Hello and welcome to Modern CEO! I’m Stephanie Mehta, CEO and chief content officer of Mansueto Ventures. Each week this newsletter explores inclusive approaches to leadership drawn from conversations with executives and entrepreneurs, and from the pages of Inc. and Fast Company. If you received this newsletter from a friend, you can sign up to get it yourself every Monday morning.
We hear all the time about how generative artificial intelligence—or gen AI—is eliminating entry-level jobs and changing the way knowledge workers complete daily tasks. But how are CEOs integrating these tools into the day-to-day work of leading a business? To find out, I reached out to executives across industries to understand which AI tools they’re using and how these technologies are changing the way they lead. Here’s what seven chief executives—and one chief commercial officer—shared, in their own words.
Brad Bogolea, cofounder and CEO, Simbe Robotics, a robotics and engineering company
“I use ChatGPT almost every day—it’s developed a rich contextual memory of how I think, which makes it an incredibly effective partner for writing, decision-making, and pressure-testing strategy. For certain file types and formats, I’ll turn to Gemini. The key is knowing which model gives you the best acceleration for the task.
“I use generative AI as a thought partner to move faster and think more clearly. Most often, it’s a [sounding board] for distilling ideas, pressure-testing conversation strategy, and sharpening my messaging. Whether I’m prepping for a board call, investor meeting, or industry event, I’ll use AI to draft talking points, uncover blind spots, and stress-test the framing—often from an Uber or in flight. At its best, AI helps me clarify what I’m trying to say and why it matters. It’s become an essential tool for thinking through complexity and communicating with precision.”
Elizabeth Buchanan, chief commercial officer, Rokt, an e-commerce technology company
I use AI to accelerate how I consume information and frame decisions, whether that’s transforming raw data into strategic narratives, refining product positioning, or stress-testing messaging. It’s most powerful when used as a thought partner—helping me evaluate decisions from multiple angles or refine how we communicate a complex idea with precision. At this stage of scale, decisiveness and speed are nonnegotiable. AI enables both. It’s also fantastic to use it to get an update on everything a client has been talking about across touchpoints (their press and official updates to more casual LinkedIn posts from employees) to get an understanding of their current pain points or success stories. It’s an absolute lifesaver. I automate these updates for myself—extraordinary time-saver!
Dave Dama, founder and CEO, AquaSonic, and cofounder, Onyx Global Group, a consumer brand incubator
“I use AI to sharpen decision-making, speed up communication, and get to clarity faster. It helps me draft positioning frameworks, prep for key meetings, and collaborate with our CMO Jonathan Cohen on external messaging. I don’t use it to replace judgment—but it helps me move through the thinking and refinement process with more speed and less friction. It’s become a trusted part of how I work through early-stage ideas.”
Spencer Hewett, founder and CEO, RADAR, a software company
“Recently, I’ve been using tools like Fyxer, which is an AI executive assistant, and Cursor, which is a code editor. I also use ChatGPT and Claude as search engines for quick responses from my phone or desktop.”
“I use gen AI tools to streamline email management and responses and sometimes use ChatGPT to brainstorm or flesh out ideas before I make a final decision. I’ve also been impressed with ChatGPT’s ability to surface talented candidates via their public LinkedIn profiles.”
Sami Inkinen, CEO, Virta Health, a health technology company
“On the strategic front, AI acts like an on-demand thought partner—I use it to synthesize market signals, explore strategic scenarios, and identify emerging risks or opportunities. What used to take a day of analyst work or hours of personal research now takes minutes.
“On the execution side, AI helps me move faster. I use it to draft communications, structure memos, and summarize long-form content, which frees me up to focus on high-leverage thinking and decision-making. It’s a force multiplier for clarity and output.
“Looking ahead, I think AI will reshape how companies are structured. We’ll move from traditional pyramids to more of a diamond shape—fewer layers, more empowered individuals, and highly productive, AI-augmented teams. That has implications not just for org design, but also for budgeting and growth. More companies will grow revenue and impact without growing headcount or spend at the same rate. That’s already happening at Virta.”
Steven Kramer, CEO, WorkJam, a software company
“Leveraging AI has been a game changer for WorkJam. We use a number of AI tools, such as Google’s Gemini coding assistant and Google Agentspace to more effectively search for files across the organization. I have made AI adoption a mandate for all WorkJam team members in 2025, and we have given every employee access to multiple tools and established a steering group that is driving AI innovation everywhere. Our teams are constantly building new agents to improve our production processes, leveraging a whole suite of tools, such as JetBrains, Windsurf, and others. For simple tasks, we have several trained ChatGPT models that are also helpful.”
“AI easily gives me back five to 10 hours a week, and sometimes more during planning cycles. I use that time to connect with our teams, have more unstructured conversations, and spend time with customers. That’s often where the best ideas surface. AI doesn’t just help me do more, it creates the space to think better.”
Evan Reiser, cofounder and CEO, Abnormal Security, a cybersecurity company
“Generative AI and personalized AI agents are embedded into nearly every aspect of how I operate as CEO. These tools aren’t just assistants—they’re collaborators that expand my strategic and operational capacity. Here are some of the ways that I use them:
- Meeting management: A custom AI agent transcribes and processes most internal meetings, generating concise summaries, action items, and automated follow-up emails. This ensures execution and clarity without manual overhead.
- Personal executive coaching: Every week, a personalized “Evan AI Coach” reviews my meetings and delivers email feedback on where I was effective or where I could improve. It analyzes consistency in how I reinforce our mission, values, and strategy, and helps me reflect on areas like listening more deeply or recognizing team contributions.
- Customer intelligence: Prior to customer meetings, a research agent reviews external sources, (e.g., LinkedIn, X, news) and internal data, (e.g., Salesforce, product usage, subscription health) to generate briefing reports. These are delivered, automatically, 24 hours in advance, ensuring I walk into every conversation fully prepared and contextually aware.
- Virtual CXO advisers: I’ve built custom GPTs trained on hundreds of pages of personal notes and audio transcripts from trusted domain experts. These role-specific agents, (e.g., for AI product strategy, corporate development, etc.) provide critical feedback and help me pressure-test ideas—offering continuity in strategic thinking even when I can’t consult advisers in real time.
“These agents are highly personalized and fine-tuned to reflect how I think, lead, and operate. They allow me to scale myself across more conversations, decisions, and strategic inputs without sacrificing quality or consistency.”
Philip Smolin, cofounder and CEO, Daash Intelligence, a commerce intelligence platform
“As such, generative AI functions as both a research and a consulting assistant. My primary use cases are business research and strategic ideation, which are lower-frequency but high-value tasks that help shape critical business decisions and help identify competitive advantages. I also use AI for reviews of legal documents and researching HR and regulatory topics, which would otherwise require outside counsel.”
The evolution of executive work
I’m struck by how quickly many of these executives have come to rely on generative AI as collaborators (the term “thought partner” comes up a lot), coaches, and even as strategic partners. How are you using AI to help you manage your time or lead your company? What’s working? What isn’t? Feel free to share your experiences by sending an email to stephaniemehta@mansueto.com. I’d like to regularly share great insights and tips on how to use AI with this community.
Read more: CEOs and AI
How CEOs can lead in the age of AI agents
Salesforce CEO just said AI does half of all company tasks
CEOs start saying the quiet part out loud: AI will wipe out jobs
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