Ep. 561 - FAN FAVORITE | Mindbody Former President & CTO Sunil Rajasekar - How To Build a Legendary Culture Now
Second in Command: The Chief Behind the Chief with Cameron Herold
Second in Command with Cameron Herold
4.9 • 225 Ratings
🗓️ 12 March 2026
⏱️ 45 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
What if the biggest threat to your company’s growth is how you show up every day—burned out, distracted, or just going through the motions? Most COOs know the cost of chaos, but few stop to ask what’s driving it inside themselves.
Enter Sunil Rajasekar, former President and CTO of Mindbody, who sits down with Cameron Herold for a no-holds-barred conversation about burnout, resilience, and building a global wellness empire with gratitude at its core. From the backstage mechanics of a platform used by millions to the secret link between world-changing tech and personal wellbeing, this episode delivers the eye-opening truths every leader needs.
Listen now before your stress becomes your biggest blind spot. Actionable, exclusive, and radically honest. These insights aren’t just a luxury, they’re your lifeline.
Timestamped Highlights
[00:00] – What nobody tells you about burnout (until it’s too late)
[00:03:31] – Why Sunil reversed the script: an origin story you didn’t expect
[00:06:15] – The real reasons high-powered execs flame out (and how Sunil rebuilt himself)
[00:14:23] – Two CEOs, one mission: Navigating seismic leadership transitions
[00:16:50] – Under the hood of Mindbody: Why perfection on the surface means wrestling chaos behind the scenes
[00:24:28] – The make-or-break moment for small businesses—and why most lenders get it wrong
[00:29:32] – The war for tech talent and how to keep your team’s soul intact
[00:33:35] – What COVID proved about wellness, grit, and the “missionary vs. mercenary” divide
[00:40:50] – The gratitude ritual that saved Sunil—and could save you
About the Guest
Sunil Rajasekar is the former President and Chief Technology Officer at Mindbody, the global platform powering the wellness industry in over 100 countries. With more than two decades leading technology and product transformation at eBay, Intuit, Lithium Technologies, and then Mindbody, Sunil is renowned for scaling businesses that shape industries, without sacrificing the humanity at their core. His mission: Connect the world to wellness, one breakthrough at a time.
Mentioned Resources
- Mindbody Capital
- ClassPass
- Vista Equity Partners
- Book: “The Mind-Body Connection” by John Sarno
- Book: “Buddha and the Badass” by Vishen Lakhiani
- Mindvalley (Vishen Lakhiani)
- Tim Ferriss
- Uber
- Apple Fitness
- F45
- Orangetheory Fitness
- Booker (acquired by Mindbody)
- ClearBank (referenced as a similar financial product)
Important Links
- Connect with Cameron: Website | LinkedIn
- Explore the COO Alliance - The World’s Leading Community for Seconds in Command
- Get Cameron’s book: Second in Command: Unleash the Power of Your COO Book
- Take his course: Invest In Your Leaders Online Course (Use promo code PODCAST10 before the end of the month for 10% off)
- Chat or video call with AI Cameron via Delphi
Note: This Fan Favorite episode is a recast of one of our most impactful interviews, still packed with insights for second-in-command leaders. Whether it’s your first listen or a revisit, there’s timeless value inside.
The Second in Command Podcast is an original production hosted by Cameron Herold. Brought to you by COO Alliance. Production and editing by Podcast Your Brand.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Just a quick note before we dive in. This is actually one of our older episodes, but we're bringing it back because it's one of the most downloaded ones we've ever released. Clearly, it struck a chord with a lot of listeners, and I know there's so much value packed inside. So whether you're hearing it for the first time or revisiting it, enjoy this fan favorite. Advice number one would be don't burn out. Yeah, I wish somebody had told me that I wasn't invincible. I don't know if I would listen, but I wish I'm |
| 0:24.7 | very good For advice number one would be don't burn out. Yeah, I wish somebody had told me that I wasn't invincible. I don't know if I would have listened, but I wish somebody had told me that. I think another thing would be, I don't forget to have fun and be grateful and live in gratitude and something that I've tried to do ever since I have burnt out. And I try to do it to this day. You know, I have a gratefulness exercise that I do every morning where I spend time thinking |
| 0:41.7 | about all the blessings I've been given. |
| 0:49.0 | Welcome to the Second in Command podcast, produced by the C-O Alliance and brought to you by its founder, Cameron Harold. In the Second in Command podcast, produced by the C.O. Alliance and brought to you by its founder, Cameron Harold. |
| 0:57.5 | In the second in command podcast, we talk to top COOs who share the insights, strategies, and tactics that made them the chief behind the chief. |
| 1:06.7 | And now, here's your host, Cameron Harold. |
| 1:13.0 | Our guest today is MindBody Inc. president and CTO, Sineal Rajas Sikar. |
| 1:19.3 | Sinal has served as MindBody's chief technology officer since November 2018 and as his president since August 2020. |
| 1:26.9 | With more than 20 years of consumer and enterprise |
| 1:29.1 | experience, his work is focused on companies' products and technology strategy, consumer |
| 1:34.0 | marketplace expansion, and platform development. Previously, Sunil served as vice |
| 1:38.7 | president and general manager at e-commerce giant eBay, leading engineering and product |
| 1:43.2 | management for the seller experience. |
| 1:45.4 | He has also served as chief technology officer for lithium technologies and as vice president |
| 1:49.6 | of engineering product management of operations at Intuit. He holds his MBA from the University of |
| 1:54.5 | Toledo. |
| 1:58.3 | So, Neil, welcome to the Second Grand Podcast. |
| 2:17.8 | Thank you, Cameron. Happy to be here. Yeah, I'm really excited to do this. Strangely enough, I've used your app in a number of countries. I was recently over in Italy, and we were like, where the heck are we going to find yoga? And my fiance was like, well, let's just go on mind body. I'm like, they're not going to be in Italy. Yeah, you were. |
| 2:18.6 | And it was like dead simple, super clean. |
| 2:21.2 | We show up and the first thing the woman even said to us when we walked in was like, |
| 2:24.6 | did you use mind body to book us? |
| 2:25.8 | Like, yeah, this is just amazing. |
... |
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