This CEO gave a master class in honoring a company's heritage while evolving it at the same time


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With important positions in Google AND intuition under his belt, Dominic Allon improved his leadership style by embracing feedback, learning from failure and constantly challenging himself. His role at Google was transformative – he led projects that reshaped the way agencies and businesses used digital advertising. At Intuit, he emphasized his focus on customer-driven innovation, understanding the importance of creating tools that solve real problems.

Allon is now the CEO of Pipedrivebut getting to that position wasn't just about gaining experience at big tech firms. It was about learning the nuances of leadership—how ​​to balance ambition with sensitivity, how to embrace difficult feedback, and how to continually develop the awareness needed to lead a team in the ever-evolving technology industry. We discussed all this and more during this episode of Founder CEO.

Related: He founded a company that was acquired by Angie and now he's disrupting CPG. Here are this CEO's strategies for innovation and scaling.

Taking over a company led by the founder

When Allon stepped in as CEO of Pipedrive in 2021, he faced the challenge of honoring the legacy of the five founders who had built Pipedrive from the ground up. “The founders had created something special”, he recalls. “Their vision reimagined how salespeople manage and track deal flow.”

Rather than trying to overhaul everything, Allon chose a balanced approach: he honored the legacy of the founders while charting the next chapter of growth for Pipedrive. He focused on understanding the core strengths of the company, its product and its culture before making any strategic changes. This thoughtful transition laid the groundwork for his future plans to move the company forward.

Related: How a single PowerPoint raised $300 million for this founder

Growth and innovation

Under Allon's leadership, Pipedrive continued to succeed. One of the main changes Allon introduced was an increased focus on artificial intelligence. For example, AI now automatically generates data and emails, saving time. Allon's vision is to transform Pipedrive from simply chasing deals to actively driving sales success with AI insights. The recently launched artificial intelligence feature, Pulse, helps salespeople identify the hottest leads in their pipeline, allowing them to prioritize high-value activities with ease. Allon's vision for Pipedrive is clear: transform it from a tool that tracks deals to one that actively drives sales success with AI-powered insights.

In Allon's words, “HE's not just a co-pilot—he's becoming the lead pilot.” Its focus on automation has allowed Pipedrive to stay ahead of the curve, making CRM more efficient and freeing salespeople to focus on what they do best: closing deals.

Pipedrive's human-centric focus

What really sets Pipedrive apart is its dedication to its users – sellers. Since launch, Pipedrive has been known as the most user-friendly CRM on the market, and Allon has only strengthened that reputation. While integrating advanced technologies such as AI, the company has not forgotten its mission: to simplify the sales process for small and medium-sized businesses.

This human-centric approach, combined with the latest technology, has led to Pipedrive's steady growth. Allon's leadership has seen the company expand its global reach while maintaining its identity as a CRM built with salespeople in mind. “We want to be the best in the world at helping small businesses grow,” Allon says, and his strategic vision has aligned every part of Pipedrive's development toward that goal.

Making plans for the future

With artificial intelligence in the spotlight, Allon's next chapter for Pipedrive involves scaling its AI-powered tools and making them even more intuitive for users. Its goal is to move from automating simple tasks to providing deeper insights that empower sales teams to make data-driven decisions more easily. Beyond AI, Allon is also focused on expanding Pipedrive's footprint globally, targeting new markets while deepening customer engagement in existing ones.

But as Pipedrive scales, Allon remains committed to maintaining the company's core values. “It's important that we don't lose what made us great.”

For aspiring entrepreneurs and leaders, Allon's journey offers a powerful lesson: growth is not just about achieving success, but about constantly evolving, embracing feedback, and having the courage to move when necessary. In his own words, “Successful leaders are a composite of their innate strengths and a set of learned behaviors,” and Dominic Allon has mastered both to lead Pipedrive into its next great chapter.

Related: How this CEO is combining artificial intelligence and human creativity to revolutionize his industry



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