Think Like an Owner

Dustin Seale, managing partner at Heidrick & Struggles, discusses CEO succession, internal vs. external candidates, key traits of successful leaders like purpose, vitality, and agility, and creating flexibility with nonlinear planning. Other topics include pushing messages as a CEO and turning individuals into a united team.

A.J. Wasserstein, former CEO, and entrepreneur, discusses topics like teaching, entrepreneurship, work-life integration, and challenges transitioning from CEO to academia. He shares insights on publishing papers, presenting both sides of issues, and the reasons why MBA students do not pursue entrepreneurship through acquisition. Wasserstein explores the excitement of writing about unsuccessful searches, the evolution from CEO to professor, and the challenges faced in academia.

Guest Anthony Bramante leads In Control, an automation systems integrator for water facilities. Topics include cybersecurity in water infrastructure, growth strategies, recruiting from colleges, and designing internship programs.

Godard Abel, founder and CEO of G2, discusses lessons learned from building three companies, challenges he faces, picking industries to build in, hiring talented people, software trends, and exciting concepts in AI. Topics include alternative data points for software evaluation, challenges in obtaining pricing data, industry selection for enterprise software, and trends in software and AI.

Rick Torres, CEO of Applikate Technologies, discusses revolutionizing digital pathology with faster tissue examination processes. Topics include labor dynamics for histology, benefits of the faster process, storing tissue data, gaining FDA approval, and managing teams as a CEO.

Dan Cremons, founder of Accelera Partners, shares insights on value creation in private equity, discussing the importance of revenue growth, building the right team, and common traps for first-time CEOs. He emphasizes the evolving playbook of private equity and strategies for sustainable value creation.

Moises Eilemberg, CEO of XiltriX, discusses leading teams, improving unit economics, integrating add-on acquisitions, and the challenges of running a life science asset monitoring business. Topics include the CEO role, company acquisitions, industry choice, and medical equipment monitoring trends.

Former Morningside Co-CEO and M&A expert Tom Klein discusses pre-close M&A value creation, industry selection, sourcing methodologies, building reputation, and working with lender partners. Topics include deep focused search approaches, mastering industry-focused M&A research, strategic acquisition identification, audacity of search fund model, and navigating complexities in M&A deals.

Craig Fuller, Founder of FreightWaves, discusses the intersection of media and data in creating transformative companies. Topics include focusing on data sets, building product roadmaps, the media data flywheel, hiring effective teams, and investor perception. The podcast explores separating media and data segments, budgeting for quality of earnings, evolution of a data business in trucking, high-frequency data for market insights, structuring sales teams, and investor perceptions of the media and data combination.

Henry Schuck, founder and CEO at ZoomInfo, discusses building high-performing organizations, M&A strategies, and evolving roles as companies grow. He emphasizes the importance of culture vs. process in solving problems and shares insights on the future success of data businesses.