The Best Career Advice I Ever Got (Thanks, PepsiCo)
As a young Brand Manager, I had the opportunity to attend a Lunch & Learn with a senior executive at PepsiCo — a seasoned leader who held one of those roles many of us quietly aspire to: running a multi-billion-dollar division, shaping global brand strategy, and driving real impact at scale.
As the Q&A portion opened up, I raised my hand and asked:
“What advice would you give someone who wants to sit in a chair like yours one day?”
He didn’t hesitate.
“Build diversity in your background and experience,” he said.
“Don’t just follow a straight path. Seek out big brands and small ones. Work in marketing but also take a sales role. Join high-performing companies — and ones that need fixing. Take on the messy, the ambiguous, and the unfamiliar. It all builds your leadership muscle.”
That advice not only stuck with me. it shaped virtually every career decision I’ve made since.
Over the years, I intentionally sought out a wide range of experiences:
At PepsiCo and later Clorox, I learned the power of scale, the rigor of brand-building, and how to lead with structure and data.
At RadioShack and later SuperMedia, I learned the challenges of working on difficult turnarounds, including the critical importance of senior-most alignment to needed change.
At Nutranext, a private-equity backed supplements company, I got hands-on with fast decision-making and commercial scrappiness — and then helped transition the business through acquisition.
As VP & GM at Grounds & Hounds Coffee Co., I had the chance to lead a mission-driven startup with a scrappy team and a big heart — scaling impact and preparing the business for sale.
Today, as a co-founder of NebulEASE, I’m partnering with a prominent medical doctor and researcher to create a new product category and navigating the early-stage startup rollercoaster.
And throughout it all, I’ve led my own consultancy, Full Speed Consulting, helping businesses of all sizes solve problems and unlock growth.
Each stop along the way has taught me something new — about leadership, resilience, customer insight, and the importance of staying curious.
The truth is, there’s no single “track” to the top. The best preparation for senior leadership isn’t about ticking boxes — it’s about collecting stories, lessons, and scars that make you a better decision-maker, a better teammate, and a more empathetic leader.
That PepsiCo exec may not remember the advice he gave me that day, but I’ll never forget it. And I’m still building that diverse foundation, one challenge at a time.
