Episodes

  • How to Build a Tech-First Manufacturing Strategy

    How to Build a Tech-First Manufacturing Strategy
    Oct 20 2026
    A customer wants to spend more, but your revenue model gives you a reason to say no. Brent Hagan, Chief Supply Chain Officer at Lob at the time of recording, joins Felicia Shakiba to discuss how that tension exposed a gap between the company's metrics and the value customers needed. They examine operating-model change, manufacturing partnerships, AI-enabled scale and the personal cost of executive success. IN THIS CONVERSATION • Recognizing when subscription metrics obscure customer value • Building credibility for change through early operating wins • Connecting culture, accountability and decision ownership • Reshaping manufacturing partnerships around dependable capacity • Using AI for scale, consistency and materials routing • Reconsidering ambition, health and family priorities CHAPTERS 00:00 The customer deal Lob initially refused 00:38 Introducing Brent Hagan 01:10 Subscription metrics versus manufacturing economics 05:44 Challenging the business model from inside 09:42 Building credibility through quick wins 11:50 Leadership changes, culture and accountability 15:18 Clarifying decision ownership 18:06 Reshaping manufacturing partnerships 26:08 Using AI for scale, not just cost 28:17 AI-powered materials routing 29:58 The family letter that changed Brent's priorities 34:19 When career success stops feeling like success 37:14 Are your metrics aligned with customer value? ABOUT THE GUESTS Brent Hagan is the Chief Supply Chain Officer at Lob. In this conversation, he shares his experience changing the company's operating model and manufacturing network.
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    39 mins
  • AI Strategy, Sales Quotas & Scaling After Acquisitions | Backlight CEO Kathleen Barrett

    AI Strategy, Sales Quotas & Scaling After Acquisitions | Backlight CEO Kathleen Barrett
    Oct 13 2026
    Backlight CEO Kathleen Barrett explains why customers can love your products while your business still struggles to scale. She shares how she focused an acquired portfolio, rebuilt sales quotas and financial visibility, and why leaders need to fix their operating foundations before layering on AI. IN THIS CONVERSATION Why customer love isn’t the same as a scalable growth engine How to focus go-to-market investment across an acquired portfolio How to build trust when some products receive more investment than others Why leadership hiring requires both trust and a bias check The hidden cost of misaligned sales quotas Why AI-ready media workflows begin with organized content and trusted metadata ABOUT THE GUEST Kathleen Barrett is CEO of Backlight, a media technology company building products for media creation, management, distribution, and monetization. Connect with Kathleen Barrett on LinkedInExplore more episodes: https://leaderbook.ai/podcastLearn more about LeaderbookAI: https://leaderbook.ai/Learn more about Backlight: https://www.backlight.co/
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    31 mins
  • Crisis Leadership, AI, & Team Trust

    Crisis Leadership, AI, & Team Trust
    Oct 6 2026
    ControlUp CEO Jed Ayres and Chief Product Officer Gadi Feldman share the decision to bring 400 employees to Dubai while the company was operating through war and crisis—and what happened to morale, trust, and connection afterward. IN THIS CONVERSATION • How leaders make decisions during war and crisis • Why 400 employees were brought together in Dubai • What changed when distributed teams met in person • How flatter organizations affect trust and accountability • Where AI can improve employee experience and support • How AI may reshape jobs, roles, and organizational structure CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction to Jed Ayres and Gadi Feldman 08:33 Leading during war and crisis 11:03 The decision to fly 400 employees to Dubai 12:57 Unifying dispersed teams across countries 15:07 Building trust through physical presence and culture 17:05 Moving from hierarchical to flat organizations 19:00 Balancing support and overstepping as a leader 20:10 Listening strategies in leadership 22:27 One-on-one leadership and employee growth 24:14 Debate and innovation in Israeli culture 25:56 The future of flat, empowered organizations 28:47 Using data to improve employee experience 33:01 AI in IT support and automation 36:10 Preparing for the future of work with AI ABOUT THE GUESTS Jed Ayres is CEO of ControlUp. Gadi Feldman is Chief Product Officer of ControlUp. Explore more episodes: https://leaderbook.ai/podcast Learn more about LeaderbookAI: https://leaderbook.ai/
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    39 mins
  • Bonus: Introducing the AI Mini-Series — Behind Closed Doors

    Bonus: Introducing the AI Mini-Series — Behind Closed Doors
    Sep 29 2026
    Welcome to a new era of the Leaderbook AI podcast. Everyone is talking about AI, but no one is talking about what’s actually happening behind closed doors. In this upcoming mini-series, host Felicia Shakiba brings you into the tight executive meetings where the real decisions, heavy trade-offs, and brutal moments happen. We are cutting through the fluff and buzzwords to bring you conversations with real CEOs, executive teams, and investors who are putting AI to work inside real businesses. Listen as we ask the hard questions: What is actually changing? Where is the real value? What are companies getting completely wrong? What will the future of work demand from all of us? Expect sharp 30-minute interviews to start, gradually moving into deep, one-hour in-studio recordings. Subscribe, turn on notifications, and share this series with anyone leading through this massive moment of change. Grab your cocktail of insights—the mini-series kicks off next week!
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    3 mins
  • Why Frazier & Deeter Walked Away From Lucrative Deals

    Why Frazier & Deeter Walked Away From Lucrative Deals
    May 5 2026
    Private equity portco CEO Jeremy Jones uses cultural alignment for due diligence in private equity — not financials — as the first filter in every acquisition. The result: Frazier & Deeter has grown from 530 to 850 people in seven months through three deals, with a fourth closing next week. Jones walks through the three-year decision process behind the firm's partnership with General Atlantic, why his CPO sat in all 25 to 30 PE meetings and called HR counterparts at existing portfolio companies, and what the first 24 hours post-acquisition actually looks like for employees who found out the night before. He also addresses the hardest question in people-first PE strategy: is culture a trade-off against financial performance, or the operating system that produces it? For PE operating partners, portfolio company CEOs, and leaders navigating acquisition, organizational design, and AI workforce strategy. 00:00 The Journey of Due Diligence in Private Equity 09:47 Cultural Alignment in Acquisitions 16:30 Day One Post-Acquisition 23:56 Defining Success Beyond Financials Subscribe to the LeaderbookAI Podcast for conversations with leaders shaping the future of work, leadership, and AI.
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    30 mins
  • The Decision Every CEO Is Ducking | Tina Murphy, CEO of GHX

    The Decision Every CEO Is Ducking | Tina Murphy, CEO of GHX
    Apr 28 2026
    Tina Murphy, CEO at GHX, breaks down why talent is her top three priorities — not strategy, not capital — how GHX restructured its entire organization to get closer to customers and move faster, what she's looking for in leaders today that she wasn't three years ago, and why the companies that fail the AI transition won't fail loudly. They'll fail silently, quarter by quarter, until the gap becomes permanent. 00:00 The People Project: AI Transformation and Leadership 01:47 Lessons from the Startup Journey 05:48 The Art of Asking Questions as a CEO 08:40 Talent Over Technology: The New Priority 11:41 Creating a Culture of Psychological Safety 14:38 Identifying Future Leaders in the Age of AI 17:25 Speed and Decision-Making in Organizations 20:22 The Importance of Vulnerability in Leadership 23:22 Rebuilding Leadership for the Future 25:10 Customer-Centric Speed: Restructuring for Engagement 26:31 Revolutionizing Strategy: Insights from the Front Lines Subscribe to the LeaderbookAI Podcast for conversations with leaders shaping the future of work, leadership, and AI. We create high-performing powerhouses. Let's talk: https://leaderbook.ai/contact
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    32 mins
  • Private Equity's Easy Era Is Over | Lee McCabe

    Private Equity's Easy Era Is Over | Lee McCabe
    Apr 21 2026
    Private equity has had it easy for forty years. Cheap money, expanding multiples, and a rising S&P produced returns almost regardless of what firms did with the assets they bought. That era just ended — and Lee McCabe, Partner at Claymore Partners, argues most firms haven't adjusted to what replaces it. Lee spent years inside eBay, Expedia, Facebook, and Alibaba before joining a New York PE firm as an operating partner, and he's now built the operational platform he believes PE actually needs. Chapters: 00:00 The Evolution of Private Equity 02:42 Digital Transformation in Private Equity 08:17 Data-Driven Decision Making 14:04 The Future of Private Equity 27:34 Building a Brand in Private Equity We create high-performing powerhouses. Let's talk: https://leaderbook.ai/contact
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    39 mins
  • Why Are Most Leaders Still Getting AI Wrong?

    Why Are Most Leaders Still Getting AI Wrong?
    Apr 14 2026
    Robin Goad, AWS executive, has been in the AI space since 2014—long before it was a boardroom priority. As Global Public Sector Industry Solutions GM at AWS, she's watched the hype cycles repeat, the barriers shift, and the use cases mature. Her read on where AI actually creates value for leaders is sharper—and more honest—than most of what you're hearing right now. Chapters: 00:00 Technical Difficulties: The Start of the Conversation 00:11 The Evolution of AI: From Hype to Reality 05:10 Understanding AI Cycles: Summers and Winters 06:36 Misconceptions About AI: What It Can and Cannot Do 09:43 Automation vs. AI: The Low-Hanging Fruit 11:40 AI in Business: Enhancing Leadership Insights 14:31 Calculating ROI: The Challenge of Measuring AI Impact 18:13 The Dark Spots: Uncaptured Processes in Organizations 20:58 AI and Job Displacement: Reality vs. Narrative 29:06 Unlocking Business Insights: The Future of AI in Leadership Subscribe to the LeaderbookAI Podcast for conversations with leaders shaping the future of work, leadership, and AI. 🎧 Listen to the podcast: https://leaderbook.ai/podcast We create high-performing powerhouses. Let's talk: https://leaderbook.ai/contact
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    38 mins