The Chief of Staff Podcast
The Chief of Staff Podcast is hosted by Scott Amenta, founder of the Chief of Staff Network, a global community for chiefs of staff. Each week he interviews chiefs of staff and senior operators about frameworks, lessons, and unwritten rules of the role. The show is aimed at current chiefs of staff, aspiring ones, founders and CEOs, and senior operators interested in organizational thinking. New episodes are released every Wednesday.
Episodes
Why AI Can't Be a Chief of Staff with Sawyer Middeleer
Guest: Sawyer Middeleer ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/sawyer-middeleer/ ), Founder, Revi Systems (former Chief of Staff, Aomni) Host: Scott Amenta ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-amenta/ ), Founder, Chief of Staff Network Episode Overview Every com...
Who Owns Culture? Yorm Ackuaku Changed Her Mind
Guest: Yorm Ackuaku, Former Chief of Staff to the CMO, WeightWatchers Host: Scott Amenta, Founder, Chief of Staff Network Episode Overview Yorm Ackuaku came into this conversation ready to argue that Chiefs of Staff own culture, then changed her mind. ...
Inside the Family Office: The Chief of Staff Role with Donald J Cunningham
Guest: Donald J Cunningham ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/donaldcunningham/ ), Head of Family Office for a senior member of the Qatari royal family Host: Scott Amenta ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-amenta/ ), Founder, Chief of Staff Network Episode...
What AI Policy Is Borrowing From Humanitarian Work with Anna Aden
Guest: Anna Aden ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-aden/ ), Chief of Staff, Asia Pacific at Tony Blair Institute for Global Change Host: Tristan Lim ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/tristan-lim-709527a2/ ), Chief of Staff Network Fellow and Founder, Beyo...
Speaking Directly When No One Else Will with KJ of Bifrost AI
Guest: Kartikeya Jaiswal ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/kjaivc/ ) (KJ), Head of Strategy and Operations, Bifrost AI Host: Tristan Lim ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/tristan-lim-709527a2/ ), Chief of Staff Network Fellow and founder at Beyond Founders Epi...
You Are the Product: Managing Yourself as a Chief of Staff
Host: Tristan Lim ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/tristan-lim-709527a2/ ), Chief of Staff Network Fellow and Founder, Beyond Founders Guest: BreeAnne Yek ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/breeyek8/ ), Chief of Staff, Series A MedTech and luxury wellness star...
A Second Brain, Not an Assistant: beehiiv's Chief of Staff Model
Guests: Tyler Denk ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyler-denk/ ), Co-founder & CEO, beehiiv | Brian Schneider ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-schneider-nyc/ ), Chief of Staff, beehiivHost: Scott Amenta ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-amenta/ ), F...
Why the Chief of Staff Should Own AI Adoption, with Zen Foo
Guest: Zen Foo ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/zen-foo-33a22888/ ), Chief of Staff, Aspire Host: Tristan Lim ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/tristan-lim-709527a2/ ), founder of Beyond Founders ( https://www.beyondfounders.com/ ) and Chief of Staff Network ...
Why Slowing Down is a Chief of Staff Superpower
Episode OverviewSpeed is the currency of the Chief of Staff role, but Carrie McMahon argues the way to sustain it is to slow down. A two-time Chief of Staff at one of the fastest-growing AI companies in San Francisco, she treats energy regulation as a ...
The Incognito Test: Why Most AI Work Reveals Nothing About the Person
Guest: Alex Craig ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/portswigger-alex/ ), Chief of Staff at PortSwigger Host: Scott Amenta ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-amenta/ ), Founder, Chief of Staff Network Most companies say they're adopting AI. PortSwigger act...
Map Before You Buy: A Chief of Staff AI Playbook
Guest: Kanika Choudhary ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/kanika-c/ ), Chief of Staff, People IX Host: Scott Amenta ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-amenta/ ), Founder, Chief of Staff Network Episode Overview Most companies are buying AI tools before th...
AI Is a Productivity Boost, Not a Compass with Eric Nehrlich
Guest: Eric Nehrlich ( https://linkedin.com/in/nehrlich/?skipRedirect=true ), Executive Leadership Coach and former Chief of Staff for Google Search AdsHost: Scott Amenta ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-amenta/ ), Founder, Chief of Staff Network Ep...
Steering AI at a Privacy-First Company with Delong Lu
Guest: Delong Lu ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/delonglu/ ), Chief of Staff, Proton Host: Scott Amenta ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-amenta/ ), Founder, Chief of Staff Network Delong Lu has spent nearly a decade at Proton ( https://proton.me/ ), t...
Escaping the Doer Trap with David Kirby
Guest: David Kirby ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidkirbyjdmba/ ), Author of "The Ultimate Chief of Staff Guide" ( https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Chief-Staff-Guide-Navigating/dp/B0FVQV5D23 ) (2025), Former Chief of Staff at Ford Motor CompanyHost: S...
CoS to Functional Leader (and Back): Judy Abad's Career Playbook
Guest: Judy Abad ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/judyabad/ ), Chief of Staff, CFOO, Freshworks Host: Scott Amenta, ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-amenta/ ) Founder, Chief of Staff Network Judy Abad has oscillated between Chief of Staff and functiona...
Inside Chief of Staff Connect SF: AI Transformation and What's Next
Guest: Tom Guthrie, President and Co-Founder, Chief of Staff Network Nearly 100 chiefs of staff gathered in San Francisco, the epicenter of AI optimism and anxiety, to tackle the question: how do we lead transformation when adoption is uneven and the p...
Why This CoS Left Strategy for Clay: A Case Study in Career Pivots
Most Chiefs of Staff leave for a bigger title or more money. Lissa Sorgenfrei left to open a pottery studio. After eight years at German construction tech startup Capmo, where she moved from customer success to product management to Chief of Staff to g...
The CoS Who Won't Just Say Yes: Marlen Heske on Clarity Before Harmony
Guest: Marlen Heske ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/marlenheske/?locale=de ), Chief of Staff at Enpal Episode Overview At fast-moving companies, the problem is rarely a lack of ideas or urgency. It's that everyone is chasing too many things at once. Marl...
Managing 5 Clients at Once: A Fractional Chief of Staff's Playbook
How do you switch contexts between skincare operations, luxury recruiting, and B2B financial modeling all in the same day? Zoe Jakubowich ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/zoe-jakubowich/ ) joins Chief of Staff Network Fellow, Tristan Lim ( https://www.lin...
The VC Chief of Staff: Building in Ambiguity with Stephania Greco
Stephania Greco ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephania-greco-ab8a5b116/ ) takes us inside the Chief of Staff role at Bicycle Capital, a growth-stage VC fund, and reveals how it differs from startup CoS work. Instead of managing product roadmaps and cr...
The Integrity Pyramid: What Actually Makes a Great Chief of Staff
Priyanka Peeramsetty has been a Chief of Staff, a growth operator, a community builder, and is now Engineering Operations Director at Crunchyroll — and she'll tell you the one thing that underpins all of it: integrity. In this episode, Executive Coach ...
From Chief of Staff to Product Manager: Sarah Kislak on Following Your Talent
Sarah Kislak spent nearly a decade at Box, progressing from an executive assistant in a rotational program to Chief of Staff for a 1,000-person engineering org, and ultimately into product management. In this episode, Sarah shares what she learned by o...
Navigating the Intersection of Public and Private Leadership
Have you ever wondered what it takes to manage the intricate dance of politics and business? Meet Nick Greif, a seasoned leader who has seamlessly maneuvered through both the public and private sectors as a Chief of Staff. We delve into the path charte...
Positioning Yourself as a Chief of Staff
Positioning Yourself as a Chief of Staff How do you stand out when thousands of people are applying for the same Chief of Staff role? And what if you've never held the title before? In this episode, Scott Amenta sits down with Chief of Staff Network Pr...
The Career Accelerant: Lessons from a Chief of Staff Turned COO
Bryan Silverman joined Suzy (then CrowdTap) as an SDR and never left. Over nearly 11 years, he's moved from enterprise sales to Chief of Staff, to running a business unit, to his current role as COO. In this episode, Bryan talks with Scott about the le...
From Force Multiplier to Builder: Why We're Taking Connect to 7 Cities in 2026
Chief of Staff Connect is expanding to seven cities in 2026, our biggest year yet. We're meeting Chiefs of Staff at one of the most critical inflection points in the role. In this episode, Scott Amenta and Tom Guthrie break down the strategy behind Con...
From Boardroom to Therapy Room: What Chiefs of Staff Need to Know About Emotional Support
Chiefs of Staff often find themselves serving as informal therapists to their principals, but where's the line? Dhyan Valle, spent 2.5+ years as Chief of Staff at MightyHive shares what he got right and wrong when supporting his principal, including th...
The Builder's Mindset: How Chiefs of Staff Create Real Ownership
Elyse Levine's career has taken her from the FBI's cyber division to Disney Parks to running USC's new capital campus in Washington, DC. Along the way, she's learned that the Chief of Staff role isn't just about support, it's about finding the projects...
Finding Your Inner Compass: How Chiefs of Staff Can Lead with Purpose in the Age of AI
Chiefs of Staff are often the first to feel organizational misalignment, but rarely have the tools to address it. In this episode, Michaela Zuckova and Carl Miller, co-founders of T he Purpose Project, share how AI can become a powerful tool for self-d...
The Stunt Double: How Chiefs of Staff Create Impact Through Anticipation
How do you measure success in a role with no clear KPIs? Itamar Melamed, Chief of Staff at Empathy, reveals his framework for managing up effectively: tracking decisions made on behalf of his CEO, anticipating needs before they're voiced, and building ...
Strategy vs. Operations: The Chief of Staff's Balancing Act
Emily Sander, Founder + CEO + Executive Leadership Coach at Next Level Coaching joins us to unpack one of the most fundamental tensions in the Chief of Staff role: when to zoom out for strategy and when to dive into operations. Drawing from her own exp...
Beyond Excel: Building Operating Rhythm from Scratch
"I didn't inherit a broken one. I did inherit a non-existent one." Jamie Dalton, Chief of Staff at Adobe, joins the podcast with Scott to share her experience building operating rhythm from nothing. When the team moved from finance into IT, they brough...
Scaling with Structure: How Ben Darfler Brings Strategy to Life at Honeycomb
As Honeycomb crosses 250 employees, Ben Darfler is focused on one thing: making strategy actionable at scale. In this episode, Ben sits down with Scott Amenta to share how his engineering background shaped his approach to planning, decision-making, and...
Ena Patel on Taking the Leap from Chief of Staff to President
Ena Patel, Team President at Innovation Baseball Partners, has built her career by stepping into complexity and turning it into momentum. In this episode, she joins Tom Guthrie, President of Chief of Staff Network, to share how she moved from tax law i...
Context Into Action: Systems Thinking as a Chief of Staff
Jamie White, Chief of Staff, Marketing at Notion, shares her journey from Broadway and consulting to driving clarity and alignment in high-growth tech companies like Slalom, Grammarly and Notion. In this episode, she introduces her “Three Altitudes” fr...
Scaling Without Bureaucracy: How Lu Borko Builds High-Trust, High-Growth Teams
In this episode, we sit down with Lu Borko, Chief of Staff at Manychat, to unpack how fast-growing companies can scale without losing their edge. Drawing from her experiences at Deliveroo, Intercom, and now Manychat, Lu shares how to build systems that...
Hard Things Make Strong Teams: Inside the Mindset of The Tempest Two
Tommy Caulfield and James Whittle — better known as The Tempest Two — had never rowed a boat in their lives when they set out to cross the Atlantic Ocean. No experience. No support crew. Just a willingness to figure it out. In this episode, we explore ...
Finding Your Anchor: Boundaries, Burnout, and Resilience with Tristan Lim
Tristan Lim went from scaling a high-growth startup as Chief of Staff at Commsor to coaching founders and operators on how to lead with clarity, courage, and purpose. In this episode, he joins Scott to explore the inner work that too often gets overloo...
Storytelling That Sticks: Andrea Mayendia on Driving Change at Dow Jones
In this episode, Dow Jones Chief of Staff to the CTO/CPO, Andrea Mayendia, joins Scott to explore how storytelling can drive clarity and confidence during large-scale transformation. Drawing from her 20+ year career in product, strategy, and operations...
Building the CEO Operating System: Lessons on Scale, Conflict, and the People Side of Growth w/ Dora Nagy
Former SoftBank Chief of Staff to the COO, Dora Nagy, joins Scott Amenta to unpack the real operating system behind scaling leaders and organizations. From her early career at Google to helping launch SoftBank’s $100B Vision Fund, Dora shares what she’...
The Revenue-Minded CoS
Operator and fractional Chief of Staff Lauren Werner (ex-Slate, Vox) shares how she translates market signals into systems that drive growth. We cover her transition to fractional Chief of Staff, landing her first clients, defining high-impact scopes (...
Building Smarter Finance Teams: Tax, AI, and the Startup Chief of Staff with Andrew Rea
In this episode, Tom Guthrie, President of Chief of Staff Network, sits down with Andrew Rea, co-founder and CEO of Taxwire, to unpack the challenges of global sales tax compliance and the shifting role of finance teams in fast-growing startups. Andrew...
Humans, Fear, and AI: Leading Transformations with Dominique Lear
Scott Amenta sits down with Dominique Lear, Chief of Staff at Incandescent, to explore why organizational change so often falters on the human side. From her journey in publishing to consulting, Dominique shares lessons on managing fear, building trust...
The VC Chief of Staff Playbook with Alexa Gellman
Go behind the scenes of venture capital with Alexa "Lex" Gellman, a Chief of Staff at Inspired Capital. Lex shares how she manages deal pipelines and supports portfolio founders. You will also learn about practical tools for network mapping and hear he...
Beyond the Buzzword: Real Stories of Leveling-Up as a CoS
What does it really mean to "level up" as a Chief of Staff? In this episode recorded live at a dinner event in NYC, a select group of Chiefs of Staff share authentic stories of growth and impact in their roles. From using simple Google Docs to outperfo...
Transitioning From VC to Chief of Staff with Sharlene Guiriba
Are you looking to transition into the Chief of Staff role? In this episode, you will learn from Sharlene Guiriba, Executive Chief of Staff at Coverdash., Sharlene discusses her transition to the CoS role from operating roles and Venture Capital, empha...
Strategy Is a Choice: Aarti Bhatnagar on Leading with Intention
In this episode, we sit down with Aarti Bhatnagar, former Chief of Staff at Change.org and Guild, and now executive coach and facilitator. Aarti shares how she built a career as a generalist, navigated defining moments like company-wide layoffs, and di...
The Hidden Power of Saying It Well
Great communication isn’t just a nice-to-have. It’s a leadership skill that shapes culture, builds trust, and drives alignment. In this episode, Rachel Peck shares lessons from nearly a decade at Harry’s, where she helped scale internal messaging from ...
Inside the Launchpad: Leadership, Alignment, and Career Moves with Juhi Kabra
In this episode, we’re joined by Juhi Kabra, executive coach, facilitator, and former Chief of Staff at Redesign Health. Juhi spent five years supporting the CEO and leadership team through hypergrowth, and now advises founders and strategic operators ...
A Problem-Solving Focused Partnership with Ali Sardinia and Zach Garippa
In this podcast episode, Order CoS Ali Sardinia and CEO Zach Garippa share their successful four-year partnership built on co-creating the role through honest conversations about business needs. Their success stems from constant prioritization conversa...
The Text Message That Launched A CoS Career with Aria Finger
In this episode, Aria Finger, Chief of Staff to Reid Hoffman, shares how she landed her role through an existing relationship and mentioned that she observed at an event that about half of Chief of Staff positions come from people that those CoS alread...
Scaling People and Process
Are you working on scaling as a CoS right now? Listen to this episode to hear that successful scaling hinges on three core principles: intentional design, smart decision-making frameworks and scaling knowledge over headcount. The discussion emphasizes ...
Leveling Up Without Losing The Human Touch with Ashlea Holt and Tim Bristow
In this episode, you will learn from Ashlea Holt and Tim Bristow about the art and science of getting stuff done in the modern workplace. From using ChatGPT, to navigating the Wild West of new productivity tools, they share hard-won insights on when ef...
Change Management Strategies for Chiefs of Staff with Audrey Ware and Fanni Gabor
Are you tying to improve your change management as a CoS? Listen to this new podcast with Audrey Ware and Fanni Gabor as they share real stories from the trenches of organizational transformation. You will learn why "no change is perfect," how to build...
Creating Value In Your Role with Richard Hoffman and Eve Staszczyszyn
Chiefs of Staff create value for companies all of the time. Some times this work happens behind the scenes, and it is not showcased. We wanted to change that. In this episode, you will learn from Richard Hoffman and Eve Staszczyszyn about how they are ...
Going from EA to Chief of Staff with Cher Murphy
Cher Murphy shares her journey from managing department stores in Alabama to being the Chief of Staff at Sydecar in NYC. You will learn how she networked her way into tech, overcame the challenge of being "too good" as an EA, and built strategic capabi...
Building A Startup As A CoS and First Employee with Jessica Li
Do you want to know what it is like on the ground floor of building a startup? In this episode, you will learn from Jessica Li, the former Chief of Staff at Beacons. She was the first employee there and worked at the company for over four years. Jess e...
From Being Rejected to Chief of Staff with Adaeze Okoli
To get a Chief of Staff role you may have to overcome a lot of rejections to get the role. For Adaeze Okioli, the Chief of Staff at Rethink Food, she initially got rejected for an internship role at Rethink but secured the Chief of Staff position after...
Why CoS Can Lead AI Adoption At Companies with Abhishek Vora
Is your company and executive team wanting to use and roll-out AI usage more broadly at your company? This potential initiative is a perfect example of a Chief of Staff project because it's new, innovative, and no one else or team is likely overseeing ...
From Associate Chief of Staff to Chief of Staff with Ada Madigan
Are you looking to break into a Chief of Staff role? Maybe you could start as an Associate Chief of Staff and then get promoted to a CoS role. That's what happened to Trust & Will Chief of Staff Ada Madigan. In this episode, you will learn how her role...
Eating Glass: How A CoS Helps Build A Startup
Are you looking to be a Chief of Staff at an early-stage startup? You may have to eat glass and do whatever it takes to help build the company. In this episode with Taxwire CoS David Moon and CEO Andrew Rea, you will learn how David initially presented...
Using AI To Be More Effective and Efficient with Ana Flávia Silva
Are you looking to use AI more in your role? Listen to this new episode with Ana Flávia Silva, a Chief of Staff at Section. In the episode, you will learn about why she got up-to-speed on AI while interviewing for her role and how she has been using AI...
From Meeting-Heavy to an A-Sync Company Culture with Shelby Sly
Is your company growing fast and evolving? In this episode, you will learn from Shelby Sly, Chief of Staff and Director of Strategy and Operations at Ridgeline, who shares her career journey into the CoS role and her contributions to the Ridgeline’s gr...
How They Work Together Remotely
In this episode, you will learn from Karly Gelardi, a Chief of Staff at Zapier, and Brandon Sammut, the Chief of People Officer at Zapier, about their roles and working relationship. Brandon emphasizes the importance of clarity in defining Chief of Sta...
From Unconventional to Excellence with Jenna Parker
Do you have an unconventional background too? In this episode, you will learn from Jenna Parker, the Chief of Staff at Healthie, about her path into the role from a lack of healthcare and tech background. Her background has not deterred her in the role...
Doubling-Down On Strengths with Sofia Badalamenti and Nihal Mehta
In this episode, you will learn from Chief of Staff Sofia Badalamenti and Eniac Ventures Cofounder Nihal Mehta. They have been working together for two years. In this episode, they share communication best practices and workflows. They also talked abou...
The Art of Wartime Leadership In Business with Lindsey O'Sullivan
In this episode, we dive deep into the world of crisis leadership through the lens of a Chief of Staff who has wartime CoS experience. When markets shift, competitors attack, or internal challenges threaten to derail progress, organizations need leader...
Mastering the Message: The Chief of Staff’s Role in Storytelling with Ali Sardinia
In this episode, you will learn from Ali Sardinia, the Chief of Staff at Order.co, about her two Chief of Staff experiences and the importance of storytelling in business. She highlights how, in her current role, her company is focused on embedding sto...
Driving The Most Impact As A CoS with Kyle Hagge
In this episode, Kyle Hagge, Chief of Staff at Morning Brew Inc., discussed how he focuses on doing work that drives the most impact with a goal of being able to showcase the financial benefits of it too. As an example, Kyle talked about recently worki...
Being The First Employee As A CoS with Remi Guarini
In this episode, you will learn from Remi Guarini, a three-time Chief of Staff, about her experiences. She is currently the Founding Chief of Staff at Neon and was the first employee there. In this episode, you will learn about how Remi’s approach to t...
Behind the Deal: The Chief of Staff's Role in M&A Success with Sophie Kaye
In this episode, you will learn from Sophie Kaye, a former Chief of Staff and current Director of Operations & Program Management at Frame.io, which was acquired by Adobe in 2021. Sophie discusses her non-linear career path, including her role as an ea...
Why We Are Hosting Three Chief of Staff Connect Conferences in 2025 with Scott Amenta
Are you looking to connect with other Chiefs of Staff in-person in 2025? Listen to this episode with Scott Amenta, the Founder of the Chief of Staff Network. In it, you will hear how Scott started the community and how in-person meetups were critical i...
10 Tips To Get A Chief of Staff Role with David Nebinski
Ready to land a coveted Chief of Staff position? Listen to this episode as we break down 10 practical tips to help you secure an influential role. Drawing from conversations with Chiefs of Staff and from David Nebinski's own experiences, you will hear ...
Scaling Companies And Leaders with Crystelle Desnoyer
In this episode, you will learn from Crystelle Desnoyer about her experiences and insights into the Chief of Staff role. She used to be the CoS at Techstars. Crystelle discusses her journey from building and scaling 20+ business entities and her scalin...
Insights From The Chief of Staff Network’s 2024 Salary Report
Are you looking to be paid more fairly? In this episode, Rahul Desai and David Nebinski discuss the Chief of Staff Network’s 2024 Salary Report. You will learn about how you might be able to use this data as an in-role CoS. We also discuss the CoS job ...
Going After What You Want with Sydney Scherer
In this episode, you will learn about how Sydney Scherer landed her current role by sending a creative email advocating for herself and a CoS role. She contrasts and overlap her current CoS experience with her prior CoS role, noting the shift to more c...
Building A Team Around Yourself with Teddy Owen
In this episode with Teddy Owen, the Chief of Staff at Moonhub, you will learn about his career journey to date and how it helped him get his current CoS role. Teddy highlighted the strategic use of third-party vendors for areas like finance and legal ...
Shaping How A Company Operates with Dara Chen
In this episode, we talk with Dara Chen, the Chief of Staff at Rad AI. Dara shared her journey to her current role, highlighting the importance of networking and leveraging her Wharton alumni network, and her prior CoS experiences. She emphasized the v...
Non-Traditional Path and Mental Health with Michael Novak
In this episode, we talk with Michael Novak, a Principal of Strategy and Business Operations at Adobe and former CoS, about his career journey. Michael discusses his non-traditional path, including his time as a project manager, his mental health strug...
Private Sector CoS Role vs a Public Sector CoS Role with Sue Broderick
Sue Broderick, the Chief of Staff at We Know Training, discussed her career trajectory, highlighting her transition from an executive assistant to a Chief of Staff. She contrasted the public and private sector roles, noting the public sector's politica...
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