Atlanta, GA – – Sharon Price John, President and CEO of Build-A-Bear Workshop, detailed her unconventional path to the C-suite and the subsequent revitalization of the experiential retailer during a presentation at Brandweek 2025. Her insights, shared on the Marketing Vanguard podcast, highlight the importance of quantitative skills, self-belief and emotional authenticity for leaders navigating a rapidly changing business landscape.
Price John’s journey, described as moving “from $0 confidence to CEO,” underscores a shift in expectations for marketing leaders. She emphasized that ascending to the CEO role requires more than just marketing expertise; a strong foundation in financial acumen is critical. Rather than pursuing a marketing-focused MBA, Price John deliberately chose a program with a quantitative emphasis, mastering accounting, finance, and business operations alongside her marketing skillset. This deliberate move, she explained, was essential to gaining credibility as a business leader capable of addressing challenges beyond campaign management.
The need to overcome internal barriers to advancement was another key theme. Price John addressed a prevalent “confidence gap,” particularly among women, where professionals often hesitate to apply for roles unless they meet nearly all qualifications – typically 90-100%. In contrast, she noted, men often apply when meeting only 50-60% of the stated requirements. A 360-degree review revealed she was already exceeding CEO performance metrics, despite not initially aspiring to the position. This realization highlighted the importance of reframing perceived skill gaps not as disqualifications, but as opportunities for learning and demonstrating agility.
Price John’s leadership philosophy centers on vulnerability and authenticity, a counterintuitive approach to organizational turnaround. She discovered that fostering trust and driving transformation required “softness” and emotional honesty, rather than a traditional command-and-control style. She described shedding a defensive posture, often adopted by women in male-dominated leadership environments, to build genuine connections with her teams during challenging periods. This authenticity, she argued, is non-negotiable for consumer-facing brands, as employees instinctively recognize whether leadership genuinely embodies the brand’s values.
The turnaround at Build-A-Bear, transforming it from a struggling mall retailer into a diversified intellectual property enterprise, demonstrates the power of understanding a brand’s emotional core. Price John asserted that successful brands are defined by the feelings they evoke, not simply the products they sell. She explained that Build-A-Bear isn’t fundamentally about stuffed animals, but about creating memories, fostering creativity, and strengthening family bonds. This understanding enabled the brand to expand into new demographics – including adults and teens – and diversify into multiple product categories without diluting its core identity. Digital commerce now accounts for 40% of sales, positioning the company for global expansion.
For Chief Marketing Officers, Price John’s advice is to move beyond product specifications and delve deeper into the emotional benefits a brand provides. The challenge is to identify the most profound and universal feeling a brand creates, a foundation for sustainable growth and expansion. This requires a shift in perspective, focusing on the emotional resonance of a brand rather than its functional attributes.
The discussion with Price John was part of a larger exploration of the evolving role of the CMO, featured in the new podcast “Frontier CMO” by Google’s VP of AI and Marketing Strategy, Joshua Spanier. Spanier’s podcast examines the challenges and opportunities facing marketers in an era defined by artificial intelligence and rapidly changing consumer behavior. Key themes include leveraging AI as a leadership test, maintaining brand relevance, understanding “agentic commerce” – a shift towards faster and smarter shopping experiences – and restructuring marketing organizations to adapt to new technologies.
“Frontier CMO” highlights the need for marketers to embrace AI not just as a tool, but as a catalyst for leadership development. The podcast emphasizes the importance of equipping marketing teams to leverage AI technologies while simultaneously fostering creativity and strategic thinking. The podcast is available on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify.
