“An Oscar-winning producer” is quite the click bait descriptor of this episode’s guest, but we would be remiss to leave it at that. Michael Sugar, an American film and television producer and principal at Sugar23, is first and foremost a good human being with a powerful message to all of us often running the rat race of life and career growth. Find and embrace what makes us happy now! After winning the Academy Award for the movie "Spotlight", he’s had an epiphany of not putting happiness as a goal anymore and instead reprogramming focus on opportunities one has versus those one lost. Listen in as we chat with Michael about:

• Why humility is a critical part of his life.
• All the feelings he felt the morning after winning an Oscar.
• How Sugar23 is transforming the way brands connect with people (and their wallets) through heart.
• Marrying entertainment with brand storytelling.
• Why entry point of passion trumps the brand awareness metrics.

MICHAEL SUGAR is the CEO and Founder of Sugar23 - a management, production and private equity company. He was awarded the Oscar® for Best Picture for “Spotlight,” starring Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, and Rachel McAdams. Sugar’s recent Executive Producer credits include MSNBC’s docuseries “The Turning Point,” “Knox Goes Away,” and the Apple TV+ series “Dickinson,” which garnered a Peabody Award, a Golden Tomato Award, and numerous nominations. Sugar represents an impressive roster of literary and talent clients in addition to his producorial duties. He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the Producer’s Guild of America, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, and lectures regularly at USC, NYU, Columbia, and the American Film Institute. He has been nominated for multiple Emmys and Golden Globes, and has received two Television Academy Honors, two AFI awards, and two Peabody Awards.

It was theater and Broadway where she initially hoped to pave her professional path. Instead, she fell in love with the process of writing and her very first novel became an instant success. Liesl Shurtliff is the New York Times bestselling author of 'Rump: The (Fairly) True Tale of Rumpelstiltskin' and other books in the (Fairly) True Tales series and the Time Castaways trilogy. Her books have been named to several state award lists and have won many awards, including a Children’s Book Award from the International Literacy Association. Liesl lives with her husband and four children in Chicago and found some time to chat with us about:

• Finding her voice as a writer
• The importance of seeing any experience from all sides
• Why audiences resonate with things that are both familiar and new
• How her passion for theater and Broadway influence her work
• Impact of fame on her confidence and understanding her limitations
• Learning to chill out
• Her approach to connecting with the audience on a personal level
• The need to finish, as you can revise bad writing but not a blank page

If you think geeking out on a seemingly mundane pantry item like ketchup isn’t possible, join us for an intriguing conversation with former Kraft Heinz Chief Growth Officer Sanjiv Gajiwala. He is a consumer-first brand builder and storyteller with a track record of strategic repositioning to drive growth - having worked on iconic brands like Heinz, Oscar Mayer and Pabst Blue Ribbon as well as category disrupting innovation like White Claw Hard Seltzer.

Sanjiv loves bringing new consumer experiences to life by understanding evolving culture and communication, while leading teams that thrive on the wild imagination of the impossible. He gets a sense of that impossible while living in Chicago with his wife, a 4 year old, 8 month old and a 2 year old puppy. In our candid chat, we cover:

• How being a child of immigrants guides his career choices.
• Why he’s actually excited about fragmentation of audiences.
• 'Anything is possible' mentality enables thinking about multiple solutions.
• Dedicating time for experimenting outside of your immediate industry.
• Leadership through vulnerability allows for a truer version of oneself.
• Views on the meaning of a community and how it could define brand love.
• Passion project around preservation of memories and what role brands could play in that space.