CEO by Title, Mentor by Choice: A Look at Mansi Panchal’s Leadership Style

 When I joined Founder X as a marketing intern, I didn’t expect to walk away with a leadership playbook. But spending a few weeks working under Mansi Panchal – our CEO, or our "Chief Energy Officer" – has been more than just an internship. It’s been an eye-opener into what it actually means to lead.

Forget the stereotype of the distant CEO locked away in a fancy glass cabin. Mansi is the complete opposite. She's there – in the trenches, in the chaos, and in the momentum. Her leadership style isn’t just about making decisions from the top; it’s about building the team from the ground up, every single day.

One of my first surprises came during a sales huddle. It wasn’t even my department, but Mansi was right there. Not hovering like a boss, but sitting shoulder to shoulder with the team, reviewing pitches, pointing out small tweaks in tone or timing, and more importantly – hyping people up. She listens when someone fumbles, but she also feels the collective win when someone closes a deal. That kind of involvement isn't performative. It’s consistent. Daily. Real. And watching it up close, you start to understand why the culture at Founder X feels so different – so alive.

She calls it the “war room,” but it’s not about pressure. It’s about presence. The message is clear: if you want to build a team that performs like owners, you need to show up like one. And she does. At 7 PM, she’s still there, sleeves rolled up, hunting leads, reviewing content, cracking jokes, and recharging everyone’s energy just by being around.

What’s even more powerful, though, is how human her leadership is. One afternoon, during a team break, she shared a message someone once told her: “I’m excited to come to work every day because it doesn’t feel like work – it feels fun.” And you could tell, in that moment, how much it meant to her. Because for Mansi, building Founder X has never been just about profit margins or client rosters – it’s about people. Real people, who took a chance on the mission before it was obvious. People who show up not out of obligation, but opportunity. And that belief in people – raw, unfiltered – is what makes you want to give your best here.

There’s also this quiet strength in the way she handles tough moments. You’ll never see her explode, micromanage, or chase approval. If anything, she teaches you that anger isn’t power – control is. I've seen her pause in tense moments, not to retreat, but to stay in control of her energy. That’s the kind of strength that builds trust, not fear.

Working under Mansi has taught me that leadership isn’t about being liked – it’s about being counted on. And whether you’re a full-time team member or just an intern, you feel that. She’s not here to be everyone’s favorite. She’s here to build something real – and bring the right people along for the ride.

As someone who's just starting out, watching her lead has changed how I think about work, about people, and about what I want in a team. It’s rare to find a mentor in a CEO. But that’s exactly what Mansi is. Not just a founder, not just a leader, but someone who builds other people up while building her dream.

And that? That’s the kind of leader you remember long after the internship ends.