Jim Stengel - Rethink business, branding and life

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Meet Jim Stengel

In October 2008, Jim Stengel shocked the marketing world by leaving his prestigious role as global marketing officer at Procter & Gamble, one of the most admired brand-building companies in the world.

This bold move was Jim's first step on a new mission to share his passion for growing business through a focus on higher ideals. To continue on his mission, Jim has embraced a variety of exciting roles: president/CEO of The Jim Stengel Company, author of "Grow: How Ideals Power Growth and Profit at the World’s Greatest Companies," speaker with the Washington Speakers Bureau® and adjunct professor at the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

The Consultant and Visionary

Jim's company is both a think tank and a consultancy, conducting proprietary research, generating thought leadership and applying a new ideals-driven framework to drive business growth in today's global economy. The company's mission is to inspire global business leaders to achieve higher performance by rethinking their ideals and all behaviors emanating from those ideals. Jim and his team currently work with clients in tech, fashion, retail, food service, automotive and wine/spirits.

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The Author

Jim's book, "Grow: How Ideals Power Growth and Profit at the World's Greatest Companies," published by Crown Business in December 2011, has been called a "landmark" by best-selling author Tom Peters. Based on a unique 10-year growth study involving 50,000 brands, Jim shows how the world's 50 best businesses have a cause-and-effect relationship between financial performance and their ability to connect with fundamental human emotions, hopes, values and greater purposes. In "Grow," Jim deftly blends timeless truths about human behavior and values into an action framework. Through colorful stories drawn from his fascinating personal experiences and "deep dives" that bring out the true reasons for successes such as Discovery Channel®, Lindt, Visa® and Petrobras, "Grow" unlocks the code for 21st-century business success.

The Educator

With all of his success, Jim has focused on giving back by inspiring the next generation of business professionals. In June 2009, Jim was appointed an adjunct professor of marketing at the UCLA Anderson School of Management. In 2011, Jim served as dean of the first-ever Cannes Creative Academy for Young Marketers at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

The GMO

Jim is the former global marketing officer of $83B Procter & Gamble, where he oversaw an $8B advertising budget and had organizational responsibility for nearly 7,000 people. His highly regarded leadership was recognized in 2008 when P&G was honored as the 2008 Cannes International Advertising Festival Advertiser of the Year for the first time in company history.

Jim is best known for reinvigorating P&G's marketing culture. In his seven years as GMO, he personally led the transformation that has firmly established P&G as one of the most admired brand-building companies in the world. In fact, P&G sales doubled during Jim's tenure as GMO.

Prior to his promotion to P&G's top advertising and marketing position in 2001, Jim had increasing responsibility in P&G's developing markets, cosmetic, food and baby-care businesses. He joined the company in 1983; before that, he spent four years at Time Incorporated in the Time-Life books division.

Widely known for leading innovation and for his commitment to building cutting-edge marketing capabilities, Jim was recognized in 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2007 by "Advertising Age" as the number-one "Power Player" in marketing. In 2005, he was recognized as Grand Marketer of the Year by "Brandweek" magazine, the same year P&G was named Marketer of the Year by "Advertising Age" magazine. In 2011, Jim was named to the first-ever "FORTUNE®" Executive Dream Team.

The Advisor

Jim is on the board of directors for AOL. He also serves as an advisor for MarketShare™, an industry-leading marketing analytics firm, and for Myrian Capital™, a private equity firm. In the past, he served on the board of The Advertising Council, as chairman of the Association of National Advertisers and as chairman of the American Advertising Federation Hall of Fame®.

The Person

Jim grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in a family of six children. He holds a B.A. from Franklin & Marshall College and an M.B.A. from The Pennsylvania State University (Smeal College of Business). Jim and his wife, Kathleen, have two children and split their time between Cincinnati, Ohio, and Coronado, California.

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