In this episode of Building Texas Business, Chris Hanslik welcomes back Bethany Andell, President and CEO of Savage Brands, for a conversation marking five years of the podcast. Bethany was one of the first guests on the show, and her return offers a timely opportunity to reflect on how much the business landscape has shifted and what it now takes to lead, grow, and build a meaningful brand in an era defined by relentless change.

Bethany shares how the fundamental challenge for leaders has moved from planning for change to planning through it, and what that shift means for decision making, team communication, and company culture. She explains why the velocity of today’s business environment creates new pressures around trust, both within organizations and in the marketplace, and why the leaders who thrive are the ones who can project confidence and direction even when the answers are not fully clear.

The conversation covers the intersection of brand building and artificial intelligence in depth. Bethany makes a compelling case for why AI makes brand more important, not less, because trust and authenticity become the differentiating factors in a world where execution is increasingly commoditized. She also introduces the idea of thinking about AI not as a tool but as a teammate, and what it looks like when companies begin designing their organizations around how work gets done rather than around traditional roles and titles.

Bethany and Chris also get into the importance of investing in personal brands and individual thought leadership, the power of internal influencer research to drive organizational change, and the discipline required to let go of what no longer fits in order to double down on core strengths. Throughout the episode, Bethany brings a perspective shaped by years of helping companies find and amplify what makes them genuinely distinct in competitive markets.

For entrepreneurs, executives, marketers, and anyone thinking seriously about culture, brand, and leadership in a fast moving world, this episode offers a candid and grounded look at what it means to build something real when everything around you keeps shifting.

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