Roy is joined by Jan-Patrick Schmitz, CEO of the Wüsthof Group. Wüsthof is a family-run business that has been manufacturing quality cutlery for over 200 years. Prior to Wüsthof, Jan-Patrick served as a key member of the leadership team at Montblanc. He’s spent over 20 years working in brand management, establishing himself as a seasoned thought leader in the consumer space. His extensive experience ranges from the development of luxury brands as the Founder and CEO of Muirbury & Co, to serving on the board of directors of Thornwillow Press and the German American Chamber. Roy and Jan-Patrick discuss key factors to consider when hiring and leading teams across borders and cultural contexts.

Highlights from our conversation include:

• Lessons from Jan-Patrick’s early career move from Germany to Japan (3:47)
• How leaders can cultivate trust and credibility with global teams (7:09)
• Advice for navigating culturally complex business dynamics (8:28)
• How Jan-Patrick builds cohesion in remote and global teams (12:08)
• Methods for assessing the performance of international teams (21:07)
• What Jan-Patrick looks for in a leader (24:45)
• His experience building a DTC business at an established company (26:12)
• How Jan-Patrick’s vision informs competencies and roles (28:28)
• His “unorthodox” interview style (30:47)
• How he engages stakeholders in global hiring processes (32:56)
• The three most essential skills effective global leaders must have (34:33)

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Starting your own business can present a wide variety of challenges, especially when it comes to building out strong, competent teams that can scale with the organization. Thousand is an urban cycling helmet and accessory brand based in Los Angeles. Founder and CEO Gloria Hwang joins Roy to share the wisdom she’s gained in her entrepreneurial journey from Thousand’s startup days in her garage to its success as an innovative outdoor brand. Gloria takes Roy through the obstacles she faced when Thousand was a fledgling company, and the pair discuss the skills, recruitment acumen, and flexibility it takes to grow a purpose-driven, values-based company. 

Highlights from our conversation include:

• Early career lessons at TOMS (4:10)
• The beginnings of Thousand (5:16)
• The challenges faced by new entrepreneurs when trying to hire (7:02)
• How to develop the skills needed for effective talent recruitment as an entrepreneur (9:30)
• The less tangible qualities she looks for in a prospective hire (13:41)
• Thousand’s core values and how they influence recruitment (14:26)
• Cultivating a diverse and equitable candidate pipeline (15:06)
• Developing a hiring roadmap for Thousand in the midst of growth (18:18)
• How the hiring process has changed at Thousand as they’ve become more established (24:10)
• Lessons learned from hiring successes and failures (26:02)
• What makes an authentic and capable leader (29:02)
• The pros and cons of remote/hybrid/flexible work environments (32:03)

Mentioned in this episode:

• The Performance Pipeline: Getting the Right Performance At Every Level of Leadership by Stephen Drotter

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Your organization just made an important executive hire – now what? Organizational Psychologists Dr. Stacey Philpot and Dr. Ted Freeman are here to answer this question and more. The two join Roy to continue their conversation around leadership transitions, discussing the ins and outs of leadership integration and acceleration. Drawing on their wealth of experience, Ted and Stacey outline the essential steps in implementing executive talent and speeding up the likelihood of success, as well as the positive impact they can have in their new role. 

• Ted and Stacey have been partnering with Noto Group on these kinds of complex and mission critical VP and C-Level hires for the last few years. Ted has extensive experience as an organization development consultant and executive. He previously served as Culture Officer at EILEEN FISHER, INC and couples this expertise with more than a decade of consulting experience in the areas of leadership development, organizational effectiveness, and executive coaching. Stacey brings over 20 years of experience as an organizational consultant to her role as Managing Partner at Executive Development Consulting. She’s advised Fortune 500 companies and CEOs on how to use leadership development to accelerate growth and increase their competitive advantage. 

Highlights from our conversation include:

• Concerns senior executives may have when entering new organizations (2:55)
• The four essential elements of success for new executive hires (5:17)
• Key steps when onboarding and integrating leadership teams (6:59)
• How to help new leaders productively and successfully engage with stakeholders (7:52)
• Challenges and risks faced by organizations when bringing in senior executives (9:29)
• The necessity for self-awareness and planning when entering a role (15:03)
• How to speed up the process of recalibration (18:15)
• The importance of contextualizing a new hire’s mandate for change within the ecosystem of the organization (21:16)
• The recipe for organizational success (22:10)

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Roy is joined by Wylie Robinson, CEO and Co-Founder of Rumpl, a Climate Neutral Certified B Corp and proud member of 1% for the Planet. By using performance materials that are most commonly found in premium outdoor gear, Rumpl is on a mission to introduce the world to better blankets. Before moving out to Portland, OR and modernizing the puffy blanket, Wylie worked as a designer with branding agency Landor in San Francisco. Wylie shares how his approach to hiring has evolved throughout Rumpl’s growth. The two also discuss how the brand’s compelling vision and values have helped attract top talent and drive its success.

Highlights from our conversation include:

• Wylie’s path to becoming an entrepreneur (1:51)
• Making Rumpl’s very first hires (7:26)
• Overcoming the growing pains of starting a company (8:53)
• Lessons learned from hiring challenges (10:41)
• Pursuing more equity in the hiring process (12:05)
• How he attracted talent with limited resources early on (14:35)
• How hiring needs have shifted as the company has grown (16:15)
• What makes the Rumpl culture so unique? (22:55)
• The value of hiring engaged employees (24:50)
• The employment brand’s development (28:23)
• The pros and cons of remote and hybrid work (36:23)
• Advice for entrepreneurs who are just starting out (37:16)

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Hiring a new CEO is a high stakes event, especially when a founder is involved. Roy sits down with Organizational Psychologists Dr. Stacey Philpot and Dr. Ted Freeman to discuss what it takes to successfully navigate these founder transitions. The three walk through each step involved. They share their insights into the challenges and opportunities at play and the unique partnership between a new CEO and founder.

Ted and Stacey have been partnering with Noto Group on these kinds of complex and mission critical VP and C-Level hires for the last few years. Ted has extensive experience as an organization development consultant and executive. He previously served as Culture Officer at EILEEN FISHER, INC and couples this expertise with more than a decade of consulting experience in the areas of leadership development, organizational effectiveness, and executive coaching. Stacey brings over 20 years of experience as an organizational consultant to her role as Managing Partner at Executive Development Consulting. She’s advised Fortune 500 companies and CEOs on how to use leadership development to accelerate growth and increase their competitive advantage. Both will be back in the future to dig further into leadership integration.

Highlights from our conversation include:

• Why founder transitions happen (3:16)
• The importance of having a plan in these high risk events (4:00)
• The kind of support available to organizations (5:33)
• The distinct partnership between a CEO and founder (7:33)
• What experts like Ted and Stacey consider when approaching these processes (8:56)
• How they help companies handle bumps in the road (10:57)
• Helpful scenarios they’ve worked through with clients (12:30)
• How these transitions impact existing teams (24:51)
• Tools and assessments that can inform CEO selection (27:38)

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Alyssa Kessler is the Director of Recruiting at Trove, a company whose technology supports circular shopping and aids in shaping environmentally responsible commercial ecosystems. Their end-to-end operating system facilitates the processes behind used inventory and recommerce sales for top brands like Arc'teryx, Levi's, lululemon, Patagonia, Eileen Fisher, and many others. Alyssa has always centered mission in her work. She began her recruiting career here at Noto Group before joining Patagonia as a Recruiting Manager. In this episode, Alyssa shares her experience in the recruiting field, as well as the essential elements of successful talent acquisition strategy at purpose-driven companies.

Highlights from our conversation include:

• The most important elements of a successful talent acquisition strategy (6:26)
• How to optimize the employment brand and candidate experience (8:39)
• The unique elements of working as a talent acquisition leader at a purpose-driven and sustainability-minded company (12:33)
• What makes a great talent acquisition professional (14:53)
• How talent acquisition teams add value to their organization (17:24)
• Her assessment of the current talent market (19:57)
• How the pandemic has shifted candidate expectations (20:48)

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Denise Novosel is the VP of Recruiting for personal styling service Stitch Fix. She spends her days crafting effective talent acquisition strategies for the brand. Before joining Stitch Fix, Denise was a senior talent leader at Nike and Microsoft. She and Roy break down the elements of world class talent acquisition models, recruiting best practices, and current talent market dynamics.

Highlights from our conversation include:

• Her path to becoming a talent acquisition leader (1:52)
• Key elements in an effective talent strategy (5:18)
• Planning for long term success in recruiting (6:18)
• The systems and tools that help streamline the hiring process (7:16)
• Offering candidates a positive experience (8:40)
• Comparing talent acquisition processes at Microsoft and Nike (11:01)
• Shifting from a leader-led model to a recruiter-led model (12:59)
• The benefits of being a hands-on talent acquisition leader (18:42)
• How Denise evaluates candidates at an executive level (19:58)
• Recruiting recruiters and what makes a great talent acquisition professional (21:40)
• How the COVID 19 pandemic has changed the talent landscape (23:33)

Our friends at Big Path Capital are hosting the 5th annual MO Summit in Portland, OR on April 19th and 20th! MO Summit is one of the largest convenings of positive impact CEOs. Attendees will engage, learn, and forge a new path on critically important topics. How I Hire listeners can use code “Noto22” to register at a discounted rate: mo-summit.com/register

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Paloma Medina is a speaker, coach, and entrepreneur specializing in organizational performance improvement. She approaches her work in leadership, equity, and inclusion through the lens of psychology and systems thinking. In 2019, Paloma challenged the model of diversity in the workplace through her TEDxPortland talk. In this episode, she’ll expand on the ideas she introduced in the talk and explore ways to make hiring processes more equitable.

Highlights from our conversation include:

• How she became interested in systems thinking (1:32)
• The genesis of her TEDx talk (3:50)
• Why “diversity,” “equity,” and “inclusion” are not synonyms (6:16)
• How Paloma would update the talk for our current context (7:22)
• The psychology of bias and how it shows up in hiring (11:15)
• How leaders can evaluate bias in their own processes (15:24)
• The outsized impact of the pandemic on women and BIPOC talent (21:22)

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Keywords: Leadership, executive search, hiring, talent, recruiting, entrepreneurship, business, culture, systems, systems thinking, diversity, equity, inclusion, executive recruiting, workplace, HR, remote work, TED, bias, psychology, neurology

Tom Duncan spent 15 years as the CEO of Positec, the innovative, market-leading power tool company, where he now serves on the board. Tom started the American division of Positec in 2005 and oversaw their successful growth strategy; Positec’s direct to consumer brands, Worx and Rockwell, are two of the fastest growing tool brands in the world. With a wealth of experience leading this challenger brand, Tom has developed an agile and process-oriented approach to hiring.

Highlights from our conversation include:

• Positec’s formula for success (4:26)
• His “two way street” hiring philosophy (7:33)
• One valuable lesson he’s learned from hiring mistakes (9:27)
• Why process is key (10:10)
• Early hiring challenges during Positec’s rapid growth (12:44)
• How Positec’s global business factored into their talent strategy (15:28) 
• The benefits and drawbacks of hiring within your network (17:09)
• Tom’s advice for emerging leaders (27:00)

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Theresa Watts is the Senior Vice President of Human Resources, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at True Religion Brand Jeans, where she has helped to redefine and shape culture in order to design, build, and implement programs and policies that strengthen the organization. Employee relationships are central to Theresa’s leadership philosophy, and they inform her hiring strategy.

Highlights from our conversation include:

• How she stays connected to remote workers (8:04)
• The brand’s current priorities (9:37)
• How Theresa views candidates who have made mistakes or faced failure (12:04)
• Her approach to implementing equitable, inclusive, and effective hiring processes (13:41)
• Why it’s important to open doors and see talent in different forms (21:44)
• Her success profile for a C-level or VP role (24:03)
• Theresa’s take on flexibility and remote work (25:47)
• Her advice for current job seekers... (30:25)
• ...And those who are just starting their careers (33:08)

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