ExecDNA

Mario Rivas
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Weekly

The world's most important decisions deserve better intelligence. ExecDNA is the Executive Intelligence company for founders, executives, board directors and investors, helping leaders make better decisions, accelerate their careers and build stronger organisations. This podcast is where that intelligence comes to life. Each week, we sit down with CEOs, founders, board directors, investors and operators to have honest conversations about leadership, governance, AI, growth and what really happens when companies scale. No theory. No recycled advice. Just the patterns, decisions and lessons th

  1. 3d ago

    He Worked at a $5.7B Startup. Then Had to Reinvent His Executive Career | Eric Grafstrom

    He was at Broadcast.com before its $5.7 billion sale to Yahoo. A few years later he was out of work with two young children, and two days a week of consulting became a fractional executive career across more than 25 companies. Join the ExecDNA community:https://www.execdna.com/join/community?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=episode&utm_campaign=ep-eric-grafstrom&utm_content=description Eric Grafstrom has spent 30 years in technology as a CEO, COO, founder and fractional executive, and his biggest lesson is that knowledge is getting cheaper while judgment is getting more valuable. He started out making more than 50 cold calls a day selling webcasting when many computers had no speakers, watched Broadcast.com grow from an early internet experiment into a multibillion dollar acquisition, and went on to work for Yahoo in London and Silicon Valley, where his landmark deal was the messaging interoperability agreement between Yahoo and Microsoft. In this conversation we cover why AI can make experienced executives more valuable, what human judgment gives leaders that technology cannot, why every future executive needs to learn sales, the mistakes smart CEOs keep repeating, why investor and founder priorities can conflict, what it takes to make layoff decisions, and why building something valuable matters more than building something impressive. Chapters00:00 Introduction01:09 Is the traditional executive career changing?02:26 Does AI make experienced executives more valuable?03:32 Why human judgment still matters04:50 Broadcast.com and selling the early internet06:46 From startup chaos to a $5.7B Yahoo acquisition09:06 The Microsoft and Yahoo deal that raised the stakes10:40 Losing his job with two young children11:24 How he became a fractional executive12:46 The hardest decisions leaders have to make14:35 The mistakes smart CEOs keep repeating17:13 Building something impressive versus something valuable18:23 Why life experience matters in leadership20:45 Eric's ExecDNA in three words22:17 Closing Listen on Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/3804Om0XrGG1gNRsev6DlU?si=ce622db462c84839 Listen on Apple Podcasts:https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/execdna/id1847157416Also available on Amazon Music. Follow ExecDNA on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/company/execdna/ Mario RivasFounder of ExecDNA and host of the ExecDNA PodcastLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariorivassanchez/ Eric GrafstromFractional Executive and Startup CoachWebsite: https://ericgrafstrom.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericgrafstrom/Startup Coaching: https://www.linkedin.com/company/startupcoacheric/ New episodes every Tuesday at 17:00 UK. #execdna #fractionalexecutive #executivecareer #careerreinvention #futureofwork

  2. Oct 13

    How to Build a 7-Figure Business by Breaking Your Mental Barriers | Guinevere Ellis

    How do you become Head of Finance at just 27, keep progressing through senior leadership, and later build a seven figure business without sacrificing your life to work? I sat down with Guinevere Ellis, Founder of Guinevere Ellis International and The Mind Director Institute, to understand the patterns behind career progression, ambition, self belief and exceptional performance. At 27, Guinevere applied for a Head of Finance position at British Aerospace despite being told she did not have enough experience. She got the job. Throughout her corporate career she continued pursuing bigger roles, greater responsibility and higher earnings while refusing to accept that success required increasingly longer hours. Then her career changed completely. After becoming a parent, Guinevere left corporate life and built a technology startup. The business initially gained traction, but the platform crashed under demand and rebuilding it would have required tens of thousands of pounds. She eventually reached a point where she had to borrow £5,000 from her father to pay the mortgage. That failure became one of the most important pivots of her career. Guinevere rebuilt around the work she actually wanted to do and went on to create a seven figure business. She says she built her first £1 million in three years while working largely around school hours and without relying on social media, advertising or traditional marketing. We explore why highly capable people can still operate below their potential, how beliefs influence commercial decisions, and what Guinevere calls false logic, the assumptions we inherit about money, ambition, work and success. We also discuss career progression, confidence, risk, failure, parenthood, professional identity and why the structures we build earlier in our careers sometimes need to be challenged later. For Guinevere, success is not simply about working harder. It starts with what you believe is possible for you. In this episode:01:36 Why overwork is overrated05:23 Becoming Head of Finance at 2709:55 Why she expects things to work out16:43 Moving to Sydney and starting again18:59 Why brilliant people still underperform25:06 Leaving corporate life to become an entrepreneur28:41 Borrowing £5,000 from her father to pay the mortgage32:13 The false logic holding people back37:09 Building a £1M business around school hours40:33 Guinevere's exact ExecDNA42:55 The thought pattern limiting your success Join the ExecDNA community and get early access to the platform:https://www.execdna.com Guinevere EllisFounder of Guinevere Ellis InternationalThe Mind Director Website:https://guinevereellisinternational.com/home LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/guinevereellis/ Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/guinevereellis YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@guinevereellis Mario RivasFounder of ExecDNAHost of ExecDNA Podcast LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariorivassanchez/ #execdna #leadership #careergrowth #entrepreneurship #businessgrowth

  3. Oct 6

    Why Most AI Initiatives Fail: It’s Not the Technology | Rujuta Singh

    Why do so many business change initiatives fail? Rujuta Singh joins me to explain why the human element often determines whether transformation succeeds or stalls. With more than 22 years across technology, consulting and transformation, Rujuta has seen the gap between strategy and execution from the inside. We explore why focusing only on systems and tools can lead to failure, why leadership teams can spend months trying to make one decision, and how executives can create genuine adoption rather than resistance. This conversation is especially relevant for CEOs, executives and transformation leaders managing major technology and AI programmes who want to move beyond tools and understand the organisational realities behind change. Rujuta started her career in technology, worked with Microsoft in Seattle, advised companies across multiple industries and eventually discovered that the hardest part of transformation usually is not the technology. It is people. Her own journey was not linear. She moved to the UK with almost no money, survived on one inexpensive meal a day while waiting for her first salary, has been fired twice, built her own company and learned through difficult periods to trust herself. Today, through Solve Together, she works with executives and boards on AI strategy and transformation, helping organisations move from tool first thinking towards measurable business value. Timestamp for you: 00:00 Introduction 01:24 Why AI programmes struggle to create value 02:49 Why starting with the AI tool is wrong 05:15 Measuring AI productivity 09:13 Growing up loving maths and computers 12:25 Moving from technology into business 14:39 Working with Microsoft in Seattle 20:09 The leadership meeting that changed her thinking 21:05 Six months trying to make one decision 23:20 Why transformation is a people problem 26:20 Why she founded Solve Together 30:13 Moving to the UK with almost no money 32:39 Learning to trust herself 37:32 Why traditional transformation models fail with AI 39:56 Why a three year AI roadmap may already be wrong 41:24 The role of orchestration in transformation 45:39 Rujuta's exact ExecDNA 46:54 Closing Join the ExecDNA community and get early access to the platform: https://www.execdna.com Mario Rivas Founder of ExecDNA LinkedIn: mariorivassanchez Rujuta Singh Founder of Solve Together Website: solvedtogether.co.uk LinkedIn: rujutasingh Spotify: ExecDNA Podcast Apple Podcasts: ExecDNA Podcast #execdna #ai #leadership #businesstransformation #businessstrategy

  4. Oct 1

    Success Will Never Make You Feel Worthwhile I Kenny Whitelaw-Jones

    I sat down with Kenny Whitelaw Jones, Co Founder of Gridlines, after more than twenty five years in finance, senior roles at KPMG and Deloitte, building a business of around 140 people across four continents, and training tens of thousands of professionals. Then his career took a very different turn. Kenny describes what he calls a midlife awakening. A period where the identity he had built around career, money, status, business and being a provider was no longer the whole story. We talk about the personal crisis that forced him to look at himself differently, why he became a psychotherapist, what shadow work taught him about leadership, and why success can never fully solve questions of identity and self worth. We also explore fear, anger, ego, childhood patterns, relationships, AI, executive performance and the parts of ourselves we often abandon while trying to become successful. Timestamp for you:00:00 Introduction01:00 From finance entrepreneur to psychotherapist03:11 When success stopped feeling like the whole story05:32 Who Kenny was at eighteen08:37 What success meant in his twenties09:57 The first promotion that made him feel successful11:15 Why he walked away from the Big Four path13:22 Building Gridlines differently15:45 Growing to around 140 people across four continents17:44 The career chapter that made him miserable18:58 The business mistake that changed how he thinks about ownership20:45 Learning to back himself21:39 The personal crisis that transformed him24:43 What he abandoned while becoming successful26:46 Why business growth could never define his self worth28:00 The death of his mother and rethinking how to use his remaining time31:42 Shadow work and the five principles of acceptance35:26 Why acceptance matters in leadership and company culture37:26 Fear, control, insecurity and ego in senior leaders39:47 Why anger is one of the most misunderstood emotions42:14 AI, leadership and why human skills matter more46:33 The advice Kenny gives leaders about accepting themselves48:45 Kenny's exact ExecDNA49:09 Closing Join ExecDNAJoin the ExecDNA community and get early access to the platform. 👉 Join the community and waiting list:https://www.execdna.com Mario RivasFounder of ExecDNAHost of ExecDNA Podcast LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariorivassanchez/ Kenny Whitelaw JonesCo Founder of GridlinesPsychotherapist LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/kennywhitelawjones/ Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/theshadowatwork/ TikTok:https://www.tiktok.com/@theshadowatwork Deep Process Therapy:https://www.deepprocesstherapy.com/ The Shadow at Work:https://www.theshadowatwork.com/ Listen to ExecDNASpotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/3804Om0XrGG1gNRsev6DlU?si=ce622db462c84839 Apple Podcasts:https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/execdna/id1847157416 #execdna #leadership #executiveleadership #personalgrowth #psychology

  5. Sep 15

    What It Really Takes to Become a Fintech CEO | Mike Saraswat

    I sat down with Mike Saraswat, Co-Founder and CEO of Stoa, an entrepreneur who went from building a marketing agency to taking on one of the hardest challenges in fintech. His latest chapter took almost 30 months of fundraising, around 2,000 investor approaches and 300 meetings before Stoa closed its $2.4M pre-seed round. But that resilience was built much earlier. Mike tells the story of spending nine days at Cannes being rejected while trying to finance a film, nearly losing his life in a motorway accident, then getting back into the car, driving to his meeting and winning the project. We also explore what years of chasing difficult problems taught him about failure, momentum, founder obsession and coming back faster when things go wrong. Today, he is building Stoa, a fintech challenging the way people think about idle cash and giving customers a different way to get value from money sitting in their accounts. Timestamps00:00 Introduction00:38 Raising $2.4M after 30 months of fundraising01:09 2,000 investors, 300 calls and mostly rejection03:33 Who Mike was before becoming an entrepreneur06:15 Why he has always chased difficult problems08:39 Starting his first agency in his early 20s09:23 Why raising money for a movie nearly broke him12:33 What he learned from successful fintech founders14:58 Why founder obsession matters17:21 Why success is not only about money21:02 The difficult moments that shaped Mike23:01 Facing serious illness in his early 20s24:03 Nine days of rejection at Cannes26:00 How to shorten the window of despair28:10 Resilience, momentum and coming back faster31:19 The motorway crash he walked away from34:10 He survived the crash and still won the project34:29 Why defeat only becomes defeat when you stop35:00 From agency owner to building Stoa36:00 The enormous problem of idle cash39:22 How Stoa actually works41:13 More than 200 benefits and the future of the platform42:44 Closing Join ExecDNAJoin the ExecDNA community and get early access to the platform. Join the community and waiting list Mario RivasFounder of ExecDNAHost of ExecDNA PodcastLinkedIn Mike SaraswatCo-Founder and CEO of StoaStoa Listen to ExecDNASpotifyApple Podcasts #ExecDNA #Entrepreneurship #Fintech #FounderStory #BusinessMindset

  6. Sep 3

    2 Exits. Built Airbnb in Asia. Now building again. Alan Chang's Founder Journey

    Alan Chang's career has taken him from running restaurants to becoming an Airbnb executive, building startups, navigating extreme financial pressure, completing an acquisition and exit, and starting again in FinTech. In this episode of ExecDNA, Alan shares the decisions, failures and transformations that shaped him as an entrepreneur and leader. Most founders struggle when their role shifts from day-to-day operator to global leader. Alan breaks down the reality of scaling a business, from building 50 restaurants to helping expand Airbnb across Asian markets. He shares the leadership lessons he learned from nearly missing payroll by less than two business days, and how that experience permanently changed the way he thinks about growth, cash and risk. We also discuss the mistakes that nearly cost him everything, the decisions behind his eventual exit, and what it means to start again with a new company. Whether you are navigating financial pressure, scaling a team or thinking about your next venture, this is a conversation about the reality behind entrepreneurship, leadership and reinvention. Subscribe for more weekly conversations exploring the people, decisions and transformations behind extraordinary careers. Timestamps00:00 Trailer01:03 Introduction01:36 The Payroll Problem04:01 Growing Up in a Family Restaurant06:33 Building 50 Restaurants12:19 From Restaurants to Airbnb14:17 Expanding Airbnb Across Asia17:16 From Operator to Global Leader20:30 The Biggest Business Mistake24:54 Growing Out of Cash26:59 What the Crisis Changed30:51 The Exit34:39 Building Patch38:15 Turning a Crisis Into an Inconvenience38:53 Alan's ExecDNA Join ExecDNAJoin the ExecDNA community and get early access to the platform. Join the community and waiting list Mario RivasFounder of ExecDNAHost of the ExecDNA PodcastLinkedIn Alan ChangCo-Founder & CEO of Patch SystemsLinkedInPatch Systems on LinkedInCompany Website Listen to ExecDNASpotifyApple Podcasts #ExecDNA #BusinessGrowth #BusinessMindset #CareerGrowth #UKPodcast

  7. Sep 3

    How to Stay Relevant in Cybersecurity for 26 Years (It’s Not What You Think) | Robbie Tyrie

    Building a sustainable cybersecurity career takes far more than technical certifications and initial training. After 26 years in the industry, Robbie Tyrie joins ExecDNA to discuss how he built, adapted and reinvented his career across technology, leadership and information security. This conversation moves beyond entry-level cybersecurity advice to explore what it actually takes to remain relevant as technology, regulation and corporate expectations continue to change. Robbie shares the decisions that accelerated his career, the two biggest mistakes he made, the hardest 12 months of his professional life, and how those experiences eventually pushed him towards reinvention and entrepreneurship. We also explore leadership, ISO 27001, the relationship between cybersecurity and the C-suite, and how weak security can put six or seven-figure commercial contracts at risk. Finally, we look at AI and cybersecurity, whether AI will replace parts of security work, and what professionals need to develop if they want to grow into senior and C-suite roles. This is a conversation about cybersecurity, career longevity, leadership, reinvention and what it takes to keep evolving after decades in one of technology's fastest-changing industries. Timestamps00:00 Why risk starting again?01:16 What did you think you would be doing by 30?01:52 What was Robbie like at school?02:30 Robbie's first proper job03:25 Three decisions that accelerated his career04:05 The JPMorgan software security story06:00 How to lead others07:41 Moving into cybersecurity08:05 The two biggest mistakes of his career09:14 The hardest 12 months of his career10:30 Reinvention12:00 Leadership philosophy13:50 Moving from corporate life to entrepreneurship15:49 Business goals16:44 AI and cybersecurity18:22 How weak security can put a six or seven-figure contract at risk19:12 Will AI take over cybersecurity work?20:21 Three important AI and cybersecurity numbers21:30 Working with the C-suite23:17 How to grow your career in 202624:07 How Robbie reached the C-suite27:36 The next version of Robbie28:24 Robbie's ExecDNA Join ExecDNAJoin the ExecDNA community and get early access to the platform. Join the community and waiting list Mario RivasFounder of ExecDNAHost of the ExecDNA PodcastLinkedIn Robbie TyrieFounder of Torridon CyberLinkedIn Listen to ExecDNASpotifyApple Podcasts #ExecDNA #Cybersecurity #Technology #BusinessGrowth #CareerGrowth #Leadership

  8. Aug 24

    I Spent 25 Years In The Boardroom Only To Realize This | Mark Hedley

    I sat down with Mark Hedley, Co-Founder and COO of Adeus, a corporate executive who walked away from more than 25 years in senior leadership to start again as a founder. Mark has lived and worked across four continents, held senior roles at Citibank, Deutsche Bank and Korn Ferry, and built a career that began not with a clear plan, but with leaving university and following his curiosity around the world. In this episode of ExecDNA, we explore the decisions, risks and setbacks that shaped his career, from building an international corporate career to asking himself: Why am I building somebody else's dream? Mark shares the skills that accelerated his career, the moments that changed his trajectory, and why he ultimately decided to leave corporate life and build Adeus. We also discuss what executives get wrong about hiring, why skills degrade quickly in the age of AI, staying effective as a founder, and what it means to build a company around legacy. TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Introduction00:25 Growing up between the UK and Australia02:16 Why school did not shape his career path03:47 Curiosity took him to India, Korea, Indonesia and Hong Kong05:40 The key skills that built his career08:32 The moment that changed his career trajectory11:44 The hard skills behind the soft skills13:43 Why he decided to build his own business15:27 Why am I building somebody else's dream?17:34 Building Adeus and reimagining legacy planning19:36 A career failure: leaving university21:21 The visa crisis that sent him to Singapore22:26 Spending $150,000 on an MBA23:42 What executives get wrong about hiring25:26 Why skills degrade fast in the age of AI26:35 Staying in shape as a founder28:47 Building a legacy company29:41 Why 60% of people still do not have a will32:07 Mark's ExecDNA33:22 Closing JOIN EXECDNA Join the ExecDNA community and get early access to the platform. Join the community and waiting list MARIO RIVAS Founder of ExecDNAHost of the ExecDNA PodcastLinkedIn MARK HEDLEY Co-Founder and COO of AdeusLinkedIn LISTEN TO EXECDNA SpotifyApple Podcasts #ExecDNA #BusinessGrowth #CareerGrowth #Leadership #Entrepreneurship

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The world's most important decisions deserve better intelligence. ExecDNA is the Executive Intelligence company for founders, executives, board directors and investors, helping leaders make better decisions, accelerate their careers and build stronger organisations. This podcast is where that intelligence comes to life. Each week, we sit down with CEOs, founders, board directors, investors and operators to have honest conversations about leadership, governance, AI, growth and what really happens when companies scale. No theory. No recycled advice. Just the patterns, decisions and lessons th

Information

  • Creator
    Mario Rivas
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    50
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Mario Rivas
  • Show Website
    ExecDNA