Gordon Brunner, P&G’s Former Chief Technology Officer

“Honestly, if you could describe what you needed to a P&G technologist - it could be done.” Gordon Brunner, was P&G’s Chief Technology Officer leading the company’s technical community, and even serving on P&G’s Board of Directors. Gordon initially joined the Company's Food Division in 1961 as a Process Engineer, progressing through R&D assignments with increasing responsibility and experience across food, laundry and cleaning. His work directly impacted many of P&G’s Billion Dollar brands. In 1976 Gordon  became head of all European R&D operations, and returned to the US soon becoming Senior Vice President of global R&D. Gordon led internal venture programs responsible for new products like Swiffer, Dryel, and Febreze, and growing P&G's life science and healthcare business.  Gordon was elected to the company Board in 1991, and in 1995, he accepted the U.S. Medal of Technology on behalf of P&G from President Bill Clinton. In 1999 Gordon became P&G’s Chief Technology Officer. A native of Des Plaines, Illinois, Gordon studied Biochemical Engineering at the University of Wisconsin, and got his MBA from Xavier University. Since retiring - Gordon has remained quite busy leading ventures across academic, philanthropic and professional organizations - and ever the scientist/tinkerer - remaining very technically active in some of this passionate pursuits of golf, cooking, and fermentation. You’ll enjoy this candid conversation about the importance of products, people, and thinking big - but also how this cutting edge work doesn’t matter if it’s divorced from business realities and consumer context. For Gordon, the power of people is paramount - you’ll appreciate his candor and perspective on the rich history of the company where he was such a big part.

Om Podcasten

Anyone who’s worked at a great company knows it’s all about the people. Good managers, great leaders - in and beyond the business. Through conversations with P&G Alumni leaders, we go deeper with the leaders you know, but want to know more about. This is Learnings from Leaders: the P&G Alumni Podcast. pgalums.com/podcast Learnings from Leaders is a production of the P&G Alumni Network (pgalums.com) — an officially recognized, global nonprofit by former P&G’ers committed to community, enrichment, and philanthropy. With more than 45,000 members worldwide, the Network connects through global conferences, local chapters, industry events, and online content. Our nonprofit Foundation supports economic empowerment in communities around the world.