The Catalyst
Ideas with a spark, energy, range and the ability to start things.
Bill McDermott is The Catalyst because his leadership identity rests on making large organisations believe transformation is both possible and urgent. At SAP he reversed a cultural drift toward complacency and repositioned the company around cloud. At ServiceNow he arrived with a vision of AI-powered enterprise workflows and set about converting sceptics into believers.
“My first response is probably because he doesn't know how to help them. I think everybody in life could always use a friend to talk to, could use an honest conversation. And there is a difference, by the way, between founder friendly and founder helpful. And I think I have to walk the line between what I call founder friendly.”
“The reason I pick Kotu out of all the firms I was looking at was they themselves are innovative. They themselves are entrepreneurial. They themselves are trying to build the best company in the world, in the categories that they serve. They're not afraid to try something. And Thomas had great vision.”
“The hardest thing I've said no a couple times in one that I said yes to. I do think it's going to be a generational company. And I really love the founder. I've known him for 10 years. So it's one of those where existing investors preempted around. We got a smaller piece than I wanted. There was a commitment to try to drive more.”
“This company forward. And whatever he doesn't know, he'll get mentoring for, we'll get coaching for, but the good way outweighs the bad by a long shot. And so for me, it was that opportunity. So when I look at the young people in that role today, I'm rooting for them. I want them to be successful.”
The David Rubenstein Show: “Bill McDermott”
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