Our favorites interviews of 2015

We conduct a lot of interviews during the course of a year, and some always stand out as our favorites.

Usually interviews make our favorites list because the person we talked to spoke candidly and directly, and offered telling insights into their business and to the industry.

Here are our Top 5 favorite interviews of 2015. We also included one analysis piece we wrote that stood out to us, and to our readers.

Most of the stories are for Executive Edition members. Interviews that are exclusive and come from our strong relationships in the industry, that take time to write and produce, or are more in-depth, are reserved for our subscribers.

2015 Favorite Interviews

1. Jeff Kearl, CEO, Stance

Our hands down favorite interview of 2015. It’s rare to find an executive who talks so openly and directly about their business, and about their different philosophy on workplace culture.

We talked to Jeff about Stance’s many new initiatives for 2016, why he was nervous about the underwear launch, about Stance’s evolution in the past five years, the company’s interesting hiring practices and why Stance provides free, healthy meals for employees.

2. Jim Alling, CEO, TOMS

Another example of a refreshingly honest conversation about the opportunities, challenges and past mistakes by shoe brand TOMS, plus his ideas to revamp the brand and build relationships with retailers.

3. Laurent Vrignaud, Owner, Moulin Bistro

At a time when some industry executives are looking to find what’s next, the snowboard salesman turned successful restaurateur shares his reinvention story and words of wisdom.

4. Fara Howard, Global VP of Marketing, Vans

Vans is trying to do something many in the industry are also working on – creating a truly global company. Fara walks us through how Vans is approaching the complicated task, and provides good insights for brands working to achieve the same goal.

5. Ed Leasure, Americas President, Billabong

Ed has a lot of personality, a lot of industry experience and is just plain fun to talk to. In this interview, he shared why Billabong opted not to renew its lease in Times Square in New York.

Ed, who founded the Quiet Flight chain, is a retailer at heart and has a lot of insight into the state of the topsy-turvy retail landscape.

Analysis

What when right, and what went wrong during Andy Mooney’s reign

We followed Andy Mooney’s tenure at Quiksilver closely and talked to many people both inside and outside the company to put together a story that analyzed the best and worst parts of his time at Quiksilver.