With around 2 billion people globally in Gen Z—roughly 25% of the world’s population—it’s no surprise so many consumer companies are racing to connect with them, drawn to their spending influence today and their growing economic power tomorrow. Yet capturing their loyalty is anything but straightforward.

In today’s Redefiners episode, Tomas and Marla talk with a leader in youth fashion, Pacsun CEO Brieane Olson, who seems to have cracked the code on Gen Z and even wrote a book on it: Co-Created: The Cultural Strategy That Redefined Pacsun. Brieane shares how she helped lead Pacsun's turnaround after bankruptcy, the leadership lessons that shaped her early days as CEO, and how she shifted the culture from "brand telling" to "customer listening" and co-creation. She also covers how Pacsun is using AI to deepen customer relationships and drive sales, along with her playbook for building authentic partnerships that resonate.

We’ll also hear from Emmy Melville, a leadership advisor at Russell Reynolds Associates, who shares how today’s leadership teams can sustain performance when change never stops.

Four things you’ll learn from this episode:

Tips on stepping into the CEO role
How to go from “brand telling” to customer listening
Insights on developing authentic brand partnerships
Ideas on how to use AI to deepen customer connections

If you enjoyed this episode, you might also like these Redefiners episodes:

A closer look at the research from this episode:

What Are The Top Surprises New CEOs Experience?
The Three Conditions That Matter Most for Transformation
Team Regeneration: How Leadership Teams Sustain Performance When Change Never Stops

From Bankruptcy to Revival: Cracking the Gen Z Code with Pacsun CEO Brieane Olson

Redefiners

From Bankruptcy to Revival: Cracking the Gen Z Code with Pacsun CEO Brieane Olson