Welcome to the very first episode of The Brand Builder’s Playbook, a new limited series hosted by Jim Stengel (Host of The CMO Podcast) and Ryan Barker (CEO of BERA.ai), and this week joined by guest co-host Lindsey Wehking (Chief Strategy Officer at Nonfiction Research).

In this 8-part series, we’ll build a practical playbook for 2025—designed to help brand leaders navigate an era of uncertainty, constant change, and rising expectations. Each episode tackles a critical theme in sequence, offering insights and tools to strengthen your brand as a true strategic asset.

We kick things off by asking the most fundamental question: Why does brand matter?

Our featured guest is Chris Burggraeve, former Global CMO of AB InBev and a longtime champion of treating brand as a financial asset. Together, we unpack how brand drives growth, profit, pricing power, and resilience—even in turbulent times.

If you’re a marketer, founder, or business leader seeking conviction, clarity, and a new set of plays for brand building, this episode is your starting point.

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Each week we’ll offer you a worksheet to follow along and continue to learn after enjoying the episode. You can download this week’s worksheet here: http://bit.ly/4mZImdd 

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Read about upcoming episode topics and guests here: https://bera.ai/podcast/