“I don’t want to be a salesperson.” Retail Expert on Becoming a Board Member & Advisor

“My Brain Tends to Be Easily Distracted” Growth Expert on ADHD, Autism & Why He Struggled at Work

What if the way you’ve been describing yourself at work isn’t fixed at all, but just one interpretation of what’s going on underneath? In this episode, Rob Gotlieb shares what it looks like to rethink the labels we use at work and what changes when those same traits are reframed through the lens of a late ADHD and autism diagnosis. He takes us inside the lived experience of masking in professional environments, the internal tension between structure and restlessness, and the moment those patterns start to make sense in a new way. What emerges is less about fitting into a category, and more about understanding how much of what we call “personality” is shaped by context, pressure, and perception. Rob is a growth marketing leader and consultant with experience across subscription, entertainment, and digital businesses. Prior to going out his own, he held senior roles at companies including Harry Potter, Napster, and Bossa Games. For more on Rob’s work, connect with him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robgotlieb [https://www.linkedin.com/in/robgotlieb] And for brands and retailers listening, you can access free tickets to The Lead Summit here: https://thelead2026-registration.personatech.com/form/initiate?fId=NzRmMzk0N2ItZmFh [https://thelead2026-registration.personatech.com/form/initiate?fId=NzRmMzk0N2ItZmFh]

“I don’t want to be a salesperson.” Retail Expert on Becoming a Board Member & Advisor

Breaking into your first board role rarely happens the way people expect it to. In this episode, Renee Hartmann pulls back the curtain on what it actually takes to get, and why most of the conventional advice misses the mark. We unpack the real path in, from why board roles almost never come from job listings, to how early advisory work often starts informally (and sometimes unpaid), to the role your network actually plays in opening doors. Renee also breaks down the differences between boards, and shares what founders get wrong when building boards. Renee is a top retail expert, consultant, and advisor working with startups and growth-stage companies. As an advisor, she serves as a non-executive director and board member across public, private, and nonprofit organizations spanning retail, technology, and consumer businesses. She previously founded and ran her own company and held early roles at Ogilvy and Putnam Investments. She holds an MBA from Duke University, a BBA from Emory University, and is a CFA Charterholder. For more on Renee’s work, connect with her on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/reneehartmann/ [http://linkedin.com/in/reneehartmann/]

"It was me and a laptop.” SHEIN Influencer Lead on Building from the Ground Up & How She Did It

Building something from 0 to 1 inside a company rarely looks the way people think it will. In this episode, Jennifer Brown shares what it took to build influencer marketing from the ground up at SHEIN. She breaks down how to build from day one — from creating structure out of ambiguity, to proving and scaling ideas before you have resources, to turning early wins into repeatable systems and teams. We also get into her shift from agency to in-house, what it actually looks like to operate inside SHEIN’s fast-moving, culture-first model, how creator marketing is evolving, and the OG creator who first shaped how she saw influence. Jennifer Brown is the Head of U.S. Influencer Marketing and Talent Partnerships at SHEIN. There, she's worked with some of the most influential social media creators and celebrities in the world including Cardi B, Lele Pons, GloRilla, Jenni “JWoww” Farley, and Normani. Prior to SHEIN, she spent nearly a decade across influencer and talent agencies in Los Angeles including Mediakix, All Def Media, theAmplify, and Addition, leading social and influencer campaigns for brands such as Sony Pictures, Blue Apron, RetailMeNot, and Facebook’s Portal. For more on Jennifer’s work, connect with her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-brown10/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-brown10/]

"Doing the hunting in packs" Freddie Laker on community, work & running a successful business

Building companies the traditional way can look right on paper—and still feel completely wrong in practice. In this episode, Freddie Laker shares how a failed company, burnout, and frustration with corporate bureaucracy pushed him to rethink everything, ultimately leading him to build something entirely different: a collective. We get into what a true collective actually is (and what most people get wrong), why communities are having such a moment right now, and what it really takes to build one that people don’t just join—but stay in. From governance and shared ownership to attracting the right people and avoiding hidden hierarchy, Freddie breaks down the hard-earned lessons behind building Chameleon Collective and why he believes this model could redefine how we work. Freddie Laker is the Founder and Partner at Chameleon Collective and Co-Founder of Collective OS. A former CEO and CMO, he has built and scaled companies across consumer tech, aviation, and DTC, and is known for pioneering the fractional leadership model. Under his leadership, Chameleon Collective has grown to a global network of hundreds of experts, supporting companies across industries while operating on a shared, non-hierarchical model. To learn more about his upcoming book Collective Capitalism, visit: http://collectivecapitalism.org/ [http://collectivecapitalism.org/]

“I had no hobbies. My entire hobby was work.” Wellness Founder on Burnout, Losing Yourself & Stepping Away”

There’s a particular kind of discomfort that comes from stepping away from a life you were taught to build, especially when it looks successful on the outside but starts to feel misaligned on the inside. Maria and I get into this space of tension, where ambition, identity, and guilt all overlap: what it feels like to take time off, why it can feel so hard to stop even when you need to, and how much of ourselves gets tied to being in motion. We also reflect on my own experience of stepping back and what surfaced when productivity was no longer the default measure of worth. Maria is the founder of wellness consultancy Vida Fuera and previously spent years building and running a boutique indoor cycling studio in San Diego that became a deeply rooted community space. Her background spans marketing and advertising across New York, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles, including account management at SocialCode, before transitioning into entrepreneurship. A certified mat Pilates instructor and indoor cycling instructor, her work sits at the intersection of wellness, community and intentional living. For more on Maria’s work, visit https://www.vidafuera.com/ [https://www.vidafuera.com/]