Transformation, Growth, and Innovation with Helayna Minsk (Johnson & Johnson, Walgreens, Unilever)

Helayna Minsk is an experienced executive leader who has led major organizational transformation for brands like Unilever, Walgreens, and Johnson & Johnson. Helayna’s work encompasses general management, P&L leadership, portfolio evolution, and revitalization campaigns, both domestically and internationally. Her approach to brand stewardship and cross-functional collaboration has led to an extensive track record of profit expansion, scalable growth, and strategic implementation for some of the largest CPG companies in the world. Helayna joins Roy to discuss leadership lessons learned during periods of immense change, how communication is the cornerstone of high-performance teams, the upside of ambition, and much more. Highlights from our conversation include: - Core values that have become part of Helayna’s leadership playbook (3:07) - Mentors and learning opportunities that helped shape her leadership philosophy (5:16) - How Helayna’s leadership developed and evolved as she took on different roles (7:44) - The role talent plays in driving growth and impact (10:17) - Tips for navigating changing market dynamics and consumer behavior (14:10) - How Helayna developed an aptitude for hiring top performers and building high performance teams (16:05) - Comparing the approach to talent and hiring at different brands (18:25) - What Helayna looks for when she’s hiring for her own leadership teams (20:09) - How she approached leading a turnaround for J&J in China (22:17) - Cultural differences when working in China that adapted her thinking -(25:27) - Advice Helayna has for people early in their careers (28:33) - What’s next for Helayna (30:29)