He changed outdoor cooking forever — then took over Weber

Hello and welcome to Decoder. I'm Eli Mattel, editor in chief of The Verge, and Decoder is my show about big ideas and other problems. It's the 4th of July and this is our annual grill episode. We invite the CEOs of outdoor cooking companies onto the show to explain just how their businesses kinda look like every other business. And this is a very special edition of our grill episode. Today I'm talking to Roger Dolly, the CEO of Weber Blackstone. a full circle moment for Dakota. Roger was our first ever grill CEO on the show, back when he was the CEO of just Blackstone. He started the company in 2008, but these griddles exploded in popularity during the pandemic when videos of Smash Burgers went relentlessly viral on TikTok. The company grew so fast and so furiously that Roger was able to buy Weber a couple years ago, a legacy company that had fallen on hard times. Fun fact, we wanted Roger on the show last year to talk about that deal.

but it was stuck in antitrust review at the Federal Trade Commission. So Roger and I talked about all that, what competition review entails for a merger of grill companies, and what it takes to manufacture these products overseas and import them to the United States in an age of high tariffs and even higher energy prices, which are pushing consumers down market. Of course, we also talked about what it means to merge with Weber, a store company with iconic products that have gotten really stuck in its ways and pretty siloed. Roger seems very eager to break those silos down and create a new company with a new culture. Like I said, there's a lot in this one, including whether or not the chip market is affecting Weber's connected thermometer business. It's pure decoder bait through and through. Roger was great in this one. Can't wait for you to listen to it. There's Roger Dally, CEO of Weber Blackstone. Here we go. Roger Dally, CEO of Weber Blackstone. Welcome back to Dakota.

Thank you. Good to be back. I am thrilled. To have this conversation. Five years ago, twenty twenty one. We thought

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