In this episode, I sit down with Alain Bejjani, former Group CEO of Majid Al Futtaim, one of the largest conglomerates in the Middle East operating multi-billion dollar businesses across retail, real estate, and entertainment.We break down what actually happens when companies scale — and why most leaders unknowingly become the biggest bottleneck in their own organization.This is not theory. This is how leadership, decision-making, culture, and power really work inside a $10B+ company.We cover:

• Why founders and executives become bottlenecks
• The real role of leadership vs governance
• Centralization vs decentralization (and when each fails)
• Why office politics are unavoidable
• How great CEOs think about talent, performance, and potential
• What actually destroys large companies

If you're a founder, product leader, or operator — this will change how you think about leadership.⏱️ Chapters00:00 – Intro: Leading at $10B scale01:00 – Startups vs conglomerates: what really changes04:30 – The leadership bottleneck problem07:30 – “Your business is not your baby”10:30 – Incentives: salary vs equity13:15 – The reality of office politics15:10 – Centralization vs empowerment20:20 – How CEOs allocate capital29:20 – Hiring, promotion & CEO judgment32:45 – What destroys companies