Alain Bejjani on Leading Through Disruption, AI, and the New Realities

Most leadership models assume tomorrow will look like today. But what happens when war, a pandemic, economic shocks, or AI reshape your market overnight? In this episode, Andrea Petrone sits down with Alain Bejjani, former CEO of Majid Al Futtaim Group, investor, Shark Tank Lebanon panelist, and author of *NEXT: Leading Through the New Realities*. Alain led a 50,000-person, multi-billion-dollar group across the Middle East, Africa, and Central Asia through a pandemic, oil price collapse, and regional conflict without abandoning his core leadership principles. They explore why resilience must be built before crisis, why AI is changing growth and headcount, and why disruption is not the opposite of direction. Key Takeaways: Why efficiency breaks under disruption, and why redundancy and resilience matter The COVID decision Alain made as CEO, and how it built long-term trust What AI means for teams, roles, and headcount How leaders can help people find purpose as AI reshapes work and identity Why disruption is exposing a leadership gap Timestamps: 00:00 — Trailer: Disruption Is The New Reality 00:55 — Meet Alain Bejjani 02:10 — Growing Up In Wartime Lebanon 03:30 — How War Shaped His Leadership 04:35 — Learning Business From His Father 05:35 — Why War Does Not Stop Business 06:05 — Resilience Over Efficiency 07:15 — Why Redundancy Matters In Crisis 08:05 — Leading Through Fear 09:20 — Why Old Leadership Models Fall Short 10:30 — Why Stability Can No Longer Be Assumed 11:10 — Preparing For The Unthinkable 12:15 — Leading Majid Al Futtaim Through Disruption 13:10 — Why Principles Matter In Crisis 14:10 — The COVID Decision Not To Fire People 15:10 — Building Resilience Before Hard Times 16:10 — Why Financial Buffers Matter 17:05 — Long-Term Trust Over Short-Term Gain 18:00 — The New Reality Of AI 19:05 — Balancing Today And Tomorrow 20:05 — The Four New Realities Leaders Face 20:45 — Why AI Is Both Enabler And Competitor 21:30 — Decoupling Growth From Headcount 22:30 — How AI Will Change Work And Life 23:20 — The Social Impact Of AI 24:35 — Rethinking Work And Identity 25:40 — What Humans Must Preserve 26:15 — How AI Could Make Us More Capable 27:10 — Purpose Beyond Job Titles 28:05 — What Leaders Must Stand For 29:05 — How CEOs Should Respond 30:05 — Why AI Is Still Not Fully Understood 31:00 — The Dolly Cloning Lesson For AI 32:05 — Why AI Guardrails Are Still Unclear 33:00 — Adaptability As The Defining Leadership Trait 34:10 — Helping People Transition With Purpose 35:05 — Why Leadership Supply Does Not Match Demand 36:05 — Why Change Is No Longer Incremental 37:00 — Why Universities Are Not Ready For The Future 38:05 — Experiential Leadership And Learning Through Disruption 39:20 — Why Leadership Must Change Now 40:20 — What Japan Teaches About Respect And Teamwork 42:10 — Why Leaders Must Unlearn Old Rules 43:00 — Why Direction Matters During Disruption 44:10 — Why Leaders Need A North Star 45:15 — Why Alain Wrote NEXT 46:10 — Responsive And Responsible Leadership 47:10 — Why This Is A Moment For Better Questions 48:00 — Preparing For A Future We Cannot Predict 49:00 — Closing Thoughts BOOK PRE-ORDER 📘 My new book 'Reinvention at the Top: The Playbook for CEOs to Lead Under Pressure' (Wiley) is out in October. Pre-order now: 👉 BOOK PRE-ORDER LINK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Reinvention-... FREE GUIDE Grab your FREE copy of '10 Foolproof Ways New CEOs Establish Authority From Day One': 👉 Download - https://bit.ly/10-fool-proof-ceo-stra... WCL21 WCL21 is a private community of CEOs running mid-market companies. Monthly roundtables, masterclasses, and confidential conversations. A few founding member seats remain. 👉 Request your invitation: https://andreapetrone.com/wcl21 1:1 COACHING I coach a small number of CEOs and senior leaders each year through the challenges in this show. 👉 Apply for 1:1 coaching: https://calendly.com/andreapetrone/st... COACHING APP My Executive coaching app helps Directors, VPs and C-suite leaders build world-class leadership habits through the Throughline™ framework: Identity, Message, Presence. 👉 See the app: https://studio.com/apps/andreapetrone... NEWSLETTER Join 183,000+ leaders who read my weekly insights on leading at the top: 👉 https://www.andreapetrone.com/newslet... MORE FROM ANDREA LinkedIn:   / andreapetrone   Website: https://www.andreapetrone.com Instagram: instagram.com/andreapetrone_x The World Class Leaders Show: Apple: https://shorturl.at/JZAmQ Spotify: https://shorturl.at/DSHUl LinkedIn:   / the-world-class-leaders-show   Website: https://www.andreapetrone.com/podcast/ Follow Alain Bejjani: LinkedIn:   / alainbejjani   Website: https://alainbejjani.com/ Book: NEXT: Leading Through the New Realities Company: https://www.majidalfuttaim.com/