Pilar Mendiola-Fernández explains why leaders must future-proof themselves, not only their strategies, and why curiosity and reinvention matter.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA, UNITED STATES, November 13, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Tomorrow, Today, the long-form interview series created and hosted by Shekhar Natarajan, has released a new episode featuring Pilar Mendiola-Fernández, a Mexican-born leadership strategist who spent two decades building international leadership programs at the Washington Center in Washington, D.C. The episode covers her path from a household of lawyers in Mexico to executive roles in the United States and Spain, and her views on leadership, identity and artificial intelligence.
In the conversation, Mendiola-Fernández describes growing up with two lawyer parents, including a mother who was among the first women lawyers in Mexico, in a home where learning was treated as a responsibility rather than an achievement. She recounts moving to Washington against her father’s wishes, working odd jobs on Capitol Hill and later joining the executive committee of the Washington Center within about three years.
She also explains the origins of CEO X, a leadership methodology she developed after seeing executives struggle to accept outside reviews of their strategies.
“Of course, you need to future-proof the strategy, but you need to future-proof the human that is leading the strategy,” Mendiola-Fernández said during the episode.
Topics covered in the episode include:
– Designing customized leadership programs for senior public officials and linking them to student scholarships
– Reframing failure as feedback and treating learning agility as a core skill
– The 10 competencies in the CEO X model, built around challenges such as data overload, technology vertigo and generational collision
– Why a company will never grow beyond its leader’s identity
– A scholarship created in her name for women who aspire to leadership roles
– Lessons on respect and partnership from working in roughly 80 countries
– Seeing AI as a partner while acknowledging the need for regulation
Mendiola-Fernández argues that the biggest mistake organizations make today is focusing on disrupting the organization rather than its leadership. She adds that the most important quality for a modern chief executive is reinvention, and that the ability to unlearn and relearn is open to everyone.
Natarajan and Mendiola-Fernández also discuss curiosity as a leadership trait that is rarely measured.
“There is EQ, there is IQ, but there’s nothing called CQ, curiosity quotient,” said Shekhar Natarajan, host of Tomorrow, Today. “Do I have childlike curiosity that actually helps me ask the question why all the time?”
The full episode is available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GMH5WGUY8o
About Tomorrow, Today
Tomorrow, Today is a long-form interview series created and hosted by Shekhar Natarajan. The show features conversations with entrepreneurs, innovators, policymakers, scientists, educators and thought leaders on the technologies, ideas and decisions shaping the future, from artificial intelligence and business to leadership and education. Episodes are available on YouTube and major podcast platforms.
About Pilar Mendiola-Fernández
Pilar Mendiola-Fernández is an executive at Alamo Solutions Holding Group, which operates across the United States, Latin America, Spain and Portugal. Born in Mexico and now based in Madrid, she spent two decades at the Washington Center, where she led international and advanced leadership programs. She is the creator of the CEO X leadership methodology.
About Shekhar Natarajan
Shekhar Natarajan is the founder and host of Tomorrow, Today and a former senior executive at American Eagle, Walmart, Target and Disney, where he led global initiatives in technology and supply chain strategy.
Shekhar Natarajan
Tomorrow Today Media
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Pilar Mendiola-Fernández x Shekhar Natarajan | Tomorrow, Today
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