Tony Sarsam has spent his career walking into companies that need to change and proving that transformation doesn’t have to come at the expense of the people doing the work. After building his career at companies including PepsiCo, Dreyer’s, and Nestlé, Tony most recently led the transformation of SpartanNash as CEO, where his “people first” philosophy helped drive performance while reducing employee turnover by 40%. In this conversation with Ryan, Tony explains why every company should be transforming long before it reaches a crisis, why employees can immediately tell the difference between a leader who genuinely values people and one who simply talks about it, and what decades of trial and error have taught him about getting change right. Plus, Tony shares what he’s looking for in his own next chapter and why.
Tony Sarsam has spent his career walking into companies that need to change and proving that transformation doesn’t have to come at the expense of the people doing the work. After building his career at companies including PepsiCo, Dreyer’s, and Nestlé, Tony most recently led the transformation of SpartanNash as CEO, where his “people first” philosophy helped drive performance while reducing employee turnover by 40%. In this conversation with Ryan, Tony explains why every company should be transforming long before it reaches a crisis, why employees can immediately tell the difference between a leader who genuinely values people and one who simply talks about it, and what decades of trial and error have taught him about getting change right. Plus, Tony shares what he’s looking for in his own next chapter and why.