CEO.com | Dispatches from the frontiers of leadership

Anjelah Johnson-Reyes talks to Clint Betts about working on FRIENDS, winning a Mormon comedy competition, not making money from her viral joke on YouTube, the process of writing and refining jokes and putting together an hour special, defining success before pursuing it, her book Who Do I Think I Am?, and her advice for new comics and everyone else: do you, and do you well. Anjelah Johnson-Reyes is an actress, stand-up comedian, podcast host, and dog mom.

Carlos Salaff and Pete Bitar talked to Clint Betts about all-electric flying cars, barriers to success, why Elon isn’t tackling flying cars, multi-layered safety systems and unique propulsion design, and the regulatory strategy for all-electric flying cars in the future. Carlos Salaff is founder and creative director of SALAFF where they design and make high-performance handbuilt cars. Working at Mazda Design Americas from 2003-2012, he was instrumental in the creation of several concept and production vehicles. His works have been recognized by the Louis Vuitton Classic, LA Design Challenge, and the Grand Prix Du Design awards. Pete Bitar is the founder, President and CEO of Electric Jet Aircraft (EJA), LLC and AirBuoyant, LLC, and was the founder, owner and director of the Anderson Innovation Center, a private business incubator in Anderson, IN, as well as Xtreme Alternative Defense Systems (XADS), both of which he sold in 2018. Pete is the developer of the VertiPod® family of electric VTOL (EVTOL) aircraft such as the EJ-1—the world’s first, patented Electric Jetpack, and the VertiCycle—a flying, electric motorcycle.

Gaurav Garg talks to Clint  Betts about the golden era of Sequoia Capital, cultivating a culture of risk, intellectual curiosity when grappling with uncertainty, how to build enduring markets, data availability and data usability, AI, asking “what comes after the phone?”, the future of Silicon Valley, projections for 2023, and giving people a chance. Prior to founding Wing with Peter Wagner, Gaurav was a partner at Sequoia Capital from 2001 to 2012. Gaurav was a founder and board member of two companies that achieved public listings: Redback Networks (founded 1996, IPO 1999), and Ruckus Wireless (founded 2002, IPO 2012). He incubated and helped build FireEye (founded 2004, IPO 2013) and Jasper (founded 2004, acquired 2016 for $1.5B) into significant businesses, serving on their boards for more than a decade each.

Jeremy Andrus talks to Clint Betts about being a CEO of a publicly traded company, how experiences bond human beings together and create a foundational community, pivoting strategy during an ongoing, multifaceted crisis, sticking it out through economic cycles, finding joy and resiliency in creative problem solving, geopolitical strategy, and the future of public/private partnerships through understanding and respect. Jeremy Andrus is president and CEO of Traeger Grills. He joined Traeger in 2014 and acquired the business with Trilantic Capital Partners. Previously, he served as president and CEO of Skullcandy, where he helped grow annual sales from $1 million to nearly $300 million.

Ali Tamaseb talks to Clint Betts about the stereotypes and myths about what makes venture-backed companies successful, how the media has created a distorted reality when it comes to entrepreneurship narratives, the surprising benefit of strong competition and saturated market opportunities, what makes a great VC, how to get to revenue first and faster, how to decide whether or remain private or go public, macro economic outlook for 2023, and the future of tech startups. Ali Tamaseb is a partner at DCVC, a Silicon Valley VC fund with over $3 billion under management. The investments Tamaseb led on behalf of DCVC has generated an enterprise value of over $6 billion and the companies he sits on as a board director employ over 3,000 people.

Lindsay Hadley talks to Clint Betts about her new documentary Uncharitable, how the private sector thinking and strategies could help the foster care system, the complexity of social entrepreneurship, when helping hurts in developing countries, trust equity, and a donor’s responsibility to find good foundations, and how relationships are everything. Lindsay Hadley is an Executive Producer/Film Maker, Global Social Impact Consultant, Executive Producer of Global Citizen, CSR Strategists, and Convener Model Expert.

Asma Paigeer talks to Clint Betts about  living as a woman in Afghanistan under Taliban control, her harrowing escape from Afghanistan with the help of her sister and the Pentagon, studying fintech and big tech analytics in hopes of creating a new financial system in Afghanistan, fostering courage and resilience through education, and the opportunities for women in the US. Asma Paigeer is a 20-year-old Afghan woman who escaped Taliban controlled Afghanistan. She is currently studying fintech and big tech analytics at Virginia Tech and hopes to create a new financial and economic system in Afghanistan.

Dan Cooper talks to Clint Betts about what return on character means, the data on high character vs low character CEOs, why character matters from an investment standpoint and the science behind behavioral integrity, working with Joe Ritchie, allocating capital on the basis of character, why ESG is controversial, and what CEOs should do to prepare of difficult times ahead. Dan is the founder and CEO of ROC Investments LLC. Dan has worked with presidents of nations, CEOs of large public companies, philanthropists, and a small number of extraordinary leaders.

Douglas London talks to Clint about the image and credibility of the CIA before and after 9/11, Putin and Ukraine, the Russia/China alliance, day to day life of a spy, qualities of transformational leadership, the unique challenges of publishing a book as a former CIA officer, and the ways media is used in the US and abroad. Douglas London is a retired Senior CIA Operations Officer and author of The Recruiter: Spying and the Lost Art of American Intelligence.

Cliff Hudson talks to Clint about the difference between growing a business and strengthening a brand, the advantages and disadvantages of the franchise model, how to maintain consistency and quality in franchises, the evolution of marketing and advertising strategies throughout his 35-year career, and his book on leadership, Master of None: How a Jack of All Trades Can Still Reach the Top. Clifford Hudson spent 35 years of his career at Sonic Corp., an Oklahoma City-based, publicly held company that owns, operates, and franchises SONIC Drive-In restaurants. Most recently, he was Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of this public company with more than 3,500 franchised and company-operated drive-in restaurants. He left the company upon its sale in December 2018 and joined the law firm Crowe & Dunlevy as Of Counsel in the firm’s Oklahoma City office.