Executive Chairman, Unifi
Search every verified Albert Carey interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Albert Carey, executive chairman at Unifi and former CEO of PepsiCo North America, has continued to speak publicly about leadership and organizational growth. In a June 2025 interview, Carey reflected on his six-year tenure as a board member at Purple Crow, noting that sales had increased fivefold during that period. He attributed the company's success to the Calhoun family's treatment of employees, stating that "when you see leaders that treat people right, good things happen." Carey has repeatedly advocated for a servant leadership model, describing the frontline workforce as the most important people in an organization and the CEO as the least important. In earlier appearances, he discussed managing through adversity, advising leaders to "play offense" during crises when others are playing defense. He also emphasized the importance of managing cash and liquidity during the COVID-19 pandemic, and praised companies like Home Depot for prioritizing employee safety with measures such as masks, gloves, social distancing, and enhanced pay.
“Well, this is remarkable cuz uh I joined the purple crow 6 years ago and I think the sales are now up five times the sales that we had back six years ago.”
“I've been on the board and it's remarkable to watch the growth of the company and the family, the Calhoun family that owns it and is managing it treats their people special and it's no surprise to me that they have been so successful.”
“I remember when we first came over to see the building and we walked through it and it was an old factory and then I walk in today and look at it. It's amazing and the size of the business is amazing and the quality of the warehouse space, the safety for the people.”
“But I I see jobs being created and uh it's not surprising to me that when you see leaders that treat people right, good things happen. And that's what's happened here today.”
“When your organization gets into an adversity situation, there's a tendency to play defense and everybody's very careful about not making decisions or moves that could possibly blow up on them. But during these times, now is the time to play offense because as the world's moving and shifting, you can actually get ahead...”
“I had an activist investor that was being really tough and our company did not deserve to be broken up. My response to the team was that every investor wants their stock portfolio to improve, so we just need to deliver the results and not worry about all this stuff going on. After a while, not only did the activist inv...”
“Performance with Purpose was a vision created by Indra Nooyi about 12 years ago. It means we still have high performance but we do it with purpose—not just at any cost. The purpose focused on making products healthier, significantly reducing our carbon footprint, and cherishing our people by nurturing their careers and...”
“The most important person in the company is at the top of the pyramid, which is actually the front line organization because they're closest to the customer and consumer. The CEO is the least important person. Once you have a strategy that makes sense, your role is to remove obstacles for the thousands of people out on...”
“I found you can get better results from a large organization by serving your team than by demanding and telling them what to do. The majority of people should be empowered, and I should be there helping them remove obstacles. This servant leadership model is the way to manage in the future.”
“Most companies have fallen backwards on performance leadership and giving feedback because training and development resources have been cut. At PepsiCo, we focused on performance appraisals with twice as many positives as negatives, limiting negatives to one or two things, and always starting by telling people when the...”
“When working with a board, remember they represent the shareholders and are there to ensure the company's capital spending and future investments are in the best interest of the stock price. Keep presentations high level and strategic, bring in young people to present ideas, and be specific about returns when seeking b...”
“I keep my cell phone off my bed table so it doesn't go off in the middle of the night. I meditate twice a day and work out regularly. If you don't get control of your own power before the day starts, you'll be run around by your calendar and emergencies. A leader has to be calm and thoughtful, and you can't do that whe...”
“New leaders should be bold and expect a lot of themselves. Imagine where you want to be five years out and push yourself to the highest possible level, but focus on your current job and work hard to get good results because promotions will follow results. Also, spend more time getting results through your people by emp...”
“I'm not a finance guy, so I always made sure I had the absolute best CFO or financial head working for me. I encouraged disagreement because you can't know everything. When building a team, don't try to make everyone like you; have diversity of gender, culture, and experience to complement your strengths.”
“When your organization gets into an adversity situation, there's a tendency to play defense and everybody's very careful about not making decisions or moves that could possibly blow up on them. But during these times, now is the time to play offense because as the world's moving and shifting you can actually get ahead...”
In this interview, Al Carey, Board Member at Purple Crow, discusses the company's transformation and the significance of its ...
This week we revisit our conversation with Al Carey, who recently served as CEO of PepsiCo North America until he retired from ...
This week we talk with Al Carey, who recently served as chief executive officer of PepsiCo North America until he retired from ...
Al Carey, Executive Chairman at Unifi, Inc., and former CEO of PepsiCo North America participated as a panelist in the Abasto ...
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