Jim Whitehurst has the distinction of leading not one, two companies who were Culture Champions at the time of his leadership: Delta and Red Hat. 

As Chief Operating Officer, Jim navigated Delta through a hostile takeover bid and bankruptcy in 2005, maintaining the airline’s distinctive culture, and positioning it to thrive in the future.

Jim then joined open-source software pioneer Red Hat as CEO, managed its rapid growth from 1,500 to 15,000 employees, and oversaw its $34 billion sale to IBM—one of the largest software acquisitions ever. Jim then served as the President of IBM, where Red Hat continues to be a key driver of revenue growth. 

He is currently a managing director of Silver Lake, a leading private equity firm focused on the information technology sector, and sits on several boards. 

Jim is also one of those rare executives who has thought deeply about what he learned throughout his career, and codified some of those insights in his book, The Open Organization.

In this episode, Jim reflects on his illustrious career and the important role culture played in it.

Link to Jim's book, The Open Organization