Power doesn’t just come from the ground, a pipeline, or the grid. It comes from people.
Power Leaders takes you inside the energy industry through candid conversations with the leaders shaping how the world is powered.
Hosted by Brad Childers, President and CEO of Archrock, the show goes beyond the headlines, technology, and infrastructure to uncover the people behind one of the world’s most essential industries and the experiences that shaped them as leaders.
Each episode features executives and innovators from across energy and the industries that make it possible. You’ll hear the stories behind pivotal career decisions, difficult challenges, technological breakthroughs, and defining leadership moments along with where these leaders believe energy is headed next.
Because powering modern life requires more than equipment and resources. It requires people willing to solve difficult problems, make consequential decisions, innovate, and lead.
Whether you already work in energy, are building your career, lead a team, or simply want a better understanding of the people and ideas powering modern life, Power Leaders gives you a front-row seat to the conversations shaping the industry.
Real leaders. Real stories. The people behind the power.
The AI Energy Shock Nobody Expected | Founder and Executive Chairman of Alegacy, Bob Nickles
What happens when America's energy demand grows faster than the infrastructure needed to power it?
Bob Nickles, Founder and Executive Chairman of Alegacy, has spent more than 40 years in the natural gas industry. But even he didn't anticipate the extraordinary scale of energy demand coming from data centers.
In this episode of Power Leaders, host Brad Childers sits down with Bob to explore the energy boom behind the AI revolution, why natural gas equipment is facing reported lead times of up to 200 weeks, and what it will take to keep America's power infrastructure moving forward.
Bob also reveals how he recognized a major industry shift years before it happened—and built Alegacy around that opportunity.
But this conversation goes far beyond energy.
From starting as an assistant janitor in his family's machine shop to building successful businesses and navigating devastating setbacks, Bob shares the experiences that shaped his approach to leadership, entrepreneurship, and legacy.
In this episode, you'll discover:
Why data center growth caught the natural gas industry off guard
What's driving extraordinary equipment lead times and supply chain pressure
How Bob anticipated a major market shift before his competitors
Why reliable natural gas infrastructure matters to America's electricity future
What two painful business setbacks taught him about leadership and responsibility
How A-Legacy is creating high-paying opportunities in American manufacturing
The leadership question Bob believes everyone should ask themselves
One of Bob's most striking observations: The projected need for additional natural gas compression horsepower in North America over the next three years could exceed the combined fleets of three major compression operators.
Whether you're leading an energy company, building a business, or trying to understand the infrastructure behind the AI boom, this conversation offers a perspective you won't want to miss.
What does it take to recognize an industry-changing opportunity before everyone else?
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Power Leaders takes you inside the energy industry through the stories of the people leading it.
Hosted by Archrock CEO Brad Childers, each episode explores the defining experiences, leadership lessons and innovations shaping the industry that powers the world.
Enjoyed the Episode?
Subscribe to Power Leaders and leave a 5-star rating on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube!
9 Oct 2026
The Energy Boom Is Here | Ariel CEO Alex Wright
The energy industry is entering one of its biggest growth cycles in decades.
But what’s really driving it, and what will separate the companies that capitalize on it from everyone else?
Alex Wright, President and CEO of Ariel Corporation, joins Brad Childers to unpack what he calls a new reality for energy. Rising electricity demand, LNG and AI data centers are changing the equation—and creating enormous implications for natural gas and the companies behind the infrastructure that powers the world.
Alex also takes Brad inside Ariel’s remarkable nearly 60-year journey from a basement-built prototype to a global leader in natural gas compression—and the leadership philosophy that has allowed the family-owned company to navigate decades of dramatic industry cycles.
They explore what it takes to build for generations, why long-term thinking matters more than ever, the leadership challenge of taking over a successful family business, and where Alex sees opportunity in the energy boom ahead.
What does it take to build a company that doesn't just survive the cycle, but is ready when the next one arrives?
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Power Leaders takes you inside the energy industry through the stories of the people leading it.
Hosted by Archrock CEO Brad Childers, each episode explores the defining experiences, leadership lessons and innovations shaping the industry that powers the world.
Enjoyed the Episode?
Subscribe to Power Leaders and leave a 5-star rating on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube!
15 Sept 2026
Caterpillar SVP: AI Doesn't Work Without This Industry | John Shanahan
AI may look like a digital revolution. But behind every data center is an enormous physical world of energy, infrastructure and people making it possible.
John Shanahan, Senior Vice President at Caterpillar, joins Archrock CEO Brad Childers to share what nearly 30 years at Caterpillar have taught him about the industries—and the leaders—powering modern life.
John explains why AI’s growth is inseparable from natural gas, mining, power generation and physical infrastructure, and why the extraordinary demand we’re seeing today is creating new opportunities across the energy industry.
But some of John’s most important lessons are about people.
He shares the experience outside Caterpillar that fundamentally changed the way he leads, why purpose can unlock extraordinary performance, how relationships turn business from transactional to personal, and why he believes the entrepreneurial “yeah, bring it” mentality of oil and gas makes energy an incredible industry for the next generation.
In this episode:
• Why AI doesn’t work without energy and infrastructure
• What people misunderstand about oil & gas and mining
• What’s driving today’s surge in energy demand
• How Caterpillar is responding to the data center boom
• The experience that transformed John’s leadership philosophy
• Why people need purpose to perform at their best
• How relationships change the way you lead
• Why John believes young people should choose energy
• The “yeah, bring it” mindset of oil & gas leaders
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Power Leaders takes you inside the energy industry through the stories of the people leading it.
Hosted by Archrock CEO Brad Childers, each episode explores the defining experiences, leadership lessons and innovations shaping the industry that powers the world.
Enjoyed the Episode?
Subscribe to Power Leaders and leave a 5-star rating on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube!
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Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
25 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
4 ratings
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