The Strategy Skills Podcast: Management Consulting | Strategy, Operations & Implementation | Critical Thinking

In this episode, global brand experts Katherine Melchior Ray and Nataly Kelly discuss how international brands must evolve to stay relevant in an era marked by cultural shifts, technological acceleration, and rising consumer expectations. Drawing on their leadership experience at companies like Nike, Louis Vuitton, HubSpot, and Zappi, they highlight the urgency of embedding trust, cultural fluency, and adaptability into brand strategy.   Key insights include:   Localization Requires Strategic Adaptability Nataly Kelly reflects, “I used to believe that branding required absolute consistency... but when I began to work in global marketing, I realized there is adaptability that's required to really succeed.” True global branding, both argue, means creating a consistent brand core with local expressions, not rigid replication.   Cultural Blind Spots Undermine Strategy Ray recalls early leadership at Nike, where “the common refrain was, for women’s shoes… ‘shrink it and pink it.’” She urges leaders to “listen with