The CEO Series

PE Guy Creator Johnny Hilbrant Partridge on Turning a Viral Character Into a Career

In this episode of The CEO Series, Will sits down with Johnny Hillbrant Partridge, the creator behind PE Guy. Johnny talks about growing up in Winnetka, studying business

LossDog Co-Founder & CEO Tom Sosnoff: "Every CEO Is Replaceable"

In this episode of The CEO Series, Will sits down with Lossdog co-founder and CEO Tom Sosnoff. Tom talks about starting on Wall Street in 1980, moving to Chicago to tra

Spin Master Co-Founder Ronnen Harary on Paw Patrol, Bakugan, and Betting on Yourself Young

In this episode of The CEO Series, Will sits down with Spin Master co-founder and chairman Ronnen Harary. Ronnen walks through the early days of the company, including Ea

Chess.com CEO Erik Allebest on the Netflix documentary, the cheating scandal and 10M daily users

In this episode of The CEO Series, Will sits down with Chess.com CEO Erik Allebest. Erik walks through the early days of Chess.com and the two chess businesses he ran b

How this investment banker became CEO of a Whiskey brand at 33 | WhistlePig CEO Alex Roberts

In this episode of The CEO Series, Will travels to Vermont to sit down with Alex Roberts, CEO of WhistlePig Whiskey, at the WhistlePig farm. Alex explains how he went f

Mid-Day Squares Co-Founder Jake Karls on How They Built a $38 Million Brand by Being Themselves

In this episode of The CEO Series, William Salvi sits down with Jake Karls, co-founder and Chief Rainmaker of Mid-Day Squares. Jake walks through the early version of the

HexClad CEO Danny Winer on building a billion-dollar brand after 50

In this episode of The CEO Series, William Salvi sits down with Danny Winer, co-founder and CEO of HexClad. Danny traces his path from studying theater and film at NYU an

Eventbrite Co-Founders Kevin Hartz and Julia Hartz on What No One Tells You About Selling a Company

In this episode of The CEO Series, William Salvi sits down with Kevin Hartz and Julia Hartz, Co-Founders of Eventbrite. Kevin traces his path from the early days of Silic

Capital One Co-Founder Nigel Morris on The Idea That Built Capital One

In this episode of The CEO Series, William Salvi sits down with Nigel Morris, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of QED Investors and Co-Founder of Capital One. Nigel traces

Capital One Co-Founder Nigel Morris on How He Built Capital One After 25 Rejections

In this episode of The CEO Series, William Salvi sits down with Nigel Morris, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of QED Investors and Co-Founder of Capital One. Nigel trac

ScottsMiracle-Gro CEO Jim Hagedorn On Overcoming Losing $2 Billion

In this episode of The CEO Series, William Salvi sits down with Jim Hagedorn, CEO of ScottsMiracle-Gro. Hagedorn opens up about the most turbulent chapter of his career

Vectra AI CEO Hitesh Sheth on AI-Driven Cybersecurity and Unicorn Valuations

In this episode of The CEO Series, host William Salvi sits down with Hitesh Sheth, CEO of Vectra AI, to discuss the evolving landscape of AI-driven cybersecurity. Sheth e

Pega CEO Alan Trefler: What Chess Taught Me About Running a Company

In this episode of The CEO Series, host William Salvi sits down with Alan Trefler, founder and CEO of Pegasystems, to discuss what it takes to build and lead a company fo

Doppel CEO Kevin Tian on Fighting AI-Driven Social Engineering

As digital integrity faces an existential threat from AI-driven social engineering, traditional cybersecurity has reached a critical turning point. Attackers are no longe

Why Kai CEO Galina Antova is Rebuilding Cybersecurity from First Principles

As cyberattacks evolve into autonomous, AI-driven threats, the industry has reached its "human limit". Traditional defense strategies—fragmented tools and manual workflow

Bhagwat Swaroop on the AI Trust Paradox and the Future of Software

In this episode of The CEO Series, host William Salvi sits down with Bhagwat Swaroop, President and CEO of Sonatype, to explore how the company is helping organizations b

Gigamon President & CEO Shane Buckley on Machine-Speed Attacks and the Future of Cyber Defense

In this episode of The CEO Series, host William Salvi sits down with Shane Buckley, CEO of Gigamon, to discuss one of the most impactful yet under-the-radar companies in

Ping Identity CEO Andre Durand on Protecting Your Company from Autonomous AI Agents

In this episode of the CEO Series, William Salvi sits down with Andre Durand, the CEO of Ping Identity, to discuss the rapidly evolving landscape of digital identity. Wit

Kyle Matthews on transitioning from football to building a $78B Brokerage.

Kyle Matthews grew up in the most decorated football family in NFL history. Four first-round picks. A Hall of Famer. Decades of combined pro careers. He went a differen

Morningstar CEO Kunal Kapoor on Market Crashes, AI, and Investing

Everyone wants to know when the market will crash. ‪Morningstar CEO Kunal Kapoor has spent decades analyzing markets, and his answer might surprise you. In this episode o