Alorica’s Max Schwendner & Mike Clifton on Co-CEO Unity, Curiosity-Driven Growth, and Leading with Decisiveness

This week, Jessica sat down with Max Schwendner and Mike Clifton, co-CEOs of Alorica, a global customer-experience company with 100,000+ employees. In this conversation, they unpack their shared “why”—helping people get better every day—and how a single “one CEO box” model drives decisiveness, accountability, and speed. They break down the operating cadence (small S-curves and quarterly goals) and the three firmwide priorities: lead with digital/AI, invest in talent so everyone improves daily, and perform at the top tier for every client. The duo also makes the case that employee experience and customer experience aren’t either/or, spotlighting concierge-style internal services, a hands-on world tour to align 105k “Aloricans,” and a culture they describe as passionate and strong. Along the way: co-CEO myths, sold-out capacity, growth vs. evolution in the age of AI, and a few dance-and-karaoke admissions that prove culture can be both disciplined and fun. About Max Schwendner Max Schwendner is a member of the Executive Leadership Team and leads Global Finance, Accounting, Tax, Payroll, Billing, and Planning functions for Alorica. Max has been involved with Alorica since shortly after its merger with EGS in 2016, previously serving on the Company’s Board of Directors as a representative of J.P. Morgan. More recently, Max has also served as a senior advisor to Alorica. Prior to joining Alorica, Max spent over a decade on Wall Street, primarily at J.P. Morgan. During this time, he held leadership roles in the Investment Bank and Private Equity divisions of the company serving as Portfolio Manager, Vice President in Corporate Finance/M&A, Chief of Staff to the CEO of Investment Banking, and various other positions. Additionally, he has served in leadership positions on several portfolio company Board of Directors, Chairman of several Limited Partnership Committees, and has co-founded a small film production company. Max graduated Summa Cum Laude from Lehigh University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance and Accounting and a minor in History. About Mike Clifton Mike is responsible for Alorica’s global IT organization and initiatives, overseeing the design and delivery of Alorica’s digital technologies and strategies. As a proven leader across IT, operations and sales, Mike plays a key role in creating innovative solutions that drive proven results for both clients and employees. Mike offers 30 years of experience in software, technology, operations and sales, having held CIO and CISO titles at numerous companies. He most recently served as Chief Information Officer and as Chief Innovation Technology Officer at Cognizant, one of the world’s leading professional services companies. At Cognizant, Mike led global IT and oversaw the design and implementation of digitization strategies, IT organizational models, new market growth, and service-level management. Before joining Cognizant, he held C-level positions at Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston, Hanover Insurance Group, Nobilis Software as well as other organizations. Mike graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering at the University of Massachusetts. He also earned an Advanced Certificate for Executives (ACE) in Management, Innovation and Technology from the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Max Schendner  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/max-schwendner-3ab15960/ Mike Clifton  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-clifton/ Alorica: https://www.alorica.com/ Host: Jessica Kriegel Website: jessicakriegel.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jessicakriegel Instagram: @jess_kriegel Culture Partners Website: culturepartners.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/culturepartners