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PODCAST

Lead the Team (Top 2% of Podcasts)

Real CEOs. Real Stories. Hosted by Ben Fanning—2025 Gold Stevie Award winner for Best Business Podcast and ranked in the Top 2% globally—Lead the Team draws on over 600 CEO interviews to take you inside the minds of leaders from brands like Honeywell, HP, IBM, Dunkin’, and L’Oréal. In each episode, you’ll hear raw, unfiltered stories of leading through rapid growth, high-stakes decisions, and make-or-break moments—plus the CEO-tested tools and strategies they use to build high-performing

business careers

All Episodes

24:40

Why Half of AI Projects are Failing - CEO of...

Lead the Team (Top 2% of Podcasts) ·

2025/12/09

AI failure rates shock me.Erin Gajdalo, CEO of Pluralsight, joined me and what she revealed about why AI projects collapse disturbed me even more..I expected to talk about tools, frameworks, and roadmaps.Instead, Erin asked me question I wasn’t ready for:“Is your team actually ready for this? How can you even tell?"Um...Because most leaders — myself included — push for AI adoption without slowing down to ask if our teams can actually absorb the shift.Erin has led major transformations at Avantax,

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49:04

Gold Medal Comeback: How a CEO Rebuilt a Broken Team...

Lead the Team (Top 2% of Podcasts) ·

2025/12/07

Winning gold didn’t end the pressure. It intensified it.A truth Phil Andrews, CEO of USA Fencing, came to understand through experience.That’s the incredible story behind Team USA’s recent historic gold……and the leadership turnaround that made it possible.When I sat down with Phil, I wasn’t expecting what came next.He walked into a sport in crisis.Broken culture.  Divided membership.  Declining trust.  High visibility.  Zero margin for error.And somehow, he rebuilt all of it…before making Olympic

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17:53

What Success Never Teaches (RLDatix CEO Dan Michelson)

Lead the Team (Top 2% of Podcasts) ·

2025/12/03

Dan Michelson, CEO of RLDatix North America, shared the feedback that reshaped how he leads.When things go well, it can actually blind you to areas where he needed to improve....and this is why so many successful leaders often fail.Most top performers don’t realize they’re slipping until someone has the courage to tell them something they didn’t want to hear.Dan shared that his initial reaction to feedback early in his career was to blame the person giving him the feedback...and years later, he’s

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15:12

The CEO Who Built a Business That Can’t Win Alone...

Lead the Team (Top 2% of Podcasts) ·

2025/12/01

Winning alone is losing.Dennis Levene, CEO of Hometown, bet the business on his customers’ success… and it’s paying off.Most CEOs obsess over market share and margins.Dennis obsessed over a broken system robbing schools of money.And he asked the question that changed everything:“Why should $25 of my $100 school donation go to a fundraising company?”That wasn’t frustration — it was a blueprint.A blueprint for a company designed to win only when its schools do.Now, Hometown helps thousands of school

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12:12

Inside the Quantum CEO's Truth-Driven Comeback...

Lead the Team (Top 2% of Podcasts) ·

2025/11/12

Hugues Meyrath, CEO of Quantum, came back to lead the same company that built his career decades ago — a 45-year-old tech brand powering Hollywood, Space, and even the AI revolution.But when he returned, something was off.The spark was gone. The ownership was gone.And instead of hiding behind strategy decks or consultants, he did something far harder......he rebuilt the culture on truth.“If there’s a problem, we’ll fix it together. No excuses. No hiding.”That simple mindset — radical honesty +

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12:04

The Million Dollar Mistake That Made Him a Better...

Lead the Team (Top 2% of Podcasts) ·

2025/11/09

Ever made a call at work that backfired — big time?Rob Hahn, now COO at Pattern, knows exactly what that feels like.Early in his career as a young leader at Amazon, he faced a decision no leader ever forgets.At just 26 and leading thousands of people, a severe weather warning hit.He made the call to shut everything down.The storm never came.And the decision cost the company millions.But instead of hiding from it, Rob leaned in.He owned it. He learned from it.And that moment became the foundation for

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15:25

Kenneth Cole CEO Shares Their Hidden Advantage (Jed...

Lead the Team (Top 2% of Podcasts) ·

2025/11/04

Jed Berger, Kenneth Cole Global President and CEO, is building something rare in business today — a brand that grows because it stands for something bigger.In his third appearance on Lead the Team, Jed reveals the hidden advantage behind Kenneth Cole’s continued success… and how purpose became their ultimate performance driver.“Purpose can’t just be a campaign. It has to live in every part of the company.” — Jed Berger, Kenneth Cole CEOWhat stood out to me is how Jed turns values into velocity.It’s

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13:47

The ICEE CEO’s Secret that Became a Billion-Dollar...

Lead the Team (Top 2% of Podcasts) ·

2025/10/27

It started with a freezer then and became a billion-dollar lesson.Dan Fachner, CEO of J&J Snack Foods — the company behind ICEE, Slush Puppie, and Dippin’ Dots — posted a video on LinkedIn that immediately caught my attention......he gets emotional while expressing gratitude to his team for their hard work and dedication. You can see how much he truly cares about his people, and I knew right then I wanted to have a deeper conversation with him.You see, Dan began his career delivering and

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13:10

Jeff Bezos’ 5-Second Rule That’s Powering AI...

Lead the Team (Top 2% of Podcasts) ·

2025/10/19

Bezos' Law - Chai Atreya, Chief Product Officer at ActiveCampaign, once helped build Amazon Alexa under Jeff Bezos.During one internal review, Bezos made a single comment — short, specific, and completely unexpected — that changed everything.He looked at the team and said:“I want Alexa to respond in under five seconds.”That one sentence forced every engineer to rethink what “great” really meant.They reimagined the architecture, redesigned the systems — and eventually, brought response times even

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48:34

They Said I Wasn’t Ready — So I Became the CEO...

Lead the Team (Top 2% of Podcasts) ·

2025/10/13

He didn’t say he was ready. He proved it quietly.When I sat down with Dan Faulkner, CEO of SmartBear, he told me he was once passed over for a leadership role because he “hadn’t done it before.”The cruelest ceiling isn’t glass — it’s being boxed in by your own expertise.Being great at something… and never trusted with more.Instead of waiting for permission, Dan built his own readiness.He studied marketing at night.He learned product and finance from scratch.He said yes to the jobs no one thought he

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31:28

He Led Troops in Combat — Now He Leads Billion-Dollar...

Lead the Team (Top 2% of Podcasts) ·

2025/10/08

Leadership Under FireHe Led Troops in Combat — Now He Leads Billion-Dollar CompaniesI first met Lance Olmsted, now President of IFS Copperleaf, expecting a story about discipline and precision.What I didn’t expect was how deeply human it would be.Lance served as a U.S. Marine. He learned to lead in the most uncertain environments imaginable — where hesitation could cost lives AND empathy wasn’t optional.That’s right...empathy.And you’ll never forget why when you hear his story.Those lessons stayed

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42:16

AI Playbook Turns $2M into $134M - CEO, Invisible's...

Lead the Team (Top 2% of Podcasts) ·

2025/10/06

Leaders Miss ThisMatthew Fitzpatrick, CEO of Invisible Technologies—the #2 fastest-growing AI company in America—leads with a principle many overlook:AI may power the future, but people give it purpose.What makes Matt’s leadership stand out isn’t the speed of growth—it’s the intentionality behind it.He reminds us that real progress doesn’t come from louder voices or faster code.It comes from people.From listening.From slowing down long enough to get it right.Here are a few principles he shared that

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32:11

Hidden Cost of Leading a $5B Global Company - COO...

Lead the Team (Top 2% of Podcasts) ·

2025/09/29

Sacrifice No One SeesJakub Vanek, Chief Operating Officer at Genpact Americas, has moved six times across four countries while scaling teams of thousands inside a $5B global organization.He admits the hidden cost of leadership isn’t just jet lag or late nights in the office—it’s missing his wife’s birthday, missing holidays, and asking himself the same question many ambitious professionals face: Family or Career?But here’s the opportunity: Jakub learned that the real measure of leadership isn’t the

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22:40

From Setback to $200M Success (COO Playbook) -...

Lead the Team (Top 2% of Podcasts) ·

2025/09/22

Under Pressure, Leaders RiseWhen I spoke with Cyrill Kellerhals, COO of Andelyn Biosciences, I was struck by how calm and grounded he was while describing some of the toughest leadership moments of his career.At Novartis, one of the industry’s legendary companies, he encountered the kind of regulatory challenge that every leader dreads — a moment that could define the company’s future.Instead of panicking, he led his team through it and turned it into a success.Later, he carried those lessons into

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40:23

How a Submarine Officer’s Biggest Mistake Taught Him...

Lead the Team (Top 2% of Podcasts) ·

2025/09/03

Most leaders say they want transparency.But when the pressure’s on, many unintentionally create cultures where people hide mistakes.Camilo Rueda — CEO of Aeropost and former U.S. Navy Submarine Officer — learned this lesson the hard way, thousands of feet below the ocean’s surface.As a young officer, one bad call almost ended his career. In that moment, he had two choices:👉 Hide the mistake and hope it stayed buried👉 Or raise his hand, take ownership, and face the consequencesHe chose ownership.It

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36:04

I Turned a Garage Door Company Into a Tech Powerhouse...

Lead the Team (Top 2% of Podcasts) ·

2025/08/27

Ever felt that sinking feeling when your team starts slipping away—right when you need them most?Jeff Meredith, CEO of Chamberlain Group, knows that moment too. He took a 70-year-old garage door company and reimagined it into a global tech leader with 14M+ connected users.I’ve been there myself. It’s gut-wrenching, because the truth is, the hardest part isn’t the technology or the strategy—it’s keeping your team’s trust through big change.Jeff opens up about the leadership mistake that can cost you

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37:40

I Used One Number to Transform My Entire Company (Amy...

Lead the Team (Top 2% of Podcasts) ·

2025/08/25

Erase silos. Unite the company. Rebuild trust—fast.When I first heard Amy Martin, CMO at TruWest Holdings, talk about her “One Number” strategy the TURNAROUND stopped me in my tracks.She didn’t know if leaders would embrace it… or fight to protect their own KPIs.But once it landed, everything changed:-True C-suite alignment-Faster growth-A culture of shared accountabilityInstead of sales and marketing chasing different goals, they now share the exact same revenue target.In our conversation, Amy

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29:40

I Turned a Struggling Startup Into the Backbone of AI...

Lead the Team (Top 2% of Podcasts) ·

2025/08/21

Everyone tells their teams to “use AI.”But as Lucas Mendes (CEO of Revelo) told me, that almost never works.Employees don’t resist because they’re lazy.They resist because new tools feel intimidating, misunderstood, or disconnected from what really matters in their day-to-day.That’s where leadership comes in.Lucas shared how he turned an almost-failing startup into the backbone of AI — a network of 400k+ engineers powering the world’s top tech companies.But more importantly, he revealed how to get

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39:16

What's the Skill Separating Elite Leaders from the...

Lead the Team (Top 2% of Podcasts) ·

2025/08/12

Thomas Neergaard Hansen — President of Amplitude and former Microsoft and Dropbox executive — proved to me that even the most hard-earned leadership skills aren’t always enough.He’s led billion-dollar teams, navigated career reinventions, and even learned leadership lessons on a windsurfing board. In this episode, he opens up about the next leadership superpower every leader needs to survive — and thrive — in today’s AI-driven world.You'll discover:-Why the “career ladder” is gone for good-The daily

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49:36

How is Legoland Building Elite Teams? (Fmr. President...

Lead the Team (Top 2% of Podcasts) ·

2025/08/06

Running a theme park isn’t just rides and fun.It’s about leading elite teams that deliver with precision, creativity, and resilience—day in and day out.In this episode of Lead the Team, I sit down with Franceen Gonzales, Former President of Legoland Florida Resort—one of the hidden geniuses behind its success.We cover:- A strategy to inspire peak performance under relentless pressure.- The blueprint for orchestrating thousands of moving parts—and people—flawlessly.- The meeting structure that keeps

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