Carpe Diem News Archives - Carpe Diem Global Partners

The Carpe Diem Culture Screen^® – A Better Way to Assess Culture

Organizations reach various tipping points in their business or industry, generating new business mandates in the process. When this happens, leaders need the full power of their culture behind them – to strengthen affiliation with the organization, rally the staff, and direct and enable their performance.

At Carpe Diem, we have found that it is leaders’ own behaviors that drive the culture. Team members will either model those behaviors or take the behaviors as a signal on how they should work with one another.

To enact any kind of change around the culture, it is important for organizations to have a clear and objective understanding of the current state culture. This will allow leaders to know which of their behaviors they need to improve upon or engage in more frequently or consistently to drive the organization’s business mandates.

Traditional culture surveys can be helpful in this regard. Yet they have their limitations, often taking considerable time and effort to administer, while focusing on a common and relatively narrow set of cultural traits.

The Five Elements of Culture

Carpe Diem’s new Culture Screen^® is a different kind of assessment. It provides a quick but comprehensive view of the culture, highlighting a wide range of cultural traits.

These traits cut across five key elements of the culture, with four of those five elements relating directly back to leadership behaviors.

Management Philosophy – what leaders define as their business and people priorities
Decision-Making Style – how leaders approach the organization’s day-to-day opportunities and challenges
Leadership Dynamic – the sense of urgency that leaders bring to their roles and how they operate as a unit
People Leadership – how leaders position themselves with their teams and support their people
Team Dynamic – how team members connect with the organization and interact with each another, both within and across functions

A Different Scale for Culture

Beyond the categories in the survey, one of the key things that differentiates the Culture Screen^® is that rather than having participants rate each cultural attribute on a 1-5 scale, it asks participants to compare two contrasting statements about the culture, to see which is more accurate. This allows us to probe deeper into the psyche of the organization, confirming cultural strengths while capturing the more challenging or potentially disruptive traits that traditional surveys often miss.

As an example, participants are asked whether the organization promotes work life balance or applies a 24/7 mentality.

In a traditional survey, a lower score on work life balance would tell you that the organization is not taking active measures to support employee well-being. But it wouldn’t necessarily tell you whether the organization is contributing to wellness issues among its employees. That comes from looking at the contrasting statement about the 24/7 mentality.

Other pairings in the survey explore additional choices the organization has made about how it conducts its business and how people function. Some of these choices are made consciously and deliberately by leaders. Others develop organically over time, as leadership behaviors slowly take hold across the organization.

As an organization, we…

Talk about our values

Live by our values

When making decisions, we…

React to challenges

Anticipate challenges

Our leaders…

Pursue different agendas

Act as a cohesive unit

Our leaders…

Call out our mistakes

Recognize our successes

Our people…

Operate in siloes

Reach across functions

Leveraging the Findings

Within each of the pairings, there is a trait that is more readily associated with healthy or productive cultures. However, unlikely with employee engagement surveys, the goal is not to target a “high score” in every area, or a high overall GrandMean score.

Instead, Carpe Diem uses its Culture Screen to help leaders focus their efforts on those specific areas of the culture that are having a noticeable impact on the company’s current business objectives. Organizations that want to be more collaborative would focus on one set of traits. Those looking to increase accountability would focus on another.

In a recent example an organization with a long history of success was looking to become less risk averse in the face of a recent downturn. It had a longstanding management team that had gotten used to acting in a certain way, but those methods were becoming less effective as economic and industry conditions changed.

The Culture Screen^® helped reveal certain gaps and underlying leadership behaviors. The recommended actions weren’t to improve the culture per se, but to address the conditions that were keeping members of the management team from challenging the status quo and driving the necessary change and improvement.

Establish and communicate a clear vision to guide the management team’s efforts
Promote examples of “courageous thinking” among management team members to highlight what’s possible
Break down barriers and siloes to trigger new ideas and help spread the risk across the management team

This more business-oriented approach to culture creates a greater sense of urgency around the findings and a more organic mandate for change.

These market insights from Carpe Diem Global Partners are gathered from the firm’s extensive client work with Board, CEO, CXO, and CHRO leaders in public and private multinational companies. For deeper, custom insights, contact Craig Kamins at ckamins@carpediempartners.com.

Former Disney Executive Recruiting Team Leader Mary Lees Joins Carpe Diem Global Partners

Mary Lees

Carpe Diem Global Partners today announced that seasoned executive search leader Mary Lees has joined the firm as Managing Partner in their Executive Search practice, bringing more than two decades of experience building high-performing executive talent acquisition functions for global brands and high-growth organizations. In this role, Ms. Lees will help expand Carpe Diem’s retained search capabilities across entertainment, media, technology, and digital-first sectors, with a particular focus on C-suite and senior leadership mandates.

Ms. Lees joins Carpe Diem after nearly nine years at The Walt Disney Company, where she served as Director, Technology Executive Recruiting and played a pivotal role in building and leading the centralized technology executive search function. At Disney, she designed and executed a technology-focused recruiting process, creating a best-in-class internal recruiting function. Ms. Lees collaborated with internal stakeholders to design and implement effective recruiting strategies, consistently closing an average of 18 executive searches per year. One phase of leadership hiring during a major organizational launch involved executive searches for technology leaders across a diverse set of Disney business units. Ms. Lees led her team to deliver 18 executive hires in nine months, demonstrating her ability to scale executive hiring in complex, high-visibility environments.

During her Disney tenure, Ms. Lees built and led a geographically dispersed team of 12 executive recruiters, mentoring them into trusted partners for business leaders across the global Disney technology platform. She designed enterprise-wide processes and templates that reduced time-to-fill, lowered cost per hire, and elevated the quality and consistency of executive selection. Some notable hires include the CTO of Disney Animation, SVP, Data Platforms for Parks and Resorts and SVP, Business Technology for Disney Corporate.

Prior to Disney, Ms. Lees spent nearly a decade with Morgan Samuels Company as a Senior Executive Recruiter and Senior Consultant, leading C-suite and SVP-level searches for clients in entertainment, technology, and renewable energy across the United States, APAC, and LATAM. She was consistently ranked among the firm’s top performers, known for rapid search execution and for closing 15 CEO, CFO, and COO searches in a single year for marquee clients including Yahoo!, SolarCity, Caesars Entertainment, Boeing, Raytheon, and Realogy.

Earlier in her career, she practiced law, giving her a distinctive foundation in negotiation, risk, and complex stakeholder management that she brings to senior-level search and advisory work. Her legal credentials bring new General Counsel capabilities to Carpe Diem.

Her blend of internal enterprise leadership and external retained search experience positions her to immediately contribute to Carpe Diem’s partner composite of former executive operators and its integrated model of leadership acquisition, development, and organizational advisory.

About Carpe Diem Global Partners

Carpe Diem Global Partners is a bespoke consultancy focused on Talent Advisory Services across Talent Acquisition, Leadership Development and Organizational Advisory Services. The firm works closely with Boards, Chief Executives and Senior-Level Executives, advising Public, Private and Investor-backed companies on leadership imperatives. For more information, contact us at info@carpediempartners.com.

HR Executive and Thought Leader Tracy Layney Joins Carpe Diem Global Partners Board of Advisors

Tracy Layney, an accomplished 25+ year Human Resources Executive, has joined the firm as a member of the Advisory Board.

Tracy Layney

Tracy Layney joins Carpe Diem Global Partners as an Advisory Board member utilizing her extensive experience in global Human Resources and organizational strategy. Throughout her distinguished career, Tracy has led the human resources function for iconic Fortune 500 companies with workforces exceeding 20,000 employees operating across more than 50 countries.

Most recently serving as Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at Levi Strauss & Co., Ms. Layney directed the company’s comprehensive global people strategy, including talent acquisition, employee engagement, talent management, diversity and inclusion, total rewards, and HR technology and operations. Prior to Levi Strauss, Tracy was the Chief HR Officer for Shutterfly, Inc. and held senior leadership roles at Gap Inc., including Senior Vice President of Human Resources for Old Navy, the company’s largest division. In each of her roles, Tracy has demonstrated exceptional expertise in large-scale organizational transformation, talent development, culture building, and strategic leadership advisory. Tracy’s experience spans critical areas including CEO succession planning, major acquisitions and integrations, global expansion, and crisis management at the executive level.

Tracy’s strategic capabilities and innovative approach to people leadership will be instrumental in supporting Carpe Diem’s continued growth and expansion. With her deep expertise in talent strategy, organizational design, executive compensation, and culture as a competitive advantage, Tracy’s experience is an ideal fit for advancing the firm’s work with clients on their most complex leadership and organizational challenges.

“We are excited to welcome Tracy to the Carpe Diem Board of Advisors,” said Jeff DeFazio, Managing Partner and Founder. “Tracy brings world-class thought leadership, extensive C-suite and Board-level experience, and a proven track record of driving transformational change at some of the world’s most respected companies. Her strategic perspective will be invaluable as we continue to build our world-class Board of Advisors and scale the firm.”

“I am honored to join the Board of Advisors at Carpe Diem Global Partners. The firm’s commitment to developing leadership talent and supporting organizational transformation aligns perfectly with my passion for helping companies leverage their talent and culture as a competitive advantage,” said Layney. “I look forward to collaborating with the Carpe Diem team and fellow board members to contribute to the organization’s strategic vision and continued success.”

Beyond her corporate leadership roles, Tracy is recognized as an innovative HR thought leader and was named Chief HR Officer of the Year by HRO Today in 2023. She currently serves as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, where she teaches human capital strategy in their Chief HR Officer executive education program. Tracy also advises and consults to multiple AI-driven companies seeking to bring innovative technology to the HR space. She is active in the broader HR community, serving on the Board of Directors for the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Foundation.

Tracy holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Pennsylvania. She has also completed post-baccalaureate coursework in organizational development at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and the University of California, Berkeley.

Carpe Diem Global Partners is a bespoke leadership acquisition, development, and organizational advisory firm with offices throughout the US, partnering with clients building the capabilities of their leaders.

Leadership Behaviors: The Engine That Drives the Culture

Gallup research tells us that 70% of the variance in employee engagement is driven by the local manager. When it comes to culture, it is leaders that are in the driver’s seat.

Culture is something that develops organically in organizations over time. But it is the collective behaviors of the leadership team that frame that development.

Traditional culture campaigns often focus on the behaviors of staff members. That comes further down the line. If the goal is to change or enhance the culture, you’ll want to work from the top down.

In Carpe Diem’s Culture Screen survey, we look at five elements of an organization’s culture – its priorities, decision-making style, leadership style, leadership culture, and team dynamic. All of these are driven by leadership.

Priorities

We start our assessment with an organization’s business and people priorities. Note that I say priorities as opposed to goals or values. Goals and values are aspirational – something we declare but don’t always act upon. Priorities are defined and validated by our actions on the ground.

To understand an organization’s priorities, we want to know its goals and values. But we also have to look at the tradeoffs the leaders are willing to make to achieve those goals and bring those values to life.

Mission vs. margin
Innovation vs. execution
Growth vs. sustainability
Work-life balance vs. 24/7 mentality

These are not binary decisions. An organization may find itself on the mission side of the spectrum in one instance and the margin in another. It’s where the leaders gravitate when something is at risk that indicates whether that particular goal or value is truly a priority.

Another focus here is whether leaders have both near- and long-term priorities. When leaders are only thinking about the week or quarter ahead, they tend to lock the organization into “fire-fighting” mode, severely limiting the thinking and actions of their teams and functions.

Decision-Making Style

An organization’s priorities frame the decisions that leaders make on a day-to-day basis. Based on those priorities, those leaders may be more or less likely to embrace change, to take risks or think outside the box, or to take preemptive actions to get out ahead of future challenges.

Additionally, the priorities will inform how decisions are made. An organization focused on growth and innovation will want to be agile and flexible in its decision making. A people-centric organization will tend to have more inclusive decision-making, with leaders seeking out input from team members and taking measures to secure their buy-in.

Leadership Style

Leaders all have their own individual styles and approaches. But there are behavioral norms baked into the culture of the organization that dictate how leaders interact with their teams and functions.

In some organizations, leaders are more open and accessible. They will engage more with staff members and get more directly involved with employee development.

Patterns also develop in terms of the extent to which leaders empower their teams, hold team members accountable, and provide recognition for the team’s efforts and accomplishments.

A key consideration with respect to recognition is how leaders balance praise and criticism. Real-time feedback is vital to performance. But leaders can go overboard with their critique, focusing primarily on the negative. This can have a chilling effect on employees and keep them from stepping out of their comfort zone.

Leadership Culture

Beyond leaders’ interactions with staff members, we also need to look at how they are interacting with one another as part of the leadership group. This is reflected in the leadership culture.

There are two main facets of the leadership culture. The first is the level of urgency that leaders apply to their work. We expect our leaders to challenge the status quo when needed and go above and beyond the parameters of their role in order to drive performance. Leaders would also be expected to act promptly and decisively in the event of a crisis.

But that is not always the case. Over time, leaders can fall into their own comfort zone, taking a more passive or risk averse approach. This mindset can then pass down to their units.

A second aspect of the leadership culture is the sense of cohesion among leadership team members. A concern in dysfunctional organizations is that leaders are focused more on protecting their own interests than driving the company’s agenda, creating or contributing to siloes or divisions across functions.

Team Dynamic

It is only after exploring the company’s priorities, decision-making style, leadership style, and leadership culture that we can truly understand the fifth element of the culture, the team dynamic, and appreciate what is happening on the ground.

That is not to suggest that staff members aren’t responsible for their own actions. But if we want people to feel more energized by work, to actively collaborate and reach out across functions, and to work through interpersonal conflicts – we want to first examine and address the leadership behaviors that are contributing to or getting in the way of those traits.

Team members tend to follow the example set by leadership. So, it is important for leaders to model the behaviors they want to see from others.

Modeling may just be part of the solution. An example would be where there is tension between functions. That could be because the leaders of those functions don’t get along. That’s the modeling component. Or it could be because the different functions don’t know or appreciate each other’s timelines and protocols. That may require additional actions from the leaders to facilitate communication and understanding between the departments.

Enhancing Leadership Behaviors

By shining a light on the culture, we can call out both the positive and more disruptive leadership behaviors and help leaders to see how they are impacting employee engagement and performance.

For some leaders, it is just a matter of self-awareness. Those leaders may simply be doing what made them successful as individual contributors. Or they may be following the lead of those leaders that came before them.

In other instances, there may be groupthink that develops across the leadership team, where leaders continue to engage in a certain set of behaviors even if they are no longer productive. They may take pride in the fact that “we’ve always done things that way at Company [x]” without considering the effect that may be having on the culture.

At Carpe Diem, these behavioral insights are typically introduced through workshops with the leadership team, and can be reinforced through training or 1:1 executive coaching.

Organizations who have reached certain tipping points – e.g., new executive leadership, new strategy, market disruption – may also want to consider whether they still have the right leaders in their roles. The organization may benefit from new voices with fresh thinking that aren’t tied down by previous behavioral norms.

The Litmus Test for Company Values

As an organization, do you live by your values or talk about your values?

We all want to hire and retain employees who are aligned with and adhere to our company’s values. To that end, companies will expend considerable effort (and often considerable expense) in crafting their values. Some of those statements can be quite memorable and inspirational. They can also provide a strong signal to the marketplace about the company’s direction and intent.

However, those words don’t always resonate with staff. Some employees might not even be familiar with the values, or they know them only as words that appear on the back of their ID badge.

This doesn’t suggest that the employees are turning a blind eye towards the values. Nor should we demand that our staff members take time out to memorize the wording of the various values statements. That is because, from an employee standpoint, it is not the specific words in the statements that matter. What they are focused on are the deeds behind them.

Employees want to know that their company:

Offers a good set of products and services that serve a meaningful customer need
Provides timely and effective delivery and customer service
Keeps up with (or helps to set) trends in the marketplace
Consistently treats its customers (and suppliers) with respect and finds ways to contribute to the greater good in the community
Pays a competitive wage, fitting with the employee’s contributions to the company’s success
Treats its employees with respect by promoting open and honest communication and helping people to reach their potential
Enables creativity and innovation
Fosters a sociable and collaborative work environment
Fulfills all its promises and obligations, both explicit and implied

Employees may place different levels of importance on and seek out different manifestations of those characteristics, ultimately creating their own definition of what they want or expect the company to be. Alignment with the mission, vision, and values comes when 1) the employee believes that the organization and its leaders are living up to that definition in their day-to-day actions and communications; and 2) the company, through its various change efforts, seems committed to maintaining that same trajectory into the future.

Another litmus test for staff members is whether the organization places greater emphasis on its people or its systems and processes. The immediate reaction is to say people. But where does the investment go? And which does the organization call out more frequently out in sales or marketing materials, or in its conversations with customers and clients? Employees are well aware of where they “rank” in the pecking order – and that can carry over to their perceptions of other aspects of the work environment.

The Evolution of Performance Management over the Last 24-36 Months

Executive Summary

Carpe Diem Global Partners recently spoke with 34 HR Executives in a variety of consumer based industries: food, beverage, and agriculture segments. Businesses were comprised of small and mid-market sized companies generating $50-100MM in revenue and successfully scaled through organic and inorganic growth. We were interested in understanding how performance management evolved in this agile and fast growing market segment.

Our conversations took place between March 2025 to May 2025 by Jeff DeFazio and Jamie Farnham, Managing Partners. We wanted to confirm the leading trends in performance management for businesses in 2025, a shift from traditional, annual performance reviews to a more dynamic, continuous, and employee-centric approach, heavily powered by artificial intelligence (AI), integrated analytics, and real-time feedback systems.

Here’s what we learned…

Shift to Frequent Check-ins and Ongoing Feedback

Organizations have moved away from annual performance reviews to more frequent touchpoints, such as quarterly or monthly check-ins. This change allows for real-time feedback, goal-setting, and employee development discussions, with some companies even holding monthly meetings for hourly employees.

Increased Focus on Behavioral Metrics and Emotional Intelligence:

Performance evaluations are evolving to include a balance between results (50%) and behaviors (50%), with greater emphasis on emotional intelligence (EQ), self-awareness, and employee engagement. This shift aligns with the growing importance of soft skills in the workplace.

Integration of Analytics and KPI-Driven Assessments:

Performance management has become more data-driven, utilizing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and analytics to reduce subjectivity. This approach emphasizes true performance over tenure or likability and ties metrics directly to outcomes like bonuses and organizational success.

Personalized Development Plans and Succession Planning:

Companies are focusing on individual development plans, skill enhancement, and succession planning. Goals are increasingly tied to skill development rather than just job responsibilities, ensuring employees have room to grow and align with organizational objectives.

Adoption of New Tools and Simplified Processes:

To streamline performance management, organizations are implementing new tools and systems, such as HRIS platforms, and simplifying legacy practices. This includes using visual tools like red-yellow-green progress tracking, conversational questions, and reducing reliance on traditional rating systems.

Jeff DeFazio
Managing Partner

These market insights from Carpe Diem Global Partners are gathered from the firm’s extensive client work leading Board, CEO, CXO, and CHRO executive search engagements for public and private multinational companies. For deeper, custom insights, contact Jeff DeFazio at Jdefazio@carpediempartners.com.

Navigating the Shifting Landscape of the Food & Beverage Industry

Carpe Diem Global Partners recently spoke with 46 executives in the CPG industry, specifically food, beverage, and nutrition segments. Businesses were comprised of small and mid-market sized companies that had proven the ability to scale thru both organic and inorganic growth.

The food and beverage industry is undergoing rapid transformation, facing a confluence of economic pressures, shifting consumer preferences, and evolving regulatory challenges. As companies strive to scale efficiently while delivering strong EBITA, they must also navigate global supply chain constraints, capital market uncertainties, and increasing competition from both established brands and emerging private labels.

Economic Headwinds and Supply Chain Complexities

The lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to disrupt purchasing behaviors, with restaurants and hotels struggling to recover. Scaling production remains a challenge, especially with capital flowing at a slower pace. Many companies are exploring co-packing agreements to expand globally while mitigating supply chain risks. Additionally, the industry faces significant inflationary pressures, with commodity prices—especially coffee—reaching historic highs.

Consumer Behavior and Market Trends

A fundamental shift in consumer priorities is reshaping the industry. Price sensitivity is at an all-time high, pushing brands to balance affordability with innovation. While major branded players struggle, private label and smaller, more agile companies are thriving by offering healthier, value-driven options. The “better-for-you” segment, once commanding a 35% premium, is now facing mainstream adoption, increasing competition among brands to differentiate themselves.

Simultaneously, a generational shift in beverage consumption habits is underway. Gen Z and millennials are reducing alcohol consumption by 10-15%, giving rise to the “sober curious” movement. This has fueled the rise of ready-to-drink (RTD) non-alcoholic and cannabis-infused beverages, particularly as more adults turn to edibles over traditional spirits. At the same time, regulatory headwinds continue to pose challenges for cannabis and CBD-infused products.

Retail and Distribution Challenges

Retailers such as Walmart, Costco, and Kroger are aggressively managing margins, placing downward pressure on vendors. The retail environment is increasingly unfavorable, with high inflation forcing brands to fight for shelf space while justifying price increases to both consumers and retailers. Grocery channels remain a difficult avenue for profitability, driving brands to focus on direct-to-consumer strategies. Furthermore, brands seeking retail expansion must contend with distribution challenges, including limited refrigerated shelf space and rising freight costs. Companies operating in fragmented beverage categories—such as organic kombucha—are particularly vulnerable to these logistical constraints.

Regulatory and Political Uncertainties

With a potential shift in the U.S. administration, the industry faces geopolitical risks, including tariffs on imports from Mexico, China, and Canada. For companies reliant on international supply chains, these policy changes could significantly impact costs and profitability. Additionally, stricter regulations surrounding ingredients in the health and wellness space mean constant legal scrutiny for brands offering functional or plant-based beverages.

Capital Constraints and Growth Strategies

The capital markets remain tight, making it difficult for emerging brands to secure funding. Investors now expect companies to demonstrate at least $75MM in annual recurring revenue before considering significant investments. As a result, many businesses are forced to operate leaner, requiring a strategic approach to cost management and expansion.

With discretionary consumer spending on the decline, the challenge for brands is twofold: driving product innovation while effectively communicating a compelling value proposition. Companies that can balance these priorities—offering premium, functional, and sustainable products while addressing price-conscious consumers—will be best positioned for success in this increasingly competitive landscape.

Conclusion

The food and beverage industry is at a critical juncture. Economic pressures, shifting consumer behaviors, and evolving regulatory landscapes are forcing companies to rethink their strategies. Success will hinge on the ability to innovate, manage costs effectively, and build strong brand loyalty in an environment where both capital and consumer dollars are harder to secure. Brands that embrace agility, sustainability, and differentiation will emerge as leaders in this next phase of industry evolution.

Survey completed in October ‘24 – February ‘25 by Jeff DeFazio.

Jeff DeFazio
Managing Partner

Navigating Market Challenges in 2025: AI, Economic Uncertainty, and Strategic Imperatives

Executive Summary

Carpe Diem Partners continues to provide real-time market intelligence through direct engagement with C-suite executives and financial leaders. In our latest executive search engagements, we surveyed 112 executives from 95 multinational, publicly traded Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) companies with revenues exceeding $5 billion. Conducted between October 2024 and January 2025, our research highlights the most pressing challenges CFOs face in 2025.

Key findings underscore the growing influence of AI in finance, persistent economic volatility, shifting consumer spending habits, increasing regulatory complexities, tariff uncertainty, and the ongoing transformation of workforce dynamics. This report synthesizes these insights into a strategic roadmap for financial executives navigating today’s shifting business landscape.

Evolving Challenges for CFOs in 2025

The macroeconomic and geopolitical landscape of 2025 presents an intricate mix of risks and opportunities. The key challenges identified by CFOs include:

1. Persistent Inflation and Interest Rate Uncertainty

Inflation remains elevated in key markets despite central bank efforts to curb it. Supply chain disruptions, labor costs, and energy price volatility continue to contribute to pricing pressures.
The Federal Reserve, ECB, and Bank of England have taken a cautious approach to rate cuts, keeping borrowing costs higher than many businesses anticipated.
CFOs are adjusting capital allocation strategies to manage debt costs while maintaining investments in technology and expansion.

2. Geopolitical Tensions and Tariff Uncertainty

U.S.-China Trade Relations: The U.S. has introduced new tariffs on Chinese technology, EVs, and critical manufacturing components, prompting retaliatory measures from Beijing. Companies reliant on Chinese suppliers face increased costs and potential disruptions.
EU Trade and Regulatory Challenges: The EU’s evolving regulatory landscape, including digital tax proposals and stricter sustainability mandates, is affecting global operations and increasing compliance burdens.
Tariff Volatility Across Markets: The re-evaluation of U.S. trade agreements with key partners, including Mexico and the EU, has created uncertainty for global supply chains. Potential changes to tariffs on goods such as agricultural products, industrial equipment, and consumer goods could impact cost structures and pricing strategies.
Middle East and Eastern Europe Instability: Ongoing conflicts have contributed to energy price fluctuations and supply chain vulnerabilities, affecting global trade routes and raw material costs.

3. Shifting Consumer Spending Patterns

Post-pandemic excess savings have diminished, leading to softer discretionary spending, particularly in high-cost economies.
Consumers are increasingly price-sensitive, forcing businesses to adopt adaptive pricing models and enhance value-driven product offerings.
Inflationary pressures in emerging markets are creating uneven demand patterns, requiring region-specific pricing and supply chain adjustments.

4. Regulatory Scrutiny and Compliance Challenges

AI Regulation: Governments worldwide are implementing new AI governance policies, requiring companies to enhance transparency and risk mitigation strategies for AI-driven decision-making.
ESG and Sustainability Mandates: The SEC’s Climate Disclosure Rule, the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), and other emerging regulations are increasing compliance costs and requiring companies to integrate sustainability into their financial reporting.
Corporate Tax Reforms: The OECD’s global minimum tax rules and new digital tax frameworks are prompting multinationals to reassess tax planning strategies.

5. AI and Workforce Transformation

AI-driven automation is reshaping finance and operational roles, creating both efficiencies and the need for new skill sets in data analytics, AI governance, and cybersecurity.
Companies must balance AI adoption with human oversight to ensure regulatory compliance and ethical AI implementation.
The hybrid work model continues to evolve, with companies optimizing real estate strategies, adjusting talent compensation structures, and addressing tax implications for remote workforces.

Strategic Roadmap for CFOs in 2025

To navigate these evolving challenges, CFOs must focus on:

AI-driven Financial Strategy: Leveraging predictive analytics for enhanced forecasting, risk management, and operational efficiency.
Geopolitical and Tariff Risk Mitigation: Diversifying supplier networks, developing regional manufacturing hubs, and staying agile in response to shifting trade policies.
Agile Capital Management: Balancing capital expenditures, cost optimization, and liquidity strategies in response to persistent economic volatility and high-interest rates.

Regulatory Adaptation: Strengthening compliance frameworks to stay ahead of AI governance, ESG mandates, and evolving tax reforms.
Talent and Workforce Strategy: Investing in workforce upskilling, optimizing hybrid work models, and ensuring AI-driven transformation aligns with human capital strategies.

Conslusion

The financial landscape of 2025 demands a proactive, data-driven approach where AI, geopolitical risk management, and economic adaptability are critical to success. Companies that embrace innovation while maintaining financial discipline will be best positioned to navigate uncertainty, respond to tariff fluctuations, and drive sustainable growth in an increasingly complex global economy.

Jeff DeFazio
Managing Partner

Michael Whitehead Managing Partner

New Advisory Board Practice Helps Clients Build Strategic Growth Platforms

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 5, 2025 — San Francisco, CA

Carpe Diem Global Partners, a trusted executive search and leadership advisory firm, today announced the launch of its Advisory Board Practice, an innovative service designed to help organizations design, recruit, and operate high-impact advisory boards to fuel innovation, business growth, and long-term competitive advantage.

Beam Suntory Executive Adam Putz Joins Insurgent Leadership Advisory Firm Carpe Diem Global Partners

April 3, 2025 – Adam Putz, a 20 year Human Resources Executive, has joined the firm as a member of the Board of Advisors.

Adam Putz

Adam Putz joins Carpe Diem Global Partners as an Advisory Board member utilizing his more than 20 years of global Human Resources and leadership management experience with prestigious Fortune 500 companies. During his career, Adam has led the human resource function across multiple countries and organizations with more than 4,000 associates.

Carpe Diem Global Partners Launches First of Its Kind Culture Assessment Tool

Culture Screen™ provides organizations with a quick and objective view of culture, what it is and isn’t, enabling leaders to prescriptively drive and accelerate change.

In virtually every conversation, leaders reference culture as either an impediment or an enabler to growth. Yet it’s always subjective and anecdotal.” – Jeff DeFazio, Managing Partner.

Culture is always top of mind for leaders, and with good reason. A healthy organizational culture can motivate employees and enhance performance. It is also a tool that organizations can rely on to drive productive change and improvement. Yet leaders don’t typically have a clear and objective grasp of their culture, relying heavily on anecdotal impressions that may be outdated or incomplete.

The Carpe Diem Culture Screen™ is designed to give leaders a timely and objective view of their culture, with an eye towards accelerated and targeted change that can generate meaningful business outcomes. “As important as culture is, organizations don’t always want to assess their culture, because the process itself is too disruptive and lengthy,” said Craig Kamins, the head of the firm’s Culture and Change Management practice.

It’s also easy for this work to fall into ‘check-the-box’ territory, where there are no clear outcomes, or where the payoff is 3-5 years down the road. We created a more user friendly, less invasive process, with more defined, segmented, and immediate focus areas for our clients.”

There are three factors that make the Culture Screen™ unique – ease of process, the structure of the assessment outputs, and a direct link back to existing change or business objectives, to better isolate where leaders need to drive change.

Ease of Process – In its Retained Search business, Carpe Diem identifies the winning candidate in 38 days on average which can have a material impact on a monthly basis with an open or underperforming leadership role. In that same vein, Carpe Diem wants to help leaders make faster impact through the quick, objective, and frictionless Culture Screen™ tool. The tool and analysis typically complete in a few weeks, not months, so leaders can focus on the important conversations around culture that follow. Mr. Kamins elaborated: “We know there is assessment fatigue in organizations. No one wants another lengthy and involved process.”

Structure – The Culture Screen™ assessment is built around four aspects of the organization’s ‘personality’ – its Organizational Priorities, Decision-Making Style, Leadership Style, and Social Structure. Rather than relying on the traditional Likert scale, Carpe Diem tests these different aspects of the culture by having participants compare contrasting statements, to see which is more accurate; proactive or reactive, support employee well-being or adopt more of a 24/7 mentality; recognize success, or focus on mistakes. This allows the Culture Screen™ to provide a more nuanced view of the culture, capturing traits that are often missed by traditional cultural assessments.

Link to Objectives – The value of any assessment tool comes from what leaders are willing and able to do with the results. Practice leader Craig Kamins has decades of experience helping leaders prioritize and execute on the low hanging opportunities that are identified from the Culture Screen™ tool. Kamins does this by linking the Culture Screen™ results back to a key change or business objective. “We are not looking at culture in the abstract. Our focus is on how culture helps or hinders the objectives of the business. The recommendations we offer will enhance the culture, but our primary goal is to drive the business objectives,” said Kamins.

A recent analysis looked at how culture was impacting a CPG company’s ability to successfully launch new innovations into the marketplace. Carpe Diem’s Culture Screen™ tool has been used by new leaders to accelerate their success in their role, existing leaders interested in unlocking more impact from the power of culture, and organizations considering new leadership talent and how that leadership might impact an organization.

For further information, please contact Craig Kamins at ckamins@carpediempartners.com or Jeff DeFazio at jdefazio@carpediempartners.com.

How Leaders Can Drive Emotional Empowerment

Most employees have an innate desire to contribute and achieve, even in more challenging times. Their ability to do so will be driven in part by their own talents, commitment, and initiative. But they will also need help from their leaders to drive certain actions and to navigate the various structural and cultural barriers that might be inhibiting their success.

The Three Levels of Empowerment

Empowerment occurs at three levels, forming a pyramid of empowerment, with each level addressing a different set of employee needs and requirements.

At the foundational level, leaders can help ensure teams are adequately resourced. These more tangible forms of support serve as the basic building blocks of performance and represent the physical aspect of empowerment.

A second level of empowerment comes from training and development. Here people are learning about different aspects of their job or adding to their overall range of skills. This is then reinforced on the ground through coaching and feedback. We can call this the mental aspect of empowerment.

The highest level of empowerment comes from having the freedom to act. Some of this is a function of structure and process, where employees are put in a position to succeed. It is also about eliminating fear from the job, creating a sense of psychological safety. This then is the emotional aspect of empowerment.

The Unique Importance of Emotional Empowerment

Employees need support from leadership at all three levels to feel truly empowered.

Employees that lack sufficient resources, are working with outdated technology, or are struggling through staffing shortages, may feel ineffective or overworked in their role.
Those lacking meaningful training or development opportunities, or receiving limited feedback on their work, may feel unprepared or ineffectual.
In situations where there is no psychological safety, employees are likely to feel restricted or controlled.

As with any pyramid, the ideal scenario would be to build up from the base – ensuring that employees are fully equipped (physically empowered), then trained on how to leverage those tools (mentally empowered), then given the freedom to exercise those newfound capabilities (emotionally empowered). One wrinkle in that scenario is cost.

There can be considerable outlays required for tools, staffing, and training. While I would always advise clients to invest in their people, that simply may not be in the budget for a lot of organizations, particularly those going through some sort of change or downturn. So, a key focus for leaders is on how they can make the best of what they already have in place.

It costs little to nothing to provide a sense of emotional empowerment for staff. That is an area where organizations can make up some ground in cases where physical or mental empowerment is lacking.

Driving Emotional Empowerment

There are a number of factors that can contribute to a sense of emotional empowerment among staff members:

Opportunity to act – Employees need to know that they can take the steps necessary to get the job done and to meet their own standards of performance. This means trusting employees to occasionally do things that are outside of their job description or that deviate from standard operating procedures. Another barrier to address here is when common actions have to go through a series of complicated handoffs or approvals before they can be attempted or completed.
Real-time feedback – Once given the opportunity to act, staff members want to know that they’re doing the right thing and are doing it successfully. Real-time, constructive feedback can help employees to calibrate their actions and engage in any necessary course corrections. That feedback becomes all the more powerful (and enabling) if reinforced by recognition after the task is completed.
Ability to ask for help – This is the flip side of the feedback process. Leaders will often say that “my door is always open,” or they will point you to other resources in the organization. But there can be a stigma attached to asking questions, and information that is supposed to be available in the employee handbook or on the company’s Intranet isn’t always as accessible or understandable as it seems. While we want our employees to take initiative and to take advantage of existing information and resources, they should still be encouraged to ask for help when needed.
Freedom to try and fail – However well-positioned an employee may be for success, they will still be hesitant to take action if they are worried about the repercussions that come from failure. This is not to suggest that employees shouldn’t be held accountable for their actions – and certainly the stakes will be higher for certain actions than others, where there is little room for error. But in most cases, the instinct should be to teach the employee rather than to admonish or punish them for their mistakes.

The Subtlety of Emotional Empowerment

When emotionally empowered, employees may be more willing to overlook gaps in their physical and mental empowerment. That is why this is such an important focus area for leaders.

We’ve all heard horror stories about micromanaging leaders – i.e., those leaders who control all activity within their unit or function and create an aura of fear in the workplace. But issues around emotional empowerment can be more subtle than that. Gaps around any of the factors listed earlier can restrict employee behavior or at least keep employees from stepping out of their comfort zone.

Culture and Change Management Practice Leader, Craig Kamins, joins Leadership Advisory Firm

Craig Kamins, JD, MBA, spanning multiple decades in global consulting companies, Korn Ferry, Gallup, and McKinsey, extends the firm’s leadership advisory services, broadening its ability to help executive leaders navigate culture change.

Leveraging Culture to Enable Organizational Change

Mr. Craig Kamins will serve as the head of the firm’s new Culture and Change Management Practice. Carpe Diem sees this as an area of vital importance to clients as they attempt to navigate through another period of dynamic change.

For a few years, organizations framed their people strategy around their response to COVID. Then they had to deal with the recession, return to work and its aftermath, and now the onslaught of artificial intelligence. Organizations with healthy and supportive cultures are in the best position to weather the storm.

Helping Leaders Properly Assess and Map Culture Change – at Scale

Craig Kamins, JD, MBA

Mr. Kamins has over 25 years of experience partnering with clients assessing, aligning, and executing on culture and change management initiatives in a broad range of sectors including technology, consumer, healthcare, and industrial. This includes companies experiencing significant changes in leadership and organizational structures or facing disruptive changes to the business or operating model.

The Impact of Workforce Management and RTW Policies on Retail Cultures: A Mixed Bag

The retail industry is in the midst of a grand experiment: remote work. While some companies are singing its praises, others are still trying to figure out the tune. The question on everyone’s mind: does remote work benefit the bottom line and company culture?

Is AI Being Used in the Commercial Function Within CPG? Not Really – According to 60% of Our Survey

As the promise of the AI revolution increasingly meets the real world, business use cases from improving forecasting to streamlining customer interactions have been touted across almost every industry and function. When it comes to adoption, however, there remains a sense that commercial business leaders are approaching these tools with caution. The more complex the use case, the less likely it is that commercial leaders will want to be on the bleeding edge of a technology that has the potential to disrupt existing commercial processes.

Chief Scientific Officer & Operating Executive Matthew Roberts Joins Carpe Diem Global Partners

Matthew Roberts, PHD., MBA, spanning multiple decades in multinational and emerging market companies has joined the firm to build capability in its new Chief Science Officer practice.

Dr. Matthew Roberts has over 25 years of success in driving corporate growth through science, technology, innovation, operations as a C-Level executive and as a trusted advisor. He currently manages a portfolio of growth-phase companies, while historically having worked with large multinationals at Pharmavite, The Nature’s Bounty Company, Abbott Nutrition, and Nestlé. He has served on the board or as a trusted advisor to a number of emerging food, beverage, and pharmaceutical companies. Examples include the Nutrition Capital Network, WellVest, ChromaDex, Pierre Marcolini, VetCentric, Attune Foods, and others.
Read More

Retained Executive Search: Top 10 Innovators of 2023

Innovation #1
Quality AND Speed
The Cost of Underperforming Leadership Roles

Innovation #2
Accelerated Onboarding (AOB)

Innovation #3
Fair and Balanced Assessments

Innovation #4
Don’t Hire Recruiters – Former executive leaders with subject-matter expertise

Carpe Diem Unveils New Leadership Advisory Services To Assist CEOs In Addressing Labor & Skills Shortages

SAN FRANCISCO, January 25, 2023

52% of Global CEOs surveyed by PwC believe that labor/skills shortages will impact profitability in their industry over the next 10 years.* Carpe Diem Global Partners responded to these needs by expanding broadly in Talent Management, Leadership Development and Organizational Advisory Services.

How Can CEO’s Increase Throughput of Innovation and R&D?

Its all about leadership development. Here are current best practices for CEOs to be more effective at developing and investing in the executive growth of R&D Leaders. Read More

HR Tech Outlook Recognizes Carpe Diem Global Partners as Top Talent Management Company

San Francisco, CA
November 7, 2022

HR Tech Outlook is a global print and digital platform focused on reporting technology and service disruption within the HR function. The publication guides CHROs to leverage new technologies and embrace the future by turning the attention to growth, cost reduction and competitive differentiation. The publication evaluated and assessed a broad range of talent management firms before selecting the top 10 most disruptive firms.

Enter Carpe Diem Global Partners—a bespoke, performance-based leadership advisory firm that delivers retained executive search, leadership, team and organizational development. The firm has clearly differentiated itself in its business model, consultants, transparency, accountability, and performance guarantees, especially geared around client needs.

Former AFLAC Chief Marketing Officer, Gail Galuppo, Joins Carpe Diem Global Partners

Gail Galuppo, a +30-year Operating Executive, Board Director, Board Advisor and former CMO at Aflac and SVP Global Strategy and Marketing at Hewlett Packard has joined the firm as a Strategic Advisor and Managing Partner.

Gail Galuppo joins Carpe Diem Global Partners as an Advisor and Managing Partner with over 30 years of global Marketing and Product Management leadership experience with prestigious Fortune 500 companies and Private Equity backed organizations. During her career, she covered 200 countries and multiple industries such as Technology, SaaS, Education, Retail, Insurance, Payments, Financial Services, and Consumer Banking.
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Key Trends Leading the Aesthetics Industry

2021 saw a significant rise in the popularity of the aesthetics industry with more and more workers turning remote and wanting to appear their best selves on Zoom calls. This increase in awareness and acceptance of enhancements has created a wealth of new products and treatments being utilized by consumers, including millennials and men.
Read More

The 3 Most Popular Leadership Development Strategies for Omni Channel Retailers

Over the past several years, leaders across the corporate world have been faced with an unprecedented set of challenges. Having emerged–for now–from the worst of a global pandemic that caused issues including supply chain disruptions, labor shortages, and rapid organization transition to remote work, it’s no surprise that some 72% of executives were reporting burnout as recently as October 2021. And, with a recession seemingly looming in the very near future, leaders are faced with a new set of challenges in a rapidly-evolving landscape.
Read More

How Many Coaches Does It Take To Change A Lightbulb?

Does Strengths Based Coaching Really Work? It’s All About Behavior.

Don Clifton created the strengths-based development movement and empowered millions to be their best self. Clifton started his research at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln library. But he was struck that all of the psychology books he could find were about what is wrong with people — he couldn’t find a single one about what might be right with people.

Former Levi Strauss HR Executive, Edel Keville, Joins Carpe Diem Global Partners

Edel Keville, a +25-year Operating Executive and former Levi Strauss, HP and Sun Microsystems HR Leader, has joined the firm’s Leadership Development practice.

Carpe Diem Global Partners announced today that Edel Keville has joined as Managing Partner of its Leadership Development Practice: Succession, High Potential, 360 Performance Reviews, Accelerated Onboarding, Leadership Development, and Team Development.
Read More

What Is the Right Balance between Human Involvement and Automation in a Finance Function?

Cash Management, Process Identification and Hiring, Become the Top Priorities Over Automation for Finance and Accounting Leaders in Early Stage Businesses.

Carpe Diem Managing Partner, Fay Wasylyniuk, presented these questions to leaders in companies comprised, almost entirely, of life sciences or biotech businesses. The majority of leaders cited cash management as the most important accounting priority at start-up. Leaders also focused on the importance of ensuring that payroll, accounts payable, accounts receivable, and bank accounts are set up in accordance with laws and accurately reported.
– for management decision-making and stakeholder reporting. Other responses also highlighted that hiring the right people for the team was necessary for establishing proper internal controls and segregation of duties.

With the inevitability of the remote workforce caused by the pandemic, how have leadership styles changed?

With the inevitability of the remote workforce caused by the pandemic, how have leadership styles changed? Are there plans to go back to the office?

With the pandemic forcing companies to close down physical locations due to spikes in cases, many employees now find themselves working remotely. This change has certainly been one that companies have had to adjust and adapt to – company leaders have had to determine best practices in leadership styles. Jeff DeFazio, Managing Partner for Carpe Diem Partners, spoke with 42 HR leaders about changes in CEO leadership styles brought on by the pandemic and remote work. The two questions centered around whether the CEOs of companies have changed their leadership style to accommodate a remote workforce and whether or not the company had plans to return to full in-office residence. For reference, the market scan included businesses comprised of public and private companies with $500mm or greater in revenue.
Read More

Disruptive Firm Carpe Diem Partners expands into Executive Coaching Services

Art Resnikoff, a 20-year pioneer, and practitioner in Executive Coaching has joined the firm to lead and build the firm’s C-suite executive coaching practice: Succession, High Potential, 360, Accelerated Onboarding, Leadership Development, and Team Development.

February 15, 2022

Carpe Diem Partners announced today that Art Resnikoff has joined Carpe Diem Partners as a Managing Partner leading its new C-suite Executive Coaching Practice. Art will lead the firm’s expansion into the most sought-after leadership services, building off the firm’s successful “accelerated onboarding” program with placed candidates.

Carpe Diem Global Partners launches new Technology Officers Practice with the addition of Michael Whitehead

Mike Whitehead, former SVP, CIO, and Global Head of Technology for Johnson & Johnson and McCormick has joined Carpe Diem Global Partners. Career spans Healthcare, Life Sciences, Consumer Products, and diverse global manufacturing industries.

San Francisco, January 20, 2022

Carpe Diem Global Partners announced today, that Michael Whitehead will join the firm as Managing Partner. Mike will build and lead the firm’s new Technology Officers practice across all verticals.

Michael’s career as the Senior Technology Executive has spanned dynamic global brands such as Johnson & Johnson, McCormick and Company, Millennium Chemicals and Cotiviti, a private equity firm. This experience balanced with strategic advisory and technology consulting with Cap Gemini, WGroup, and Fortium Partners, has afforded him the opportunity to cover a diverse set of industries, technologies, and deliver solutions for unique business challenges.

What Is the Most Important Change in Omnichannel Inventory Planning?

How are Omnichannel Retailers managing inventory in the face of the global pandemic, supply chain bottle necks and labor shortages? You might be shocked at what you learn.

What Are the World Class Building Blocks of a Digital Strategy That Drive Exceptional Growth in Today’s Consumer Oriented Global Businesses?

Most organizations anticipate big results from their digital transformation efforts. Surveys show companies expect digital initiatives to deliver annual growth and cost efficiencies of 5 to 10 percent or more in the first three to five years. Yet few businesses see growth of that scale despite significant investments. A strong digital strategy is critical for deeper customer insights, internally and externally, reaching new customers and building deeper relationships with existing ones more effectively. But what are the necessary building blocks of a digital marketing strategy that the most progressive companies are deploying to drive exceptional growth?

Fay Wasylyniuk Joins Carpe Diem Global Partners

Fay Wasylyniuk, former PepsiCo Senior HR Executive, Joins Disruptive Executive Search Firm Carpe Diem Global Partners

San Francisco, CA – June 10, 2021

Fay Wasylyniuk, a Senior Human Resources Executive from PepsiCo and the broader Consumer and Retail industry, with experience across HR Strategy, Organizational Development, and Change Management has joined the reimagined executive search firm, Carpe Diem Global Partners.

Effective immediately, Fay Wasylyniuk will lead the firm’s engagements across all verticals bringing decades of HR operating experience to the firms clients. As a Managing Partner, Fay will be an active client engagement leader in retained search and in the firm’s diagnostic consulting services.

Chris Browning, Global Commercial Leader, Joins Carpe Diem Global Partners

Chris Browning, a global commercial leader with broad experience across the Consumer-Packaged Goods industry has joined the disruptive executive search firm, Carpe Diem Global Partners.

Effective immediately, Chris Browning will lead the firm’s commercial engagements across all verticals. As a Managing Partner, Chris will be an active client engagement leader in retained search and in the firm’s diagnostic consulting services.

“With the addition of Chris to our team, Carpe Diem Global Partners extends its functional expertise to growth minded clients looking to target, assess and acquire world class commercial leaders. Examples might be commercially leaning Chief Executive Officers, Chief Customer Officers, Chief Commercial Officers, Chief Growth Officers and/or SVP Sales and Marketing roles,” stated Jeff DeFazio, founding Partner of Carpe Diem Global Partners.

Roberta Fiore, Global Innovations Operating Leader, Joins Disruptive Executive Search Firm Carpe Diem Partners^®

San Francisco, CA – August 20, 2019

Roberta Fiore, a marketing innovations leader with international experience in the technology, biotech, and healthcare industries, has joined the disruptive executive search firm, Carpe Diem Partners.

Effective immediately, Roberta Fiore will lead Innovation, Marketing and Technical engagements across our Technology, Consumer, and Biotech practices. As a Managing Partner, Roberta will be an active client engagement leader in retained search and in the firm’s diagnostic consulting services.

“With the addition of Roberta to our team, Carpe Diem Partners extends its trusted advisory services to clients looking to target, assess and acquire world class talent, for clients with strong innovation and growth mandates. Examples might be Chief Executive Officer, Chief Innovation Officer, Chief Commercial Officer, SVP Corporate Development, Chief Digital Officers, and SVP Product Innovation roles” stated Jeff DeFazio, Founder Partner of Carpe Diem Partners.

Roberta has deep experience in marketing, product and sales innovation in both small and large multinational organizations across the Technology, Biotech and Healthcare verticals. Roberta’s arrival strengthens our ability to understand our clients’ growth initiatives and helps them advance at a faster pace”, stated DeFazio.
Read More

How Companies Are Dealing With Tariffs

San Francisco, CA – August 14, 2019

President Trump’s tariffs have cost U.S. businesses $3.4 billion in June alone, according to data compiled by Tariffs Hurt the Heartland in conjunction with The Trade Partnership. That research was released just as the President announced that he would impose a 10 percent tariff on $300 billion in Chinese imports beginning Sept. 1, escalating a tit-for-tat standoff that has already seen imports from China drop by 12 percent during the first half of 2019.Read More

Former Newell Brands General Manager and Vice President Joins Disruptive Executive Search Firm Carpe Diem Partners^®

SAN FRANCISCO, Mar. 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — A commercial leader taking multiple private equity backed companies successfully through exit, Brad Daggett has joined the disruptive executive search firm, Carpe Diem Partners.

Effective immediately, Brad will lead Carpe Diem Partners’ Chicago office, Private Equity and Commercial function practices. As a Managing Partner, Brad will be an active client engagement leader in retained search and the firms diagnostic services.

Disruption is Coming to the Retained Executive Search Industry

The executive search industry is being disrupted by the entrance of a new business model and technology: Carpe Diem Partners

San Francisco, CA – December 5, 2018

Solving many of the challenges that clients experience when hiring a retained executive search firm, a new player has arrived with faster service, balanced candidate assessments, and the only retained executive search firm nationally certified in Diversity & Inclusion. With a unique operating platform and a refreshing approach to performance, Carpe Diem Partners has established itself as a truly disruptive firm, end to end, in an industry long overdue for disruption.

The True Power of Diversity

In the light of recent societal movements, such as #metoo or #TimesUp, and the increased focus on the conversations around race and gender from both a political and economic viewpoint, the concept of Diversity has started to become charged with a negative connotation that often dismisses what it really means.

The Five Elements of Culture

A Different Scale for Culture

Leveraging the Findings

About Carpe Diem Global Partners

Priorities

Decision-Making Style

Leadership Style

Leadership Culture

Team Dynamic

Enhancing Leadership Behaviors

Executive Summary

Shift to Frequent Check-ins and Ongoing Feedback

Increased Focus on Behavioral Metrics and Emotional Intelligence:

Integration of Analytics and KPI-Driven Assessments:

Personalized Development Plans and Succession Planning:

Adoption of New Tools and Simplified Processes:

Economic Headwinds and Supply Chain Complexities

Consumer Behavior and Market Trends

Retail and Distribution Challenges

Regulatory and Political Uncertainties

Capital Constraints and Growth Strategies

Conclusion

Executive Summary

Evolving Challenges for CFOs in 2025

1. Persistent Inflation and Interest Rate Uncertainty

2. Geopolitical Tensions and Tariff Uncertainty

3. Shifting Consumer Spending Patterns

4. Regulatory Scrutiny and Compliance Challenges

5. AI and Workforce Transformation

Strategic Roadmap for CFOs in 2025

Conslusion

The Three Levels of Empowerment

The Unique Importance of Emotional Empowerment

Driving Emotional Empowerment

The Subtlety of Emotional Empowerment

Leveraging Culture to Enable Organizational Change

Helping Leaders Properly Assess and Map Culture Change – at Scale

Does Strengths Based Coaching Really Work? It’s All About Behavior.

Cash Management, Process Identification and Hiring, Become the Top Priorities Over Automation for Finance and Accounting Leaders in Early Stage Businesses.

With the inevitability of the remote workforce caused by the pandemic, how have leadership styles changed? Are there plans to go back to the office?

How are Omnichannel Retailers managing inventory in the face of the global pandemic, supply chain bottle necks and labor shortages? You might be shocked at what you learn.

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