The Five Pillars of Strategic Leadership: Lessons from Paul Cormier, Red Hat’s Chairman
April 3, 2025
Welcome to Built Not Born: The Startup Go-To-Market Podcast—the podcast for early-stage founders and startup leaders who know that great companies aren’t lucky… they’re built through smart execution and a bulletproof go-to-market strategy.
Scaling a company from $50M to $4B takes more than vision—it demands execution. On Built Not Born, host Sage Nye speaks with Paul Cormier, Chairman and former CEO of Red Hat, about the bold leadership decisions that propelled Red Hat’s meteoric rise. Paul breaks down his five pillars of strategic leadership, the art of making tough calls, and how to align teams in fast-growing companies. Tune in for practical insights on scaling leadership, maintaining culture, and building high-performance organizations.
Welcome to Built Not Born: The Startup Go-To-Market Podcast—the podcast for early-stage founders and startup leaders who know that great companies aren’t lucky… they’re built through smart execution and a bulletproof go-to-market strategy.
Scaling a company from $50M to $4B takes more than vision—it demands execution. On Built Not Born, host Sage Nye speaks with Paul Cormier, Chairman and former CEO of Red Hat, about the bold leadership decisions that propelled Red Hat’s meteoric rise. Paul breaks down his five pillars of strategic leadership, the art of making tough calls, and how to align teams in fast-growing companies. Tune in for practical insights on scaling leadership, maintaining culture, and building high-performance organizations.
Here’s what you will learn:
- How to develop and execute a true business strategy versus aspirational goals
- The five pillars of strategic leadership that drive organizational alignment and growth
- Why culture must be lived and reinforced daily rather than documented in handbooks
- How to balance technical expertise with people management when scaling leadership
- The framework for building and maintaining alignment across remote and hybrid teams
- Why investor relationships should extend beyond capital to include strategic guidance
- How to screen and hire go-to-market leaders who can execute on company strategy
- The process for identifying and addressing leadership team dysfunction early
Paul Cormier is the Chairman and former CEO of Red Hat, where he played a pivotal role in transforming the company from a small Linux distributor to a multibillion-dollar software enterprise leader over 24 years. With over 40 years of experience in technology, Paul spearheaded groundbreaking initiatives, including the launch of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, and led the company through its historic $34 billion acquisition by IBM. Under his leadership, Red Hat grew from 140 employees to 22,000 and scaled revenue from $50 million to $4 billion.
Episode Resources:
Episode Resources: