Changemaker Series: Mark Kaestner

Welcome to Changemaker Stories from LOCAL - an ongoing series of personal interviews with leaders driving change across every industry and discipline. Because change shouldn’t mean going it alone.

This week, we had the opportunity to sit down with Mark Kaestner, a seasoned change leader with deep experience in the consumer packaged goods industry. Having worked at four Fortune 500 companies, he’s witnessed transformations of all shapes and sizes. Our conversation explored the importance of walking the talk in change leadership, how his current company, Ball, successfully navigated a major transformation, and the inspiring natural beauty of Colorado.

‍

Before joining Ball, I held leadership roles at major consumer packaging companies, including The Coca-Cola Company, where I served as Chief Learning Officer. In that role, I was responsible for shaping the company’s approach to skill-building and capability development, ensuring employees had the tools they needed to thrive.

We recently underwent a major transformation at Ball when we divested our aerospace engineering division. This significant change essentially required us to rewire the entire company. 

As we laid out our strategy to become a pure-play aluminum packaging company, it was clear that we would need to approach our work differently. We had to consider how to realign teams, processes, and resources to best support this new direction. 

It truly was a massive transformation, one of the largest I’ve been involved in. It impacted everyone—no one is likely doing the same work today as they were a year ago. 

The question of how transparent a company should be during a large transformation like the one we went through is an ongoing debate, especially when it comes to building trust and gaining followership.

I believe we were successful because we began with a clear strategy and vision, outlining what the change meant for Ball. From there, we engaged our workforce by enrolling them in the journey—explaining where we were headed, why we were heading in that direction, what it meant for the company as a whole, and how each individual’s day-to-day would be impacted. 

That said, we didn’t have everything fully figured out from the start, and we were transparent about that. The entire process took nearly a full year, and there were times when we couldn’t provide all the answers because, quite frankly, we didn’t have them yet. We had to navigate the unknowns, but by being honest about our uncertainty, we maintained trust while still keeping people engaged. 

We simply hadn’t figured everything out yet, and it would have been premature—and potentially misleading—to share details that weren’t finalized. If we had given information that turned out to be inaccurate two months later, it could have eroded trust. We had to strike a careful balance between being transparent and allowing space for the work to evolve. 

When it comes to the quality of change leaders, I’d say a growth mindset is absolutely essential. I know it’s a term that gets overused sometimes, but it’s undeniably true. If you’re not able to challenge each other’s thinking and constantly look for ways to do things differently, then success becomes much harder to achieve.

It’s not just about having all the answers as a leader—it’s also about being able to listen to a wide range of ideas. A key part of a growth mindset is hearing different perspectives and recognizing when something feels fresh or innovative, then asking thoughtful questions. 

“Compelling stories create followership.”

Many companies have a rallying cry that unites everyone, and at Ball, our "30 by 30" goal—reaching a $30 billion market cap by 2030—is exactly that. Our CEO, Dan, and the leadership team have done a great job of rallying the entire organization behind this vision. 

In the course of my career, working with four large Fortune 500 companies, I’ve only seen a handful of rallying cries effectively implemented. In many cases, a compelling vision is set, but there’s no clear plan behind it on how to actually get there. 

I think a lot of change efforts fail because people don't know the roadmap. Without a well-thought-out strategy and actionable steps, the rallying cry can quickly lose its impact.

I think the reason many people avoid laying out a specific roadmap is the discomfort of acknowledging that the plan might not unfold exactly as expected. With so many variables at play—like macroeconomic factors and unpredictable global events—it can feel risky to commit to a detailed path.

At Ball, we have a long-standing tradition every September of celebrating who we are as a company. As part of this, we lead “Who We Are Now” workshops—an opportunity to reflect on what’s working well, identify areas for improvement, and address any uncertainties employees may have. It’s essentially a company-wide listening tour. This helps us continuously improve and ensure that employee voices are driving meaningful change.

Providing tools and resources is important, but it’s only part of the equation. True success comes from also offering ongoing support—helping individuals navigate the change curve, adapt to new ways of working, and ultimately embed the change into the organization. 

We also have to recognize that we can’t get everything right. No transformation is perfect from the start, which is why the ability to course-correct is so important. 

Change has to become a constant mantra—repeated over and over again. You can’t just say it once and expect it to stick. People need to hear a message at least seven times for it to really sink in, but even more importantly, they need to see it in action. If they only hear it but don’t see it reflected in behaviors, decisions, and leadership actions, it quickly gets dismissed as lip service.

Our role is to gauge how much change the organization can realistically absorb at any given time and ensure it's introduced in the right way to drive sustainable growth. It’s a delicate balance—pushing forward while avoiding overload. Sometimes, I think we underestimate the time, effort, and resources needed to make change truly successful. 

A place that truly inspires me is Colorado. I’ve lived in a lot of great places throughout my career, but there’s something special about waking up each morning and seeing the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. Especially this time of year, when the peaks are snow-capped, the view is simply breathtaking. It fills me with joy and reminds me of the majesty of nature.

‍

Are you a Changemaker? We want to hear your story. Let's talk. 

‍