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Ep. 562 - Freshpet COO Nicki Baty - Why Bold Change Is a COO’s Superpower (Now, Not Later)
Description
Ever felt like you’re carrying the weight of growth, but struggling to shift your company from band-aids to real, sustainable breakthroughs?
Meet Nicki Baty, COO at Freshpet, who’s rewriting the playbook for second-in-command leadership inside a rocketship culture. In this revealing conversation, Nicki Baty opens up to host Sivana Brewer about pioneering a COO role from scratch, installing trust (in teams and at home), and building a business fueled by missionary drive, not mercenaries.
Explore how to turn constant change into your secret weapon, earn buy-in when the North Star keeps moving, and design a culture that scales with speed without chaos.
You can’t afford to run on autopilot or yesterday's wins. Discover the steps that separate successful COOs from those stuck in a cycle of busyness. Listen now for exclusive insights you can’t afford to miss. The next wave of growth is already here, and this episode holds the edge.
Timestamped Highlights
[00:00] - The one guarantee for every COO—how to win when change is constant
[03:41] - Missionaries vs. mercenaries: Why purpose-driven teams deliver differently
[07:40] - Moving a family across continents for growth—what business leaders really learn
[12:11] - “Making room in the boat”: Building trust, networks, and resilient teams on the fly
[19:12] - Nicki reveals how to plan post-onboarding in a brand new leadership role
[23:35] - Finding your “most valuable pet parent” and reshaping the company around them
[28:35] - The surprising power of Freshpet's pioneering spirit—and what big companies still get dead wrong
[37:13] - The real difference between strategic priorities and tactical noise (and how most teams get stuck)
About the Guest
Nicki Baty is the Chief Operating Officer at Freshpet, a company redefining the pet nutrition industry with its human-grade, refrigerated pet food. Formerly President and General Manager of Hill’s Pet Nutrition US (Colgate-Palmolive), Nicki’s career has spanned the globe—from the UK and Europe to Asia and the Americas. She is recognized for her track record in scaling organizations, her passionate belief in purpose-driven work, and her relentless focus on building trust and sustainable growth in fast-moving environments.