The CPG Guys

Episodes

July 8, 2025

Prime Day 2025 with Amazon's Jamil Ghani

The CPG Guys are joined in this episode by Jamil Ghani, VP & Worldwide Leader of Prime at Amazon. Follow Jamil on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamilghani/ Follow Amazon on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/amazon/ Jamil answered these questions: How do you define the core value proposition of Prime beyond loyalty—what makes it truly unique? With Prime Day expanding to four days in 2025, what metrics will you use to measure success this year? Prime Day now...
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July 5, 2025

Live from Cannes Lions 2025 with Snap Inc.'s Abby Laursen

The CPG Guys are joined in this episode by Abby Laursen, Senior Director of Ads Product Marketing at Snap Inc., a technology company that contributes to human progress by empowering people to express themselves, live in the moment, learn about the world, and have fun together. This episode was recorded at the 2025 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Learn more about Snapchat for Business : https://forbusiness.snapchat.com/cpgguys Follow Abby on LinkedIn at: https://www.linke...
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July 2, 2025

Brand & Creator Commerce with TikTok’s Ajay Salpekar

Send us a text The CPG Guys are joined in this episode by Ajay Salpekar, the GM of Brand & Creator Commerce at TikTok, the world's leading social destination for short-form video. Follow Ajay on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/salpekar/ Follow TikTok on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tiktok/ Follow TikTok online at: http://ads.tiktok.com Ajay answers these questions: What inspired your transition from roles at Unilever and Amazon to leading TikTok’s bea...
June 28, 2025

Developments in Retail Media with NielsenIQ SVP Dan Bonert

Send us a text The CPG Guys are joined in this episode by Dan Bonert, SVP of Retail Analytics and Retail Media at NielsenIQ. Dan has a background in media from his days at Amazon and was able to share quite a few insights on today's environment LIVE from the NielsenIQ c360 conference down in Hollywood, FL. Ajay Sharma, VP of ecommerce + omnichannel was our guest co-host for this episode, officially now his 6th appearance on the CPGGUYS. Find Dan Bonert on Linkedin at: https://www.linkedin.com...
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June 25, 2025

Seamless Omnichannel Digital Customer Experiences with Schnuck's Cristina Preston

Send us a text The CPG Guys are joined in this episode by Cristina Preston - Director of Digital Marketing at Schnuck Markets, Inc., a supermarket chain based in the St. Louis area. The company was founded in 1939 and currently operates over 100 stores in four states throughout the Midwest. This episode was recorded at the 2025 Digital Food & Beverage Summit Follow Cristina on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cristina-preston/ Follow Scnucks on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.co...
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June 21, 2025

Cannes Lions 2025 Recap with Amazon’s Jeff Cohen

Send us a text The CPG Guys are joined in this episode by Jeff Cohen, Tech Evangelist at Amazon Ads as we discuss the key themes discussed at the 2025 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Follow Jeff on LinkedIn at: http://linkedin.com/in/jeffreycohen Follow Amazon Ads Partners on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/amazon-ads-partners/ Follow Amazon Ads Partners online at: https://advertising.amazon.com/partners/network CPG Guys Website: http://CPGguys.com FMCG Guys ...
Guest: Jeffrey Cohen
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June 18, 2025

Brand Building Through Superior Media Capabilities with Amazon's Tanner Elton

Send us a text The CPG Guys are joined in their 500th episode by Tanner Elton, Vice President of US Advertising Sales at Amazon. Follow Tanner on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tannerelton/ Follow Amazon Ads on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/amazon-ads-partners/ Follow Amazon Ads online at: https://advertising.amazon.com/ Tanner answers these questions: Reflecting on your career journey at Amazon, what experiences have been most pivotal in shaping your leadership sty...
June 14, 2025

Health and Wellness with Walmart’s Kevin Host

Send us a text The CPG Guys are joined in this episode by Kevin Host, SVP of Pharmacy at Walmart. He is the current chair of NACDS (National association of chain drug stores) and we've had the pleasure of hearing him speak LIVE from Palm Beach at the NACDS annual this year. As a career pharma veteran he is well known for his partnership with center store and this episode revolves on his leadership and partnership with the store. Find Kevin Host on Linkedin at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevi...
June 11, 2025

Building Shopper Loyalty in an Omnichannel World with Hy-Vee CMO Kathryn Mazza

The CPG Guys are joined in this episode by Kathryn Mazza, CMO & President of Red Media at Hy-Vee, the midwest retailer. She leads the growth of the platform. Prior to, she was at Dick’s Sporting Goods. This was a conversation ranging from customer loyalty building, retail media, data measurement and of course 'back to basics' in store today. Find Kathryn Mazza on Linkedin at : https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathryn-mazza-6523372a/ Find Hy-Vee on Linkedin at : https://www.linke...
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June 7, 2025

Retail Media & Consumer Insights in South America with Walmart Chile's Lucas Barros & Pamela Castro

In this episode, the CPG Guys are joined by Lucas Barros, Head of Walmart Connect and Pamela Castro, Commercial Manager for Walmart Phronesis at Walmart Chile, the largest grocery retailer in Chile, operating under the "Lider" banner. Follow Lucas on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucas-barros-631955103/ Follow Pamela on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pamela-castro-8447bb13/ Follow Walmart Chile on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/walmartc...
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June 4, 2025

Media that Drives Retail Sales with Costco’s Mark Williamson

In this episode, the CPG Guys are joined by Mark Williamson, AVP of Retail Media at Costco, the world’s largest club format omnichannel retailer. Follow Mark on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mkwilliamson/ Follow Costco on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/costco-wholesale/ Follow Costco online at: https://www.costco.com/f/-/company-information Mark answers these questions: Mark, you have a rich professional background working at Sam’s...
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June 1, 2025

Building a World Class Retail Media Platform with Walmart Connect’s Jeff Clark

In this episode, the CPG Guys are joined by Jeff Clark, VP of Product & Commercialization at Walmart Connect, the retail media division of Walmart. Follow Jeff on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffclark/ Follow Walmart Connect on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/walmart-connect/ Follow Walmart Connect online at: https://www.walmartconnect.com/ Jeff answers these questions: Walmart Connect has grown from an incubator project to...
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May 28, 2025

Retail Media Networks Investment Negotiations with Tree Line Strategy Group’s Joe Davis

In this episode, the CPG Guys are joined by Joe Davis, Managing Director of Tree Line Strategy Group which helps companies with strategic planning, customer development, digital commerce & sales strategy. Follow Joe on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-davis-co/ Follow Tree Line Strategy Group on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tree-line-strategy-group/ Follow Tree Line Strategy Group online at: https://www.treelinestrategygroup.com/ Joe answers these questions: R...
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May 24, 2025

Customer Acquisition Through Closed-Loop Sampling with Recess CEO Jack Shannon & Advisor Mike Feldman

The CPG Guys are joined in this episode by Jack Shannon, Co-Founder & CEO of Recess, which helps brands drive velocity at retail with turnkey sampling partnerships that reach shoppers who frequent Target, Walmart, Kroger, and 6,000+ top retailers, and Mike Feldman, strategic advisor & former SVP Head of retail Media at VaynerMedia. Follow Jack on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannonjack/ Follow Mike on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-feldman-9962b230/ Follow Recess o...
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May 21, 2025

eCommerce Fulfillment Strategy with Ahold Delhaize USA’s Daniël van Gool

The CPG Guys are joined in this episode by Daniël van Gool, VP of Fulfillment Strategies & Solutions at Ahold Delhaize USA. Find Daniel on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dvangool/ Find AD USA on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ahold-delhaize-usa/ Find AD USA online at: https://www.adusa.com/ Daniël answers these questions: You are an OG of ecommerce, going back as far as early 2000’s. What changes have you seen over the years? The latest conversation and buzz in...
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May 17, 2025

Shaping Nutritional Wellness with Plane Crash Survivor and Lucky Energy CEO Richard Laver

The CPGGUYS are joined in this episode by Delta 181 plane crash survivor from 1985 and now founder/CEO of the nutritional wellness brand Lucky Energy. This is the story of resilience, tenacity, courage and curiosity. Laver's daughter, Kate, had cerebral palsy and couldn't eat solid foods. He created a plant-based protein shake, which led to the founding of Kate Farms and then inspired by being a survivor - Lucky Energy. Find Richard Laver on Linkedin at : https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-l...
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May 14, 2025

The Work-Life Challenge with NielsenIQ’s Nicole Collida Davis & Jennie Bell

The CPG Guys are joined in this episode by Nicole Collida Davis, Managing Director & SVP US National Accounts and Jennie Bell Managing Director & SVP US Global Clients at NielsenIQ, the world’s leading consumer intelligence company, delivering the most complete understanding of consumer buying behavior and revealing new pathways to growth. Today NIQ has operations in 95+ countries representing 97% of the world’s GDP. With a holistic retail read and the most comprehensive consumer insights—delive...
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May 10, 2025

Travel Hub Retail Media with WHSmith North America Media Network's Alison O'Keefe

The CPG Guys are joined in this episode by Alison O'Keefe, Partnership Director at WHSmith North America Media Network, Powered by SMG. WHS Media is the first-ever in-store travel Retail Media Network, connecting brands to consumers across travel hubs in North America. Find Alison on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alison-o-keefe-42b1a830/ Find WHSmith Media on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/whsmith-north-america-media-network/ Find WHSmith Media online at: https://smg...
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May 7, 2025

Center Store Grocery Merchandising with Wakefern's Jeff Mondelli

The CPGGUYS are joined in this episode by Vice President of grocery merchandising at Wakefern Food Corp. Jeff is a remarkable example of a pharmacist expert and leader now transformed into an everyday grocery merchant. We were so impressed by his leadership, he is the winner of the DSN (Drug store news) + CPGGGUYS retail merchandiser of the year for 2024! Find Jeff Mondelli on Linkedin at : https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffrey-mondelli-95a72148/ Find Wakefern Food Corp on Linkedin at : h...
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May 5, 2025

Consumerism From The Lens of Gen Z with Shaan Modi (we met at CAGNY)

The CPGGUYS are joined in this episode by Shaan Modi, from New Jersey. Shaan is still in high school but was spotted by us at CAGNY (the annual consumer analysts gathering with senior CPG brand leaders) down in Florida in February. We observed him attend several sessions, and we quite surprised to see someone from Gen Z in this conference. We asked him what he thought, and his answers both intrigued and challenged our own biases of how he saw the notion of a 'brand'. We decided to bring him on t...
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May 1, 2025

Robinson-Patman Compliance in the Age of Shoppable Media

The CPG Guys are joined in this episode by Brandon Nutter, co Founder and CTO of Ampd, which connects Google Ads directly to the world’s largest marketplaces like Amazon and turn incremental revenue all the way up, and Steve Pet, Antitrust Associate at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. Find Brandon Nutter on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandonnutter/ Find Steve Pet on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-pet-22b12040/ Find Ampd online at: https://www.ampd.io/ Brandon & Steve...
April 26, 2025

Message to CPG CEOs: Lower Your EPS Targets Significantly! with RBC Capital Markets’ Nik Modi

The CPG Guys are joined in this episode by returning guest Nik Modi, Co-Head of Global Consumer & Retail Research at RBC Capital Markets. In this episode, Nik discusses his recent communication equity research newsletter called “Attention CPG Management/Boards: It’s Time to Cut EPS Significantly” Nik argues that cutting numbers significantly would not only provide a floor on valuations, but also provide ample flex for investments that are critically needed, especially in marketing, innovat...
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April 21, 2025

Amazon’s Omnichannel Grocery Strategy with Tomorrow’s Jordan Berke

In this episode, Sri interviews Jordan Berke, founder & CEO of TOMORROW, a leading digital retail advisory firm, enabling global retailers to accelerate growth through digitization. Sri and Jordan tour an Amazon Fresh store as Jordan offers his expert analysis of how this brick & mortar format is performing. Find Jordan on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordan-berke-tomorrow/ Find TOMORROW on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tomorrow-retail-consulting/ Find TOMORROW ...
Guest: Jordan Berke
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April 19, 2025

Retail Leadership With Sam’s Club SVP eCommerce Greg Pulsifer

In this episode, the CPG Guys are joined by Greg Pulsifer, SVP of eCommerce at Sam’s Club, the club format division of Walmart. Find Greg on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregpulsifer/ Find Sam’s Club on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sam's-club/ Find Sam’s Club online at: https://corporate.walmart.com/about/samsclub/sams-club-suppliers? Greg answers these questions: Tell us about you the person? Take us through your career growth journey in digital and ecommerce...