THE POWER OF REINVENTION with Kathi Sharpe-Ross

International Women's Month Series

Lorey Zlotnick is the Founder and Chief Brand Officer of Zequity Marketing. Before launching her consultancy, she led brand divisions at Disney, FOX Sports, and the NFL - guiding transformations that shaped the modern media landscape.

What I love about Lorey's story is that none of it was planned.

She wanted to be a writer. Got a degree in fashion merchandising, minored in journalism, dreamed of writing for big fashion magazines. But life had other plans. Journalists were getting laid off in Detroit and one morning she was scraping ice off her windshield with a credit card and thought: what am I still doing here? So she moved to California knowing absolutely no one.

From there, she landed at Nestle. Then the Los Angeles Times. One day she saw an ad for a job at the Disney Channel. She had no television background whatsoever. But she applied anyway. Met someone at an event who happened to run programming there. Handed him her resume. And here's the incredible part—the day she got offered the job, a rejection letter from the same company arrived in the mail.

That moment launched her entire career.

We talked about what it was like navigating male-dominated industries with no roadmap. Most of her bosses were men. There were no women's groups back then. No one showed her the way. But what struck me is how she learned just as much from bad leadership as good. Her reframe: that didn't feel right, but now I know what I don't want to be for other people.

We also got into what pushed her to finally start her own consultancy. She realized she was sitting on decades of knowledge—from the boardroom to the locker room. And she wanted to deploy it differently. Help smaller companies and founders tell their stories the way the big brands do.

Her advice is simple: evolve or die. Stay relevant. Don't be afraid to fail—because failure is what creates success. And don't leave a woman alone at the table.

Connect with Lorey on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/loreyzlotnick/

Learn more about Zequity Marketing https://www.zequitymarketing.com/

THE RE:INVENTION EXCHANGE - for more Inspired Content, Blogs, Podcasts, RE:INVENTION Virtual Chats, or to buy a copy of my book RE:INVENT YOUR LIFE! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? by Kathi Sharpe-Ross, visit https://www.thereinventionexchange.com

IG: https://www.instagram.com/kathisr_chief_reinventor/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/kathi.sharpeross/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathisharpeross   

International Women's Month Series

Debbie Benadiba is the CEO of Talon Outdoor Canada, the largest independent out of home planning and buying agency in the world. She's spent 25 years in the industry building teams, mentoring women, and serving on the boards of DPAA and COMMB. She chairs WE.DOOH—Women's Empowerment Digital Out of Home. She's a certified spin instructor. A mother of two teenagers. And a recent breast cancer survivor.

Little Debbie had jazz hands in every family photo. Her grade five teacher told her parents they had a dynamo on their hands. She wanted to be a backup dancer for Janet Jackson. What led her to advertising was watching Heather Locklear on Melrose Place in the 90s—she saw that powerhouse account executive and thought, I need to be her.

In this conversation, Debbie talks about working in a male-dominated industry and feeling like she always had to prove her ideas with a business case while men in the room didn't. In 2016, she went back to school for an MBA because she felt she needed those credentials to get to the next level. The moment she updated her LinkedIn, she got recruited for a presidency role.

She's honest about getting packaged out of a company 15 years ago. The embarrassment. The fear. And the mentor who called and said, I got you girl—you've got a job in eight weeks. That call changed the next 15 years of her career.

And then she talks about this year. The breast cancer diagnosis. Being at her worst. Coming out the other side. She used to feel like she was running for 26 years straight. Now she takes 10 minutes every morning before reaching for her phone. She wakes up and says: today, something wonderful is going to happen to me.

She just turned 50 in Costa Rica surrounded by 25 women from every chapter of her life. Her advice: be open, be curious, be accepting. Those three words have carried her through everything.

Connect with Debbie

Debbie’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbiebenadiba/?originalSubdomain=ca

THE RE:INVENTION EXCHANGE - for more Inspired Content, Blogs, Podcasts, RE:INVENTION Virtual Chats, or to buy a copy of my book RE:INVENT YOUR LIFE! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? by Kathi Sharpe-Ross, visit https://www.thereinventionexchange.com
IG: https://www.instagram.com/kathisr_chief_reinventor/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/kathi.sharpeross/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathisharpeross    

International Women's Month Series

Adrienne Lahens is the Co-Founder and CEO of Infinite Studios, an AI-native studio transforming how brands produce content. She built and scaled TikTok's Creator Marketplace across 24+ markets, launched TikTok Symphony, and founded the Symphony Collective. Before that, she was COO of Influential, driving 10x growth before its acquisition by Publicis. She helped pioneer native advertising at BuzzFeed during its hypergrowth phase.

Then she walked away from all of it to start her own company.

In this conversation, Adrienne talks about why she made the leap. She had a beautiful role at an amazing company. Leaving felt like jumping out of a plane without a parachute. But she kept coming back to the same question: what's the bigger risk? Staying comfortable or getting to the end of her life wondering why she never tried?

She shares the moment that shifted everything for her on stage. She used to get nervous before speaking. Then she realized the audience isn't thinking about her. They're thinking about what she can offer them. When she started approaching it as service instead of performance, the nerves went away.

She tells a story from dinner the night before. A woman with an incredible resume—VP of marketing at major Fortune 500 brands—said she was looking for a senior director role because the market is tough. Adrienne stopped her. You're going for the CMO. You've done the work. If not you, then who?

Her advice is simple: the moments you feel the absolute lowest are usually right before something amazing happens. Life tests you like that. Power through.

Connect with Adrienne:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/adriennelahens

THE RE:INVENTION EXCHANGE - for more Inspired Content, Blogs, Podcasts, RE:INVENTION Virtual Chats, or to buy a copy of my book RE:INVENT YOUR LIFE! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? by Kathi Sharpe-Ross, visit https://www.thereinventionexchange.com
IG: https://www.instagram.com/kathisr_chief_reinventor/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/kathi.sharpeross/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathisharpeross    

International Women's Month Series:

Shirley Hughes spent nearly three decades in Los Angeles building teams and brands for some of the biggest names in entertainment. Hard Rock Cafe International. Paramount Studios. Wasserman. R&CPMK, where she was Global President overseeing PR, influencer marketing, and sponsorship teams for Fortune 100 brands like Mastercard, Heineken, Microsoft, Verizon, and General Motors. She's been through seven mergers and acquisitions.
And then she moved back to Fargo-Moorhead—the community where she grew up and started her career—to become a CEO.

When asked about little Shirley, she laughs. She didn't play house. She didn't play nurse. She played office. Imagined herself in a cute dress with a great job. That knowing was there at six years old. She left North Dakota at 27 and didn't expect to be gone for 29 years. She also didn't expect to return. Reinvention has a way of surprising you like that.
In this episode, Shirley talks about what it actually looked like to build a career in LA—walking into rooms where she didn't know anyone, figuring out where the power sat, taking jobs she wasn't fully qualified for because someone believed in her enough to give her a shot. She's honest about the moments that shaped her and the ones that challenged her.
The decision to move home wasn't about slowing down. It was about alignment. She wanted to lead. She wanted to be closer to family. She wanted a chapter that felt like hers. When the opportunity came, she took it—and brought her husband along for the ride.
She calls it one of the best decisions she's ever made.

Connect with ShirleyShirley’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shirley-richter-hughes/

Visit Fargo-Moorhead: https://www.fargomoorhead.org/

THE RE:INVENTION EXCHANGE - for more Inspired Content, Blogs, Podcasts, RE:INVENTION Virtual Chats, or to buy a copy of my book RE:INVENT YOUR LIFE! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? by Kathi Sharpe-Ross, visit https://www.thereinventionexchange.com
IG: https://www.instagram.com/kathisr_chief_reinventor/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/kathi.sharpeross/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathisharpeross    

She Drove $1B in Global IP. Now She's Building a BBQ Empire. Shannon Pruitt on Her Next Chapter

Shannon Pruitt is the Co-Founder and President of BBQ United and BBQ World Cup & Expo. She's spent 20+ years building franchises across FIFA, Formula 1, the NFL, MLB, American Idol, and Disney. She's driven more than a billion dollars in global IP revenue, was Global CMO of Stagwell, founded Dentsu's $23 million Story Lab.

And now she's Reinventing again—as a co-founder.

In this episode, Shannon talks about meeting her business partner during CES the night of the LA fires, and how a passing conversation turned into a new chapter. She gets into the mentors who changed her life and why mentorship often shows up in micro moments you don't recognize until later.

She's honest about the financial fear of leaving a corporate salary as a single mom of three, and why writing down what brings you joy is the simplest exercise that actually works.

We go deep on female friendships, the Friendsgiving she hosts every year, and the people who remind her of who she wants to become.

This one's for anyone asking what's next.

Connect with Shannon: 

Connect with Shannon on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannonsweenypruitt/

BBQ World Cup on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/bbqworldcupandexpo/

BBQ World Cup on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/bbqworldcup/

THE RE:INVENTION EXCHANGE - for more Inspired Content, Blogs, Podcasts, RE:INVENTION Virtual Chats, or to buy a copy of my book RE:INVENT YOUR LIFE! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? by Kathi Sharpe-Ross, visit https://www.thereinventionexchange.com
IG: https://www.instagram.com/kathisr_chief_reinventor/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/kathi.sharpeross/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathisharpeross    

March is here and I couldn't be more excited about what we have in store for you this month.
This month is Women's History Month, and we're celebrating with a special series featuring conversations with some of the most extraordinary women I know. CEOs, founders, executives—women who have reached the top of their fields and are still evolving.
These aren't strangers. These are my friends, colleagues and mentors. Women I've met along the way, broken bread, had a glass of wine with, laughed with, cried with. Women who have walked through fire and came out the other side with a story worth telling.
You're going to hear it all. The highs. The lows. The wins that looked easy from the outside but weren't. The failures they don't usually talk about. The moments they wanted to quit. The seasons where nothing made sense. And how they found their way back to themselves.
But here's the thing. These women have built empires, led boardrooms, and broken barriers. And life still happened. Divorce happened. Loss happened. Health scares happened. Kids who needed them happened. Aging parents happened. Marriages that needed saving happened. Starting over at 50 happened.
We're going to talk about all of it. How they led while their world was falling apart. How they showed up when everything told them to stay down. How they rebuilt after being pushed out. How they found themselves again after years of being everything to everyone else. And how they came back stronger, clearer, and more themselves than ever.
These conversations are raw and honest and full of information ChatGPT will not solve!
But before we get to them, I want to start with you.
What are YOU waiting for?
As you listen this month, pay attention to what resonates. What challenges you. What sparks something in you.
Because your next chapter is waiting. And you're closer than you think.
Let's do this.
# HappyReinventing

www.TheReinventionExchange.com

What does it take to turn around a beloved brand during a "retail apocalypse" AND a global pandemic? Sharon Price John, President and CEO of Build-A-Bear Workshop, did exactly that—leading the company to five consecutive years of record results while staying true to its mission of "adding a little more heart to life."

In this episode, I speak with Sharon Price John, who's spent over 30 years shaping iconic brands—from Barbie and Transformers at Mattel and Hasbro to Stride Rite footwear, and now Build-A-Bear. Since 2013, Sharon has completely reinvented Build-A-Bear's business model, expanding beyond malls, scaling e-commerce, entering entertainment, and growing the consumer base so that 40% of sales now come from teens and adults.

Here's the fascinating part: Sharon spent years underestimating herself. She worked McDonald's drive-throughs, Lee Jeans night shifts, flower shops—and kept thinking she was about to hit the wall. High school was easy, so college would be where she'd fail. College was fine, so her first job would be it. Got her MBA at Columbia thinking, "This is where it ends." It never did. She finally realized she'd been shooting too low the entire time.

When Sharon joined Build-A-Bear, the brand had mid-90s awareness but was struggling. She saw the equity was trapped—stuck in malls, stuck targeting only kids. Her vision? Transform it from a mall retailer into a branded IP company with multiple revenue streams. Then COVID hit. They shut down 100% of stores in 48 hours. But Sharon's team pivoted fast, moved with imperfect information, and came out strong.

How to Reinvent Like Sharon:

• You're not supposed to know everything about the next step—that's the point. If you knew everything, it wouldn't be growth. Embrace not knowing.

• Stop catastrophizing—what's the actual worst that can happen? Sharon was terrified to move to New York. Worst case? She'd come back exactly where she was. Do this exercise every time.

• The stories you tell yourself are usually wrong. Stop carrying disempowering baggage from past "failures" that probably aren't even based in reality.

• Learn how your entire company makes money. Be curious. Visit every department. When you understand the interconnections, you can connect dots others miss.

• When you're young, you're recoverable. Taking risks early is strategic. Stop letting fear keep you from trying.

• Build trust before you need it. Sharon's team could pivot during COVID because they'd already built credibility through years of solid strategy.

Connect with Sharon: 

Find Build-A-Bear at buildabear.com

Read "Stories & Heart" on Amazon at https://a.co/d/3qSQcnK

Connect with Sharon on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharon-price-john-26239820

THE RE:INVENTION EXCHANGE - for more Inspired Content, Blogs, Podcasts, RE:INVENTION Virtual Chats, or to buy a copy of my book RE:INVENT YOUR LIFE! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? by Kathi Sharpe-Ross, visit https://www.thereinventionexchange.com

IG: https://www.instagram.com/kathisr_chief_reinventor/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/kathi.sharpeross/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathisharpeross    

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ReinventionExch

What if the kid making Super 8 movies in his backyard grew up to shape some of the world’s most iconic brands?

In this episode, I sit down with Joe Lawson, Head of Brand Licensing at Calm, whose career spans The Simpsons, Stranger Things, Angry Birds, Shrek, Netflix—and now wellness.

Joe knew at age five he wanted to make films. While chasing that dream, he took the scenic route—turning a temp job at Fox into 12 years leading licensing for The Simpsons, building unforgettable brand experiences, and producing his own feature film along the way.

His journey is filled with missed jobs, failed projects, and big “no’s”—but every rejection redirected him to something bigger.

Now at Calm, Joe is using everything he’s learned to build products that truly touch people’s lives—while keeping his filmmaker dream alive.

🎙️ Key takeaways:

• Rejection is redirection

• Your network is everything

• Side passions can become your next chapter

• Reinvention happens moment by moment

A masterclass in patience, persistence, and purposeful reinvention.

Connect with Joe

Joe’s LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-lawson-679630/

THE RE:INVENTION EXCHANGE - for more Inspired Content, Blogs, Podcasts, RE:INVENTION Virtual Chats, or to buy a copy of my book RE:INVENT YOUR LIFE! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? by Kathi Sharpe-Ross, visit https://www.thereinventionexchange.com
IG: https://www.instagram.com/kathisr_chief_reinventor/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/kathi.sharpeross/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathisharpeross    

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ReinventionExch

Ever wonder what it takes to walk away from a successful career and start over from scratch? Adam Drucker went from IT executive to dishwasher, then built something extraordinary.

In this episode, I speak with Adam Drucker, founder of Doctor Dough. His Reinvention story is great. After a thriving career in IT, Adam walked away from the keyboard in 2010 to start over as a dishwasher at Paradise Cove. He worked his way up into management, landed at Border Grill with celebrity chefs Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken managing their food truck business, then launched his own restaurant, Big Mango Cafe, which expanded to two locations before he exited just ahead of COVID. The pizza he makes now is phenomenal. I've tasted it myself, and it's the real deal.

From Takeout to Doctor Dough

Adam grew up in a household where his mom, bless her heart, couldn't cook. He tells this hilarious story about coming back from college breaks and hearing all his friends rave about their mom's cooking, while all Adam wanted was takeout. Those sleepovers at friends' houses showed young Adam there was a whole world of flavor out there. It planted a seed. During lockdown, with zero interest in splurging on a backyard pizza oven, Adam set out to create truly great pizza dough for a standard home oven. His wife Rita—who is one of my favorite humans—said, "Hey, maybe other people would want this." What began as a quest for the perfect crust became Doctor Dough. Today he's curing the world's pizza ills through dough sales, private catering, pop-ups, and markets.

What You Can Learn

Here's what you can take from Adam's story:

• Start where you are. Adam started as a dishwasher without culinary school. If you've got an idea that won't leave you alone, lean into it. He spent nearly two years perfecting his dough recipe because he believed in what he was creating.

• Take the leap even when you're terrified—Adam still asks Rita, "Is this right?" There's fear and uncertainty, but he feels fulfilled, and that matters.

• Involve the people you love. Adam talks about pizza-making as a family activity, flour everywhere, creating memories that matter. That's what Reinvention is really about.

The Doctor Will See You Now Ready to cure your pizza cravings? Connect with Adam and get your hands on some Doctor Dough:

Doc Dough Instagram https://www.instagram.com/doc_dough

Order Your Dough! https://www.docdough.com/

THE RE:INVENTION EXCHANGE - for more Inspired Content, Blogs, Podcasts, RE:INVENTION Virtual Chats, or to buy a copy of my book RE:INVENT YOUR LIFE! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? by Kathi Sharpe-Ross, visit https://www.thereinventionexchange.com
IG: https://www.instagram.com/kathisr_chief_reinventor/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/kathi.sharpeross/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathisharpeross    Twitter: https://twitter.com/ReinventionExch

Jennifer Principe is a stylist, author, speaker, and founder whose work blends fashion, faith, and emotional healing. After spending 14 years as a celebrity wardrobe stylist, she felt called to create something more meaningful — a space where style becomes a pathway back to confidence, dignity, and self-worth. She is the author of A Common Thread, a spiritually rooted memoir that explores clothing as a tool for inner transformation, and the founder of The Phoenix Effect, a nonprofit offering full styling, hair, makeup, and photography experiences for individuals facing life-debilitating illnesses. Her work has been featured on KTLA, BBC, Inside Edition, and across major outlets for its impact and heart.

Before you listen to this episode, I want to share something with you: finding your purpose rarely appears as a straight, clear path. Sometimes it unfolds slowly, in detours and seasons we don’t fully understand at the time. When Jennifer told me she worked thirty different jobs before realizing what she was meant to do, it struck me in the best possible way. It’s a reminder that the things we’re drawn to — the small nudges, the recurring interests, the quiet whispers — aren’t random. They’re direction. In this conversation, Jennifer opens up about her journey from a difficult childhood to a thriving styling career, and how she ultimately discovered the deeper calling beneath it.

Jennifer shares the moment she first learned about “enclothed cognition,” the idea that what we wear can shift how we feel and how we move through the world. It’s something she intuitively understood as a little girl seeking peace and play in the back of her grandmother’s gift shop. And then there’s the moment that changed everything: she’s out on a run, overwhelmed by life transitions, when she feels an unmistakable inner pull telling her to stop and give her gift away. She listens. She makes one phone call from the side of the road. That call becomes the beginning of The Phoenix Effect, a nonprofit that has helped countless individuals see themselves again with warmth, strength, and hope.

Today, Jennifer has stepped away from her 14-year styling career to fully embrace this mission. When I asked her about fear, she told me she’s more afraid of never reaching her full potential than she is of stumbling along the way. There’s something incredibly grounding about that. Her book, A Common Thread, captures her journey beautifully — blending storytelling, faith, healing, and practical tools to help you reconnect with who you are at your core. If you’ve been waiting for a sign, waiting for clarity, waiting to feel ready… let this episode be the moment that encourages your next step. You deserve what’s on the other side.

Shop A Common Thread (Amazon/Barnes & Noble)

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Common-Thread-Fashion-Soul-Book/dp/B09YL79827

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-common-thread-jennifer-principe/1141622278?ean=2940166550262

Jennifer's Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jenprincipestyles/?hl=en

All of Jennifer’s Links! https://linktr.ee/jenprincipestyles

THE RE:INVENTION EXCHANGE - for more Inspired Content, Blogs, Podcasts, RE:INVENTION Virtual Chats, or to buy a copy of my book RE:INVENT YOUR LIFE! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? by Kathi Sharpe-Ross, visit https://www.thereinventionexchange.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ReinventionExchIG: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/kathisr_chief_reinventor/⁠

FB: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/kathi.sharpeross/⁠

LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathisharpeross⁠