Chris Berta is a partner at Laurel Group, an executive search firm that places C-suite and senior leaders at technology companies, where he leads business development and senior management searches. He has more than 24 years in recruiting, sales and marketing, and before search he was Head of Digital Marketing at Washington Mutual, a Client Strategist at aQuantive, and led product management for Amazon.com's first online advertising capabilities.

In this Founder Talk conversation with Caleb Pedosiuk, Chris asks the question he has been putting to leaders since 2023: if AI takes away the entry-level roles where people learn their craft, where does the next generation get its training, and how does it ever become leadership? He explains why he proposed an apprentice-type program, why growth companies struggle to fund one, and why large companies like Amazon can. He describes executive search as a business where clients become candidates and candidates become clients, why culture fit decides placements as much as function, and his rule for staying relevant over years of conversations: leave every person with a nugget, and keep the notes. Asked what he needs most to grow, he says new clients, the kind that come back again and again.

Chris is exactly the kind of leader, innovator, and problem solver this series exists to put a light on. He has spent two decades matching people to the roles that shape companies, and he is asking the question about where future leaders come from before most companies have had to answer it. Authority is earned by building things worth talking about, and an honest account of that work is what makes a brand understood, trusted, and findable by the systems people now ask for answers.

Learn more about Laurel Group: https://www.laurel-group.com
Chris Berta on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisberta/

What We Need to Grow is Caleb Pedosiuk's founder conversation series from 79 Development, on growth, judgment, and the thinking behind building great companies. It exists to shine a light on the founders, innovators, problem solvers, and pioneers building things that matter.

Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5O6IiwVl4tHyhegQafVZLa

Podcast sponsored by 79 Development Inc | 79dev.com

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