Bob Gilbreath: Leading with Love, Not Fear

“How about we make companies where people stay because they love working together?”Bob Gilbreath is a longtime friend of the Pod, fellow P&G Alum, and repeat startup founder with two exits. In this episode, we revisit Bob’s case for a different kind of leadership — one built on love rather than fear. Prompted by a comment from a fellow leader that “people need at least some fear, or they won’t do their work,” Bob challenges a conventional assumption about what motivates people and gets the best out of them. Drawing on his experience building companies and his own personal evolution, Bob explores how letting go of fear and leading with love can create greater financial and emotional benefits. It’s a thoughtful reflection on the kind of leaders we want to be, and the kinds of organizations we want to build.This essay was originally featured on P&G Alum Bob Gilbreath’s podcast & newsletter “The Workaround” (behearty.substack.com). Got an idea for a future “Learnings from Leaders” episode? reach out at [email protected]

“ If everyone does their part according to their own abilities, we can easily solve the global water crisisDr. Greg Allgood is a scientist, marketer, adventurer, husband, father. Greg is currently Vice President of Water and Health at World Vision, a global humanitarian, development, and advocacy organization operating in 100 countries, and dedicated to helping vulnerable children, families, and communities overcome extreme poverty and injustice. Greg is also author of the new memoir “THIRSTY FOR A MIRACLE”, a very inspiring read about how one imperfect person finds a purpose much larger than themself. Greg is a longtime P&G Alum, and recipient of the John Pepper Humanitarian Award. Greg spent nearly 27 years at P&G, where he founded the P&G Children's Safe Drinking Water Program, the P&G Nutrition Science Institute, and the P&G Health Sciences Institute. Under that program, P&G would go on to provide more than 23 BILLION liters of clean water to people in the developing world. Greg then made the leap to World Vision, where under his leadership the organization became the largest NGO provider of clean water on the planet — between 2016 and 2025 alone, his team reached 34 million people with clean water (more than the population of Texas).Greg’s new memoir, Thirsty for a Miracle, doesn’t just talk stories of  corporate battles, celebrity partnerships, and flying into disaster zones — but more importantly, the stories of Greg’s own personal transformation in character and faith along the way. Greg and his book have ringing endorsements from friends of the pod like John Pepper, Bob McDonald, Charlotte Otto, Marc Pritchard, Jim Stengel, and so many more. And ALL profits from the book, go straight to World Vision Water. LEARN MORE: drgregallgood.orgamazon.com/Thirsty-Miracle-Purpose-Inspiring-Transformation/dp/B0GQP52564bookshop.org/p/books/thirsty-for-a-miracle-they-needed-clean-water-he-needed-true-purpose-an-inspiring-story-of-hope-and-transformation-greg-allgood/004c86a9a81f43d0

“Get the heck out of the way and let really talented, great people do great work, and be there and support them. The satisfaction is just off the charts.”Doug Bowser is the retired President & CEO of Nintendo of America, and current Board Member of Hasbro. Doug is a sales and marketing executive whose nearly four-decade career runs from consumer goods to video games, having led Nintendo of America through a decade of historic growth. Doug led operations across the Americas from 2019 through the end of 2025. During his tenure, Nintendo grew on the strength of the Nintendo Switch — one of the best-selling video game platforms of all time — and he oversaw the launch of Nintendo Switch 2, which became the best-selling console of all time in its initial sales period. Doug also expanded Nintendo's licensed merchandise business, opened the company's San Francisco flagship store, and led its re-entry into the Brazilian market. Prior to joining Nintendo, Doug spent 8 years at Electronic Arts, most recently as Vice President of Global Business Planning, and before that, he spent 23 years at Procter & Gamble in sales leadership roles across Asia, Latin America, and the United States. Doug earned his degree in Communications from the University of Utah — where he later returned as Distinguished Alumnus and commencement speaker, and where, playing endless hours of Donkey Kong, he first fell for video games. Today he serves as an Independent Director on the board of Hasbro.This conversation is hosted by podcast co-founder and P&G Alum Drew Tarvin, Founder & CEO of Humor That Works. Drew spent six years at P&G leading IT + brand initiatives before turning his background in engineering, improv, and stand-up comedy into a career helping organizations use humor to improve leadership, communication, and workplace culture. He’s the author of Humor That Works and his TEDx talk has been viewed more than 16 million times.

“ I think joy is probably the highest ROI investment that we can make as leaders — who you are and how you choose to lead. Joy fuels passion, and the best ideas come from passionate people.”Emily Chang — longtime friend of the pod + co-host — returns as a guest again for a candid conversation about reinvention, cross-cultural leadership, and building a career that spans two of the world's largest economies.Emily currently serves as Chief Commercial Officer of CHAGEE, leading the premium tea brand's North American expansion across brand, retail, customer experience, loyalty, and commercial strategy. Before that, Emily spent more than five years as CEO of global agencies VML West and McCann Worldgroup China, helping iconic global brands grow while guiding Chinese companies onto the world stage. Emily also held senior executive leadership roles at Starbucks, serving as CMO of Starbucks China before moving to Seattle as SVP of Marketing. She previously served as Chief Commercial Officer for IHG Greater China, led Retail Marketing across Asia for Apple during the company's rapid retail expansion, and spent nearly 12 years at Procter & Gamble building brands across the U.S. and China.Beyond her corporate career, Emily is the bestselling author of *The Spare Room*, a TEDx speaker, former university lecturer, and longtime advocate for purposeful leadership and creating a meaningful social legacy. Emily lives in Los Angeles with her family. You'll enjoy this candid conversation about embracing reinvention, leading across cultures, balancing ambition with purpose, and why curiosity, courage, and authentic relationships remain the foundation of lasting leadership.This conversation is hosted by podcast co-founder and P&G Alum Drew Tarvin, Founder & CEO of Humor That Works. Drew spent six years at P&G  leading IT + brand initiatives before turning his background in engineering, improv, and stand-up comedy into a career helping organizations use humor to improve leadership, communication, and workplace culture. He’s the author of Humor That Works and his TEDx talk has been viewed more than 16 million times.

“What used to be called advertising was the most creative job I could find — this idea of going where I could have my hands on some of the levers of creativity was really compelling. So what if it was soap?”Jeff Norton is an award-winning author and television executive producer with a focus on turning books into global media. Jeff is currently showrunner and executive producer of Finding Her Edge, the figure-skating drama he created for Netflix and WildBrain. It reached the Netflix Top 10 in more than 80 countries and was renewed for a second season less than two weeks after it premiered. Jeff is also the originating executive producer behind Netflix's Geek Girl, now filming its second season, and has produced adaptations ranging from Susan Hill's The Small Hand to the picture-book series Trucktown. Earlier, Jeff founded Lean Forward Media, consulted for The Jim Henson Company, and served as a Senior Vice President at Chorion, where he managed the literary estates of Enid Blyton and Agatha Christie. Jeff began his career at P&G as a marketing executive, where he helped launch Febreze as a category-creating brand. Jeff studied film and commerce at Queen's University and earned his MBA from Harvard Business School. He's also a prolific author in his own right, with more than a dozen books to his name. A dual Canadian-British citizen, he's based in Burlington, Ontario.This conversation is hosted by podcast co-founder and P&G Alum Drew Tarvin, Founder & CEO of Humor That Works. Drew spent six years at P&G leading IT + brand initiatives before turning his background in engineering, improv, and stand-up comedy into a career helping organizations use humor to improve leadership, communication, and workplace culture. He’s the author of Humor That Works and his TEDx talk has been viewed more than 16 million times.

“Every new technology has a hype cycle, so your use case and business rationale must stay the North Star. No flashy AI solution replaces fixing your foundations, processes, and underlying business challenges first.”Katya Lobynko is IT & Data Director at Danone and a digital transformation leader with 15+ years of experience across FMCG and pharma in EMEA and Asia, with expertise spanning commercial operations, data & analytics, conversational AI, and emerging technologies. Before Danone, she spent several years at Sanofi leading innovation and emerging technology initiatives, including helping build the company’s conversational AI capability. Katya began her career at Procter & Gamble as a Project Delivery Manager for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, leading global media planning transformation initiatives for the world’s largest advertiser, before earning her MBA through the Asia School of Business, a partnership with MIT Sloan School of Management and the Central Bank of Malaysia. Originally from the Russian Far East and now based in Paris after years living and working across Asia and Europe, Katya brings a deeply international, people-centered perspective to conversations about digital transformation, AI, international careers, and women in tech.This conversation is hosted by podcast co-founder and P&G Alum Drew Tarvin, Founder & CEO of Humor That Works. Drew spent six years at P&G leading IT + brand initiatives before turning his background in engineering, improv, and stand-up comedy into a career helping organizations use humor to improve leadership, communication, and workplace culture. He’s the author of Humor That Works and his TEDx talk on "the Skill of Humor" has been viewed more than 16 million times.

“Every time decisions were made, I thought what I would've done differently?  I knew the other path was a bit of a risk — what would I do if I was on the other side?”Sweta Mehra is the National Australia Bank’s (NAB) Executive General Manager of Personal Everyday Banking. Before joining NAB in 2025, Sweta spent nearly eight years at ANZ Bank—six years as Chief Marketing Officer across 34 global markets, followed by two years as Managing Director of Everyday Banking, where she held full P&L responsibility. During her tenure as CMO, ANZ doubled its digital sales in four years. Prior to entering financial services, Sweta built a 17-year career at Procter & Gamble in Singapore, where she held senior roles across strategy, brand management, and P&L leadership for global brands including Pantene, Tide, and Head & Shoulders. She also led P&G’s Consumer & Market Knowledge function across Asia. Sweta has been recognised on Campaign Asia’s Asia-Pacific Power List and featured in Australia’s CMO50 for three consecutive years. You’ll enjoy this inspiring conversation about the power of being very clear about who you are, and a guiding framework for navigating uncertainty and career change. This conversation is hosted by P&G Alum Sudha Ranganathan, who’s spent over 19 years in diverse Marketing leadership roles at companies like P&G, PayPal, and LinkedIn where she’s honed her passion for customer-centric marketing and talent development.

“What's the end outcome? Focus on the results — not on how I'm doing it. I don't need to talk tough, I don't need to shout. There is an alternate way in solving for things.”Mansi Tripathy is Chairperson of Shell Group of Companies in India and Senior Vice President for Shell Lubricants Asia Pacific. She oversees a $2.5 billion P&L spanning 22 countries, and 9 manufacturing plants. Before Shell, Mansi spent 15 years at Procter & Gamble in roles including Global Director for Gillette and Asia-Pacific Head for Consumer and Market Knowledge. She led the post-acquisition transformation of Gillette's business model and held assignments across India, Singapore, Australia, Geneva, and the US. Mansi holds board positions at Hankook Shell (South Korea), JOSLOC (Saudi Arabia), and MRPL Aviation. Mansi’s been recognized among Fortune's Most Powerful Women Asia (2025), Business World's Most Influential Leaders (2025), and received the Woman of the Decade Award from the Women Economic Forum. A trained classical dancer and marathoner with 59 half-marathons completed, Mansi holds degrees from NIT Kurukshetra, SPJIMR, and Kellogg. She lives in India with her husband and two children. You’ll enjoy this candid conversation on conviction not as the absence of fear, but as something that overrides it. Whether you're navigating a career pivot, building your leadership style, or just trying to figure out how to balance ambition with boundaries, this one's for you.This conversation is hosted by P&G Alum Sudha Ranganathan, who’s spent over 19 years in diverse Marketing leadership roles at companies like P&G, PayPal, and LinkedIn where she’s honed her passion for customer-centric marketing and talent development.

“Some failures are actually successes, you just don't realize it — that tough moment to refocus and challenge everything you're doing.”Jeff Wuest is the CEO of SynFiny Advisors, a global management consulting firm founded in 2014 by former Procter & Gamble executives, focusing on improving financial and operational performance. Jeff is a business strategist and leader who partners with organizations to achieve sustainable, extraordinary growth. Jeff works closely with executive teams to navigate today’s complex business environment where innovation, disciplined strategy, and smart risk-taking are essential for success. Jeff’s expertise spans strategic planning, rapid market expansion, and operational scale-up, helping organizations create environments where growth is accelerated and value is maximized. Under Jeff’s leadership, SynFiny Advisors has been recognized by Inc. Magazine on the Inc. 5000 list as one of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies for six consecutive years. An accomplished entrepreneur, Jeff has mentored startups and emerging companies while also serving as a trusted advisor to multi-billion-dollar global enterprises. With over 30 years of experience, he has developed and executed game-changing strategies across industries, categories, products, and services. His work is centered on enabling forward-thinking leaders to succeed through breakthrough strategy, execution, and operational excellence. Prior to founding SynFiny Advisors, Jeff spent 25 years at Procter & Gamble as a finance executive, holding leadership roles across multiple geographies and playing a key role in driving business transformation and growth. You’ll enjoy this candid conversation about reinvention across continents, saying yes before you have all the answers, and what it really takes to move from corporate leadership to entrepreneurial life.This conversation was hosted by Ida Abdalkhani, Change Catalyzer — an award-winning entrepreneur, speaker, and P&G Alumni Board Member.This is a sponsored episode with our partners at Synfiny Advisors, a proud sponsor of the P&G Alumni Network. Interested to feature your company and executives on the P&G Alumni Podcast? Reach out to [email protected]