Building the Workforce of the Future - Lessons in Culture, Change, and Coffee I Direct Application with Matt Harrington

In this episode of Direct Application, host Matt Harrington sits down with Chuck Hollingsworth - Director of Engineering at Keurig Dr Pepper and a 40-year veteran of manufacturing leadership - for a front-line look at what it really takes to lead through massive change, scale innovation, and build a workforce ready for the future.

Chuck shares behind-the-scenes insights from launching one of KDP’s most ambitious projects yet: a $600M+ state-of-the-art beverage facility in South Carolina, capable of producing 1 million K-Cups per hour.

Together, Matt and Chuck explore:

✅ The challenges and breakthroughs of building high-performance teams from scratch

✅ How to lead culture change in the age of instant results and digital-native workers

✅ The balance between tech adoption, trust, and autonomy on the manufacturing floor

✅ What leaders can actually do to design workplaces that work—for people and performance

✅ And Chuck’s honest reflections on what he’d do differently if he had to do it all again

Whether you're in operations, HR, leadership, or simply navigating change in your organization - this episode offers tactical insight and timeless lessons.

🎧 Listen now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

📺 Watch the full video interview on YouTube.