How Great Companies Scale | IBM's Shukri Eid

<p>What separates companies that scale from those that stay stuck?</p><p><br /></p><p>In this episode of the SEF Backstage Pass Podcast, Shukri Eid, Vice President and General Manager for IBM across the Gulf, Levant and Pakistan, shares decades of leadership experience helping organizations navigate growth, transformation, and technological change.</p><p><br /></p><p>From scaling startups and building resilient organizations to AI, leadership, delegation, and institutionalizing a business, Shukri explains what founders must do to grow beyond themselves—and why the best leaders eventually make themselves unnecessary.</p><p><br /></p><p>Whether you're building a startup or leading an established business, this conversation offers practical insights on scaling with clarity, purpose, and long-term impact.</p><p><br /></p><p>Chapters</p><p>00:00 Why founders must make themselves redundant</p><p>01:00 Meet Shukri Eid</p><p>03:08 Why scaling a startup is harder than it looks</p><p>05:03 The transition from founder to scale-up leader</p><p>07:20 What should—and shouldn't—scale</p><p>08:40 Mentoring founders through growth</p><p>10:42 Managing complexity as your business grows</p><p>15:07 Expanding products and serving customers better</p><p>18:28 What corporates can learn from startups</p><p>23:28 AI, business models, and competitive advantage</p><p>26:47 The one piece of advice every founder needs</p><p>31:27 Final thoughts</p><p><br /></p><p>The SEF Backstage Pass Podcast brings you inspiring conversations with entrepreneurs, creators, innovators, and changemakers from the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Festival.</p><p><br /></p><p>This episode was produced in partnership with Poddster.</p><p><br /></p><p>Follow SEF:</p><p>Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sharjahef</p><p>TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sharjahef</p><p>LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sharjah-entrepreneurship-festival</p><p>Website: https://sharjahef.com</p>