I’ve been building something quietly over the last few months. WCL21 is a private CEO community — small, curated, confidential. Monthly roundtables, masterclasses with CEOs you wouldn’t normally get access to, and the kind of conversations that don’t happen anywhere else in your life. We’re in the founding member phase right now. A few seats are still open. If you’re a CEO running a mid-market company and this sounds like the room for you: 👉🏻 Request your invitation: https://andreapetrone.com/wcl21 __________________________________________ Want to establish authority and lead with confidence from Day One as a CEO? Grab your FREE copy of “10 Foolproof Ways New CEOs Establish Authority From Day One” 👉🏻 Download - https://bit.ly/10-fool-proof-ceo-strategies __________________________________________ AI is not going to destroy every software company — but it may expose the ones without a clear strategy. In this episode of The World Class Leaders Show, host Andrea Petrone is joined by Dr John Bates, CEO of Doxis, a former Cambridge computer science academic, and a technology leader who has built and led five successful companies. John shares what he has learned from leading through the dotcom crash, 9/11, the 2008 financial crisis, COVID, and today’s AI disruption. He explains why CEOs must stay focused on business value, sharpen their positioning, and avoid panicking when markets shift. The conversation explores AI, crisis leadership, competing with giants like Microsoft and Box, the burden of CEO transparency, and why every leader needs trusted people around them when pressure is high. John also reflects on why transformation can be more powerful than starting from scratch, why great CEOs must sometimes act as agitators, and what it really takes to lead with clarity when uncertainty never seems to end. Follow Our Guest: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/drjohnbates Learn more about Doxis: https://www.doxis.com Follow our Host Andrea Petrone on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone/ Website: https://www.andreapetrone.com Instagram: instagram.com/andreapetrone_x Follow The World Class Leaders Show and Stay updated: Subscribe to The World Class Leader Show: https://shorturl.at/E9WE7 Newsletter: https://shorturl.at/dMRp6 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-world-class-leaders-show/ Website: https://www.andreapetrone.com/podcast/ Spotify: https://shorturl.at/DSHU Apple: https://shorturl.at/JZAmQ Like my work? Follow or connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone/ Want to become a world-class leader? Join 175,000+ leaders who read my weekly insights here: https://www.andreapetrone.com/newsletter/

Ask this episode

“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

Transcript

Related