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.
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Bruno Lasansky, Localiza&Co: The Perfect Storm Playbook
Season 2 · Episode 9
Tuesday, October 13, 2026 • Duration 29:19
How do you grow a billion dollar business in the face of extreme turbulence?
Bruno Lasansky is CEO of Localiza&Co, a Brazilian car rental company that began with just six secondhand VW Beetles in 1973. From surging interest rates to industry altering government policies, there are few companies that have faced adversity quite like Localiza. But for Bruno, turbulence is not something to be scared of. Under his leadership, Localiza&Co has become South America's largest mobility network, and today, it has more than 600,000 cars.
Join host Jimmy Allen of Bain & Company and Bruno as they discuss Bruno’s playbook for the perfect storm: how to unleash the power of the unvarnished truth, how to balance pace and strategy to address turbulence face on, and the importance of culture in fuelling growth that will last for the long run.
Bruno emphasizes the fact that success is not all about winning. Why should a leader shift their mentality away from winning, and towards valuing what they will learn along the journey?
This is a conversation about transparency, discipline, and becoming a leader that not only guides teams through unforeseeable adversity, but sets them up to thrive before turbulence even arrives.
15:57 The power of people, culture, and the mission
17:43 Bruno's acid test
19:05 Entering turbulence with a full battery
21:13 Bruno’s biggest lesson
23:32 Winning is a consequence, not the main goal
25:24 The things that drive Bruno
26:43 Bruno's perfect storm playbook
LINKS
The Fifth New Rule of Scaling: Fall Back in Love with Process - Jimmy Allen - Blog [https://tinyurl.com/FallBackInLoveWithProcess]
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/]
Bruno Lasansky LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/brunolasansky/]
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.
Michelle Zatlyn, Cloudflare: Protect the Steady State, Disrupt What’s Next
Season 2 · Episode 8
Tuesday, September 29, 2026 • Duration 27:51
When did showing up become optional?
In 2009 Michelle Zatlyn co-founded Cloudflare, a tech startup that powers 45% of all Fortune 500 companies through solving problems that were keeping their leaders up at night. The surprising thing is, Michelle had no background in engineering. She developed an expertise through showing up, leveraged her own strengths to build a billion dollar business, and wrote a playbook all founders can learn from in the process.
Join host Jimmy Allen of Bain & Company and Michelle as they discuss the importance of solving problems that people care about, how to build teams that thrive off cross-functional collaboration, and how to balance delivery and development agendas throughout moments of hyperscale.
Michelle’s story highlights the importance of showing up. Not all leaders start off as experts, but they can become one through being in the room where it happens. How can founders push themselves to show up, even at times where they don't initially have the expertise?
This is a conversation about balancing delivery with growth, building a team that will drive progress through collaboration, and becoming an expert through showing up in the process.
Poul Weihrauch, Mars: Purpose Is Easy Until It’s Tested
Season 2 · Episode 7
Tuesday, September 15, 2026 • Duration 34:46
What does it take to build a business that can pass the purpose-driven test?
Before becoming group CEO and Office of the President at Mars, Poul Weihrauch led a generational transformation of Mars Pet Care that was defined by the things he didn’t do. Poul didn’t pursue a rapid integration or underestimate complexity, and he refined financial strategies by rejecting synergy. Through these unconventional leadership decisions Poul doubled Mars Pet Care’s size, and tripled its organic growth rate.
Join host Jimmy Allen of Bain & Company and Poul as they discuss the value of embracing complexity in the name of the customer, how growth doesn't necessarily require synergy, and how Poul built a leadership development program which not only strengthens his leaders but also underpins the company’s growth.
Poul’s story sets a powerful example for any CEO aiming to build a successful purpose-driven business. How can leaders enable a company to stay true to its purpose even during the most testing challenges?
This is a conversation about the importance of CEO restraint, embracing the complexity that comes with growth, and the role of a leader in building a company that can pass the purpose-driven test.
Lara Boro, The Economist: AI Won't Change Who We Are
Season 2 · Episode 6
Tuesday, September 1, 2026 • Duration 29:11
What does it take to lead a fragmented business through disruptive transformation?
When she joined The Economist as Group CEO, Lara Boro faced a divided company, metaphorically, and physically. She quickly won the confidence of the board, by writing off a £12 million, four year long transformation project, and showing that its replacement wouldn’t need a single pound of investment. It could actually fund itself. Through strategic and purpose-based leadership, Lara solidified her legacy of being the person who was able to finally bring two sides of the business together.
Join host Jimmy Allen of Bain & Company and Lara as they discuss the importance of striving for simplification at pace, how culture helped her team embrace an ambitious digital transformation, and how she brought the business together through dissecting one foundational question: what is The Economist?
Lara’s journey also highlights the value of building for the customer. How can analyzing customer data shape budgets and provide strategic direction?
This is a conversation about the role of a leader in guiding teams through positive disruption, leveraging customer data to shape business strategy, and ensuring every part of a team strives for success together.
02:53 The gap between the editorial and the business
04:36 Understanding the issues from both sides
05:37 Journalism is independent, but not from the business
06:27 Lara's playbook - reframing the business strategy
Sal Khan, Khan Academy: Why He Chose to Disrupt Himself With AI
Season 2 · Episode 5
Tuesday, August 18, 2026 • Duration 33:50
How will AI impact the business I have spent years building?
When Sal Khan, CEO and founder of Khan Academy, was confronted with this question in 2023 he didn’t wait for someone to answer, he learned quickly and built the outcome he wanted. The result was a personalized learning model that enhanced education for 200 million users across the world.
Join host Jimmy Allen of Bain & Company and Sal as they discuss how to embrace the discomfort of navigating disruption, the importance of relearning how to learn, and how CEOs can use AI to strengthen their competitive positions.
Sal also reveals the promise he made to his team - if they’re creating AI that can automate their roles they won’t be replaced, they will be promoted. How can leaders find new ways to drive productivity amid the uncertainty surrounding AI?
This is a conversation about turning disruption into new opportunities, how curiosity can help us navigate the unknown, and how leaders can leverage AI to set their businesses apart.
https://www.bain.com/founders-mentality/
EPISODE CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction 02:22 The astonishing ability of emerging AI 03:21 Experimenting with an early AI model 04:14 Turning fears into features 04:56 Sal’s quick decision to adopt AI 05:46 The concerns of AI in education 07:04 Sal’s symbiosis with AI developers 07:57 Why Khan Academy had to understand AI 08:32 How Sal seized the opportunity of disruptive technologies 09:22 Getting the team on board through confronting risks 10:05 Preparing to launch 10:34 The need for a responsible actor becomes clear 11:56 How Sal built his tiger team 13:17 How Sal’s mentality helps embrace AI uncertainty 15:23 Learning how to learn again 16:11 Helping people learn in the right ways with AI 18:05 How AI facilitates a deeper education 19:08 The choice: to thrive with AI, or to be replaced by AI 19:55 Three key things about learning with AI 20:36 Sal’s promise 20:55 A CEO’s guide to using AI 24:03 The fundamental question answered by Sal’s journey 25:28 What is personalized mastery education 28:21 How AI facilitates Khan Academy's personalized learning model 28:50 Gaining the conviction to adopt AI 29:54 When conviction turns into validation 30:37 What we can learn from Sal’s journey LINKS A Scorecard on our 3 AI Journeys - Jimmy Allen - Blog [https://tinyurl.com/AIJourneyScorecard] 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/] Sal Khan LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/khanacademy/] 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.
Daniel Servitje, Grupo Bimbo: The Enemy of Growth Is Distance
Season 2 · Episode 4
Tuesday, August 4, 2026 • Duration 30:19
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 host Jimmy Allen of Bain & Company and Daniel as they discuss how robust cultures are developed in the field, the long-term value of choosing patience over urgency, and how to navigate building new systems whilst ensuring existing ones continue to function.
Daniel shares a vital tip for any CEO looking to develop their own business - never let growth separate you from the people that matter. Who really shapes the culture of a successful company? How can a field mentality help leaders grow their businesses?
This is a conversation about the importance of a long-term perspective, knowing how to build a strong culture from the field, and the role of a leader in driving successful growth.
04:01 What Daniel learned from the annual conference
05:10 Big ideas come from examining the small things
06:27 Building a culture that starts from the field
Jacqueline Novogratz, Acumen: Start Before You're Ready
Season 2 · Episode 3
Tuesday, July 21, 2026 • Duration 28:00
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 host Jimmy Allen of Bain & Company and Jacqueline as they discuss what we can learn from creative risk taking, how to balance socioeconomic tensions without compromising the mission, and how transforming our mentality from “what if?” to “what if I don’t?” can open the door for positive change.
Jacqueline and Jimmy emphasise the value of asking ‘why’ when navigating complexity as a leader. How can we ensure that we not only remember our ‘why’, but also that it is worth remembering in the first place?
This is a conversation about embracing complexity, the power of asking ‘why’, and daring to take risks in the pursuit of positive change.
03:58 Securing the first funding - a $10 million bet on Jacqueline
05:51 Starting and letting the work teach them
08:37 Getting smarter through creative risk taking
11:56 How Jacqueline balances her vision with specificity
12:30 Using deep listening as a tool to understand complexity
Kevin Lobo, Stryker: The $1.6B Bet That Changed an Industry
Season 2 · Episode 2
Tuesday, July 7, 2026 • Duration 25:46
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 & Company as Kevin explains why he saw asymmetric upside in robotic-assisted surgery, how he sustained his conviction through disappointing early results, and how one bold bet became the foundation for a repeatable acquisition model spanning more than 60 deals.
Kevin and Jimmy also explore the tension between autonomy and scale. How do you capture the advantages of size without inviting bureaucracy? What should remain decentralized, and where can shared capabilities create a real edge?
This is a conversation about repeatable growth, the cost of complexity, and the CEO’s role in helping leaders think like founders.
Ask for Help - Jimmy Allen - Blog [https://shorturl.at/qvzxe]
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/]
Kevin Lobo LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinalobo/]
(00:00) - Introduction
(01:35) - The potential in robotics that no else saw
(02:27) - Taking the $1.6 billion proposal to the board
Founder’s Mentality: The CEO Sessions - Season 2 - Coming Soon!
Season 2 · Episode 1
Tuesday, June 30, 2026 • Duration 01:40
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's Mentality: The CEO Sessions, Season Two. Launches July 7th.
Join the Conversation:
To learn more check out the Founders Mentality website or our CEO Insights hub: 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.
Embrace the New Rules of Scaling
Season 1 · Episode 11
Tuesday, April 28, 2026 • Duration 23:46
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 who have mastered the balance between the outer game of strategy and the inner game of leadership, and how they sustain their energy in a role that never stops demanding more.
From Pizza Hut’s Aaron Powell reigniting pride in the product, to Walmart China’s Christina Zhu turning routines into joy, to Mercado Libre’s Marcos Galperin on culture, competition, and resilience, this episode gathers lessons from leaders who refuse to let complexity kill growth. Alongside them, voices like Don Katz, Sunny Verghese, Tanuja Randery, Stuart Gent, David Haines, and Pedro Arnt reveal how simplicity, focus, and relevance can turn turbulence into momentum.
Whether you’ve followed every episode or you’re just joining for the highlights, this is your crash course in the season’s biggest ideas and a blueprint for leading at scale, grounded in clarity, powered by purpose, and built to weather even the fiercest storms.
Join the Conversation:
To learn more check out the Founders Mentality website or our CEO Insights hub: https://www.bain.com/founders-mentality/
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.
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.
08:04 How Grupo Bimbo went international successfully
09:35 Developing a global culture
11:33 Culture is built by actions, not by words
12:46 With growth comes opportunity, but also complexity
14:10 Why leaders need to break processes and take risks
16:54 Don’t get trapped by old systems
18:37 How to transform a company whilst running it
19:47 The importance of long term thinking
20:54 Sometimes slower is better
21:52 Balancing the systems paradox
22:38 Daniel's leading mentality
23:36 Getting energy from curiosity
25:30 Finding the right people to diffuse your energy
26:44 Why the source of your energy really matters
27:44 Daniel's recipe for successful growth
LINKS
A Case for Complexity - Jimmy Allen - Blog [https://tinyurl.com/thepowerofrenewal]
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/]
Daniel Servitje LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielservitje/]
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.
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.
(05:48) - The hard part begins after the board says yes
(06:36) - Telling Wall Street about the slow first quarter
(08:05) - Leading through the time lag
(08:32) - Winning over employees and building M&A credibility
(09:37) - Cold-calling Larry Culp, former CEO of Danaher, for advice
(10:18) - Turning mistakes into an integration playbook
(11:16) - Discovering the "Stryker way”
(13:09) - Are you the right parent for the company you acquire?
(15:12) - Building a repeatable acquisition machine
(17:09) - The outer game and inner game of growth
(18:14) - Preserving autonomy across 22 business units
(20:21) - Good complexity versus bad complexity
(21:00) - What is the CEO's job in a decentralized company?
(22:52) - Creating a team of entrepreneurs
(24:18) - The real meaning of conviction
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.
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.
Bain & Company X (https://x.com/BainandCompany)
Jimmy Allen LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-allen-3442b/)
About Founders Mentality
Founder’s Mentality: The CEO Sessions is a leadership podcast hosted by executive advisor and bestselling author Jimmy Allen.
Each episode features candid conversations with top CEOs, from Audible to Walmart to AWS, as well as artists, comedians, and other unconventional thinkers. Together, they share the lessons that shaped their growth, the “aha” moments that redefined their work, and the surprising ways reinvention happens at every level.
Whether you’re a CEO, an aspiring leader, or simply curious about leadership, influence, and business at scale, this podcast will challenge and inspire you, one story at a time.
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.
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