In this must-listen episode, DocuSign CEO Allan Thygesen shares how curiosity, empathy, and communication shape his leadership. He discusses balancing performance and people, leading through change, and why trust and clarity are essential for scaling an organization without losing its human core.

This is To Lead Is Human — listen to learn how you can uplevel your leadership and shape cultures of accountability, respect, and candor.

“Your impact is measured not by your title, but by how people feel after working with you.” — Allan Thygesen

Guest Bio:

Allan Thygesen is the CEO of Docusign, the company that brings agreements to life. Since joining the company in 2022, Allan has led Docusign to expand on its market leadership positions in e-signature and contract lifecycle management, and launched the SaaS category of Intelligent Agreement Management. Today, more than 1.5 million customers and more than a billion users in over 180 countries use Docusign products and solutions to accelerate the process of doing business and simplifying people's lives.

Before he joined Docusign, Allan served as President, Americas & Global Partners at Google, leading the company's $100 billion+ advertising business across North and South America. Prior to that role, he served as the President of Google Marketing Solutions, overseeing the global mid-market and small advertiser business, which serves millions of customers worldwide.

Earlier in his career, Allan was a managing director and partner in the U.S. venture and growth funds of The Carlyle Group, where he led investments in startups in sectors including e-commerce, enterprise software, and more. He has also held executive positions in several public and private companies, including Wink Communications, Inc., an interactive television technology company, which he helped take public in 1999.

Allan serves on the board of directors of global shipping leader A. P. Moller Maersk, and served as a Lecturer at Stanford's Graduate School of Business from 2014-2021. He serves as Vice Chair on the advisory boards of Stanford's Institute for Economic Policy Research and Stanford's Institute for Research in the Social Sciences. He received a master's degree in economics from the University of Copenhagen and an MBA degree from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he graduated as an Arjay Miller scholar.

Host Bio:

For more than 30 years, Sharon Richmond has partnered with C-level executives from mid-size and small, fast-growing companies who want to up-level their leadership and build companies they are proud of. Clients accelerate their leadership by embracing mindset and behavior changes, building self-awareness and self-management skills, and focusing on the three things all leaders must ensure: focus, energy and delivery.

Sharon’s purpose as an executive coach is to help leaders 10X their impact by leveraging the power afforded by their roles to build organizations that are forces for good, both economically and socially. She also advises CEOs on shaping organization culture and leading change.

Sharon has taught leadership at Stanford GSB, where she now helps leaders increase influence, manage conflict, and prepare to build high-performing teams.

To see a list of Sharon’s clients, please visit LeadingLarge.com.

Resources or websites mentioned in this episode:

Mirasee
Sharon’s website: LeadingLarge.com
Allan’s LinkedIn page: www.linkedin.com/in/allanthygesen

Credits:

Host: Sharon Richmond
Producer: Andrew Chapman
Audio Editor: Marvin del Rosario
Executive Producer: Danny Iny
Music Soundscape: Chad Michael Snavely
Making our hosts sound great: Home Brew Audio

Music credits:

Track Title: Escaping Light
Artist: Aaron Sprinkle
Writer: Aaron Sprinkle
Publisher: A SOUNDSTRIPE PRODUCTION

Track Title: Bright Future
Artist: Be Still The Earth
Writer: Marshall Usinger
Publisher: A SOUNDSTRIPE PRODUCTION

Track Title: Coo Coos
Artist: Dresden, The Flamingo
Writer: Matthew Wigton
Publisher: A SOUNDSTRIPE PRODUCTION

Track Title: Grace
Artist Name: Shimmer
Writer Name: Matthew Wigton
Publisher Name: BOSS SOUNDSTRIPE PRODUCTIONS

Special effects credits:

24990513_birds-chirping_by_promission used with permission of the author and under license by AudioJungle/Envato Market.

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Episode transcript: How DocuSign’s CEO Balances Innovation and Humanity (Allan Thygesen) coming soon.