with the global retail business. While Hard Rock’s hotels and casinos continue to grow, the cafe division represents a different kind of challenge: how to evolve an iconic experience to meet today’s guest expectations.

From protecting what makes Hard Rock special to harnessing the rich company culture that can ensure a relevant brand experience, Eric breaks down what it takes to bring consistency, energy, and relevance back to a global brand at scale. He also explains why culture, clarity, and fundamentals are the foundation for any brand that will endure.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

✨ How to build culture that translates into powerful guest experience

✨ Why culture is defined by what you celebrate, tolerate, and enforce

✨ Why “clear is kind” and how clarity can drive better performance

✨ How to use “inform, educate, and inspire” to align and activate teams

✨ How to modernize an iconic brand without losing what made it matter

A conversation for leaders who want to turn culture into a competitive advantage.

Eric’s Creative Inspiration

Books: The Compound Effect, Atomic Habits, Setting the Table, The Ride of a Lifetime

Brand: Apple

Beverage: Diet ginger ale, G4 or Dobel Tequila

Song: “The Fire” by The Roots

Annabel Hay is the founder of CLUTCH, the first fashion glue designed to fix wardrobe malfunctions that has turned into a globally-patented product and fast-growing brand. After four years of development CLUTCH is a fast-growing, category-shaping brand now carried by retailers like Urban Outfitters and CVS.

Annabel shares what it takes to turn a simple idea into a breakout brand. From emailing professors 60+ times to find a formulation partner and packing orders in her bedroom to going viral overnight on TikTok and landing on Shark Tank, her story is a lesson in creativity, persistence, and listening to your customers.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

✨ How to turn an everyday frustration into products people want

✨ Why scrappy execution and action matter more than perfection

✨ How to prepare for high-stakes moments and confidently sell your idea

✨ How to turn real-world moments into high-impact brand exposure

✨ How to use social media as free R&D and consumer insights

A conversation for founders and brand builders looking to turn real consumer problems into scalable, ownable brands.

Annabel’s Creative Inspiration

Book: Setting the Table by Danny Meyer

Brand: Seoul Tonic

Beverage: Spicy marg

Song: “Vogue” by Madonna

George Felix is Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Brinker International, where he leads marketing for Chili’s Grill & Bar and Maggiano’s Little Italy. He’s helped bring Chili’s back to category leadership in both sales and traffic by pairing brand strategy with better operations, smarter focus, and a lot of creativity.

George shares how great turnarounds start by “digging through the attic” to find what made a brand distinctive in the first place and make it relevant again. He explains why brand strategy should guide everything teams do, why fewer, better things always win, and how cross-functional collaboration can deliver a better guest experience.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

✨ How to uncover unique, ownable equities that a brand can leverage

✨ Why fewer, better offerings drive better brand and business results

✨ How internal teams can help uncover real consumer truths, not just trends

✨ How to get out of the “marketing bubble” and into the business

✨ Why a brand North Star is critical to guide company-wide decisions

A conversation for leaders trying to revive a brand, sharpen what their brand stands for, and use creativity to drive a business.

George’s Creative Inspiration

Book: For the Culture by Marcus Collins

Brand: Tubi

Beverage: Ranch water

Song: “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor

Laurie Schalow is the Chief Corporate Affairs and Food Safety Officer at Chipotle, where she oversees communications, sustainability, customer experience, and food safety across more than 4,000 restaurants. From rebuilding trust to scaling operations and advancing sustainable design, Laurie is helping shape how modern brands grow.

Laurie shares how Chipotle aligns everything under one clear brand purpose, how sustainable restaurant design is evolving from innovation to expectation, and how AI is already transforming how her teams work. She also explains why taking initiative early in your career matters, how to manage complexity across large organizations, and why flexibility is one of the most important leadership traits today.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

✨ How to align teams, systems, and storytelling under one clear brand direction

✨ Why sustainable design is becoming a business imperative, not just nice to have

✨ How AI is freeing up teams to think bigger and focus on more meaningful work

✨ How social listening helps brands stay relevant and responsive in real time

✨ Why taking initiative (even with unglamorous work) accelerates your career

A conversation for leaders building brands at scale and looking for smarter, more modern ways to operate.

Laurie’s Creative Inspiration

Book: Good to Great by Jim Collins; Co-Intelligence by Ethan Mollick

Brand: Disney

Beverage: White wine

Song: “On Top of the World” by Imagine Dragons

Erin Levzow consults as CMO for CapitalSpring, a restaurant-focused investment firm, and the co-host of Bite-Sized and Bossy, the fastest-growing restaurant podcast. Her career has spanned theater, hospitality, digital marketing, resorts, restaurants, and experiential brands including MGM Resorts, Caesars, Wingstop, Del Taco, Jack in the Box, and Museum of Ice Cream.

Erin shares how being your true self can change the trajectory of your career, why brands need to know exactly what they stand for, and how great marketing is really about making guests feel seen, heard, and valued. She also digs into digital tracking, loyalty, experiential openings, and why testing initial ideas matters more than waiting for perfection or certainty.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

✨ Why authentic leadership is less exhausting and infinitely more effective

✨ How strong brands translate what they stand for into guest experiences

✨ Why marketers need to speak up about both ideas and implications

✨ How testing and experimentation beat set-it-and-forget-it marketing

✨ What today’s best brands do to drive traffic, loyalty, and consumer love

A conversation for leaders who are ready to trust their instincts, move faster, and build brands that matter.

Erin’s Creative Inspiration

Book: Jesus Listens by Sarah Young and The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins

Brand: Whiskey Cake Kitchen and Life Time Fitness

Beverage: Vodka soda with lime

Song: “Roar” by Katy Perry

Emma Baines is Global Head of Creative at Tony’s Chocolonely, the mission-driven chocolate brand working to end exploitation in cocoa. Emma has built a career of bold ideas, strong teams, and creative cultures where people can do their very best work.

Emma shares how Tony’s turns purpose into product design, packaging, and earned media. She breaks down why brands need to stop sanding down distinctiveness, and how “nice” leadership can actually be a creative advantage. She also opens up about the risks she took to move across Europe, what parenthood changed, and why clarity, boundaries, confidence, and uplifting power matter so much when leading teams.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

✨ Why the best creative work starts with asking why

✨ How to turn mission into product, packaging, and brand storytelling

✨ Why distinctiveness matters more than fitting into a sea of same

✨ How to build teams that thrive (and fly) instead of just survive

✨ Why quiet power and nice leadership are strengths, not weaknesses

A conversation for brand leaders who want to build braver teams who take creative risks and a more powerful brand that stands for a high-order purpose.

Emma’s Creative Inspiration

Book: Educated by Tara Westover

Brand: e.l.f. Beauty

Beverage: Margarita

Song: “Try Everything” by Shakira

Elias Lehnert is the co-founder and owner of Legacy Pie Co., a fourth generation pie company reimagining what the modern bakery can be. After growing up in the Colorado Cherry Company business, Elias and his wife Rachel launched Legacy Pie Co. with the same iconic recipes, plus new name, identity, and ways to engage the community.

Elias shares how to scale with focus and double down on what your brand does best to inspire lasting customer loyalty. From customer-voted, monthly pie flavors to Butter Bus pie pop-ups around town, Legacy Pie Co. has built a fiercely loyal following by combining timeless brand storytelling with modern, consumer-driven marketing.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

✨ Why great brands grow by protecting what makes them special

✨ How hiring for hospitality talent creates a contagious culture

✨ How customer voting and feedback can fuel innovation and loyalty

✨ Why local experiences and pop-ups can outperform traditional ads

✨ How community investment can turn customers into brand ambassadors

A conversation for brand leaders building something meant to last and proof that tradition and innovation can share the same crust.

Elias’s Creative Inspiration

Book: Born to Run by Christopher McDougall

Brand: Costco

Beverage: Miller High Life

Song: Let’s Dance by David Bowie

Matthew Carver is the founder of The Cheese Bar, The Cheese Barge, and Pick & Cheese, the world’s first conveyor belt restaurant dedicated entirely to cheese. What started as a bright yellow grilled cheese truck at music festivals has evolved into an international hospitality brand with locations across the UK, Berlin, and now NYC.

Matthew shares how testing ideas in low-risk environments shaped his expansion strategy, why experience design matters as much as product quality, and how embracing opportunity (even before you feel ready) can unlock unexpected growth.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

✨ How to build a brand that stands for more than the products you sell

✨ Why starting small can be the smartest way to build something big

✨ What experience-driven concepts teach us about modern consumer demand

✨ How to expand your brand strategically without losing focus or quality

✨ Why local sourcing and strong partnerships strengthen brand equity

A lesson in how specificity becomes strategy and a sneak preview of New York City’s coolest, new concept coming this spring.

Matthew’s Creative Inspiration

Book: Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek

Brand: Walsh shoes

Beverage: Matsu Spanish red wine

Song: “Lights Burn Dimmer” by Fred Again and Jamie T

Satyne Doner is the Senior Editor of Women in Restaurant Leadership at QSR and FSR Magazines. In just a few years, she has helped grow WiRL from one event into a media ecosystem of articles, podcasts, webinars, power hours, and a sold out, flagship summit that brings 500 women together to connect, learn, and lead.

Satyne shares how she tells the stories of the industry’s most impactful leaders, how to build trust earl,, and why WiRL’s “safe space to get uncomfortable” is changing the way women collaborate and uplift one another. She also gets real about confidence, the power of visualization, and why whimsy is not fluff, it’s fuel.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

✨ How to tell stories the world needs now and create a community around them

✨ Why the real growth lever is personalized connections, not just content volume

✨ Why you should ditch scarcity thinking and make space for more voices to rise

✨ How to decide what you want to be known for and enhance your personal brand

✨ Which confidence tools really work, such as self talk, visualization, and adjectives

A conversation for anyone building a platform, leading a team, or trying to find their voice faster than the “traditional” timeline.

Book: Women Who Run With the Wolves

Brand: Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy

Beverage: Blood Orange Moscow Mule

Song: “Bad Girls” by M.I.A.

Yet, most companies are still using outdated systems, fragmented teams, and expensive models that weren’t built for the modern marketplace.

Liz Giorgi is the co-founder and CEO of soona, the all-in-one creative platform to make, manage, and optimize high-quality photo and video content across channels.

She shares how she replaced expensive, disjointed production workflows with an on-demand, tech-enabled creative platform designed for modern ecommerce.

Liz also dives into AI ethics, creative leadership, and why founders must think like community builders, not just operators.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

✨ Why content is so much more than marketing - it’s brand experience

✨ How to align creative incentives so partners win when you win

✨ What brands get wrong when moving from DTC to online marketplaces

✨ Where AI can accelerate your workflow and where it damages trust

✨ How brand leaders can pave new paths and help define AI ethics

A powerful listen for founders, CMOs, entrepreneurs, and intrapreneurs who want to reimagine business models, build brands with standards, and scale without selling out.

Liz’s Creative Inspiration

Book: Creativity, Inc. and To Pixar and Beyond

Brand: Figma and Overtone

Beverage: Margarita with high-quality salt

Song: Early 2000s punk rock, especially Paramore

Emily Schildt is the founder and CEO of Pop Up Grocer, the discovery destination created for curious shoppers and emerging brands that deserve to be found. She created Pop Up Grocer after years in CPG marketing where she saw incredible, new products get lost in overcrowded aisles and online or priced out by a broken system.

Pop Up Grocer started as 30-day pop ups across major cities. It has evolved into a store within a store (namely Nordstrom) and a permanent footprint, starting with the flagship in New York City and a second on the way. Emily shares what she has learned about reimaging IRL brand experiences with a concept the next actually wants to visit.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

✨ Why discovery drives demand and repeat in today’s experience-first marketplace

✨ What makes physical experiences memorable in ways digital can’t

✨ How community and brand storytelling strengthen consumer connection

✨ Why committing before you feel ready can be the fastest way forward

✨ A simple creativity practice to steal (hint: get out of your bubble, talk to six people)

A listen for anyone reimaging brand experiences and business models who wants to make discovery feel fun again.

Emily’s Creative Inspiration

Book: Why We Buy by Paco Underhill

Brand: Everything on PUG shelves

Beverage: Extra dirty martini

Song: She said she needs a pump up song

Amy Eldredge is Vice President of Menu at Crumbl, one of the fastest-growing brands in the world. She leads the brand’s 52 highly anticipated weekly menu drops per year across the franchise system of more than 1,000 locations (and counting).

In this episode, Amy takes us behind the scenes of what it takes to turn cultural moments, customer input, and culinary instinct into craveable products that scale. From viral collaborations like Benson Boone’s Moonbeam Ice Cream and the Kardashian collab to in-the-moment launches like the Dubai Chocolate Brownie, she shares hits, misses and lessons learned. A self-taught innovator and baker, Amy shares how Crumbl filters trends, tests ideas, and builds systems to ensure consistent creativity.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

✨ How to balance cultural relevance with brand fit for breakthrough innovation

✨ How customer and cross-functional collaboration helps fill your pipeline faster

✨ How to test ideas quickly with customer feedback before you invest in development

✨ How to learn from risks, hits and misses, and use them to improve future launches

✨ Where AI helps expedite innovation, and where human judgment still wins

A must-listen for brand leaders who want to move faster, innovate smarter, and create the next, best newsworthy product promotions for constant news and consumer love.

Amy’s Creative Inspiration

Book: The Book of Secrets by Deepak Choprar; From Impressed to Obsessed by John Picoult

Brand: Lyre’s, De Soi, and St. Agrestis

Beverage: Apple brandy sidecar or a Purple Haze mocktail

Song: “Starlight” by Muse

Toni Ronayne is the founder of the C-Society and a fractional CEO, specializing in enterprise and brand transformation for growth-stage and scaling brands. She partners with founders, boards, and executive teams during moments of complexity, helping align brand, operations, people, and strategy to drive sustainable performance.

After years climbing the traditional corporate ladder at Starbucks, LIttle Caesars, Freshii, Perkins and more, Toni saw what many leaders are experiencing: fewer seats at the table, flatter org charts, and a leadership model that doesn't fit modern businesses or real life. Instead of forcing herself back into a shrinking mold, Toni built something new: an innovative, fractional leadership model that gives brands access to senior talent when they need it, and gives leaders a way to create true impact without burning out.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

✨ How to stop waiting for the just-right title and start creating your own path

✨ Why the most effective leaders need less certainty, and more freedom to experiment

✨ Why fractional leadership works, and helps both brands and executives

✨A mindset shift to pursue what you would do if failure wasn’t allowed

✨ How encouraging community (not hierarchy) drives sustainable growth

A timely conversation for leaders who want more freedom, more creativity, and a clearer way to build what comes next.

Toni’s Creative Inspiration

Books: The Enneagram Test

Brand: Knix and Mandy’s Gourmet Salads

Beverage: Gin and tonic or spicy margarita mocktail

Song: “Unstoppable” by Sia

Eleanor is the founder and CEO of Verity, a shopper marketing and retail media agency helping up-and-coming brands grow in a world made for big-brand incumbents. After a career at PepsiCo and high growth challenger brands like Kodiak Cakes and Siete Foods, she saw brands often confuse access with traction and activity with progress.

Eleanor breaks down what actually drives brand growth today and what gets in the way when teams chase new tactics before the strategy fundamentals are in place.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

✨What challenger brands can do that legacy brands can’t, and how to leverage it

✨Why in-store still matters, even as retail media and e-commerce grow

✨Where to focus when budgets are tight and velocity matters most

✨Why marketing can’t fix broken unit economics and what leaders should fix first

✨How to decide which growth levers are worth pulling now, and which to ignore

A practical conversation for brand leaders navigating modern marketing and shifting consumer expectations without losing sight of what actually moves their business.

Eleanor’s Creative Inspiration

Book: Pour Your Heart Into It by Howard Schultz

Song: “So Much Better” from Legally Blonde

Roxanne Quimby is co-founder and former CEO of Burt’s Bees, artist, conservationist, philanthropist, and one of the most influential brand builders of the last half-century.

Roxanne doesn’t seek the spotlight. She seldom gives interviews, doesn’t let anyone take her picture, and almost never appears on camera. In this episode, she generously shares the ideas, routines, and values that created one of the most trusted brands of our time, and how she stays creative to make historic and lasting impact.

Roxanne spent years living off the grid. This nature-led lifestyle became the foundation for Burt’s Bees, the iconic personal care brand that helped redefine the beauty category long before “clean,” “organic,” or “purpose-led” became industry buzzwords.

Under her leadership, Burt’s Bees scaled nationally and internationally, eventually selling in two landmark transactions that valued the company at more than $900 million. For Roxanne, the exit was not an ending, it was a beginning.

Using the proceeds from the sale, Roxanne donated more than 87,000 acres of land to help create Katahdin Woods & Waters National Monument, along with tens of millions of dollars to the National Park Service and other causes.

Today, Roxanne has come full circle, returning to art, conservation, and hands-on creativity. We talk about her latest projects, and how she continues to create, collaborate, and give in ways that will inspire brand leaders everywhere.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

✨ How to build a brand people love by staying grounded in truth and simplicity

✨ Why humor and humanity help stories travel further than polished marketing

✨ How nature’s pace teaches patience and incremental change compounds

✨ Why choosing what not to do can be just as powerful as what to pursue

✨ What it looks like to turn success into true, lasting and shared, impact

A sweet reminder that the most enduring brands, and the most creative lives, are cultivated with integrity and courage to stay creative in every chapter.

Roxanne’s Creative Inspiration

Books: Food photography and cookbooks

Brands: Cheerios and Quaker Oats

Beverage: Espresso martini

Song: Call Me By Your Name

Megan Lynberg is Senior Vice President of Client Strategy at Datassential, the world’s leading intelligence platform tracking the most relevant trends. Her work predicts what will impact consumer categories from restaurants and CPG to personal care and beauty.

Megan shares how Datassential helps the best restaurant, retail, and CPG companies translate consumer insights into ideas, evaluate new concepts, and find white space earlier. And she explains how you can plan, prioritize, and innovate with confidence.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

✨ How Datassential uses AI (and has before it was cool) to forecast top trends with 98% accuracy to inform and inspire ideas across industries

✨ Why more approachable or incremental, brand-inspired innovation often outperforms chasing short-lived trends

✨ The biggest macro shifts shaping 2026 and how brands distinguish meaningful, lasting trends from fleeting fads

✨ How brand leaders vet new ideas and validate concepts before investing time, money or operational upgrades

✨ Why collaboration between operators, manufacturers, marketers and insights teams is the new superpower for innovation

A must-listen (or watch) for brand leaders who want to transform data into clearer brand direction to get ahead in the New Year.

Megan’s creative inspiration:

Book: Atomic Habits by James Clear

Brand: Buc-ee's

Beverage: Boulevard Beer

Songs: “Glorious” by Macklemore and “Rosalita” by Bruce Springsteen

Jack Gibbons, CEO of FB Society (creator of Velvet Taco, Whiskey Cake, Sixty Vines, Haywire, Mexican Sugar, Legacy Hall and more), shares how he and his team turned a portfolio of new-to-world concepts into a true powerhouse.

Jack pulls back the curtain on how breakthrough ideas are sparked, shaped, protected, and scaled with soul. He also shares how his rise from server to COO to CEO fuels the creative risks behind FB Society’s continued success.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

✨How to think bigger by intentionally carving out time to break away from the day-to-day and discover new possibilities

✨How multi-unit, multi-brand operators (“MUMBOS”) can win by centralizing what ensures efficiency and safeguarding what creates distinction

✨The exact DNA framework FB Society uses to keep their concepts unique and growing, year after year, even through industry headwinds

✨Why execution is the real indicator of success, and how to use traffic, reviews, and constant feedback loops to keep brands moving forward

✨How to apply the same brand-building systems to inform and inspire your wellness journey, including Jack’s now-famous 40-pushup club

A must-listen for any brand builder who wants to grow their business faster, spot white space earlier, and unlock bigger ideas.

Jack’s creative inspiration:

Book: The Wealth Money Can’t Buy by Robin Sharma

Brand: Hillstone

Beverage: Tequila reposado on ice with an orange slice

Song: “More Than a Feeling” by Boston

Briar Goldberg, one of the world’s most sought-after communications coaches and the force behind hundreds of the most iconic TED Talks, shares the essential skills today’s leaders need to break through noise, complexity, and shrinking attention spans.

As the Head of Speaker Coaching at TED, Briar has coached CEOs of Meta, Ford, and Levi’s; Nobel laureates; Oscar and Grammy winners; founders and executives. In this episode, she reveals what the best communicators do differently, and how everyday brand builders can apply the same tools for campaigns, board meetings, and more.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

✨ Why “audience before content” (the ABC rule) is the fastest path to clarity, influence, and trust

✨ The art of shaping a single powerful idea and why most messages fail from the very beginning

✨ How to prepare for high-stakes presentations (and why rehearsing in your head won’t cut it)

✨ Why humor, humanity, and specificity will separate compelling communicators in the AI era

✨ The behind-the-scenes stories of coaching top scientists, innovators, and leaders shaping the future

A candid, practical conversation about courageous, audience-first communication from the coach who helps the world’s best speakers inspire action, and how you can, too.

Briar’s creative inspiration:

Books: Humor, Seriously by Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas; Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini and The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson

Brands: Midi Health, TUSHY

Beverage: Paper Plane

Song: “Thank God I’m a Country Boy” by John Denver

Heather Neary, President and CEO of Taco John’s, shares lessons learned during her rise from Auntie Anne’s marketing manager to CMO-turned-operations leaderand then to one of the very few female chief executive officers in her industry.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

✨ Why fun and hard work can (and should) co-exist, and why humanity is a competitive advantage for true and lasting impact

✨ How Heather bridged the infamous marketing-ops divide and why understanding operations is the fastest way to be a better brand leader

✨ The real reasons women fall out of the leadership pipeline, and what must change to support the next generation of female CEOs

✨ What to do when your brand goes viral overnight (including how Heather led a systemwide pivot that gave away 20,000 meals in 72 hours)

✨ How to stay nimble in an unpredictable economy and why the future belongs to leaders who can pivot fast, simplify, and focus

✨ An uplifting episode about optimistic leadership, operational mastery, and brand building from one of the industry’s most beloved CEOs.

Heather’s creative inspiration:

1. Books: Begin with We by Kyle McDowell and The 5AM Club by Robin Sharma
2. Brand: Buc-ee’s & high-quality operators everywhere
3. Beverages: Black coffee and red wine + collagen and creatine
4. Song: “Mama Said Knock You Out” by LL Cool J

Todd Smith, President of Swig and longtime brand builder (Sonic, Wendy’s, Yum! Brands, ROCTACO, Flake), shares the honest lessons behind bold thinking, humble leadership, and taking risks even when you can’t see what’s on the other side.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

✨ Why success has less to do with titles and wins, and more to do with your willingness to step into the unknown

✨ What building your own brands teaches you about resilience (and why failure can often be your greatest teacher)

✨ What leaders get wrong when they say they want candor, and how to actually create a culture where teams tell you the truth

✨ How to shift from “being the best in the room” to “building the best team” using questions that unlock bigger thinking

✨ Why Swig’s magic isn’t just dirty soda; it’s Daymakers, first-sip rituals, and moments that turn customers into superfans

A playbook to turn failure into fuel, curiosity into candor, and big thinking into courage.

Todd’s creative inspiration:

1. Book: Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara
2. Brand: Ferrari
3. Bevs: Island Time and Waikiki
4. Song: “Rock Star” by N.E.R.D. (Pharrell)

Amy Hom, Chief Operating Officer at Barcelona Wine Bar and Co-Founder of GLEAM, shares how she builds world-class hospitality cultures rooted in care, curiosity, and consistency.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Why exit interviews are too late, and how "stay interviews" reveal what truly keeps people inspired and engaged

The five questions every leader should ask to understand what’s working (and what’s not)

How to be “easy on people, tough on standards” without losing empathy or expectations

How to make development not just a “program,” but a cultural operating principle

Why the best leaders act as “chief repeating officers” to build clarity, trust, and consistency across teams

A masterclass in modern, people-first leadership from one of the industry’s most respected operators.

Amy’s creative inspiration:

Books: Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara and The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni

Brand: Patagonia

Songs: “9 to 5” and “Here You Come Again” by Dolly Parton

Being bold, not beige.

Greg Creed, former CEO of Yum! Brands (Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC), shares how he helped turn Taco Bell into one of the world’s most distinctive brands by focusing on culture, creativity, and bold choices that broke industry rules.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

✨ How to replace “beige” thinking with bold, brand-defining moves

✨ Why “easy” beats “better” and how to use simplicity to set your brand apart

✨ How to build a courageous culture that fuels creativity and sales results

✨ How to make faster, smarter decisions by letting the experts lead

✨ The RED framework (Relevance, Ease, Distinctiveness) to sharpen your strategy

✨ How to stay true to your essence even (and especially) as the world changes around you

✨ A masterclass in courageous leadership, creative focus, and building brands that stand for something, plus breaking news about Greg's new special project, Mavericks & Misfits, coming soon.

Greg's creative inspiration: Book: Return on Courage by Ryan Berman

Brands: Chili’s, Match (Satan & 2020), Amazon (Holidays: Shorts)

Song: Radio Gaga by Queen (“don’t be background noise”)

F&B: Mountain Dew Baja Blast and Baja Blast Pie

Am I in the right relationship? Is this the career for me? Is this as good as it gets? What's next?

These questions can feel uncomfortable... until you have a method to answer them and redirect.

Enter The Life Brief, the USA TODAY bestselling book from award-winning brand strategist Bonnie Wan.

Named Ad Age’s Chief Strategy Officer of the Year, Bonnie has spent 30 years guiding the world’s most iconic brands to find their purpose.

Now she brings the same strategic brilliance to help design your next chapter and navigate life’s crossroads with clarity, creativity, and courage.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

✨ How to write your own Life Brief to focus on what truly matters

✨ How reframing your story can unlock new creative possibilities

✨ When to follow intuition along with intellect to find your best ideas

✨ How inner insight ensures more momentum, stronger teams, and faster decisions

✨ A framework to confirm what matters most, rewrite your story, and lead with purpose in work and in life.

✨ Bonnie's creative inspiration

Books: The Life Brief:A Playbook for No-Regrets Living and Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life

Drink: The Phoney Negroni

Song: The Massive Attack

Jenn Reeves, SVP at Funko and previously Stanley 1913, shares how she helped transform a legacy utility brand into a modern lifestyle brand by looking back to move forward.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

✨ How to honor your brand’s history and heritage while reinventing for new audiences

✨ The difference between branding and marketing, and why it matters for business

✨ How to create viral moments and turn them into lasting brand momentum

✨ The mindset every marketer needs to stay flexible, fast, and fearless

A masterclass in creative courage and brand evolution.

Jenn's creative inspiration

Podcasts: Dolly Parton's America and Acquired

Brands: Ffern and Dunkin's Halloween store

Song: Girl On Fire by Alicia Keys

Scott Lawton, Co-Founder & Chairman of bartaco, shares how he blends data, design, and hospitality to build a brand that has become one of the industry’s most distinctive experiences.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

✨ How to use guest data to enhance your brand experience

✨ Why the best operators measure sentiment before sales

✨ How to empower teams with insights that fuel connection and creativity

✨ The leadership moves that keep cultures strong at scale

A playbook for turning insights into emotion and metrics into meaning.

Scott's creative inspiration

Book: I'm Not Trying To Be Difficult: Stories from the Restaurant Trenches by Drew Nieporent

Brands: FB Society (Whiskey Cake, Sixty Vines, etc.)

Song: Chilly Water by Widespread Panic