The Reboot Chronicles with Dean DeBiase

The global economy doesn’t run on boardrooms. It runs on the people who keep the real world moving. They’re the ones staffing hospitals and elder care centers, keeping restaurants humming through the dinner rush, unloading trucks before sunrise, and holding retail together during the most chaotic shopping weeks of the year. They are essential — and they are everywhere. Yet for decades, the systems built to support them have been designed around office life. Schedules go up late. Communication breaks down. Policies feel inconsistent. But when those barriers start to lift — when people get clarity, consistency, and tools that actually fit the way they work — the job becomes something you can take pride in again, and the entire operation runs stronger because of it. Few leaders understand that opportunity better than Silvija Martincevic, CEO of Deputy. With a career spent scaling global companies and building billion-dollar businesses, she now leads a workforce management platform used by millions of shift workers and thousands of businesses across more than 100 countries. Before Deputy, Silvija helped companies grow into billion-dollar brands, forged partnerships with Walmart, Amazon, American Airlines, and Target, and increased revenue from $100 million to well over $1 billion. At Groupon, she built a $1 billion international business while serving as CMO and GM of its Health & Beauty division. Today, we’ll break down her work, her leadership philosophy, and the lessons she’s learned building high-growth companies that serve both scale and purpose.

AI and digital transformation are no longer operating in a vacuum. They are unfolding inside a world shaped by geopolitical pressure, economic coercion, and state-driven competition. CEOs are being forced to make technology, supply chain, and capital allocation decisions that carry consequences far beyond quarterly results. In this environment, leadership failure is rarely about a lack of information. It is about misreading the system in which the business actually operates. On this episode of the Reboot Chronicles Podcast, we have Ram Charan, a longtime advisor to CEOs and boards and the author of the newly released China’s 90% Model. Ram explains how China’s economic strategy is reshaping global markets, why most companies misunderstand the nature of that competition, and what it means for AI adoption, productivity, and leadership fit in the decade ahead. From defining who truly drives outcomes inside organizations to why CEOs must personally own transformation, he connects boardroom decisions to the broader forces determining which companies and countries will lead next.

In a world where the pace of change is compressed into weeks vs years, we can’t help but consider how to stay relevant and on top of innovation so as to not be outpaced. The AI conversation in the broader marketplace is centered around models, tools and code however in the boardroom and breakrooms, the real story is anchored in the human factor. How to remain relevant, add value, drive change to compliment artificial intelligence vs be replaced by it. For many, the underlying unease has little to do with algorithms. It’s about security, identity, and whether they can adapt fast enough to thrive in whatever comes next. That’s why this episode of The Reboot Chronicles lands with such urgency. Dean DeBiase is joined by Allie K. Miller, one of the most influential voices in artificial intelligence today. Allie is an advisor, investor, educator, and former AI leader at both IBM and Amazon Web Services. With millions following her work and enterprises relying on her guidance, Allie sits at the intersection of capability and everyday reality, translating AI’s fast-moving “what’s possible” into practical, human-centered transformation.

Industrial distribution rarely makes headlines, yet it quietly powers nearly every corner of the modern economy. When factories run, hospitals operate, and infrastructure stands strong, it’s because an intricate and largely invisible supply network is performing as intended. . Today, that network is under pressure from rising customer expectations, global volatility, and rapid advances in artificial intelligence. Even industries built on stability are being forced to rethink how they operate; the question is, can they adapt fast enough? On this episode of The Reboot Chronicles, we sit down with Brian Walker, Chief Product Officer of WW Grainger. Founded in 1927 and headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois, Grainger is a Fortune 500 company generating $18 billion in annual revenue, employing roughly 26,000 people, and delivering more than 30 million products daily to customers across nearly every U.S. ZIP code’ now imagine the global reach. . Brian is leading one of the largest B2B digital transformations in the world, rebooting how industrial, commercial, and government buyers connect and transact at scale; as pressure to modernize accelerates with diminishing margins. Let’s explore how this 20year veteran is leveraging technology to prove that reinvention is not only possible, but profitable

If life really had a reset button, would you hit it? Would you do it multiple times? It is a daunting question, as the possibilities and unknowns are almost impossible to truly understand, but for our next guest, there was no question about it. They pressed it multiple times, and each time raised the stakes for the next. Joe Moglia is our guest for this episode of the Reboot Chronicles Podcast, and he is no stranger to rebooting himself, despite the risk. From growing up in a rough New York neighborhood to becoming the CEO and Chairman of TD Ameritrade, to then walking away from Wall Street to return to football and lead Coastal Carolina into a historic transition to FBS competition, Joe has reinvented himself time and again. Follow along as we bounce back and forth between boardrooms and locker rooms to truly understand what it takes to lead under pressure, calculate risk, and how identity drives long-term success, not ambition.

American capitalism is almost always under scrutiny—whether it’s debates over how to define it or questions about whether it truly serves the average worker. That scrutiny has only intensified in an era where a handful of tech giants dominate entire markets and artificial intelligence sparks both opportunity and anxiety. Confidence in capitalism has wavered, but our next guest on The Reboot Chronicles, Seth Levine, brings a fresh and reassuring perspective. As a longtime venture capitalist and co-founder of Foundry, a Boulder-based firm managing nearly $4 billion in assets, Seth has spent decades backing entrepreneurs and building companies across the globe. He’s also the co-author of The New Builders, a book that champions overlooked entrepreneurs and argues for a more inclusive, resilient form of capitalism. With his deep experience in venture capital and his passion for reimagining the system to better serve workers and communities, Seth joins us to remind listeners that capitalism can—and must—evolve to meet the challenges of our time.

For years, modern medicine has promised certainty—more data, sharper diagnostics, faster answers. Yet some spiritual moments defy logic and explanation. Instances where coma patients awaken after weeks of silence, or individuals once immobilized by Lewy Body disease rise and walk with strength. These are modern-day miracles, often grounded in faith and prayer, reminding us that healing can transcend science. On this episode of The Reboot Chronicles, Dr. Marc Siegel joins us to explore the profound intersection of medicine and miracles. A clinical professor at NYU, Fox News Senior medical analyst, and the medical director of SiriusXM’s Doctor Radio’ for nearly two decades, Dr Siegel has been a trusted guide through the most pressing public health challenges of our time. A best-selling author, with his sixth book out entitled, The Miracles Among Us: How God’s Grace Plays a Role in Healing, Dr. Siegel takes us beyond the boundaries of medical protocol to explore how faith can heal in ways medicine cannot. Follow along as we reflect on Marc’s remarkable career and personal reboots shaped by science, epidemics, faith, and miraculous recoveries.

Grocery stores are a staple of any area. They are a business that most people will interact with every week, and get so accustomed to their individual grocer that they will memorize the store inside out. This familiarity is due in part to the fact that grocery stores can go decades without changing anything. It is the exact type of industry that could use a reboot. Which is why, for this episode of the Reboot Chronicles Podcast, we have invited Gadi Graus, the CEO of A2Z Cust2mate, on to walk us through how he is disrupting grocery retail technology. Gadi is coming to this reboot backed with more than 30 years in law, an ability to scale innovation across borders, and a background with the Kellogg School of Management. Follow along as Gadi breaks down how his company is using AI to reboot grocery stores, reboot the shopper experience. He even shares some lessons on leadership from his risk-averse profession as a lawyer to a risk-as-an-opportunity profession as a tech CEO.

Building on our recent global markets episodes, we now turn to one of the most urgent and fascinating conversations of our time: energy. From powering nations to fueling the explosive growth of AI, the energy sector is at the center of innovation, geopolitics, and technological transformation. As data centers expand and tech giants demand ever more power, the question of how we generate, manage, and reinvent energy has never been more critical. That’s why, in this episode of The Reboot Chronicles Show, we’re diving deep into the worldwide energy landscape—examining both global dynamics and the challenges here at home. To unpack the urgency of all this is Dan Brouillette, a true heavyweight in American energy policy and international energy diplomacy. Dan’s remarkable career spans from commanding tanks in the U.S. Army to serving as the U.S. Secretary of Energy. Along the way, he’s influenced nuclear strategy, national security, Fortune 100 leadership, and high-stakes negotiations that stabilized oil markets between the United States, Russia, and Saudi Arabia. He’s the ideal voice to help us unpack how America can expand its energy future, meet the demands of the AI revolution, and reflect on the personal reboots that have shaped his extraordinary journey.

Behind the scenes of the world’s biggest companies lies a powerful, often invisible engine: high-stakes B2B transactions that move billions across borders. These deals are the lifeblood of global commerce—and when they go wrong, the ripple effects can be seismic. That’s why insuring and protecting them isn’t just smart—it’s essential. On this episode of The Reboot Chronicles Show, we sit down with someone who doesn’t just understand this world—he’s reshaping it. Meet Artur Wisniewsky, COO Allianz Trade Americas, part of the global powerhouse Allianz Group. With over $900 billion in assets under management and 156,000 employees across 70 countries, Allianz is one of the largest insurers and asset managers on the planet. Artur has spent the last two decades modernizing financial infrastructures across continents. From rebooting legacy systems to pioneering automation, AI, and data intelligence, he’s been at the forefront of helping businesses navigate risk, scale smartly, and future-proof their operations. Listen in as Artur pulls back the curtain on; How trade credit insurance quietly powers our global economy, how AI and automation are transforming financial ecosystems, and what it takes to lead billion-dollar investments that reboot industries. It’s a strategic blueprint in resilience, reinvention, and the art of safeguarding the world’s most critical transactions. Join us as Artur guides us through the future of financial protection—and why it matters to all of us—now more than ever.

The global economy is constantly evolving with forces like Automation, Robotics and artificial intelligence redefining the global workforce and how businesses drive growth and innovation at scale. As the Magnificent Seven Tech giants lay off tens of thousands of people leveraging AI to drive out repetitive, mundane tasks, the labor force is challenged to broaden their skillset and redefine their value to stay relevant. Getting an understanding of what is happening in the economy on both a global and a national level has never been more important. In this episode of The Reboot Chronicles Show, we’re joined by economist and commentator Peter Morici to help make sense of the forces driving today’s economic landscape. Peter is one of America’s most unfiltered and respected economic voices. He has served as Chief Economist at the U.S. International Trade Commission, authored 18 books, and is a familiar guest on CNN, Fox Business, CNBC, and Newsmax. He brings perspective with a historical lens towards economic cycles that infuse logic and experience to help navigate uncertain times. This is precisely why we wanted Peter on the program. To unpack what’s really happening beneath the headlines. To gain insights on how to advance during this consequential AI moment and take advantage of the tremendous opportunity to Reboot to stay relevant.

Artificial Intelligence and the potential productivity benefits continue to be an area of focus across industries, yet AI’s influence now extends into our culture. From deepfakes and cloned voices to AI-generated art and virtual influencers, a new wave of synthetic content is transforming media and testing our ability to trust what we see and hear. In this episode of The Reboot Chronicles, Henry Ajder,founder of Latent Space Advisory and program lead of Generative AI and Business at the University of Cambridge joins us to discuss this shift. Henry has spent the better part of a decade decoding how synthetic media will alter trust and creativity. He is with us today to help understand what a synthetic age of media really means for business, leaders, governments, and everyday people.

Launching a startup is daunting—especially when you're navigating the journey without guidance or mentorship. Even well-funded ventures struggle, and those that beat the odds are so rare they're dubbed "Unicorns." Our next guest on the Reboot Chronicles Show has helped countless start-ups become successful and redefined what we here at the Reboot Chronicles believe to be key components in rebooting organizations. Brad Feld is a legendary figure in the startup world whose influence runs deep and wide. As co-founder of both the Foundry Group and Techstars, Brad has helped shape the very ecosystem that fuels innovation today. He was an early investor in breakout successes like Zynga and Fitbit, spotting potential long before they became household names. Beyond investing, he's also a prolific author whose books have become essential reading for founders navigating the rocky-road highs and lows of entrepreneurship. Through his success and headline investments, Brad has built a legacy through his philosophy of giving first, radical honesty about mental health, and a pursuit of personal and professional rebooting. Join us for a deep dive into Brad Feld’s remarkable journey, as we uncover the stories, insights, and hard-won lessons that can help you—and continue to shape the future of business.

Most businesses are rapidly deploying AI to be more competitive, but some are struggling to adapt, or worse, think Microsoft Co-Pilot is enough adaptation. Sectors like consulting, accounting, and law firms, are in big trouble and many are facing an Opportunity Crisis. Our next guest is reaching that point in their evolution, but instead of being disrupted, they are choosing to reboot themselves as the disruptors who can create and lead the next generation of business. Jim Peko is CEO of Grant Thornton, part of Grant Thornton International, an $8 billion group with 76,000 employees in hundreds of offices worldwide. Jim is making no small plans for their reboot; they have brought in a top private equity partner to think bigger and accelerate Jim's plans. Listen in as we unpack this ambitious reboot and how, through a billion-dollar investment from New Mountain Capital, they plan to supercharge the AI-enabled services sector—and how you can be an AI disruptor.

From Olympic runways to boardroom breakthroughs, Simon Arkel knows how to raise the bar—and clear it. On this episode of The Reboot Chronicles, we’re joined by this two-time Olympian and five-time NCAA All-American whose journey is a masterclass in reinvention. Simon’s pole vaulting career was built on grit, resilience, and relentless pursuit—qualities that now define his impact in the healthcare industry. Simon has served as CEO across multiple ventures, most notably steering DeepLens, a pioneering platform for clinical trial patient-matching, through its successful acquisition by Paradigm Health. Today, he’s at the helm of Ryght Inc., where he’s harnessing generative AI to revolutionize Biopharma site selection—making it faster, smarter, and more cost-effective. Simon’s journey is one of ongoing evolution from early promise to Olympic excellence, and now a visionary leader reshaping healthcare through technology. Join us as we unpack the many reboots that shaped his path—and explore what’s next on his horizon.

You know the song MMMBop. You probably danced to it. But do you know the man behind it? Taylor Hanson went from topping charts in 27 countries to brewing up a business empire. In an industry that often trades authenticity for applause, Taylor and his two brothers chose ownership over dependency—when he was just nine years old! Celebrity guests often bring star power—but few bring the depth of reinvention and a journey that includes global fame, entrepreneurial grit, and a mission-driven future. On this episode of the Reboot Chronicles Podcast, Taylor shares his remarkable musical career journey, where they have sold 16 million records, with eight Top-40 Albums, three Top-40 singles, and three Grammy nominations. This musical fame was only their beginning. Today, Taylor is the co-founder of Hanson Brothers Beer Company, a craft brewery rooted in community and creativity, and is actively developing a nonprofit initiative focused on civic engagement and social impact. In a business that often sidelines authentic voices, Taylor’s path underscores the power of speaking up, standing firm, and creating ventures that reflect your values. Listen in for some fun stories and a few surprises.

Long before brand-building became a buzzword and athletes were expected to be media-savvy moguls, our guest on this episode of the Reboot Chronicles Show, Jan Stephenson, was already rewriting the rules. Born under the sun-drenched skies of Sydney, Australia, she stepped onto the LPGA Tour in 1974 with a swing as fearless as her spirit—and a vision that would forever change the face of women’s golf. In a sport steeped in tradition, Stephenson brought charisma, controversy, and championship grit, capturing 16 LPGA titles, including three majors, and earning Rookie of the Year honors in her debut season. But her legacy isn’t just etched in scorecards—it lives in the way she turned golf into a stage, and herself into a story of inspiration, resilience and lasting impact by transforming reboot moments into opportunities. Having beat cancer twice, she is fierce in the face of adversity; showing no signs of slowing down as she shares her passion with her foundation, as an entrepreneur and a champion for the sport of golf around the world.

David Butler’s life is a classic reboot story, from the courts of NBA Basketball to Wall Street Titan and co-CEO of Dimensional Fund Advisors. A powerhouse in the boardroom and on the court, David’s career has been anything but conventional. A Rhodes Scholar candidate and Pac-12 Basketball Hall of Honor inductee, he was an All-American at UC Berkeley and drafted to the Boston Celtics. When his NBA career was sidelined by a strike and injury—David was faced with a serendipitous moment in his life that many would have missed—and pivoted with purpose, launching a remarkable Reboot journey shaped by discipline and a vision. A powerful force on the court, David has Rebooted Dimension into a $10B powerhouse to become a leading global financial services group. Long before the me-too AI train, instead of chasing hot stock tips, they redefined the financial advice model with a systematic, research-based investment approaches that have outperformed their competitors. Listen in as we unpack David’s remarkable personal journey and how a former pro baller became a Wall Street Trailblazer.

When a CEO steps into a company with the mindset of initiating a full-scale reboot, it’s not just a refresh—it’s a renaissance. My best reboots have been built on three foundational pillars: People - Platform - Passion. Platform (my favorite) often becomes the keystone of growth, especially when you reimagine it not just as infrastructure, but as a conduit—an engine of connection. Think of Amazon as the digital bridge between consumers and merchants, or Facebook as the social circuitry linking lives across the globe. Platforms, in their purest form, are the connective tissue of modern enterprise—rebooting how ideas, services, business models, and relationships flow between entities. And when done right, they don’t just support the business—they redefine it. Bestselling author, Sangeet Choudary - CEO of Platformation Labs, joins us to unpack all of this. A platform guru, he is an advisor to Fortune 50 CEOs, a Scholar at Dartmouth, a Fellow at UC Berkley, and holds key advisory roles in the Indian Government, World Economic Forum, Standard Bank, ING Bank and GPA—the largest food retailer in Latin America. Listen in as we explore his latest book, Reshuffle: Who Wins When AI Restacks, and explore what I write about in Forbes: how AI is transforming knowledge economies, shifting expertise to AI tools—fundamentally altering our workflows and organization power dynamics.

Rewind to 2014, when the tech world was sort of dancing around the promise of the “digital future.” The term “digital transformation” was just beginning to gain traction, and “cloud computing” had become the darling of boardroom conversations, though many enterprises were still hesitant to fully embrace it. At the time, if you were one of the rare leaders who could see past the noise and around corners, and understood that data, cloud, and AI would become the backbone of enterprise reinvention, you would be on track to be one of the fastest-growing tech service providers in the ecosystem. That, at least, is the case for our next guest on the Reboot Chronicles Show, Raj Mamodia. Raj is the chairman and CEO of Brillio, a tech service provider that partners with Global 1000 corporations to reboot themselves for growth and success in our crazy digital age. While others chased hype cycles and easy exits, Raj built a company grounded in execution, innovation, and long-term value creation. Today, Brillio is on a trajectory toward becoming a multi-billion-dollar market leader in digital services. Listen in as Raj unpacks how he navigated the early fog of digital transformation, resisted the lure of short-term trends, and built a company that’s helping the world’s largest enterprises thrive in a tech-driven future.