In The Trenches
In The Trenches
Steve Divitkos
A Glimpse Into The First 90 Days as a New CEO
1 hour 18 minutes Posted Aug 6, 2026 at 10:00 am.
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You probably don’t need to have much of an imagination to envision just how intimidating it can be to be a first-time CEO within your first 90 days. I remember my own such experience like it was yesterday, and still remember it as a time in my life where I was, paradoxically, both excited and insecure, confident and fearful, relieved and anxious, tired and energized.


How to approach the first 90 days as a new CEO, including what to do and what not to do, is also among the most frequently asked questions that I’ve received over the past 14 years. For this reason, I thought it would be a great idea to interview 3 CEOs, each at different stages of their leadership journeys, and ask each of them the same 3 questions:

  1. Their general approach to the first 30 days
  2. What worked
  3. What didn’t work

I think you’ll find their answers to be highly instructive, particularly the themes that seemed to be consistent across all 3 of their stories. Today I was joined by John O’Brien, CEO of Echo Point Books & Media, Matt Fiedelholtz, co-CEO of Stage 2 Data, and Ethan Walz, co-CEO of Allied Electric.


Please enjoy!