Kyle Schlegel, is Weber Inc’s VP of Americas Marketing and Direct-to-Consumer, where he helps bring to life the most innovative, legendary grills in the world.  Prior to Weber, Kyle spent three years at Louisville Slugger before its acquisition by Wilson Sporting Goods, leading all marketing strategy and execution across the Wilson Racquet Sports portfolio—the #1 iconic name in tennis.

Kyle spent thirteen years at P&G in brand management on brands like Herbal Essences, Old Spice, Aussie, and Wella, and is also the recipient of the CMO Club’s Rising Star Award and AdAge’s 40 Under 40. Kyle now lives just outside of Chicago with his wife, daughter, and pub. While sports plays a different role in life today, Schlegel still fits it in wherever he can among other priorities in life, such as friends, family, faith and serving others.

You’ll enjoy this candid, vulnerable, and insightful conversation about Kyle’s journey from Kentucky farmboy to Chicago professional.

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Paul Polman, one of our most prominent and vocal P&G Alumni, also happens to be the former CEO of Unilever. In this talk from 2021 P&G Alumni Global Conference Paul talks about a book he co-authored called “Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take.” Declared one of the “standout CEOs of the past decade” by The Financial Times, Paul is a leading proponent that business should be a force for good. The Economist declared Paul “An advocate of sustainable capitalism who explains how it’s done.”

Paul Polman is the co-founder of IMAGINE, where he is mobilizing businesses to tackle climate change and global inequality. Paul also served as the CEO of Unilever from 2009-2018, where he created—and proved—a long-term approach to global problems can also drive business performance. Prior to Unilever, he was Nestle’s CFO & Head of Americas. And of course, Paul got his start at P&G, where he spent 27 years rising through the ranks ultimately leading Europe for P&G. Paul continues to be active on the world stage, bridging the private/public sectors. Alongside the UN Secretary General, he helped develop the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Paul is chair of the International Chamber of Commerce, The B Team, Saïd Business School and Vice-Chair of the UN Global Compact.

You’ll enjoy this very frank, compelling, and action-oriented talk about what we can all be doing as business and community leaders to face the challenges we have in front of us, and to be a force for good.

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Alyona Tkachenko is the CEO and cofounder of Nommi, a mobile WiFi hotspot that provides LTE data in over 100 countries. She also serves as the VP of Global Markets at Sergek Development. Prior to founding Nommi, Alyona was the head of marketing for Love to Code, a coding school for children in Kazakhstan. Alyona started her career at Procter & Gamble, working in CMK for sales and eCommerce.

Alyona is a Forbes Asia 30 Under 30 for Consumer Technology and also a P&G Alumni Network’s Leader Under 40. She continues to focus on improving the quality of Computer Science education and digital literacy of Kazakhstani school children through the NGO StudyCS. Alyona graduated with a degree in Business Administration from Kazakh State University. You’ll enjoy this candid conversation about doing what feels right in the moment, and owning those decisions for success.

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David Youn is President of Master Lock, the 100-year-old American company that is the leader in manufacturing & sales of locks, safes, and commercial security equipment. David started as a management consultant but learned that he enjoyed running businesses more than analyzing them. At the helm of Master Lock, David has delivered all time records in sales & profit, and throughout his career has maintained a focus on people through mentorship and teaching.

David worked with P&G for nearly 10 years, working with top brands such as Cascade, Dawn Dish Care, Pampers, and Crest/Oral-B Oral Care. He helped execute the largest total brand re-stage in Cascade history and was awarded the Global Home Care President’s Award in 2008.  

David’s journey from entrepreneurship to corporate, and from living in the US to an expat in Korea working for Samsung, is a testament to his motto of living boldly and constantly evolving. His diverse range of hobbies – whether it be flying planes, playing music, or instructing dance classes – further illustrates this point. You’ll enjoy this great conversation about how our upbringings affect our work and life choices, taking a non-traditional career path by moving around and living boldly, and the importance of finding commonalities amongst each other – no matter the situation.

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Tom Asacker is a longstanding strategist, speaker, and trainer — well known to many P&G executives. Tom is a writer, former GE executive, past owner of a high precision electronics firm and Founder & CEO of a medical device company. Tom holds medical patents and product design awards – and is recognized by Inc Magazine, MIT, and YE’s “Birthing of Giants” entrepreneurial executive leadership program. The author of several critically acclaimed books, including “The Business of Belief.” Tom’s a painter, magician, philosopher and screenwriter. 

But while Tom IS known to many P&G’ers – he’s not exactly a P&G Alumni, so what’s the deal? Alongside our partners at P&G, we’re thrilled to share another episode of 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. Interested in learning more about P&G’s “More Than Soap” podcast, or P&G Studios, can reach out directly to Dorion on LinkedIn. GetMoreThanSoap.com

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John Pepper, P&G’s former CEO, and Ursula Burns, Xerox’s former CEO, sit down for a candid conversation on race, understanding and our discourse with each other. This is a conversation the two longtime friends have been having for years – alongside many of us. While John needs no introduction to many, Ursula’s impressive career is worth sharing:

Ursula M. Burns is the Retired Chairman and CEO of Xerox Corporation and VEON Limited — and among the first Black women to become CEO of a Fortune 500 company. Ursula is also a founding partner of Integrum Holdings, Non-Executive Chairman of Teneo Holdings LLC, and the Executive Chairman of Plum Acquisition Corp. At Xerox, Ursula served from 2009-2017, having joined as a summer intern in 1980, after which she rose through the ranks across corporate services, manufacturing and product development.

From 2009-2016, President Barack Obama appointed Ursula to lead the White House national program on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). Ursula also led the President’s Export Council from 2010 – 2016.

Originally recorded on February 25, 2022, this is an important conversation we hope will make many think and feel more deeply. While each of our guests are part of some great organizations who support the sharing of our views, these are the views of our guests alone. Got ideas for future deep dive topics with past and future guests? Reach out to pgalumpod@gmail.com.

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TED talks are “Ideas Worth Spreading” – short talks and presentations that have lit up the internet since 2006. But did you know a number of Alums have shared TEDx talks at official events with their communities?
We’re featuring THREE such TEDx talks from co-hosts Andrew Tarvin, Ida Abdalkhani, and Rajiv Satyal — all of which have amassed more than a few views online and share one important theme in common (a coincidence, we promise!). We guarantee you’ll enjoy these talks, and hopefully learn a little something along the way. And if you’re a P&G Alumni with a TEDx talk – shoot us a note at pgalumpod@gmail.com – maybe we’ll feature your TEDx talk on a future P&G Alumni Podcast!

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Watch the TEDx Talks:

• Andrew Tarvin: “The Skill of Humor” – TEDxTAMU (June 2017)
• Ida Abdalkhani: “Happier in 5 Minutes” – TEDxOhioStateUniversity (March 2015)
• Rajiv Satyal: “Today’s Jester: The Comedian” TEDxUCincinnati (June 2016)