#212: Jodi Berg, PhD (Vitamix) Pt. 1 — Delivering Quality, Leading with Passion, and Embracing Legacy

Lay of The Land

Jodi Berg, PhD recently retired as the fourth-generation President and CEO of Vitamix, having joined the family business in 1997 with the directive to lead the company’s overseas expansion, later serving as director of international, household and commercial divisions, and then ultimately as Executive Vice President in 2007, President in 2009, and CEO in 2011.

Under her leadership, Jodi built on the 100+ year history and legacy of her family’s business, — founded in 1921 and headquartered in Olmsted Township in the greater Cleveland area — to grow the iconic and beloved brand to what it is today, with expanded distribution to over 130 countries and over 400% organic growth during her tenure.

As many are familiar with — Vitamix manufactures high-performance blending equipment for home and commercial use, with millions of consumers around the world who use Vitamix products to help achieve their personal health and culinary goals. The company’s commercial customer list reads like a “Who’s Who” of major restaurant chains, and gourmet chefs regard their Vitamix machines in the same light and improtance as they regards their knives.

The company has an incredible history of innovation and invention and developed the first true commercial blender in the early 1990s, which ignited the smoothie movement, and has been named the Best-in-Class Overall beverage blender for decades by readers of Foodservice Equipment & Supplies magazine.

As you’ll hear in our conversation, Jodi developed a highly intentional approach to leadership — centered on purpose and employee engagement — which she formalized, researched and earned a PhD in management from Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management and ultimatley leveraged to transform the organizational structure of Vitamix and its corporate vision, mission and culture.

This was such a fun and unforgettable conversation — we actually got into such depth and breadth here that I’m breaking the episode into two parts that will cover Vitamix and Leadership across growing up in the family business and the familial lessons passed on, the evolution of Vitamix over the generations and the corresponding ingredients required order to thrive for over a century, balancing family legacy with innovation, lessons learned in hospitality and working at The Ritz Carlton, many personal stories and historical anecdotes about Vitamix that shaped her understanding of purpose and how it drives engagement and fulfillment in both personal and professional contexts, synthesizing her earned leadership wisdom into her upcoming book, why Vitamix is headquartered in Cleveland, helping people find their superpowers and a whole lot more… Jodi is an incredibly thoughtful teacher and operator and this really felt like a master class in all things business, leadership, and purpose.

00:00:00 - Introduction and Background
00:04:56 - Journey to Vitamix: A Family Legacy
00:19:23 - The Ritz-Carlton Experience and Lessons Learned
00:24:57 - Returning to Vitamix: Merging Passions and Purpose
00:25:27 - Family Legacy and Personal Growth
00:30:05 - The Evolution of Vitamix
00:36:43 - Balancing Legacy with Strategic Growth
00:42:53 - Changing Perspectives on Food and Health
00:51:00 - Creating a Community Around Food
00:58:02 - The Impact of Authentic Marketing

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LINKS:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodilberg/
https://www.vitamix.com/us/en_us/
Original Vitamix Infomercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rm5IzzGPzQA

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