The Pricing Exchange Podcast #5

Chief Pricing Officer in Action: Meet Lee Mackedanz

"I can solve just about any problem with price. However, if it's not a [real] price problem, it's gonna be really expensive."

This insight from Lee Mackedanz reveals the secret of effective pricing leadership: knowing what's really attributable to price versus what just gets blamed on price. When prices increase 3% and sales drop 7%, everyone points fingers at pricing. But Lee digs deeper - often discovering it's weather patterns, inventory issues, or traffic problems, not pricing at all.

This ability to manage expectations and diagnose the real problem? That's what makes Lee a profit driver, not just a price administrator.

How Lee tackles pricing's toughest challenges:

🎯 Relationships Before Tools: "The fastest way to produce value is relationships." While others rush to buy pricing software, Lee starts by understanding what problems each business owner is actually trying to solve.

🤝 CPO = Internal Consultant: Lee spends "almost double the amount of time with other parts of the organization than with their own team" - acting as connective tissue across business units, solving inventory problems, traffic issues, and demand forecasting.

🧠 Psychology + Data: "I like the psychology that is pricing" - Lee combines analytical rigor with deep understanding of human behavior. The result? He's actually raised prices AND increased sales.

🏗️ Solves the Ownership Problem: Rather than fighting over who controls pricing decisions, Lee builds clear governance structures and rule sets. Don't like a price? "Let's go back to the structure to see what part has to change." This transforms pricing from political battles into systematic problem-solving.

The Leadership Approach That Works:

Lee doesn't rule by authority. Instead: "I know I can say it's going to be $16.99 because I said so. But if it gets to that point, then we failed somewhere." He builds trust by holding himself accountable for mistakes and wins alike.

The bottom line: Real pricing leadership isn't about spreadsheets - it's about being the business translator who protects profit by solving the right problems with the right tools.

Regardless of segment or industry, Lee proves that "the core principles of pricing don't really change" - but having someone who truly understands those principles? That changes everything.

Views expressed are my own personal opinions and do not represent those of any current or former employer.