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Masters of Scale · September 10, 2026 · 30m 38s

From high school dropout to CEO, with Autodesk’s Andrew Anagnost

Andrew Anagnost, Jeff Berman

Andrew Anagnost, the high school dropout turned CEO of Autodesk, shares his unconventional path to leadership with host Jeff Berman. He discusses joining a rebellious internal group that allowed him to drive change from within, the corporate battle to secure the top job, and his belief that leading with empathy is a strategic business advantage, not just soft management.

This summary was generated from show notes and public descriptions, not from a full transcript review. Details may contain inaccuracies.

Highlights

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Joining the Rebel Group
Anagnost aligned himself with an internal rebel group at Autodesk that was challenging the company's conventional approaches.
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Battling for the CEO Role
Anagnost describes competing internally to earn the CEO position at Autodesk.
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Leading with Empathy as Smart Business
Anagnost argues that empathetic leadership is a business imperative, not merely a soft skill.
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High School Dropout to CEO
Anagnost dropped out of high school, yet rose to lead a massive public software company.
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Misc

✧Andrew Anagnost dropped out of high school before eventually becoming CEO of Autodesk.
✧He explicitly aligned himself with an internal 'rebel' group at Autodesk, a move he credits as pivotal to his career.
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