North Star Leaders

About North Star Leaders

As a leader, how do you know where to focus? When there are a hundred possibilities, how do you direct your time, your team, your budget and your emotional energy? That is what Lindsay Pedersen is exploring on the North Star Leaders Podcast. In every episode she is joined by the entrepreneurs and executives who understand the impact brand makes on their companies, and how vital it is to have a North Star that aligns the efforts of everyone working towards a common goal at an organization. They dig into how to set the conditions for a company that creates real value for decades, and navigate the dance between creating economic value now, and serving a noble purpose that will last into the future. Remember: Brand is your North Star. The The North Star Leaders podcast is hosted by Lindsay Pedersen, a brand strategist and author of the bestselling book: Forging an Ironclad Brand. She has worked with corporations like Duolingo, Starbucks, Expedia, Pantheon and IMDB, arming them with an empowering understanding of brand, and a strategy they can use to grow their business with clarity, conviction and focus. Learn more about Lindsay Pedersen at IroncladBrandStrategy.com Questions she explores on the show include: What is it like to lead a purpose-driven business? What is soggy positioning, and how do you avoid it? How does brand strategy impact company culture? Why should non-marketing leaders care about brand? How does a brand help grow a business? How can brand help you elevate pricing? Each episode of the North Star Leaders podcast is a conversation with a leader who has embraced their business’s North Star, and the impact is has made on their companies. Lindsay Pedersen brings her experience from years of working with top brands to bear in helping to unearth exactly how having a North Star has changed the direction of these organizations. Popular topics on the North Star Leaders Podcast include: Brand strategy, positioning, CMOs, leadership, company culture, company values, customer journey, leadership stories, brand development, North Star Values, company mission, brand strategy insights, brand strategy advice, company differentiation, gaining market share, scaling a business

Publisher

Lindsay Pedersen

Category

business

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

21 Sept 2023

Latest episode

13 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

72 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   13 Oct 2026

   Clarity Converts with Christelle Flahaux

   A bigger marketing budget can hide a lot of problems. So can strong demand generation. But neither can make up for a weak product, unclear positioning, or a brand people don’t understand. In this episode, Lindsay sits down with Stampli CMO Christelle Flahaux to talk about the balance between data and creativity, why brand and demand generation have to work together, and how marketers can stay focused on what actually matters to their customers. You’ll hear them discuss: Why taking emotion out of the numbers can lead to better conversations across marketing, sales, and leadership How Christelle’s early experience at FedEx shaped the way she thinks about brand consistency and decision-making Why demand gen becomes much harder when there’s no brand awareness supporting it How smaller teams can compete with deeper-pocketed competitors through sharper content, context, and focus Why AI, AEO, and GEO are making clarity and simplicity even more important for marketers How bringing the actual customer closer to the marketing team can improve messaging and product positioning Why marketers need to look beyond impressions and pipeline volume and pay attention to what actually converts Resources: Christelle Flahaux on Stampli | LinkedIn Lindsay Pedersen - Contact me to tell me who you'd like to hear as a guest! | Connect with me on LinkedIn

2. 

   6 Oct 2026

   Attention Moat with Ran Avrahamy

   When everyone can build faster, ship faster, and increasingly look the same, what actually makes a company worth choosing? For AppsFlyer’s CMO - Ran Avrahamy, the answer comes back to culture, clarity, humility, and taste. In this conversation, Ran and Lindsay dig into what it means to build a truly global company, why saying “we don’t know” can be a sign of strength, and how brands can stay distinctive as AI changes the way people (and agents) make decisions. You’ll hear them discuss: How AppsFlyer’s global-first approach shaped the company from its earliest days Why understanding what you don’t know can be just as valuable as knowing what you do What “public by default” looks like in practice and why transparency needs more than a slogan How AppsFlyer navigated uncertainty during COVID and Apple’s major privacy changes Why humility can be a competitive advantage in leadership and business What agent-to-agent selling could mean for brand, culture, and the future of marketing Why taste and attention may become even more valuable as technology makes products easier to build and harder to differentiate Resources: Ran Avrahamy on AppsFlyer | LinkedIn Lindsay Pedersen - Contact me to tell me who you'd like to hear as a guest! | Connect with me on LinkedIn

3. 

   23 Jun 2026

   Built to Belong with Rick Brooks

   Culture isn't what's written on the wall - it's what people actually do when nobody's watching. So how do you build a company where employees act like owners, customers feel like they belong, and brand values drive real business results? In this episode, Lindsay speaks to Zumiez CEO - Rick Brooks, who shares how a deeply embedded culture has shaped one of retail's most distinctive brands, why individuality matters more than ever, and what leaders get wrong when they treat culture as a slogan instead of a system. You'll hear them discuss: How Zumiez built a culture where employees are empowered to own their business and make decisions locally Why teaching, learning, competition, and recognition sit at the center of the company's success The connection between strong culture, flat organizational structures, and leadership trust How Zumiez serves a specific customer who values individuality and self-expression over fitting in Why physical retail still matters in an increasingly digital world, especially for younger generations The role brand positioning plays in creating pricing power and long-term customer loyalty How staying committed to core values helps businesses adapt and evolve without losing their identity Resources: Rick Brooks on Zumiez | Find Zumiez Store | LinkedIn Lindsay Pedersen - Contact me to tell me who you'd like to hear as a guest! | Connect with me on LinkedIn

Who has been a guest on North Star Leaders

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Robert Wahbe
• Kakul Srivastava
• Joe Davy
• Jennifer Heil
• Doug Winter

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

8 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

3 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 35 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

57

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

32