Haleon’s Katie Williams: Leading Consumer Health Transformation with Purpose

Summary

Brave Commerce Podcast Summary Episode: Haleon’s Katie Williams: Leading Consumer Health Transformation with Purpose
Release Date: December 3, 2024
Hosts: Rachel Tippograph (MikMak Founder & CEO) and Sarah Hofstetter (Profitero’s President)

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Introduction to the Episode

In this episode of Brave Commerce, hosts Rachel Tippograph and Sarah Hofstetter delve into the intricacies of brand transformation within the eCommerce landscape. The spotlight is on Katie Williams, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of Haleon—a leading consumer health company formerly part of GSK. Katie shares her extensive experience navigating major company rebrandings and leading consumer health transformations with a strong sense of purpose.

Guest Introduction: Katie Williams

Katie Williams brings a wealth of experience from her tenure at prominent consumer goods companies. With a background in science from Procter & Gamble and significant roles at Craft Foods and Mondelez, Katie has been at the forefront of multiple high-stakes brand divestitures and rebranding efforts.

The Power of Branding and the Challenges of Rebranding

Katie Williams emphasizes the critical importance of established brands in maintaining consumer recognition and trust. She recounts her experience during the transition from Mondelēz to Haleon:

“If you didn't think that brands were powerful, when you have to change the name of your company and like, literally go from everybody knows you to nobody knows you, like, you realize how important those brands are, right?”
(01:06)

Katie highlights the dilemma faced when a parent company's name doesn't resonate with consumers, underscoring the necessity of flagship brands like Oreo to bridge recognition gaps.

Establishing Purpose in Rebranding

A key takeaway from Katie's discussion is the significance of purpose-driven rebranding. Establishing a clear "North Star" purpose guides decision-making and aligns the organization during transitions.

“Starting with purpose in mind first is so incredibly important because it establishes that North Star, it helps you make decisions and always filter through that.”
(07:30)

For Haleon, the purpose is clearly defined as:

“Deliver better everyday health with humanity.”
(07:30)

This purpose ensures that every strategic move aligns with the company's overarching mission.

Navigating the Health Influencer Ecosystem

Katie addresses the evolving landscape of health information consumption, particularly the rise of influencers and creators as trusted sources.

“We do have a very specific and focused influencer strategy, or I would call it creator strategy, that's about really sort of stepping up our connections in those spaces.”
(17:50)

Haleon leverages both scientific experts, like dentists, and lifestyle creators to maintain credibility while engaging with broader audiences. This dual approach ensures that the brand remains trustworthy and relevant in a digital-first world.

Adapting to Changing Consumer Behaviors

The pandemic has reshaped how consumers perceive self-care, making it more holistic—encompassing both physical and mental well-being. Katie discusses Haleon's strategic pivots to address these evolving needs:

“It's a big part of how we're connecting. We believe the role that we play is to be able to provide some sort of truth and honesty in this space and that trusted science, but delivered in a way that's more approachable and relevant for how people are looking for their information.”
(17:50)

Haleon has expanded its product portfolio to include categories like sexual health and gut health, reflecting a deeper understanding of contemporary self-care paradigms.

Organizational Structure and Team Integration

To stay agile in a rapidly changing market, Katie outlines Haleon's integrated team structure, which combines various disciplines under one umbrella:

“Retailer media sits with my team. Shopper marketing sits with my team. The traditional paid media sits with my team. And our consumer we have the consumer experience team that's responsible for not only optimizing that with performance marketing across all of that paid, owned and earned universe...”
(25:43)

This holistic approach ensures cohesive strategies across marketing, sales, and supply chain functions, enabling swift responses to market dynamics.

Leadership and Bravery in the Workplace

Katie shares a personal story that underscores the importance of diversity and inclusion in leadership:

“...as a leader is to make sure that I'm creating spaces where those voices can be heard and where we make sure that we don't perpetuate blind spots.”
(26:37)

Her experience advocating for better representation in a campaign highlights the impact that inclusive leadership can have on both company culture and brand integrity.

Conclusion and Key Takeaways

Katie Williams' insights offer a roadmap for brands navigating the complexities of rebranding and consumer health transformation. Key takeaways include:

• Purpose-Driven Branding: Establishing a clear and compelling purpose is essential for guiding organizational decisions during transitions.
• Strategic Influencer Partnerships: Balancing scientific expertise with lifestyle influencers ensures credibility and broadens consumer engagement.
• Holistic Consumer Understanding: Adapting to the comprehensive nature of modern self-care requires expanding product categories and information channels.
• Integrated Team Structures: Breaking down silos between marketing, sales, and other departments fosters agility and cohesive strategy execution.
• Inclusive Leadership: Promoting diversity and creating spaces for all voices enriches company culture and enhances brand authenticity.

Katie Williams exemplifies how fearless leadership and a commitment to purpose can drive successful transformations in the consumer health industry.

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Notable Quotes:

• “If you didn't think that brands were powerful, when you have to change the name of your company and like, literally go from everybody knows you to nobody knows you, like, you realize how important those brands are, right?” – Katie Williams (01:06)

• “Starting with purpose in mind first is so incredibly important because it establishes that North Star, it helps you make decisions and always filter through that.” – Katie Williams (07:30)

• “We do have a very specific and focused influencer strategy, or I would call it creator strategy, that's about really sort of stepping up our connections in those spaces.” – Katie Williams (17:50)

• “...as a leader is to make sure that I'm creating spaces where those voices can be heard and where we make sure that we don't perpetuate blind spots.” – Katie Williams (26:37)

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For more insights into brand transformations and eCommerce strategies, subscribe to Brave Commerce and tune into future episodes featuring industry leaders.

Transcript

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[Katie Williams]

If you didn't think that brands were powerful, when you have to change the name of your company and like, literally go from everybody knows you to nobody knows you, like, you realize how important those brands are, right? So when I was with Craft and then Monolith, I remember the first time this is where I knew we were like, uh, oh, nobody knows who we are. I was going on an international business trip. And, you know, they always ask you the question, well, what are you here for? What's your company name? And I would say Mondelez, and everybody would just look at me like I had two heads. And so I would have to say, well, Oreo.

[Sarah Hofstetter]

Welcome to today's episode of Brave Commerce.

[Rachel Tippograph]

I'm Rachel Tippograph, the founder and CEO of Mi'kmaq.

[Sarah Hofstetter]

I'm Sarah Hofstetter, president of Profitero, and.

[Rachel Tippograph]

This is a show that talks about what's relevant in E commerce for the world's biggest brands. Sarah, have you been through, like, any major company name rebrandings?

[Sarah Hofstetter]

I have. Well, it's interesting. Like, when I was at 360, I was a sub brand within a parent company, Innovation Interactive. And then we sold the whole parent company into Dentsu. And then of course, 10 years after I left, they got rid of the name. And that was very. I still am experiencing some just Delayed trauma from that. But as a partner to Brands, I was with the team that worked on the split of Craft and Mondelez. Before Craft, it was very interesting. It was after they had bought Cadbury, but before Kraft and Heinz merged. So it was, you know, the craft foods business was more of the grocery business. The Mondelez business with sweets and snacks. And we can talk all day long about Mondelez today. Parent company of Oreo and Chips Ahoy and Cadbury and Milka and all these, you know, Sour Patch Kids, all these fabulous, iconic brands. But when you said mondelez, you know, 12 years ago, nobody knew what the hell you were talking about. And so you're building a name for a parent company, but there's just a lack of knowledge. Whereas Crafts kind of got to have the wind in their sales on that master brand. Now here we are, right?

[Katie Williams]

Yeah.

[Rachel Tippograph]

What's going through my head is I imagine an organization needs to answer the question, how much should we invest in corporate rebranding, knowing that it might not immediately impact the direct P and L.

[Sarah Hofstetter]

In the case of Craft and modeling, it was interesting because, you know, they were trying to find greater shareholder value, you know, similar to the way, like, J and J consumers spun off into Kenu. You really have to create the separation because you're trying to figure out, if I've got the, you know, more of the B2B business versus the B2C business. I've got a healthcare business and a B2C, then theoretically, you can unlock a lot more value. We saw this recently with Santa Fe and Appella. But then when you look just purely at a branding, I think that the question a brand is what people say about you when you're not in the room. A Coca Cola company. When the name of the product and the name of the company are so similar, does that inhibit your ability to be something bigger? I mean, the Coke portfolio includes everything from Fair Life Milk to Gold Peak Tea and Vitamin Water. And yes, Coca Cola.

[Rachel Tippograph]

I know you probably can't talk about this, but the Campbell Soup Company is now just Campbell.

[Sarah Hofstetter]

Exactly. And that was a driving force behind it. I actually can talk about it because it's public information. Out.

[Katie Williams]

Great.

[Sarah Hofstetter]

The Campbell's Company. And being the Campbell's company means we're not just soup. When I tell my friends that, like, I'm talking about just friends. Like, when I tell my friends, like, Pepperidge Farm is part of that. Goldfish is part of that. Cape Cod potato chips is part of that, they're like, oh, I didn't know Prego pasta Sauce Rao's pasta Sauce. There's some really phenomenal, iconic brands in the family, but when you call it Campbell soup, it just keeps it super narrow. So, yeah, it's a perception thing, and it affects the investor community, and it also affects the relationship you have with your buyers.

[Rachel Tippograph]

My original question. The answer was yes, you have been invol in these types of rebranding.

[Sarah Hofstetter]

Yeah, I guess so. Yes. Which is why we wanted to have Katie on the show, because there's such interesting stuff to unpack when it comes to these areas, and there aren't too many people who've been in the belly of the beast.

[Rachel Tippograph]

Katie's gonna take us through her experience at Helion, which was formerly gsk, part of that divestiture. But she also has had similar experience in. Natalie, you originally met, right? At Mondelez.

[Sarah Hofstetter]

Yeah, we met when she was at Craft Foods leading CRM and Scale. Part of that was a couple of years after we met was the spin off from Allies.

[Rachel Tippograph]

Well, let's bring Katie, the CMO of Halion, onto the show.

[Sarah Hofstetter]

Katie, thank you so much for joining us today.

[Katie Williams]

I'm so excited to be here, honored to be in the Brave commerce chair.

[Sarah Hofstetter]

I believe you're in great company with some of our former guests, and Rachel and I are privileged to bring these kinds of really, really smart, talented people to the forefront. You and I met when you were at craft about 15 years ago. I often look back at that timeline as like, a magical time that the talent pool that existed at CRAFT during that timeframe. You see all of the people that you and I worked with back then and what they have gone on to achieve is nothing short of extraordinary. But back then, when I met you, I was like, oh, my gosh, I'm totally in awe of this woman. Because if even within craft, forget about what you were doing before that. Leave us pg.

[Katie Williams]

I was a scientist at P and G in a former life.

[Sarah Hofstetter]

Yeah, Scientists at png. And then you get to craft, and you're like, you've got your hands in everything. You're touching every part of the consumer experience. I'm like, wow, I want to be. I want to be Katie Williams when I grow up. And now fast forward, you've seen not one, but two CPG spinoffs. One with Crafton Monsieur splitting off, you know, more than a decade ago, and the second with JSK and Halion. So you are like a CPG expert, a scientist, and have seen something that now we're seeing so many more companies trying to emulate for our audience. Like, what are the key learnings, what did you take from maybe the Kraft Mondelez split and learn what maybe to do or not to do, as you were at the helm for the GSK Mondalien split.

[Katie Williams]

And it was a phenomenal time when I started crafts, oh, gosh, almost now, 25 years ago, the talent and the leadership that was there and now seeing where all of them are dispersed within multiple industries, it is pretty impressive to see some of the alumni from that time. But I always have gone and tried lots of different things. I was just telling somebody the other day, I have this little voice in my head that tells me I can't do things. And then that's where I go. I've moved towards the discomfort because I sort of get angry at that little voice. I'm like, what are you talking about? I can't do it. And then I just go and try it and I try to prove it wrong. So for whatever reason, there's this internal motivation that has caused me to have a broad diversity of experiences. And what I've learned through that is I really do find comfort in change environments. I find comfort in high growth environments. I find comfort in trying to help lead other people through the change curve. So when we separated, my first experience with kind of being a founder of a multi billion dollar international company, which I've been able to do twice, was with, as you mentioned, Kraft and Mondelez. And then when I got the call four years ago to potentially come and join at the time was GSK Consumer Health. One of the pitches that they had was, hey, we're trying to build out sort of a really different thought process of how we, you know, step into our own as a consumer facing business coming out of a pharma business. And also we recognize that you've had this experience before of like, you know, going through this type of separation which not many yet had and now more and more are having. I was excited about the potential. I was excited about the potential to be able to come in and have people think differently about what consumer health is versus just what, you know, healthcare is. And then also to lead through that change. I learned, I would say two big things in the difference between Mondelez and Craft and GSK and now Halion, the first. That is incredibly important when you have the opportunity to basically build a new company. Starting with purpose in mind first is so incredibly important because it establishes that North Star, it helps you make decisions and always filter through that. And there's not that many opportunities, particularly in very large companies where you have the chance to Kind of just reset your DNA. Who are we? Where do we want to go? What do we want to be? I would say gsk and ultimately Halion did that incredibly well. We're very clear on our purpose, which is to deliver better everyday health with humanity. And all the choices we make are filtered through that purpose. The second thing I would say is if you didn't think that brands were powerful, when you have to change the name of your company and like, literally go from everybody knows you to nobody knows you, like, you realize how important those brands are, right? So when I was with Kraft and then Mondelez, I remember the first time, and this is where I knew we were like, oh, nobody knows who we are. I was going on an international business trip and, you know, they always ask you the question, well, what are you here for? What's your company? Any name? And I would say Mondelez. And everybody would just look at me like I had two heads. And so I would have to say, well, Oreo, you know, when TSA doesn't.

[Sarah Hofstetter]

Know you, no one knows you, no.

[Katie Williams]

One knows you, right? So then I would say, okay, Oreo. And they're like, oh, okay, okay. Same thing now with, you know, gsk then becoming Helion. If I say Helion, nobody knew what the heck was going on. But if I say Advil or Sensodyne or Tums, and they're like, oh, okay, I get it, I get it. And so it just underscores the incredible power of brands and how everyday people are just so connected to them in their lives and in their understanding of their needs. And so I'm just happy to be able to shepherd an amazing portfolio that we have at Helium.

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[Jackie Cooper]

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[Jackie Cooper]

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[Rachel Tippograph]

I love this framework that you sort of established and the need to center everyone around purpose. I'm curious. The divestiture happened. It's still thousands of people who are part of the company. Like who are the critical stakeholders that were a part of establishing that new North Star?

[Katie Williams]

Yeah, it's a great question. There was a very distinct thought process around who would be involved in helping us understand what that purpose was. Also, even the name of the company, Halion, has its roots in two words, Hale, which is an old English word meaning good health. And Leon is often associated with strength, like if you think of a lion. So strength and good health, it was like rooted in even the naming of it. And there was lots of constituencies that were consulted in the process of both purpose building and of the naming. So first and foremost, employees. So as employees started to think about who they wanted to be and what they wanted to be a part of. Absolutely. There was discussions with employees and what that might look like for our industry. Experts in either the medical or the dental field are also an important constituency for us. So, you know, they had a lot of trust in the GSK brand. How can we migrate that trust into a whole new brand like Halion? And we still will rely on them for partnership to build trust for our brands. We consulted them. In the process, we also had opportunities to engage with consumers and understand what they wanted from their self care. You know, a company that's focused on their self care and what was important to them. As we think about how we build our brands and how we grow our business. And so all of those constituencies probably played the biggest role and not only how we think about the purpose, but also how that came to life in terms of the branding and the visual identity of the business.

[Rachel Tippograph]

And now that that's established and the public knows Halion, what are the areas of growth that you guys are choosing to Place bets on to grow the company.

[Katie Williams]

Yeah, I mean, again, we're a self care business and really, really focused on ensuring that not only can we satisfy the needs of everyday health issues for consumers, but also thinking differently and responding differently to how consumers have evolved. They're thinking about what self care means. I think prior to the pandemic, we used to talk about people thinking about health. Only on the nines. It would be when you turn 29, 39, 49, it's like all of a sudden you have this new health identity. But post that, we had to learn a lot about how people were evolving their thinking, about how they talk about self care, what they thought about self care. And what we've learned is that, you know, it is much more holistic. It's not just your physical wellbeing, but it's your mental wellbeing as well. And it's particularly for younger consumers. They don't necessarily separate the two. It's also where people are getting information about their health has changed dramatically. So yes, healthcare providers are still important, but the social media landscape is a huge source for consumers that they think about the first place they go look for information or advice about health, whether it's proactive health, like they're thinking about vitamins and supplementation, or if it's reactive health, where they're thinking about, you know, what's the best cold, cough, flu remedy that I have for myself or my child. That has become the new place where people start searching for information. So some of our growth is about what categories are relevant in this more holistic thinking. So we've added, for example, recently sexual health to our portfolio with the launch of Roxon, as well as how are we connecting differently with the behaviors that consumers are showing in terms of how and where they're finding information and who they're trusting for that information. So increasing our activation in the social space and connecting differently with consumers in that space.

[Rachel Tippograph]

I'm curious how a really large company approaches this new layer of health influencers. So I'll use someone that I listen to their podcast, Andrew Huberman, who's a scientist out of Stanford and has a big social following. He's not a doctor, he's a neuroscientist who likes to provide health recommendations and often he's promoting products that don't even have the FDA approval. Meanwhile, like Halion is not a challenger brand that has venture funding. So how do you guys navigate this ecosystem that feels very gray in terms of who's the authority?

[Katie Williams]

Yeah, so one of the things we Talked about again in the conversation of who we want to be when we move from outside of, you know, that pharma parent into a very consumer facing world was not only what things we wanted to do differently, but what we wanted to hold on to. And one of the things we definitely wanted to hold on to was that trusted science, right? We had a tremendous amount of intelligent and experienced and passionate R and D developers within our space that understand the needs of consumers and also understand the regulatory environment and are truly rooted in science. And so we wanted to hold on to that. So trusted science is a big part of who we are and how we build our brands. We also had to recognize that our consumers were getting their health information was also changing rapidly, particularly with younger consumers leveraging, to your point, influencers as a source of information for health needs. And so what we've tried to do is we do have a very specific and focused influencer strategy, or I would call it creator strategy, that's about really sort of stepping up our connections in those spaces. We don't necessarily think about it as just a means to garner credibility or visibility. We actually look at it as a way to knowing that this is the new kind of platform for search for information, not just entertainment. We approach it in that way. So some of our influencers and creators are dentists, right? So if you think about Sensodyne, it's, you know, lasting campaign has always been about testimonials from dentists. Those are real testimonials, they always have been. They're just we turn the camera on and talk to dentists about, you know, Sensodyne and their patients and what they experience. And so we just took that and as dentists have moved some of those conversations into the social space, we've moved with them and we're partnering with dentists and we're partner with other healthcare providers or nutritionists that can help us in the gut health space on brands like Benefiber or Tums. So some of our creator is still focused on taking that expert and expertise in science, ensuring that we're vetting the right folks and delivering that message in a platform that makes sense. And some of it is lifestyle like. So for example, we just launched OnSensedyne, a new clinical white platform that really takes the amazing technology of providing protection and sensitivity for your teeth, but also delivers whitening two shades whiter and as little as two weeks. And we're able to do that still protect you from enamel erosion and that kind of thing when you're whitening. Because we have that science, but we delivered it in a way that was more relevant to consumers. They're thinking about the cosmetic aspect of that. So we leverage lifestyle creators just as much as we leverage dentists for the launch of that. So it's a big part of how we're connecting. We believe the role that we play is to be able to provide some sort of truth and honesty in this space and that trusted science, but delivered in a way that's more approachable and relevant for how people are looking for their information.

[Sarah Hofstetter]

I love that and I think it feels very full circle to your. My relationship given you and I started working together in the social space and talking about the role of digital influence, so bringing it so much more upstream, both in terms of how you're thinking about planning, how you're thinking about winning, and what does influence mean? It's not just hot trendy people, which, you know, I'm sure is part of the creator network, but bringing in the professionals as well and just holding up the mirror and saying, hey, this is. There's an efficacy play here and we're going to show you how that works.

[Katie Williams]

Yeah, we do that. And then we also do like on Felonies, we partnered with, you know, Shonda Rhimes and did, you know, an amazing partnership for Bridgerton where Toms does some amazing stuff with people who are in food culture. So what's fun about this portfolio and about self care in general is I think people come to it for lots of different reasons and we can connect with them in those ways in that space, more so than ever before.

[Sarah Hofstetter]

I totally agree. And anything that involves Shonda makes me want to buy. So, you know, I know I'm not alone. What's really interesting though is like the Walmart Creator Network conference was just a few weeks ago and you're seeing that funnel collapsing where consumer buying behaviors have drastically changed, not just because of COVID and your perspective on the nines, although I'm at a zero and I'm also reevaluating myself for sure. But with digital penetration really changing the way people are thinking about their behaviors both in store and online. So how has that changed the way that you think about organizing and operating your teams as well as how you work well with your buds in sales and supply in rgm. Like, how does it all come together? You've got like influencer here, commerce here, customer development there. Like everybody's playing a little bit of a slightly different role than they did before, but it's got to all come together. How do you Orchestrate that?

[Katie Williams]

Yeah, I mean, it's a great question. I think if you're a person in marketing today and you're not talking to your tech team at least once a week, like, you're probably not doing something right. Like, and that's completely different than I would think, even five years ago or three years ago for that matter. So much is reliant on your ability to connect in a broad range of ways. And to your point, so many things are collapsing on each other. So social is not just about entertainment or about engagement, but it's about commerce. Right. And so how are you connecting in with your sales and your retailer teams to pull that commerce through and connecting in with your earned team and your paid media and how it's all coming together? The retailer media landscape is evolving quickly in this space. They're realizing that it's not just about spots and dots for them as well, but it's also about that social activation. And so retailers like Walmart and Target are activating, you know, bespoke creators and influencers that love their. Their stores and have great stories around shopping there and are taking people, their followers along on that journey, and they're capitalizing on that. And so we're partnering with retailers in different ways to bring some of that and partner with them on that, you know, so that we can have specific activation for some of those key retailers that are moving in that direction. So how we're organizing is, to be honest, we're all in the same teams. I have the opportunity to have both our paid media team, our earned team, our consumer experience team, our DCOM team, our retailer media, all of that sits together, done that purposefully because we recognize that we need to be able to move quickly and with agility. But we also partner, more so than ever before with our sales teams to. And they are increasingly responsible not only for that customer relationship, but for that shopper relationship from a marketing perspective. So they're learning more about what that takes work, partnering with them to bring some of those capabilities and skills, and they're helping us make sure that we're doing it in a relevant way with retailers. So it's all, I would say, if you haven't sort of figured out a way to collapse that organizationally, to recognize that, you know, the environment has changed, you're probably. It's probably pretty hard to move quickly.

[Rachel Tippograph]

So to clarify, retail media sits in your organization.

[Katie Williams]

Yeah, yeah. So retailer media sits with my team. Shopper marketing sits with my team. The traditional paid media sits with my team. And our consumer we have the consumer experience team that's responsible for not only optimizing that with performance marketing across all of that paid, owned and earned universe, but also unlocking new pathways, whether it's through 1P interactions and things like that, and then leveraging that across that ecosystem as well. So it all sits within the same team. And then we partner really closely with our sales organization to bring that to life.

[Rachel Tippograph]

The key thing that you said for all the other CMOs who are listening that don't operate in this type of environment is that fact that you own so many of those disciplines as an organization. You guys can move faster.

[Katie Williams]

Yeah.

[Rachel Tippograph]

So very powerful, for sure. Well, we have to ask you our famous last question. What's the bravest thing you've ever done?

[Katie Williams]

I love that question. I mean, besides having children, because I'm still learning as they're going into teenagers. I'm like, oh, gosh, what was I thinking? Maybe I wasn't brave at the time, just stupid. And now I'm brave. I think it's just about following that, that discomfort. There have been times where I have spoken up. One of the things that's really important to me to grow business is to grow that with a level inclusivity and recognizing that there's lots of different people that sometimes don't get seen in the work that we do or aren't represented in the growth opportunities that we're exploring. And I remember one particular time when I was an abm, we were doing some work on a pizza brand. I won't say which one it is, but we had a new campaign, and there was an original board that had gotten changed significantly for this new spot, which was maybe representing a particular cohort of people and maybe not a great way. And I was probably the only one in the room that could speak to it because it was a particular trope within, like, the African American community. And no one else there had that personal connection and experience. So as an ABM in a room with presidents and directors and all this, I just took the opportunity to speak up. And luckily it was a great agency partner that was like, oh, wait, we need to listen to this young woman. And they made the change, right? And it ended up being great. And that brand continued to do some great things. So I learned in that moment, even though I was like, my heart was pounding and I was sweating, and I wasn't sure whether or not anybody would listen to what I had to say, but it was something important to say that my job now as a leader is to make sure that I'm creating spaces where those voices can be heard and where we make sure that we don't perpetuate blind spots. So I try to build diverse teams. I try to ensure that our environments are inclusive and that we capture the strength of that diversity in a big way.

[Sarah Hofstetter]

I love that. I think, you know, it always goes back to how do you get into the room where it happens? And then when you're in the room, how do you use your voice? For sure. And I applaud the bravery you had as an abm. And I think we have to take the responsibilities that we have being in the room to be the voice, whether we represent those voices or not, but to make sure that those voices are heard. And so good for you for doing basically that as just a natural behavior, that you were fearless then. You continue to be fearless now. I think we all feel the same way about having children. And I'm just so thankful, thankful that you, you were open to dropping your knowledge with us today on the podcast. So thank you so much, Katie.

[Katie Williams]

Thanks so much, Sarah, Rachel, it was such a pleasure to be here.

[Rachel Tippograph]

If you like what you heard and you want to hear episodes from companies that have gone through similar divestitures and rebranding, you can go check out our pal Eric from Kenview, you can go check out our pal Genevieve from Sanofi, and you can go check out a longtime pal of ours, John Halvorson at Mondelez. If you like what you heard, tell a friend. Write a review. Thanks for listening.

[Jackie Cooper]

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[Ryan Reynolds]

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[Jackie Cooper]

Then how do you think we should say it?

[Ryan Reynolds]

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[Jackie Cooper]

I don't know.

[Ryan Reynolds]

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[Jackie Cooper]

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[Jackie Cooper]

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[Ryan Reynolds]

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[Jackie Cooper]

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Hi, I'm Jackie Cooper, Global Chief Brand Officer at Edelman and the host of Touch of Truth, a new podcast launching on the Adweek Podcast Network. My dad gave me this incredibly smart piece of advice. Meet everyone once. As a result, I've met some of the most fascinating and inspiring people on the planet. Now on Touch of Truth, we're coming center stage and sharing the mic to experience stories of truth, insights and visions for the future that will challenge your way of thinking. Touch of Truth is available wherever you listen to podcasts. New episodes come out every Tuesday. I do hope to see you there.