He changed outdoor cooking forever — then took over Weber | Decoder

It’s time for our annual Fourth of July grill episode here at Decoder, which is when we invite the CEOs of outdoor cooking companies onto the show to explain just how their businesses kind of look like every other business. And this is a very special edition.

Today we’re talking to Roger Dahle, the CEO of Weber Blackstone, a full circle moment for Decoder. Roger was our first-ever grill CEO on the show back when he was the CEO of just Blackstone. Five years later, Roger now runs one of his biggest competitors, after Blackstone announced a merger with Weber in 2024. So we talked about that process, and how Roger is managing the integration of these two grilling giants. #weber #blackstone #grilling #griddles #cooking

0:00 - Cold open
1:07 - Episode introduction & guest background
2:45 - Interview begins
3:54 - How Blackstone & Weber came together
5:46 - The SPAC deal that fell apart
6:33 - The merger & FTC antitrust review
8:13 - Competition & private label brands
11:13 - Weber's business challenges
14:12 - Blackstone culture vs. Weber's siloed structure
16:51 - MAP pricing strategy
20:03 - Integration: year one
22:27 - Aiming for world-class operations
26:35 - Company structure: one company, two brands
27:45 - Weber Slate griddle
29:46 - Unified R&D team
33:12 - Defining the two brands
33:54 - Decision-making framework
35:59 - People decisions during integration
40:44 - Accessories & recurring revenue
41:26 - Tariffs, manufacturing & energy prices
46:55 - Smart/connected technology
48:57 - Customers trading down to charcoal
51:38 - Weber kettle pricing & innovation
53:32 - Product longevity & warranties
55:50 - Influencer philosophy
1:04:25 - Finding the next new customer
1:07:52 - Griddle rust & product development
1:08:22 - Outro

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