In this episode of CEOs & ABCs, Kevin Rice sits down with Seth Goldman, the founder of Honest Tea, which he built from a home kitchen concept into a category-defining brand and sold to The Coca-Cola Company in 2011. Today, Seth is the CEO and co-founder of Just Ice Tea, co-founder of PLNT Burger, Chair of the Board at Beyond Meat, and Chair of Tony’s Mission Lock at Tony’s Chocolonely.

Seth shares what it really takes to build and rebuild an iconic company, including why Honest Tea was ahead of its time, what it felt like to watch it eventually be discontinued, and how that unexpected ending created the opportunity to launch Just Ice Tea into a market with a massive vacuum. He also breaks down the difference experience makes in entrepreneurship, from having no relationships early on to now being able to scale faster because trust and credibility are already established.

The conversation goes behind the scenes of leadership and parenting. Seth opens up about launching Honest Tea while raising three young sons, including a major family health scare that happened the same day as his first Whole Foods presentation, and the reality that balance is not always possible. He shares how parenting shaped his leadership philosophy, why you cannot manage people the same way, and how focusing on outcomes over process can unlock performance in teams.

If you are building something big while trying to show up fully at home, this episode is both grounding and practical.

How Seth went from a mission-driven mutual fund career to founding Honest Tea with a breakthrough brand idea

What it was like building a startup while navigating a major family medical crisis

Why Seth believes balance is not always real, and how he stayed grounded anyway

The story behind launching Just Ice Tea after Honest Tea was discontinued, and how to spot opportunity inside loss

How parenting shaped Seth’s leadership style, including managing people based on how they learn and operate

Why purpose-driven businesses must scale to create meaningful impact

Startups and family life rarely move in neat seasons, life and business happen at the same time

Your relationships and reputation become your unfair advantage the second time you build

Great leaders focus on the outcome, then adapt the path based on how people work best

Purpose is not just values, it is a strategy that strengthens teams, trust, and resilience

The real legacy is not the exit, it is the impact you build and the family culture you leave behind

Seth Goldman is the co-founder and CEO of Just Ice Tea and the founder of Honest Tea, which he grew into a leading organic beverage brand and sold to The Coca-Cola Company in 2011. He is Chair of the Board at Beyond Meat, co-founder of PLNT Burger, Chair of Tony’s Mission Lock at Tony’s Chocolonely, and serves on multiple mission-driven boards focused on ethical sourcing and sustainable food systems. Seth is widely known for building purpose-led consumer brands that scale without compromising values, with a leadership philosophy grounded in transparency, long-term stewardship, and real-world impact.

In this deeply personal and powerful conversation, Kevin Rice sits down with Michael Chachula, CTO of Propelled Brands and longtime technology and transformation leader across the restaurant and franchise industry, to explore how adversity, resilience, and empathy shape truly great leadership.

Michael opens up about losing his father as a teenager and how that early loss forced him to grow up fast. Without a single role model to follow, he describes how he began “auditing” the adults around him, learning in real time what kind of man, father, and leader he wanted to become. That mindset followed him into his career, where he learned early on that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to leadership, especially at the C-suite level, and that pausing, observing, and adapting can be a powerful advantage.

The conversation takes a deeply human turn as Michael shares what it was like to face prostate cancer while going through a divorce, navigating nearly a year of treatment largely alone. He reflects on confronting his own mortality, the spiritual moments that gave him strength to keep fighting, and how those experiences reshaped the way he shows up for his teams, his family, and himself. T

hroughout the episode, Michael connects leadership to compassion, self-awareness, and balance. From lessons learned working dozens of jobs at a young age to building a career across IT and business functions, he offers grounded insight into ambition, sacrifice, and what success really means. His message is simple but profound: care about people, and everything else follows.

This episode is for leaders, parents, and anyone navigating hard seasons while trying to build a meaningful life and career.

In This Episode You’ll Learn

- How early loss shaped Michael’s leadership style and work ethic
- Why there’s “no one-size-fits-all” approach to being a CIO or C-level leader
- The “art of the pause” and why “I don’t know” can be the strongest answer
- How moving between business and IT builds rare executive range
- The hidden costs of career acceleration on family time
- What cancer and severe hardship taught Michael about identity, spirit, and perspective
- Why caring deeply about people makes careers skyrocket

Key Takeaways
- Michael's early loss shaped his resilience and leadership style.
- Self-love is crucial for personal growth and overcoming adversity.
- Education amplifies hard work but cannot replace it.
- Experience is more valuable than formal education in career advancement.
- Elicitation skills are essential for effective leadership and negotiation.
- Facing mortality can lead to profound self-discovery and clarity.
- Balancing work and family requires conscious effort and prioritization.
- The journey of personal growth often involves navigating through challenges.
- Success is defined by the memories and relationships we build, not just career achievements.
- Being kind to oneself is vital in the face of life's challenges.

About Michael Chachula
Michael Chachula is the CTO of Propelled Brands, supporting multiple franchise brands including FASTSIGNS, Camp Bow Wow, and My Salon Suite. He’s held executive technology leadership roles across the restaurant and consumer industries, including FAT Brands and The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, and has extensive experience navigating business transformation, operations, and technology at scale.

Book Recommendation:
- Confidential by John Nolan
- The Chachula Method: A Compass for IT Leadership in the Real World 
- Artificial Efficiency: A CEO's Practical Guide to Winning with AI: The Chachula Method – Part II

Anncy Rowe has spent decades building iconic beauty brands, but this conversation goes far beyond titles and milestones. In this episode of CEOs & ABCs, Kevin Rice sits down with the Chief Commercial Officer of Rodan + Fields to explore what it really looks like to grow into leadership over time while navigating identity, motherhood, ambition, and legacy.

Anncy reflects on rising through the ranks at L’Oréal without ever chasing a specific end goal, driven instead by passion for the work itself. She opens up about navigating imposter syndrome at every new level, being the only one in the room who looked like her, and learning to trust that she belonged. From loving the craft of brand building to leading a major omni-channel transformation at Rodan + Fields, Anncy shares how purpose and confidence are built through experience, not certainty.

The conversation also moves deeply into parenthood and seasons of life. Anncy shares the emotional reality of red-eye flights for birthdays her son would never remember, the wake-up call of burnout, and the moment of dropping her daughter off at college that felt like an “extraction.” She reflects on what it means to redefine yourself as your children grow more independent, asking the powerful question, “Who are you when you’re no longer caring for someone?”

This is an honest, thoughtful episode about ambition without a blueprint, leading with care, modeling behavior for teams and children, and preparing for the next chapter with intention. It’s a conversation for anyone navigating growth, change, and the evolving definition of success.

In This Episode You'll Learn

Why Anncy never chased titles but still rose to the C-suite

How passion builds confidence faster than career planning

What imposter syndrome really looks like at senior levels

Why over-sacrificing can lead to burnout

How to rethink presence in parenting and leadership

What changes emotionally when your child leaves for college

How to model boundaries and behavior for teams and family

Why legacy is about how you make people feel

Top Takeaways

Confidence is built through doing, not knowing

Imposter syndrome often signals growth, not failure

You don’t need a 10-year plan to build a meaningful career

Over-functioning eventually comes at a cost

Children learn more from what we model than what we say

Leadership and parenting require the same self-awareness

Preparing for the next life chapter is an act of leadership

Legacy is rooted in care, kindness, and impact

About Anncy Rowe

Anncy Rowe is a seasoned beauty industry executive and currently serves as Chief Commercial Officer at Rodan + Fields, where she is helping lead the brand through a major omni-channel transformation. She previously held senior leadership roles at L’Oréal, including on the Maybelline brand, and served as CMO of StriVectin. A passionate advocate for helping women feel confident at every stage of life, Anncy is also a mother of two and a leader deeply committed to purpose-driven growth, culture, and legacy.

Chapters

00:00 Loving the work without chasing the title
02:31 Rising through the ranks at L’Oréal
06:02 Confidence, tenacity, and imposter syndrome
10:07 Passion, purpose, and finding your industry
13:53 Leading Rodan + Fields through omni-channel change
18:56 Immigration, upbringing, and resilience
25:17 Over-sacrificing, burnout, and red-eye wake-up calls
27:35 Self-care, faith, and filling your cup
32:51 Modeling boundaries for teams
36:29 Dropping a child off at college
39:43 Redefining identity and the next chapter
42:49 Legacy, kindness, and being remembered

Robert LoCascio went public at 33, helped invent web chat, and spent nearly three decades building LivePerson into a $6 billion company. What followed was not the ending he expected.

In this episode of CEOs & ABCs, Kevin Rice sits down with the founder of LivePerson for a rare and deeply honest conversation about leadership under extreme pressure, navigating macro events like the dotcom crash, 9/11, and COVID, and what happens when the greatest threat comes from inside the system. Rob opens up about activist investors, an unplanned exit from the company he built over 28 years, and the emotional toll that season took on his identity and his family.

Rob shares the hard-earned leadership lessons that shaped him, from the moment a board member told him “just don’t bullshit them,” to why the best response to chaos is often no response at all. He explains why slowing down during crises creates clarity, how fear-based decisions compound risk, and why your weakest links matter most when you’re under attack. The conversation also explores fatherhood, marriage later in life, and what it looks like to rebuild from scratch.

Today, Rob is starting again in a completely different space, building a kid-first AI product designed around safety, creativity, and bringing families back into connection. This episode is a masterclass in resilience, integrity, and what it really means to begin again when the game changes.

In This Episode You’ll Learn

- What it’s like to take a company public at 33
- How to lead through layoffs with honesty and integrity
- Why slowing down is critical during macro crises
- How fear distorts decision-making at the executive level
- What activist investors really do behind the scenes
- How leadership pressure spills into family life
- Why rebuilding sometimes means starting from zero
- How fatherhood reshaped Rob’s definition of success
- Why imposter syndrome may actually be your inner child
- How to think about AI, kids, and creativity responsibly

Top Takeaways

- Truth builds long-term trust, even in the hardest moments
- The worst decisions are made when fear is driving
- Macro events should be observed before they’re reacted to
- Weak leadership links are exposed under pressure
- You cannot dump the business onto your family and stay connected
- Success brings visibility, and visibility brings risk
- Resilience is modeled, not taught
- No one can take your ability to create and rebuild
- Starting over can unlock deeper purpose

About Robert LoCascio
Robert LoCascio is the founder of LivePerson and a pioneer of internet-era customer communication, credited with inventing web chat. He took LivePerson public in 2000 and led the company for nearly 30 years, growing it to a peak market capitalization of over $6 billion. Today, Rob is the founder of KID, a kid-first AI product designed to empower creativity, ensure safety, and strengthen family connection. He is also a father of three and a lifelong builder focused on integrity, imagination, and impact.

Jessica Serrano has spent nearly two decades shaping some of the world’s most loved food brands, but what makes her story hit is the way she’s built a life that can hold both motherhood and executive ambition.

In this episode of CEOs & ABCs, Kevin Rice sits down with the CMO of Bagel Brands (Einstein Bros and Noah’s Bagels) to talk about what it really takes to lead at a high level without feeling like you’re constantly choosing between work and family. Jessica shares the full circle moment of starting a new CMO role on the exact day her twin daughters started kindergarten, with three generations in one car on day one. From multi generational living and cross country moves to ruthless prioritization and energy protection, she breaks down the real systems that keep her grounded.

They also go deep on career growth, including the hard lessons that came with moving into the C suite, why conviction matters when you report to a founder, and how she evaluates roles using a skill building matrix so she doesn’t fall in love with the fireplace. If you’re trying to grow your career, stay present at home, and lead with clarity, this conversation will give you both perspective and practical tools.

In This Episode You’ll Learn

Top Takeaways

About Jessica Serrano

Jessica Serrano is the Chief Marketing Officer of Bagel Brands, home to Einstein Bros and Noah’s Bagels. She has led culturally resonant marketing across some of the biggest names in food, including leadership roles at Taco Bell and Burger King, and she helped drive brand and growth as CMO at Dig Inn. Jessica is known for blending business rigor with warmth and creativity, and for building teams and brand strategies that connect deeply with consumers while staying grounded in what matters most at home.

Rishad Tobaccowala believes work is changing more between 2020 and 2029 than it did in the previous fifty years. In this conversation, he joins Kevin Rice to unpack what those waves of change look like across society, demographics, technology, marketplaces, and emotion, and why return-to-office debates miss the bigger picture. Rishad shares practical ways leaders can design organizations around trust, flexibility, dignity, and outcomes so people and performance both thrive.

They dive into how to measure engagement instead of attendance, why skills will matter more than roles, and how to build cultures that create belonging while still raising the bar. Rishad also previews his new Rethinking Work Platform and show, a resource hub for leaders navigating the next era of work with clarity, courage, and humanity.

In this episode you’ll learn:

Top takeaways

About Rishad Tobaccowala
Rishad Tobaccowala is the founder of the Rethinking Work Platform, a new initiative helping leaders navigate a decade of unprecedented change with content, curated resources, and actionable guidance. A globally respected advisor and storyteller, Rishad has spent his career helping companies align people, technology, and strategy so work becomes both more human and more effective.

Links:

⁠Rishad Tabaccowala Home Page⁠

⁠What's Next? Podcast ⁠

⁠Rethinking Work by Rishad Tobaccowala ⁠

⁠Restoring the Soul of Business ⁠

In this raw, honest, and deeply reflective conversation, Kevin Rice sits down with Deborah Palmer Keiser, global operator, supply-chain builder, fear-tamer, and now COO of Pair of Thieves, to explore the cost of ambition, the courage to repair, and the surprising ways our kids teach us to lead.

Deborah spent three decades opening markets, fixing broken supply chains, and resurrecting brands across the world, from Gap and Williams-Sonoma to Victoria’s Secret, AllSaints, Boardriders, and Yeezy. She built a reputation as the operator companies call when it’s time to grow up and get serious. But behind the promotions, global travel, and relentless execution was a young daughter quietly taking inventory of all the moments her mom missed.

The turning point came when seven-year-old Tilly asked to see the family’s bank balance, not because she cared about money, but because she wanted to know why her mom kept choosing work over her. That one question cracked Deborah open. It sparked a five-year process of repair, reconnection, and relearning how to sit still long enough to paint nails, draw pictures, and rebuild trust one quiet moment at a time.

Deborah shares how being fully present with her daughter made her a better leader, more human, more honest, and more clear about her limits. She explains why becoming “truthfully unavailable” actually strengthened her teams, empowered emerging leaders, and deepened commitment across her orgs. And she reflects on what her daughter taught her about emotional articulation, empathy, and creating space for others to be fully themselves.

Together, Kevin and Deborah explore what it means to raise a young artist in a world that pushes safe careers, why fearlessness can be both a gift and a trap, and how childhood instability shaped Deborah’s early beliefs about success, security, and motherhood. They talk about global cultures that integrate family into daily life, and what America gets wrong about excellence, work, and worth.

This is a conversation about the long road back to connection, the humility of repair, and the kind of leadership that grows not from ambition, but from love.

In this episode, you’ll learn:
• Why a seven-year-old’s question about money became Deborah’s wake-up call
• How to repair a parent–child relationship after years of distance
• Why presence, not provision, is the foundation of trust at home
• How becoming “unavailable” at work actually made Deborah a stronger leader
• What global cultures teach us about integrating family into professional life
• How fearlessness can morph into self-isolation and what breaks the cycle
• Why dragging people uphill fails and how servant leadership changes everything
• How childhood instability shaped Deborah’s early beliefs about success
• What it means to raise a young artist in a world obsessed with productivity
• Why taking your dream all the way is the antidote to lifelong regret

Top Takeaways:
• You can provide for your kids and still lose connection with them. Repair requires presence, not perfection. • Kids often tell the truth adults avoid. Listening to them takes courage, but it changes everything.
• Leadership rooted in humanity invites teams to step up, not step back.
• Your greatest strengths, fearlessness, independence, self-reliance, can become your greatest limits if left unchecked.
• The stories we inherit from childhood quietly shape every decision we make as adults.
• Openness builds trust. Pretending to “hold it all together” builds distance.
• Culture is people. People stay (or leave) because of who you are, not what you produce.
• Every path is hard. You might as well choose the one that makes you feel alive.
• Taking your dreams seriously is an act of courage and self-respect—and the same is true for your kids.

About Deborah Palmer Keiser:
Deborah is a globally experienced operator and supply-chain leader who has scaled, stabilized, and transformed some of the world’s most iconic retail brands. Across 30+ years, she has held leadership roles at Gap, Williams-Sonoma, Victoria’s Secret, Boardriders, AllSaints, and Yeezy. Today, she serves as COO of Pair of Thieves, guiding mid-size brands through operational maturity and sustainable growth. A devoted mother and champion of young creatives, Deborah blends operational rigor with profound emotional wisdom—leading with transparency, service, and heart.

In this thought-provoking and deeply human conversation, Kevin Rice sits down with Amanda Slavin, educator, author, consultant, and creator of the Seven Levels of Engagement, to unpack why engagement, not productivity, is the real engine of learning, leadership, and parenting.

Amanda shares the origin story of her life’s work, starting with her own childhood report cards that all said the same thing: “Amanda talks too much.” What teachers saw as disruption was actually early evidence of her lifelong obsession with connection, curiosity, and conversation. That spark eventually led her to become a teacher, earn a master’s in education, study pedagogy across wildly different school environments, and discover a taxonomy that would shape the next decade of her career.

Together, Kevin and Amanda explore how the Seven Levels of Engagement help decode what’s really happening in classrooms, teams, and families. They talk about why kids melt down when parents get distracted, how quiet quitting begins long before someone stops performing, and why the real opposite of engagement isn’t disengagement, it's apathy.

Amanda also opens up about how she applies her framework at home with her five- and three-year-old, and why she collaborates with them on consequences instead of handing down punishments. She explains why connection is the cheat code in parenting, why incentives rarely create long-term motivation, and how repair, presence, and respect model emotional maturity for kids who rely on our nervous systems to regulate.

From bedtime battles to bored employees, from distracted leaders to overwhelmed parents, this episode is filled with real stories, practical tools, and the kind of grounded insights that make you rethink how you show up.

Whether you lead teams, raise tiny humans, or both, this conversation gives you a blueprint for building cultures of connection in every corner of your life.

In this episode, you’ll learn:
• Why engagement is not binary and why each of the seven levels matters
• How extrinsic rewards shortcut compliance but reduce creativity, curiosity, and connection • The difference between consequences and punishments and why one teaches while the other controls
• How a parent’s distraction can drop a child from “inspired and connected” to stressed and overwhelmed
• Why apathy, not disengagement, is the real danger zone in the workplace
• How to spot quiet quitting before it happens
• How to create psychologically safe cultures where people feel seen, valued, and motivated • Why presence and accountability matter more than perfection in parenting
• How the same engagement principles used at Google and Coca-Cola apply to bedtime routines
• Why respect is the foundation of every relationship from toddlers to executives

Top Takeaways:
• Distraction destroys connection faster than anything else.
• Consequences teach; punishments shame.
• Kids’ regulation relies on our regulation, until age 25.
• Engagement is nuanced; productivity alone is not a measure of alignment or meaning.
• Quiet quitting starts with feeling unseen long before performance drops.
• Intrinsic motivation fuels creativity, collaboration, and long-term commitment.
• Culture becomes real when values are measurable, not decorative.
• Repair is more important than getting it right the first time.
• Presence is the foundation of trust at home and at work.
• Apathy, not disengagement is what leaders must prevent.

About Amanda Slavin:
Amanda Slavin is an educator-turned-consultant, author of The Seventh Level, and creator of the Seven Levels of Engagement framework. With a master’s in education and years of experience inside classrooms across diverse environments, she spent a decade helping global brands, including Google, Coca-Cola, and Nestlé, build cultures of meaningful engagement. A mother of two young children, Amanda blends research-backed frameworks with real-life parenting, modeling respect, presence, and connection in the moments that matter most.

In this revealing and deeply personal conversation, Kevin Rice sits down with Adam Brotman, renowned digital innovator, CEO of Forum3, and former Chief Digital Officer at Starbucks, to explore how great leadership begins at home.

Adam shares the untold story behind Starbucks’ digital transformation, the strategy that reshaped the way millions of customers order coffee and connect with brands and the lessons that came from leading that change. From architecting mobile order and pay to stepping into the co-CEO role at J.Crew, Adam opens up about the costs of burnout, the courage to set boundaries, and the decision to become a primary parent.

Together, Kevin and Adam dive into the evolution of leadership, learning through failure, and the transition from ambition to purpose. They discuss how COVID redefined presence, why Zoom parenting became a gift in disguise, and what it means to raise grounded, creative children in an AI-native world. Adam also reflects on the values he hopes to pass on to his daughter, to be a good listener, a good learner, and a good friend and how those same principles guide his leadership today.

Whether you’re leading a company, navigating burnout, or redefining success beyond your career, this episode offers both practical wisdom and heart-centered reflection on what it truly means to build a meaningful life.

In this episode, you’ll learn
• How Starbucks’ digital flywheel became a blueprint for connection
• The warning signs of burnout and how to realign with purpose
• Why setting boundaries is a leadership superpower
• How becoming a parent reshapes your definition of success
• The lessons COVID taught us about presence and flexibility
• How to prepare your kids for an AI-driven future
• Why authenticity and reflection create stronger leaders

Top takeaways
• Great leadership starts with self-awareness and boundaries
• Burnout is a signal to realign, not a failure
• Parenting teaches empathy, patience, and humility, the same skills that drive effective teams
• The future of work will favor creativity, adaptability, and emotional intelligence
• Legacy is built through presence, not performance

About Adam Brotman
Adam Brotman is the co-founder and CEO of Forum3, author of AI First, and a celebrated digital innovator best known for architecting Starbucks’ digital transformation, including mobile order and pay. He previously served as co-CEO of J.Crew and co-founded Brightloom, a restaurant technology company. A proud father and husband, Adam is passionate about creating meaningful customer experiences and about helping the next generation prepare for a rapidly changing world.