The term ‘holding company’ can describe a vast range of organizational structures, from passive investment vehicles that provide little operational input to deeply integrated platforms that shape strategy across their portfolio companies. Basel Holding sits firmly toward the active end of that spectrum. Burak Basel has been explicit about this distinction in interviews and his Entrepreneur-featured writing. The firm does […]
Competition, when structured well, is one of the most powerful performance accelerators available to a sales organization. Grit Marketing has invested in building a competitive culture that motivates without demoralizing — one where leaderboards, team challenges, and recognition programs create genuine urgency and drive without the toxic dynamics that poorly designed competitive environments produce. The difference between energizing competition and […]
Jazwares Cares was not built after Jazwares became successful. Judd Zebersky created it at the company’s founding in 1997, embedding philanthropy into a startup that had no guarantee of commercial survival. The program has grown alongside the business, operating today across multiple countries with programs that go beyond toy donations into school partnerships and employee volunteerism. What the Program Actually […]
Hart Energy announced Kelcy Warren among the honorees of its inaugural 2023 Hall of Fame class, a group assembled to coincide with the organization’s 50th anniversary. Warren, who founded Energy Transfer and currently serves as its executive chairman, was selected for a career that traces the growth of American pipeline infrastructure over more than four decades. The honor placed him […]
Three industry awards in a single year would be notable for any executive. For Kelcy Warren, 2023 brought the Hart Energy Hall of Fame induction, the D CEO Energy Legacy Award, and the Texas Oil & Gas Association’s Distinguished Service Award simultaneously. The combination reflected a broad consensus across the energy industry about the durability of Warren’s contributions. The Scale […]
Artificial intelligence has reshaped audio production in ways that would have been difficult to predict five years ago. For Greg Soros, a podcaster and founder of Podcraft Media Lab, that shift demanded a deliberate response not a wholesale embrace, and not resistance. Soros came to podcast production through a path that included technical training at Berklee College of Music and […]
For Kelcy Warren, the connection between building a major energy company and investing in the surrounding community is not incidental. It appears to be central to how he understands leadership. As founder and Executive Chairman of Energy Transfer, Warren has channeled resources back into the communities where his company operates in ways that go well beyond standard corporate giving. Energy […]
When Berkshire Hathaway acquired Alleghany Corporation in the fourth quarter of 2022, it inherited Jazwares as part of the deal. The toy company, founded by Judd Zebersky after he left a law practice in the late 1990s, had by then established itself as one of the more recognized names in the industry, with Squishmallows driving a significant portion of its […]
Retirement rarely sticks for executives who have spent their careers driving consequential work. Michael Polk discovered as much after stepping down from Newell Brands in 2019. He had spent years at the center of major consumer goods operations, first at Unilever, then at Kraft Foods, and finally at Newell Brands, where he served as CEO for seven years. The idea […]
Most executives at the peak of their careers return to familiar territory when they step back into the workforce. Michael Polk took a different path. After retiring from Newell Brands in 2019 following a decade at the helm, he chose to lead Implus LLC, a fitness accessories company owned by private equity firm Berkshire Partners. The move raised eyebrows among […]