The World Class Leaders Show: The CEO leadership podcast for leaders who solve big problems and build better futures.

Josh Bersin argues that the AI era is only "three years old" and is already moving from assistants to agents and then to "super agent" systems that connect work across entire companies.

Andrea Petrone interviews David Aaker, Vice Chairman at Profit and Professor Emeritus at Berkeley Haas, on why CEOs should treat brand as a business asset rather than a decoration.

Amy Edmondson traces psychological safety back to a study of medication errors in hospitals, where a blind reviewer pointed her toward the term after she noticed some teams spoke up and others stayed silent.

Shireen Behzadi says she went from arrest, exile from Iran, and a gas-station cashier job behind bulletproof glass to building a billion-dollar company in 12,000 North American cities.

Kate Lowry, author of Unbreakable, argues that a “new gloves off era” has made fear-based leadership more visible in companies, especially in tech, finance, healthcare, and AI.

Brian Melka describes how he moved from rural Iowa to CEO of RELCO after more than 25 years in industrial leadership, including roles at Kohler, Textron, and Rexnord.

Andrea Petrone speaks with Alex Adamopoulos about why transformation usually fails because of how people think, not because of technology.

Andrea Petrone outlines five common mistakes new CEOs make in their first six months and how to avoid them.

Andrea Petrone reveals four hidden fears CEOs are currently facing: decision-making outpacing thinking quality, pushing exhausted teams, doubting leadership team capability, and losing personal identity.

Leadership gets Dante's diagnosis.

Leadership training gets more personal.

This episode explores why up to half of new CEOs fail within the first 18 months, revealing that the cause is often a personal, hard-to-see trap rather than skill or strategy issues.

Cameron Drinkwater makes a bold career move feel possible.

Andrea Petrone explores how CEOs' tendency to say 'I've got this' creates an 'intelligence bottleneck' that stifles team input and leads to poor decisions.

Dan Rosenzweig, CEO of Chegg, discusses leading through crisis after AI disrupted education, sharing lessons on transparency, reinvention, and handling layoffs with empathy.

Andrea Petrone explains why CEOs experience a 'January dip' in late January when momentum collapses, identifies three forces causing it, and provides specific strategies to reset leadership before February to set the tone for the entire year.

Host and CEO coach Andrea Petrone diagnoses the 'leadership isolation' faced by CEOs—having responsibility without reflective space—and introduces his solution: WCL21, an exclusive, curated membership community offering high-level roundtables, events, and resources designed to elevate executive thinking and decision-making.

Nancy Duarte calls AI a “tsunami” and says CEOs cannot delegate it to “Jimmy and IT,” because LinkedIn’s chief product officer has said almost every role could be “80% different” in five years.

Andrea Petroni outlines seven essential mindset shifts that CEOs must adopt to lead effectively in 2026, moving from traditional approaches to more adaptive, authentic, and intentional leadership.

Host Andrea Petrone distills the 10 most impactful leadership lessons from his 2025 interviews with top CEOs and business thinkers, covering psychological safety, clarity, culture design, system architecture, discomfort-driven growth, and leadership in the AI age.

Andrea Petroni explores the hidden reality of CEO isolation, explaining how leaders face increasing pressure while having fewer genuine conversations.

Host Andrea Petrone discusses the crisis of trust in leadership and offers practical strategies for CEOs to rebuild trust with speed and credibility.

Host Andrea Petrone explains why resilience is misunderstood and offers three ways to build resilience for performance, not just survival, in a volatile business environment.

Andrea Petrone discusses the CEO trap of over-delegation, explaining how it leads to blind spots, diluted accountability, and loss of presence.

Host Andrea Petrone explains why the first 90 days in a top leadership role are critical and shares strategies to avoid common traps.

Andrea Petrone sits down with Adam Bryant to unpack what separates a good CEO from a world class one.

Andrea Petrone explains why high-performing teams break under pressure and offers three ways to keep them performing.

Ole Rosgaard describes going from a tiny room in Cambridge with two duffel bags to leading Greif, a 148-year-old packaging company with almost 15,000 people.

Chris O'Neill, former CEO of Evernote and current CEO of Growth Loop, says AI changes how CEOs should think about product, distribution, and team design.

Host Andrea Petrone interviews CEO Lindsay Ruth about his leadership journey and strategies for turning around RS Group.

Host Andrea Petrone interviews Ujwal Kumar, group president of Teradyne Robotics, about his career lessons from leading large corporations like GM, GE, and Honeywell.

Host Andrea Petrone interviews Ujwal Kumar, group president of Teradyne Robotics, about his career lessons from General Motors, General Electric, and Honeywell.

Host Andrea Petrone interviews former BBC Apprentice star Mike Suter about his career journey and leadership lessons for CEOs.

Interview with turnaround expert Victoria Pelletti on leading companies through tough times with clear communication and empathy.