Engaging the the 1% of the 1%
Most of them run private or mid-sized firms, and most hold the power to decide alone
Of the 200 US leaders who passed review, 108 are chief executives, 59 are founders or owners, 13 are other senior executives, and 20 are billionaires. The largest groups lead healthcare services firms, electric cooperatives and utilities, law firms, insurance agencies and carriers, mid-market manufacturers, and behavioral health groups. Wealth management, accounting and marketing agencies follow.
These are not the usual names on an AI conference stage. A founder of a 300-person firm reads their own email and can say yes in one meeting.
What they are changing, in five patterns
| What the leader changed | People |
|---|---|
| Put AI or automation into the firm's core work, not just staff tools | 105 |
| Changed the business model or how clients pay | 56 |
| Restructured roles, layers or the organisation itself | 36 |
| Handed ownership to employees or partners to protect the redesign | 11 |
| Launched a new owned business alongside the old one | 5 |
Counted by keywords in each person's summary; one person can fall in more than one pattern.
The first contact works best when it names their specific change back to them. Each card in the gallery states it in one line, with the source.
158 of the 200 have said it in their own words, and their words are the best opening line
For 158 people we hold a public quote, checked word for word on its page, in which they say they mean to transform the firm or are rethinking it from first principles. Some examples of how they talk:
The old fee-for-service model needs to go away.Steve Priest, behavioral health, in Behavioral Health Business
What if advisors could spend 60%, 70% or 80% of their time advising?Brent Brodeski, wealth management, in Rethinking65 (2026)
We need to be moving our mindset from an operator to an insurance company.Steve Van Camp, senior care, in Skilled Nursing News (2024)
They describe a limit in the old model and a choice to break it, the same shape as Marty Bicknell's "that model has a ceiling, and we decided to break it". Opening with their own sentence shows the message was written for them, and connects their story to Mariner's.
For the other 42, we know them by what they did, not what they said. Lead with the action instead.
Half of them moved in the last two years, so the change is still live
| Year of their earliest public move | People |
|---|---|
| 2025 to 2026 | 98 |
| 2023 to 2024 | 46 |
| Before 2023 | 56 |
Leaders who moved in 2025 or 2026 are likely in the middle of the hard part: hiring, rebuilding roles, explaining it to clients. That is when a peer conversation about how Mariner did it is most useful. Those who moved earlier are better approached on results: what worked and what they would do next.
We found a documented path for only a handful, so most outreach will be cold
Public records show a path of three steps or fewer to Andrei Pop, Dimple Shah or Grad Conn for 12 people, including Marty Bicknell (one step from Andrei through the Mariner partnership), Reed Hastings, Reid Hoffman, Kate Johnson, Tom Conrad and Shilpa Ranganathan (two steps from Grad through Microsoft). Peter Neupert is already in conversation with Grad.
The team's own LinkedIn connection exports would show many more paths that public records cannot.
Who to deprioritise: patterns that looked promising and did not hold up
The review knocked down 120 candidates. The common reasons are a guide to who will not respond to a "rebuild your firm" message:
- New in the job. A chief executive appointed in the last year is often credited with a programme their predecessor built.
- Just sold. A founder who sold to a private-equity platform may no longer decide; the sale was the change.
- Talk without spend. An AI plan with no dated money or carried-out restructure behind it.
- Moved on. Leaders whose role has lapsed since the source was written.
Before each contact, a 30-second check that the person is still in the role pays off.
Suggested opening angles
- For leaders who changed how clients pay: how Mariner rethought where its advisers' time goes.
- For leaders putting AI into core work: what a 700-person AI workforce actually does day to day, and how the humans' roles changed.
- For leaders who restructured: how Mariner split the firm into client experience and execution.
- For owners who gave ownership to employees: how to keep the culture while the work changes.
These angles are a suggestion based on the patterns above, not tested messages.