ADAPT or die

On this episode of ADAPT or Die: Transformative Leadership Conversations, executive coach and former tech CEO Andreas Pettersson sits down with Annette Franz, globally recognized thought leader, author of three books, and CEO of CX Journey Inc. With 30+ years of experience in culture transformation, EX, and CX, Annette shares what most leaders get wrong about customer experience—and why it’s rarel...

On this episode of ADAPT or Die: Transformative Leadership Conversations , executive coach and former tech CEO Andreas Pettersson sits down with Marina St. Cyr, Partner & SVP of Operations at Access Partners, commercial real estate investor, published author, and mother of four. With a career shaped by complex M&As and cross-functional leadership, Marina brings battle-tested insights on na...

On this episode of ADAPT or Die: Transformative Leadership Conversations , former tech CEO turned executive coach Andreas Pettersson sits down with Carolina Hernandez —CEO, real estate investor, and proud Latina leader breaking barriers in construction and beyond. As co-owner of LouisGloria Painting LLC , Carolina runs a 50+ employee luxury painting firm serving the top 1% of Dallas-Fort Worth. Bu...

On this episode of ADAPT or Die: Transformative Leadership Conversations , former tech-CEO-turned-executive-coach Andreas Pettersson sits down with Tim McVay, second-generation president of Marco Transport—a 31-truck heavy-haul fleet moving 260-thousand-pound “yellow iron” across the Southwest. Tim recounts how a routine scan in 2023 blindsided him with Stage-4 colorectal cancer and why he still s...

On this episode of ADAPT or Die: Transformative Leadership Conversations , former tech-CEO-turned-executive-coach Andreas Pettersson sits down with Stella Han, software-engineer-turned-founder of Fractional, the platform letting everyday investors pool small checks into big real-estate deals. Stella traces her journey from “cheap family labor” on Bay-Area flips to hacking a one-page mock-site that...

When securities attorney & serial entrepreneur Bethany LaFlam watched her first investment fund implode, she lost more than cash—she lost confidence. In this premiere of ADAPT or Die , host Andreas Pettersson unpacks the exact moment Bethany hit rock-bottom, the mindset pivot that set her free, and the measurable wins that followed. Challenge → A brilliantly complex $50 M fund no investor coul...

In her teens, poet and entrepreneur Ryanna Hammond felt life slipping out of reach. By 28, she’d published seven books, launched the lifestyle brand All With Heart, healed generational wounds—and is now preparing for motherhood. In this episode of ADAPT or Die , Ryanna walks host Andreas Pettersson through the inner work that turned a private journal into a public mission. Challenge → Years of dep...

Supply-chain whiplash, 40 % ingredient hikes, and an ERP rollout that face-planted—2022 nearly soured Alex Wendling, 28-year-old president of Custom Flavors. In this episode of ADAPT or Die , Alex reveals how scrapping a six-figure system (and 13 months of work) became the catalyst for three straight years of double-digit growth. Challenge → COVID demand spikes and runaway costs exposed brittle pr...

Most elite leaders swear by data—but ignore the data their own bodies generate. Neuro-emotional performance coach Leila Entezam joins host Andreas Pettersson to prove that feelings are the missing metric at the top. Challenge → High-stakes CEOs, founders, and athletes hit a wall: detachment, compartmentalization, and a nagging sense of emptiness despite record-breaking results. Adaptation → Leila...

Serial entrepreneur and technologist Jeff Kunzelman (3 exits out of 6 startups) joins Andreas to unpack why today’s AI wave is “10 × bigger—and faster—than the original internet boom.” They cover: Challenge - Spotting market-shifting tech before it’s obvious—and the risk of waiting even 12 months. Adaptation - Using generative-AI tools (ChatGPT, Claude, Notebook LM) to collapse weeks of research a...

ADAPT or die: Transformative Leadership Conversations is a weekly podcast where former tech CEO and leadership coach Andreas Pettersson sits down with top executives, founders, and change-makers to dissect the pivotal moments that forced them to pivot—or perish. Each 30-minute episode follows a Challenge → Adaptation → Success framework, offering real-world insights into how leaders navigate disru...