How I Hire

Career coach and HR consultant Kate Sargent returns to the podcast for a special, three-part deep-dive into advice, insights, and recommendations for job seekers. Kate is the founder of KJS Consulting and has an impressive track record in recruiting for major brands like The North Face, Allbirds, Method, and The Citizenry. At KJS Consulting, Kate helps job seekers contextualize, articulate, and organize their stories in order to land ideal opportunities. In Part 1 of this conversation series, Roy and Kate dig into the functions of different kinds of recruiters, best practices for candidates in cultivating relationships with search firms and consultants, major do’s and don’ts during the hiring process, and the long range perspective necessary to building a comprehensive job search strategy.

Highlights from our conversation include:

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Board recruiting advisor Kris Stred breaks down the role and impact of an effective board and how to find experienced directors. Kris has over 15 years of board search experience and is the founder of Stred Executive Search LLC. Before starting her own firm, Kris was a lawyer for publicly-traded and privately-held companies. Her first-hand involvement with the board’s fiduciary duties in high-stakes situations and the important dynamics of teams of business leaders propelled her to become a recruiter. She gained a deep understanding of what it takes to form a balanced and functional board of directors.

Highlights from our conversation include:

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Noto Group’s team of principal search consultants break down key workforce and leadership trends they’re seeing for 2025 and beyond. Sara Spirko, Lena Knofler, and Tami Bumiller discuss predictions and actionable advice for those seeking top talent in the year ahead.

Highlights from our conversation include:

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When the stakes are high, hiring the right leader can make or break your business. How I Hire dives into bold hiring strategies, historic market shifts, and heroic leadership stories from the best executives in the game.

Organizational psychologists Dr. Ted Freeman and Dr. Stacey Philpot return to the podcast with a deep dive into their approach to working with teams. 

Ted is the founder of Ted Freeman Advisory, where he applies his decades of experience in organizational knowledge and strategy to help companies function more smoothly. His clients include major brands like Arcteryx, Eileen Fisher, Bristol Myers Squibb, Wüsthof.

Stacey is a managing partner at Executive Development Consulting, where she utilizes over two decades of leadership development, executive coaching, and high-performance succession planning. Stacey’s clients include Apple, General Mills, Harley Davidson, Johnson & Johnson, and Nike.

Ted and Stacey often collaborate on their advisory work, leveraging their combined experience in organizational effectiveness and culture and brand development to help increase the competitive edge of some of the world’s largest companies. Both are longtime friends and colleagues of Noto Group and How I Hire.

In this episode, Ted, Stacey, and Roy delve into the complex dynamics inherent to working with teams. They discuss challenges they consistently hear from leaders, how to enhance a sense of inter-team competency, the necessity of translating and communicating context between leaders and teams, as well as commonly accepted myths about what constitutes a high-performing team.

Highlights from our conversation include:

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Jackson Jeyanayagam is an accomplished executive leader whose work has spanned across many industry sectors and a wide range of organizations. He began his career on the agency side, where he worked for 15 years before pivoting into digital marketing, P&L management, and DTC growth for top brands like Chipotle, Clorox, and AB InBev. Jackson also has experience on the startup side, having served as CMO for Boxed, a DTC startup. Most recently, Jackson was responsible for founding and scaling RTD brand Hey, Hei for AB InBev, helping to incubate the brand and develop a startup mentality under AB InBev’s larger corporate umbrella. 

Jackson and Roy discuss the parallels between agency work and developing a startup, the necessity for widening the hiring funnel to better include outside strategies and perspectives, and the ways in which conventional interviewing methods are keeping brands from attracting and securing top tier talent.

Highlights from our conversation include:

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Ben Steele is a seasoned marketing and brand development leader, having most recently served as REI’s inaugural chief customer officer. Prior to carving out this new role at the Co-op, Ben began at REI in 2014 as chief creative officer. Over more than ten years at one of the country’s largest and most preeminent outdoor retailers, Ben has led brand stewardship and strategy, shepherded large-scale marketing initiatives, engaged and grown REI’s 24.5 million-strong worldwide membership, and connected essential merchandising, digital, and physical assets – amongst many other functions at the Co-op – all with the goal of sharing and facilitating a deep passion for the outdoors.

Ben and Roy discuss the inspiration for creating the chief customer officer role (as well as the challenges of being the first to occupy the position), navigating the ever-changing context of customer experience, and vital competencies he’s learned to nurture and develop within his teams.

Highlights from our conversation include:

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To kick off a new series of special episodes here at How I Hire, we’re taking a close look at the chief digital officer role. Throughout this series, we’ll hear from different C-level executives about their unique functions, responsibilities, and skill sets in order to learn just what it takes to successfully hire – or be hired as – top tier talent. 

Jamaliya Cobine is an accomplished chief digital officer and digital marketing expert, having spent the past decade plus helping businesses develop their user experience, e-commerce platforms, and strategic digital initiatives. Jamaliya has an impressive track record, working for major brands like Urban Outfitters, Burton Snowboards, Wüsthof, and Topshop. She is currently the CDO of Omorovicza Cosmetics, where she continues her legacy of implementing consumer-centric business strategy, omni-channel technology, and transformative approaches to digital marketing. With in-depth experience across the apparel, outdoor, beauty, home goods, and fashion industries, Jamaliya is the perfect leader to help us learn everything there is to know about the chief digital officer role.

Jamaliya and Roy discuss the key functions of a CDO (and how they vary, depending on business structure), how competitive the market is for hiring CDOs, important trends affecting CDOs’ work, and much more.

Highlights from our conversation include:

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Nadine Hall is a cross-functional business leader, having spent decades innovating in apparel and consumer products at companies like HanesBrands and Sara Lee. At both the president and SVP levels, Nadine oversaw billions of dollars of retail value, built and developed successful teams, and established high-growth business models across a variety of product lines and business units. Nadine’s leadership style includes a collaborative approach to innovative business strategy, data-driven analytics, and breakthrough models for brand growth and development. She’s also a board member, consultant, and advisor for companies in and outside the apparel industry. 

Nadine and Roy discuss how she developed her approach to leadership, what she looks for when interviewing potential candidates, the importance of a forward-thinking hiring strategy, and much more.

Highlights from our conversation include:

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International business leader Hans Melotte has over 30 years of experience that combines global P&L accountability with functional leadership expertise across supply chain, procurement, technology, and sustainability. Hans is originally from Belgium, where he began his career in CPG at Procter & Gamble. Hans then spent over 20 years at Johnson & Johnson in the United States where he ultimately served as the Chief Procurement Officer before moving into food and beverage retail at Starbucks. Hans retired from his role as President of Global Channel Development at Starbucks in 2022 and is now focused on giving back as an adviser and mentor. 

Hans and Roy discuss what it takes to be a modern supply chain leader, the lessons Hans learned working with some of the largest brands in the world, the differences between North American and European business cultures, and much more.

Highlights from our conversation include:

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