December 5, 2017
Looking to dive into something good over the holidays? We recently asked our Worldwide Leadership Team to name the books/shows/podcasts they’re currently enjoying. Their answers run from educational to awe-inspiring. Some recommendations from our leaders:
- Roy Bagattini, Vice President and President, Levi Strauss Americas: I’m actually reading a book called Retail’s Seismic Shift, and it’s a very compelling read. It really defines the developments underlying a lot of the changes that we’re seeing in retail, which is pretty profound, and it’s quite a provocative book because it has in it a lot of lessons for us.
- Seth Jaffe, Senior Vice President and General Counsel: I’m reading the Book of Joy, which is about a week-long conversation between Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama.
- David Love, Executive Vice President and President of Levi Strauss Asia, Middle East, Africa: Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow, which is pretty much about what is the purpose of humankind in the future given technology, evolution. Very fascinating read.
- Carrie Ask, Executive Vice President and President, Global Retail: I’m reading a book by Chip Heath called The Power of Moments. It examines why certain experiences have extraordinary impact.
- Kelly McGinnis, Senior Vice President and Chief Communications Officer: I’m listening to What Happened by Hillary Clinton on Audible, and if you’re raising girls that first chapter will slay you. I had no expectation to be so impacted by it.
- Liz O’Neill, Senior Vice President and Chief Supply Chain Officer: Recently I read a really educational book called The Forever War, which is depressing but very good. It’s about war in the Middle East. But, actually I’m in the middle of watching season two of a really morbid show on Amazon called Fortitude.
- Harmit Singh, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer: My favorite show for a while, because I find it very unbiased, is Fareed Zakaria GPS.
- Marc Rosen, Executive Vice President and President of Global Ecommerce: Well I just read Hillbilly Elegy on a plane, and actually living in the bubble that we live in here in San Francisco, I think it was great at putting us in touch with what is the rest of the country thinking.
- Elizabeth Wood, Chief Human Resources Officer: I had some extra time this summer for podcasts. I love any podcast about storytelling, so This American Life, The Moth and especially a new one called Beautiful Stories From Anonymous People. (FYI, some stories may potentially be NSFW!)
- James “JC” Curleigh, Executive Vice President and President, Global Brands: My favorite book that I’ve read and I’m reading again is called Five Minds for the Future by Howard Gardner. It’s a really interesting insight to the types of minds the next generation is going to need to really settle into driving the future. Not just culture, but solutions. If you read it you might get a jump on the next generation, especially if you have kids.
- Seth Ellison, Executive Vice President and President, Europe: Since I spend my life on planes and trains my Kindle is a really good friend of mine. Actually I’m reading a book right now called The Four. It’s about Amazon, Google, Facebook and Apple. But before that — I’m super eclectic — I read a really good book on Napoleon called Napoleon, and before that I read a book on happiness by the Dalai Lama. So I’m all over the map.
- Chip Bergh, President and Chief Executive Officer: I just finished Sapiens, written by the same author of Homo Deus, and I’ve been told that I should read that next. I just late last week read Hillbilly Elegy, because I met J.D. Vance this weekend and had a chance to spend a little bit of time with him. Talk about an amazing story. Go read about his life story, holy cow. Pretty amazing.
