Jodi Bricker is the CEO of Quay Australia, a buzzworthy brand aiming to disrupt the monopolized eyewear industry through bold style, affordability, and self-expression. She and her team have cemented Quay’s status as the fastest growing eyewear brand on Instagram and launched a series of celebrity collaborations with some of the most notable names in Hollywood, including Lizzo, Jennifer Lopez, Alex Rodriguez, and Chrissy Teigen.

Jodi honed her leadership skills with brands like Levi Strauss and Gap. She’s an omnichannel retail expert and inspiring leader with a keen understanding of customers, products, and innovation. Jodi has a unique take on what makes a successful candidate and is committed to paying it forward by lifting up women in business.

Highlights from our conversation include:

• Her early career and how she adapted to a digital mindset (2:33)
• How she pivoted to working with smaller, growth-oriented teams (4:43)
• Why she sees this moment as an acceleration rather than a disruption (6:01)
• Her hiring philosophy and why she gravitates toward “athletes” (6:54)
• Her approach to leading teams (11:01)
• What she looks for in candidates beyond their resume (14:58)
• The delicate balance between growing a brand and preserving its culture (17:45)
• The challenges and opportunities presented by the COVID 19 pandemic (19:04)
• How the Quay team connects to purpose in their work (21:57)
• Jodi’s predictions for the future of retail (23:58)
• How she empowers other women and the future generation of leaders (27:38)
• Her advice to current job seekers (29:20)

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Virtual hiring became a necessity when the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the hiring process. Pacific Cycle was in the middle of hiring their VP of Brand and Creative when they were forced to close their offices. They moved forward with the process remotely, making a key hire without the traditional in-person interview.

The entire hiring party joins us via Zoom to share the challenges and successes they encountered. This panel includes Pacific Cycle’s Nando Zucchi (President), Tim Sheridan (VP of Human Resources), Lee Jakobs (VP of Brand and Creative), as well as Senior Executive Recruiter Sara Spirko.

Pacific Cycle is based in Madison, Wisconsin, and is the parent company of legendary brands like Schwinn, Mongoose, and Kid Trax.

Highlights from our conversation include:
-What they thought the hiring process would look like (6:24)
-Their concerns about virtual hiring (9:00)
-How they addressed those concerns (10:40)
-How the team and Sara effectively worked together (12:42)
-Lee’s experience on the candidate side (14:52)
-Why they chose to focus on competencies (18:59)
-The importance of the project (20:37)
-How they involved stakeholders (26:17)
-What their remote onboarding process looks like (27:42)
-Lee’s strategy for getting to know his team and their capabilities (29:39)
-What relocation looks like in a pandemic (31:38)
-How this experience will change how they hire in the future (35:14)
-Sara’s timely advice for talent acquisition leaders (36:11)

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Serilda Summers-McGee is a workforce development and human resources expert. She is the Founder of Workplace Change, where she works with clients as Chief Human Resources Officer to assess culture, resolve workplace challenges, and recruit and retain underrepresented executives and staff in inclusive, positive, and high functioning work environments.

Before starting Workplace Change, Serilda was the Chief Human Resources Officer for the City of Portland, and has worked with clients like Wieden + Kennedy, the Portland Trail Blazers, Kaiser Permanente, the Oregon Department of Education, and many others. She believes in fostering cultures that accept people for who they are and empower them to thrive. Her book, Change the WorkGame: Building and Sustaining a Diverse Workforce, goes into depth about how to accomplish this and more.

Highlights from our conversation include:
-Serilda’s approach to working with clients (3:33)
-Defining diversity, equity, inclusion, and transparency (5:33)
-Why many hiring managers fail to find and hire diverse candidates (8:33)
-The various biases that come up in the workplace (9:31)
-How sexism, racism, classism, and elitism play into hiring decisions (13:12)
-What it means to be ready for workplace change (14:23)
-How to be more successful in recruiting and retaining diverse talent (18:35)
-The importance of asking why you want more diversity in your organization (21:29)
-Why you should start by diversifying your network (24:21)
-What an inclusive selection process looks like (25:32)
-How to create a more inclusive culture (29:30)
-What role human resources should play (33:59)
-Why change requires leadership to act (34:59)
-Serilda’s strategy for hiring (35:38)
Her predictions about the future of work (38:00)

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Kristi McFarland is the Chief Strategy Officer at New Seasons Market, a Pacific Northwest, sustainably-focused, organic grocer with 18 community-oriented stores.

Before joining New Seasons, Kristi led organizational innovation, culture, and brand strategy at Peet’s Coffee & Tea and held HR leadership roles at Gap, Williams-Sonoma, and Banana Republic. In her time at New Seasons, Kristi has overseen rapid growth through talent strategy alignment, leadership development, and culture.

New Seasons has been on the front lines of the Covid 19 pandemic. Kristi and her team are navigating the immediate and long term challenges that come with providing an essential service during this difficult time.

Highlights from our conversation include:

• How her experience as a candidate shaped her approach to hiring (3:42)
• The importance of a business’s mission as an anchoring point (5:30)
• How values have come to life in all of Kristi’s roles (7:02)
• Why customer experience is so important in brand building (11:04)
• How she and the leadership team at New Seasons empower employees (12:33)
• How Kristi evaluates internal and external candidates (13:32)
• How New Seasons has navigated industry changes (17:41)
• The role culture has played in helping to retain employees (19:04)
• The employee-friendly practices New Seasons has pioneered (20:10)
• The challenges they’re facing in the Covid 19 pandemic (21:52)
• What the future might look like for the grocery industry (28:07)

Visit HowIHire.com for transcripts and more on this episode.

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Dr. Ted Freeman joins me on this special episode to discuss Psychological Capital, a framework we can use to maintain performance and wellbeing in difficult times. We get into evidence-based practices we can follow to improve our (and our teams’) ability to manage stressors and pressures now and in the future.

Ted has extensive experience as an organization development consultant and executive. He served as Culture Officer at EILEEN FISHER, INC., the purpose-driven and sustainable women's apparel brand based in New York City. He couples his executive background with more than a decade of consulting experience in the areas of leadership development, organizational effectiveness, and executive coaching.

Highlights from our conversation include:

• An overview of Psychological Capital (2:32)
• The increased stressors that employees are facing (3:52)
• The relationship between pressure and performance (5:38)
• The four components (HERO) of Psychological Capital (9:47)
• Hope (10:32)
• Efficacy (13:58)
• Resilience (18:01)
• Optimism (19:51)
• How to implement the Psychological Capital framework (23:09)
• The role leaders should (and should not) take on with their teams (26:24)
• Why the concept of Psychological Capital is relevant in any time (28:11)
• Ted’s advice for leaders in this moment (29:03)

Visit HowIHire.com for transcripts and more on this episode. Find more resources on Psychological Capital, including a blog post by Ted, on NotoGroup.com

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This episode was recorded prior to the COVID 19 pandemic. In the months ahead, How I Hire will serve as a platform for hiring leaders to exchange ideas as they both adapt to the current situation and look towards the future.

Chris McDonough is the Chief Sales and Brand Officer for L.L.Bean where he leads a team of over 2,000 people. He’s led commercial, marketing, eCommerce, and international divisions across a range of industry sectors. Chris is a seasoned global leader who prioritizes authenticity in his management style. He drives change and performance by bringing out the best in his team and maximizing their individual capabilities.

Highlights from our conversation include:
• What influenced Chris’s leadership and hiring philosophies (3:40)
• How his approach to hiring has developed (4:33)
• How he drives change and growth at L.L.Bean (6:09)
• His methods for assessing team capabilities vs. hiring from the outside (7:36)
• The importance of preserving culture while growing a well-established business (9:02)
• How Chris ensures that new hires are aligned with his vision (9:56)
• Why role-clarity is so important in the fast-changing world of retail (11:24)
• Why diversity needs to be more than a check-box for brands (13:12)
• How Chris recognizes and cultivates leadership potential (14:05)
• When to promote from within and when to bring in new talent (15:19)
• The factors that contribute most to hiring mistakes (17:07)
• Why face-to-face meetings are so valuable (18:20)
• How Chris involves his team in the hiring process (19:17)
• Two of the important traits he looks for in candidates (21:26)
• What the future of hiring in retail and direct to consumer looks like (24:11)

Visit HowIHire.com for transcripts and more on this episode.

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Dina Keenan is a marketing leader with deep experience in CPG, retail, fashion, and beauty. She recently served as CMO of New Seasons Market, where she led a high-performing team in a period of rapid growth for the company. Dina emphasizes connection and purpose in her work and has a passion for building effective teams. We get into the details of CMO hiring and more.

Highlights from our conversation include:

• Which skills and competencies to look for when hiring a CMO (4:02)
• How to evaluate the analytical capabilities of a CMO candidate (6:39)
• The importance of having a creative vision as a CMO (7:33)
• How CMOs are developing both art and science skills today (8:25)
• How to look for values alignment when interviewing CMOs (9:46)
• Dina’s experience coming into purpose-driven brand (11:24)
• How to assess an existing team as a new CMO (13:44)
• How Dina structures her teams (14:50)
• What steps she takes when a team member doesn’t succeed in their role (16:38)
• How Dina identifies future leaders (20:23)

Visit HowIHire.com for transcripts and more on this episode.

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Scott Allan is the Global General Manager of Hydro Flask, where he served as CEO and President until their acquisition by Helen of Troy in 2016. Before discovering the outdoor industry, Scott was a tech executive in Silicon Valley. He successfully scaled Hydro Flask’s business and built the brand from the inside out, understanding that the right talent could make or break the company’s essential culture. 

Scott has extended his work in the industry through his involvement with two outdoor companies, Cairn and Rumpl, as well as his role on the advisory board for Oregon State University Cascades’ outdoor products program.

Highlights from our conversation include:

• Scott’s career path from tech to the outdoor industry (1:33)
• Scaling Hydro Flask’s business (3:14)
• What’s shaped his approach to hiring (6:25)
• How he found the right talent for the brand (7:40)
• Why he sought out overqualified hires (11:15)
• How Scott set candidate expectations in the hiring process (13:18)
• What it was like to bring together an experienced leadership team (16:39)
• Why developing the brand’s culture was a passion of his (18:40)
• Building an inclusive culture (20:18)
• Scott’s hiring challenges and mistakes (22:30)
• How things changed once the brand was acquired (26:38)
• Scott’s hiring advice (31:27)

Visit HowIHire.com for transcripts and more on this episode.

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Katrina Hahn is a Visionary General Management Leader with a history of driving dramatic growth and leading exceptional teams across the food, health and beauty, household cleaning, and durable goods industries. As the Senior Vice President of Bare Snacks, Katrina and her team doubled the company’s size before their acquisition by Frito-Lay in 2018. 

Before joining Bare Snacks, Katrina was the Vice President of Sales and Customer Marketing at Mrs. Meyers/Caldrea. Her experience extends to brands like Campbell Soup, Clorox, Brita, and more. Katrina has also served on various nonprofit boards dedicated to advancing women in the workplace, supporting young people on the path to college, and helping people save water, reduce waste, and conserve energy.

Highlights from our conversation include:

• Transitioning from large to small companies (2:35)
• Hiring differences between big and small brands (3:40)
• Why culture fit is so important at entrepreneurial organizations (9:33)
• Bringing hires in from big CPG companies to small organizations. (11:28)
• Finding success in recruiting from outside of the industry (13:12)
• How she uses her network to build candidate pools (15:04)
• The experience she creates for candidates (16:23)
• Trusting her gut in making a hire (17:00)
• Moving through situations of doubt (17:54)
• The tools, tips, and tricks she uses with her teams (19:02)
• Challenges Katrina has faced in recruiting (20:06)
• The skills and competencies she finds most essential (20:52)
• Balancing technical know-how with culture fit (22:28)
• How she defines culture fit (23:01)
• Why investing in people is vital to success (25:57)
• Her advice for fast-growing brands (26:38)

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Hap Klopp spent 20 years as the President and CEO of The North Face. When he acquired the brand in 1968, it was just two small stores. Hap turned those stores into the global outdoor gear and apparel brand we know today.

Hap now helps other entrepreneurial companies around the world with strategy through his company, HK Consulting. He also shares his insight as a speaker and writer. His books include Conquering The North Face: an Adventure in Leadership and ​ALMOST: 12 Electric Months Chasing a Silicon Valley Dream.

Highlights from our conversation include:

• Hap’s early experiences hiring (and firing) (1:40)
• The interview that motivated him to start his own company (3:39)
• Why Hap looked for employees with passion over functional expertise early on (6:53)
• How he identified candidates that aligned with The North Face’s DNA (9:06)
• Hiring mistakes and how to move past them (10:21)
• Prioritizing interpersonal relationships over traditional hierarchies (15:38)
• Why Hap pushes for transparency in the hiring process (17:45)
• How his recruiting practices changed as The North Face grew (18:41)
• Hap’s advice for building high-quality teams (20:45)
• What he wished he knew about hiring 30 years ago (22:47)
• Why he’s focusing on working with disruptive companies today (25:33)

Visit HowIHire.com for transcripts and more on this episode.

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