Founder's Mentality: The CEO Sessions
Before a strategy becomes a success story, it's a judgement call. Now in its second season, Founder's Mentality: The CEO Sessions gets inside the decisions that defined some of the world's greatest leaders - a bet the market couldn't yet see, a crisis that put the organisation's purpose to the test, and the courage to keep showing up even when you don't have the answer. How do you stay close to the frontline as the organisation scales? What does AI mean for the thing you have spent years building? How do you transform the company without breaking what makes it great? Hosted by Jimmy Allen, Advisory Partner at Bain & Company, bestselling author and leader of Bain's Global CEO Forum, each episode is a candid, in-depth conversation with leaders from Mars, The Economist Group, Khan Academy, and more. Each episode is built around one real story, one defining moment, and the lessons that come from living through it. Dense with insight and designed for leaders who listen with a pen in hand, the series explores the outer game of markets, technology and growth, and the inner game of energy, humility and courage, and what it takes to master both. The question this season isn't just what the CEO should do. It's who does the CEO need to become? Join the Conversation: https://www.bain.com/founders-mentality/ https://www.bain.com/insights/topics/ceo-agenda Links: Bain & Company LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/bain-and-company/) Bain & Company X (https://x.com/BainandCompany) Jimmy Allen LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-allen-3442b/) About the Host: Jimmy Allen is an Advisory Partner at Bain & Company with over 35 years’ experience advising leading organizations. He’s the author of multiple best-selling books on growth and leadership and the host and founder of Bain’s Global CEO Community Forum. Jimmy is a regular speaker at global business events, including the World Economic Forum, and serves on the Botswana Economic Advisory Council. Outside of consulting, Jimmy started his own record label (Abubilla Music) in 2008 and supports Singing Wells, a project dedicated to preserving Kenyan village music. Bain & Company: Founder’s Mentality: The CEO Sessions is brought to you by Bain & Company, a global consultancy trusted by the world’s most influential business leaders. With decades of experience guiding organizations through growth, transformation, and leadership development, Bain’s executive insights offer what it takes to lead at scale.
Episodes
What does it take to expand worldwide without losing sight of the things that matter most?
Daniel Servitje is the executive chairman of Grupo Bimbo, an organization that rose from a small bakery to become one of the largest food corporations in the world. Since taking over in 1997, Daniel has overseen 900% growth and expansion into multiple international markets. Yesterday, he was on a bread truck.
Join ho...
What are the costs of not daring to make a change?
Jacqueline Novogratz is the Founder & CEO of Acumen, an organisation that invests patient capital in enterprises working to reduce poverty around the world. In 2021, she took a $250 million risk when she set out to provide electricity to 75 million people in regions of sub-Saharan Africa that had a 45% electrification rate or below. It paid off.
Join...
What does it take to back a decision that may take years to prove itself?
Soon after becoming CEO of Stryker, Kevin Lobo backed a $1.6 billion acquisition of Mako, a loss-making robotics company many customers, investors and industry experts believed was unnecessary. The deal would reshape both orthopedic surgery and Stryker’s growth trajectory.
Join host Jimmy Allen of Bain & Com...
Before a strategy becomes a success story, it's a judgement call.
For 35 years, Jimmy Allen has been in the room with the world's most consequential CEOs, and this season, he's bringing you inside those conversations.
Twelve leaders. Twelve moments that tested everything they thought they knew about leading. And one question that keeps coming back: it's not just what the CEO should do. It's who the CEO needs to become.
Founder...
As this season of Founder’s Mentality: The CEO Sessions comes to a close, we take a step back to ask the question that has driven every conversation: how do you lead and grow in an era of turbulence?
In this season finale, host Jimmy Allen revisits the season’s most powerful insights from the leaders of global brands and high-growth innovators, uncovering the new rules of scaling. You’ll hear from founders and CEOs...
What does it really take to stay relevant when the world refuses to stand still?
In this episode, Jimmy Allen sits down with Marcos Galperin, Founder and Executive Chairman of Mercado Libre, and Chris Zook, Advisory Partner at Bain & Company and co-author of Profit from the Core and The Founder’s Mentality, to explore what it really takes to keep growing when the rules of strategy are being rewritten.
From a garage ...
How can a hyperscaler grow at lightning speed without losing its soul?
In this episode, Jimmy Allen sits down with Pedro Arnt, CEO of dLocal and former CFO of Mercado Libre, to explore how to scale at pace while keeping culture, relevance, and energy intact. From building one of Latin America’s most successful e-commerce and fintech giants to steering a new generation of high-growth businesses, Pedro shares what it means to st...
What does it take to stay connected to your customers when scale and complexity threaten to pull you away?
In this episode, Jimmy Allen sits down with David Haines, Group CEO of Flora Food Group, to explore how leaders can keep their focus vertical - anchored in the customer and the frontline, while running global organizations. From his early days at Mars and Vodafone to leading GROHE and Flora, David shares stories of how listenin...
How on earth can we simplify when business complexity feels inevitable?
In this episode, Jimmy Allen sits down with Stuart Gent, Partner and Co-Head of Europe Private Equity at Bain Capital, to explore how leaders can strip away noise, refocus their teams, and rediscover what truly drives performance. From defining the heart of a business to knowing which problems only the CEO can solve, Stuart shares practical lessons on clarit...
As the year winds down, Founder’s Mentality: The CEO Sessions takes a festive turn. In this special holiday bonus episode, host Jimmy reflects on the season’s conversations with global leaders, each sharing a lesson they bring home to their families.
This episode gathers a wreath of insights about resilience, curiosity, and gratitude. You’ll hear from CEOs who’ve learned to sweat the details, embrac...
Rediscover The Art of Business Building: Tanuja Randery, Managing Director EMEA, Amazon Web Services
Big companies are built to deliver, but in a world where technology shifts daily and customer needs change overnight, delivery alone isn’t enough. Business building has to become part of the culture.
In this episode, Jimmy Allen sits down with Tanuja Randery, Managing Director of Amazon Web Services in EMEA, to explore how AWS scales without becoming a bureaucracy. From codifying leadership principles to democratizing chal...
How do you grow a bold idea into a global agribusiness leader… and then reimagine it all over again?
In this episode, Jimmy Allen sits down with Sunny Verghese, Co-Founder and CEO of Olam, to discuss how repeatable models can deliver both discipline and discovery. From sourcing cashews in Nigeria to building a business that now spans 60 countries, Sunny reflects on how differentiation, curiosity, and a willingness to embr...
What does it take to ‘refound’ a company that you started, this time in the public spotlight?
In this episode, Jimmy Allen sits down with Nirav Tolia, Co-Founder and CEO of Nextdoor, to explore the art of reorientating a company without losing momentum. From balancing the pressure of quarterly results with the need to reignite innovation, to radically shifting his own leadership style, Nirav shares the hard choices, pers...
What happens when a founder’s vision doesn’t just spark a company, but reshapes an entire industry?
In this episode, Jimmy Allen sits down with Don Katz, founder of Audible, to explore how a writer-turned-entrepreneur built a global brand that redefined the spoken word. From his early influences such as Ralph Ellison and his career at Rolling Stone, to commercializing the first digital audio player, Don shares how artist...
What turns a routine into a ritual that actually changes how people work?
In this episode, Jimmy Allen sits down with Christina Zhu, President and CEO of Walmart China, to explore how she builds focus and resilience while leading through one of the fastest-changing retail landscapes in the world. From creating “joyful routines” that empower frontline associates, to translating customer centricity into strategy, Chris...
Pizza may seem simple, but leading one of the world’s most iconic brands is anything but.
In this episode, Jimmy Allen sits down with Aaron Powell, Global CEO of Pizza Hut, to explore how he’s helping the company rediscover its magic in over 20,000 restaurants across 110 countries. From falling back in love with the product to celebrating the heroes of the frontline, Aaron shares how moments of joy, pride, and even...
What does it take to lead - and live - when the world won’t sit still?
Founder’s Mentality: The CEO Sessions, hosted by executive advisor and bestselling author Jimmy Allen, goes beyond the boardroom to uncover lessons in leadership and growth. Each episode features candid conversations with top CEOs - from Audible, Walmart, AWS, and more - as well as artists, comedians, and other unconventional thinkers.
Through ...
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