There are very few people who have led transformation at the scale Steven Bandrowczak has.

After leading global technology businesses including DHL, Lenovo, HP and ultimately serving as CEO of Xerox, Steven joins Mark Cleveland to share the leadership lessons he's learned from decades of navigating disruption, reinvention and technological change.

One of the most surprising moments in this conversation comes when Steven argues that AI shouldn't be owned by IT, it should be owned by HR. His reasoning challenges the way most organisations are approaching AI today and completely reframes how leaders should think about building the workforce of the future.

But this episode is about far more than artificial intelligence.

How do you reinvent before you're forced to?

How do you lead people through uncertainty?

How do you build organisations that embrace change instead of fearing it?

Steven shares lessons from reinventing Xerox, leading through major acquisitions, learning from failure, mentoring future leaders and why leadership, not technology, is still the deciding factor between companies that thrive and companies that disappear.

If you're building a business, leading a team or trying to understand where AI fits into your organisation, this conversation offers practical insights from someone who has led through transformation at the highest level.

𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲;
• Why Steven believes AI should be owned by HR, not IT
• Why reinvention is harder than transformation
• The biggest mistake leaders make during change
• Why company culture determines whether acquisitions succeed
• The real reason businesses fail to capture value from AI
• Why fear is the biggest obstacle to innovation
• How entrepreneurs should think about disruption
• The importance of solving real business problems
• Building organisations that can adapt faster
• Leadership lessons from more than four decades in technology
• Why kindness may be one of the greatest leadership advantages

𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗕𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗰𝘇𝗮𝗸
Steven Bandrowczak is the former Chief Executive Officer of Xerox and previously served as the company's President and Chief Operating Officer. Across a career spanning more than four decades, he has held senior leadership roles at DHL, Lenovo, HP and Avaya while leading major technology transformations across global organisations.
LinkedIn

Today, Steven advises CEOs and boards on AI strategy while teaching the next generation of technology leaders at Northeastern University.

𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀 & 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀:
SOL Consulting - Website
SOL Consulting - Linkedin

The Parallel Entrepreneur Podcast

𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝘀𝘁
Mark Cleveland is an entrepreneur, investor, and advisor who works at the intersection of multiple ventures. As the voice behind The Parallel Entrepreneur, he explores how founders build aligned businesses, strong teams, and sustainable momentum without forcing themselves into a single path.
LinkedIn

Chapters
00:00 AI or Employees? Why It's Both
00:36 Introducing Steven Bandrowczak
02:03 Reinventing Xerox as CEO
06:22 Why Mergers Fail
08:32 Keeping a 100-Year-Old Company Innovative
12:13 Why AI Is Accelerating So Fast
15:40 Leading People Through AI Change
17:57 Why HR Should Own AI Agents
20:29 What the Nortel Collapse Taught Steven
24:22 Why AI Can't Replace Strategy
28:54 Growing Up in Queens & Becoming Fearless
33:49 Leadership, Kindness & Reading the Green
36:07 Building an AI Strategy That Creates Value
39:03 The Biggest Business Risk Today
41:10 Why Companies Aren't Getting Value from AI
43:02 The Future of Parallel Entrepreneurship
48:18 The CEO's Responsibility to Build Leaders
51:15 Reverse Mentorship & Developing Talent
53:10 What Steven Is Reading
55:51 What He'd Tell His Younger Self
57:53 Closing Thoughts

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Joe De Sena has built one of the world's most recognised endurance brands.
As the founder and CEO of Spartan, he's spent decades proving that resilience isn't something you're born with. It's something you build.

In this conversation with Mark Cleveland, Joe shares the business philosophy behind Spartan, why comfort quietly destroys ambition, how surrounding yourself with the right people changes your future, and why entrepreneurs should deliberately seek challenges instead of avoiding them.

They also explore Joe's unlikely path from cleaning swimming pools in Queens to Wall Street, launching Spartan after years of failure, navigating 9/11, surviving COVID, and ultimately helping obstacle racing reach the Olympic Games.

This isn't just a conversation about fitness.
It's about leadership, business, discipline, resilience and building a life you'll actually be proud of.

In this episode:
• Growing up around hustle and learning business before adulthood
• The three lessons that shaped Joe's career
• Why relationships matter more than transactions
• Leaving a successful business to start over on Wall Street
• The long road to building Spartan
• What entrepreneurs get wrong about comfort
• Why difficult goals literally reshape your brain
• Future memory and finishing what you start
• Building companies around purpose instead of money
• The importance of community and environment
• How to stay motivated for decades, not weeks
• Why the journey matters more than the destination
If you're building a business, leading a team, or simply trying to become a stronger version of yourself, this conversation is full of timeless lessons.

About Joe De Sena
Joe De Sena is the Founder and CEO of Spartan, the world's leading endurance sports and obstacle racing brand operating in more than 40 countries. He is a New York Times bestselling author, entrepreneur, endurance athlete and one of the world's leading voices on resilience, discipline and human performance.

Links & Resources:
Join the Parallel Entrepreneur Network:

The Parallel Entrepreneur Podcast:

Connect with Joe De Sena:
Website:
LinkedIn:
Instagram:
X:
Facebook:
YouTube:
Spartan:
Joe's Books:

About the Host
Mark Cleveland is an entrepreneur, investor, and advisor who works at the intersection of multiple ventures. As the voice behind The Parallel Entrepreneur, he explores how founders build aligned businesses, strong teams, and sustainable momentum without forcing themselves into a single path.
Linkedin

Key Moments
00:00 Why your brain avoids hard things
00:00:45 Meet Joe De Sena
00:02:03 Growing up around hustlers and the Bonanno family
00:06:37 Four rejections before Cornell said yes
00:12:19 Leaving construction for Wall Street
00:16:15 How failure led to building Spartan
00:18:37 Launching an endurance race after 9/11
00:22:38 The Parallel Entrepreneur mindset
00:26:17 Why comfort is the real enemy
00:29:16 Future memory and why finishing hard things matters
00:31:14 Building an environment for peak performance
00:33:15 Journey vs. destination
00:35:30 Reinventing Spartan during COVID
00:37:05 When data tells you to compromise
00:38:12 The 15-year vision to reach the Olympics
00:40:10 Building a mission bigger than money
00:43:40 Joe De Sena's challenge for every entrepreneur

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