Why Top CEOs Embrace AI For Peak Productivity
The AI Anxiety Epidemic and a CEO's Counterview
Anxiety over artificial intelligence is palpable across the modern workplace. From entry-level employees concerned about automation to managers worried about their roles becoming obsolete, the fear of an AI-driven future is widespread. Even the C-suite isn't safe, with nearly three-quarters of CEOs admitting they fear for their jobs if they fail to harness AI for business results.
However, MasterClass founder and CEO David Rogier stands apart from the worried crowd. He views AI not as a threat to his role but as a powerful accelerant that has fundamentally transformed his daily work.
“If you aren’t using AI and you’re a CEO, what are you doing?” Rogier stated. “You are holding yourself back. You’re like, ‘I only want to be 80% as productive as I can be.’”
By embracing AI as a heavy user, Rogier calculates that he has reclaimed an entire workday's worth of time each week. This newfound efficiency allows him to dedicate more focus to the critical aspects of the business that require his direct leadership.
Inside the MasterClass CEO’s AI Productivity Stack
To achieve this level of efficiency, Rogier doesn't rely on a single solution. Instead, he employs a curated "AI CEO Stack" of more than half a dozen Large Language Models (LLMs) and specialized tools.
At the center of his workflow is a custom GPT named “Davidify,” which has been trained on all of his personal notes. When he needs to draft an email or a speech, he can simply provide a few bullet points, and the AI will generate the text in his unique style.
His complete AI stack also features:
- Gamma: Builds all-hands presentation decks that are both faster to create and more visually appealing.
- Make.com + Todoist + ChatGPT: An automated system that prioritizes his to-do list every night, eliminating the need to manually sort through dozens of tasks.
- NotebookLM: Converts YouTube videos and academic papers into a 15-minute summary podcast for him to listen to on his walks.
- Lovable: Enables rapid creation of product mockups, significantly speeding up feedback loops.
- On Call: Allows him to pose questions to AI versions of experts like Chris Voss and Mark Cuban without needing to contact them directly.
- Claude Projects: Fed with MasterClass customer demographics, it provides instant feedback on new business ideas.
- Suno: A surprising addition for creating the best custom playlists for work and workouts.
How Other Tech Leaders are Leveraging AI
Rogier is not alone in his enthusiastic adoption of AI. Across the tech industry, daily AI usage is quickly becoming a standard for competitive leadership.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has integrated GPT-5 via Microsoft's 365 Copilot into his daily routine, using it to generate meeting summaries, draft project updates, and monitor productivity. Similarly, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang uses Perplexity and ChatGPT as a personal tutor. He often asks it to explain new concepts to him as if he were a child, gradually increasing the complexity to a doctorate level.
Some leaders have taken AI integration a step further. Zoom CEO Eric Yuan and Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski have both used AI-generated video replicas of themselves to deliver scripted remarks during earnings calls. Klarna even launched a 24/7 "AI CEO Hotline," an AI service that fields customer inquiries in Siemiatkowski’s conversational style.
As AI technology continues to advance, these CEOs are setting a clear precedent. They demonstrate how technology can be woven into the very fabric of their work and, in doing so, are likely setting the expectation for their employees to follow suit.
