CTO Confessions Brought to you by IT Labs - podcast cover

CTO Confessions Brought to you by IT Labs

IT Labswww.it-labs.com
Hi my name is TC, and I’m honored to be hosting the CTO Confessions podcast brought to you by IT Labs. In our podcast we tackle the subject of leadership, how to deal with hard issues facing your business and we try to get closer to the world of those fantastic women and men that hold it all together with different priorities that rarely get appreciated. Join us in our biweekly podcast and have fun as we tackle the world of business and the CTO Life. Brought to you by IT Labs. Listen to all our podcats on: iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/mk/podcast/cto-confession-brought-to-you-by-it-labs/id1507959613 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3LKhgOJSkRbbCn9agFCajC Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/cto-confessions

Episodes

Episode 53: Flying On The Wings Of Curiosity With Phil Wood

Phil Wood is a man of many talents, all cored in his unabating curiosity. What started off as the need to know how things function and what they’re made off, led him to learn and develop, and eventually become the Director of IT Services at one of the most prominent airlines – easyJet. In this episode, Phil shared his advice and experience, ranging from his unique leadership style with which he allows teams to lead themselves by letting them take the responsibility and giving them freedom, all t...

Aug 05, 202147 min

Episode 52: Global brand marketing on a local scale With Merlijn Bruijnes

Marketing comes in many forms, everything from the big brand advertisements for the masses, to smaller campaigns specific to local needs. Well, Marvia has created a platform that does just that. i.e., activating local marketing potential for big brands (e.g., Domino's Pizza). The CTO of this company, Merlijn Bruijnes, joins us to tell us all about what they do. Merlijn also shares his journey to becoming a tech leader, lessons he has learned and tips for other tech leaders. Key takeaways from th...

Jul 15, 202140 min

Episode 51: Black Friday Every Day, And The System Just Keeps Rolling With John Williams

In this episode, John Williams, the CTO at Amplience, shares his super hot tips from his years of service. We get to talk about the problem in the market that Amplience is solving and creating robust systems that reliably get the job at hand done. The industry that Amplience sits in is the marketing space. It's created a system that provides personalized content for the myriad of devices and screen sizes people use, with a touch of personalization to make a brand really pop out for the target au...

Jul 15, 202156 min

Episode 50: Wiring Up A Nation For Success With Clayton Nash

We all rely on it. Many of us use it without even realizing it. Some even joke it's in the base layer of the Maslows hierarchy of needs. If you haven't already guessed, it's the internet. You will be surprised to know that the fifth biggest economy globally (the UK) is lagging behind many other modern nations concerning internet coverage and bandwidth to people's homes and businesses. Well, the Strategy Director at CityFibre joins us on a discussion about how he and his team are working hard, wo...

Jul 15, 202144 min

Episode 49: Tech Leadership Through The Lens Of Yoga With Guy Duncan

Here at IT Labs, we love disruptors. Particularly a disruption in a stuffy industry, drowning in its old ways. Guy Duncan from Tide joins us to tell the story of the company he is tech leading to create exactly that kind of disruption. Tide is a Fintech carving out a nice chunk of the market by focusing on customer needs (time, ease, and smooth service). We particularly touch and gravitate around Guy's leadership approach that encompasses Yoga and mindfulness. So the key takeaways from the podca...

Jul 15, 20211 hr 6 min

Episode 48: Leading And Innovating In The Recruitment Industry​ With Anna Dick

In this episode, we speak to Anna Dick, CTO of an innovative startup call HIRING HUB. It provides a B2B service to help rate and track the quality of recruitment agencies. We speak to her about the exciting objectives and growth of the business. Also, the problems she and her team are working to solve in the recruitment space. The recruitment industry is a highly competitive market with varying levels of trust and the ability to deliver on the hiring needs of their end clients. Key takeaways fro...

Jul 15, 202138 min

Episode 47: Digitalising Construction With Vicki Reynolds

We are pleased to be hosting another podcast with a tech leader in the construction industry. An industry that is ripe for innovation and digitalization. Our guest Vicki Reynolds, CTO at i3PT, is doing just that. In light of the disaster that unfolded here in the UK (the Grenfell Tower disaster), the construction industry is going under a much-needed update around standards, compliance, and auditing. Vicki, who originally started as an actress, found her fulfillment in solving big challenges in ...

Jul 15, 202150 min

Episode 46: Milking data for fresh ways to reduce plastic waste With John Hughes And James Renshaw

Some companies are getting ready to use their data. Some businesses drive growth by using it in parts of their operation. In this podcast, we speak to a business that's milking their data for everything they can get. The Modern Milkman is on a mission and they are proud to call themselves a data-driven business. James Renshaw (the CTO) and John Hughes (Data warrior) at The Modern Milkman join us in this podcast to share their stories and tech-leading efforts. The Modern Milkman, a wonderful, fun...

Jun 24, 202157 min

Episode 45: Piloting tech innovation in the airport industry With Rick Goold

From time to time, we come across a very niche organization. One that has evolved with the industry over many years. Well, Airport Information Services is one of those businesses, creating Flight Information Display Systems and Aeronautical Billing Systems for the industry. Rick Goold, the managing director of said company, joins us to speak to his journey as a tech leader and how he and his business have carved out a successful piece of the airport industry. Rick's career has spanned many evolu...

Jun 24, 202144 min

Episode 44: The Ponderings Of A Tech Leader In The Airport Industry With Nicholas Woods

It's a shame we rarely get to speak to someone who oversees important aspects of an industry that many of us use. In the context of this podcast, it's the airport industry. Wouldn't it be great to take a peek under the covers of this business arena to appreciate some of its complexities, challenges, and direction? Well, in this episode, we are doing a bit of that peeking. Nicholas Woods, the CIO of the Manchester Airports Group (MAG) joins us to share his leadership journey. The challenges this ...

Jun 24, 202140 min

Episode 43: Selling Everything But The House With Brian Powell

The world of technology opens up endless avenues of possibilities. It's an enabler and creator of healthy businesses (i.e., the bottom line). So, it's wonderful to come across a business that uses technology to create success in acquiring and selling unique items. And when we say unique, we mean one-off items. So, the guest of this podcast works for a business just like that. The VP of technology, Brian Powell at EVERYTHING BUT THE HOUSE (EBTH), tells us all about his operation, his team's chall...

Jun 24, 202136 min

Episode 42: Governance vs developer freedom: The balancing act With Anders Wallgren

For tech leaders heavily involved in the software development and deployment processes, ranging from embedded software to more user-facing applications, you'll love this. Anders Wallgren, the Vice President of Technology Strategy at CloudBees joined us to share a few things. Nope! Correction. Shared LOADS of things about the benefit and importance of having a smooth end-to-end development process. Being a software developer in the past (I'm a geek that managed to de-geek), I know the pains and b...

Jun 24, 20211 hr 4 min

Episode 41: Mindful leadership in athenahealth With Bela Labovitch

We all hope for a day when we don't need to mention, or even be surprised, when we see women leading in tech. But, until that wonderful moment arrives, we will celebrate a marvelous leader's journey and her leadership practices. Bela Labovitch, the VP of engineering at athenahealth, joins us to share her story and why she has much gratitude for her job. And importantly, how she makes the role effective and delightful for her people, the end customer, and the business itself. We also look at the ...

Jun 24, 202140 min

Episode 40: Solving Address Poverty With Emre Turan

You would believe it, but four billion people in the world do not have an address. We take it for granted in first and 2nd world nations. But imagine not having a framework to get things to you. Shocking! This is why Emre Turan, the tech leader of UNL Global, leads the tech to create the internet of places. An addressing system to bring people out of address poverty. Maybe we in more modernized countries will adopt the same system. Thus creating a standardized global standard. Key takeaways from...

May 31, 202134 min

Episode 39: FinTech's blockchain solution to take security trading to the next level with Amit Goyal

We all see big stock markets trading shares in big companies, with their stock-tickers showing the ups and downs of an organization's perceived value. Imagine if you could invest in, let's say, a sports stars career or the local shop down the road. Well, this is the platform that tZERO's CTO, Amit Goyal, is working on. He joins us to share his trials and tribulations, not forgetting the successes in creating this novel trading system. The key takeaways from the podcast are: - How a more democrat...

May 31, 202148 min

Episode 38: Making Businesses More Human One Video At A Time With Brendan Schwartz

Many enlightened businesses work hard to make their brands and relationships with their customers stronger and more human, and that's exactly what Wistia does. For those who think that's obvious, well, there are many businesses out there that do the exact opposite. Either intentionally or unintentionally). The CTO and co-founder of this interesting startup joins us to share his leadership learning and the importance of building that human face of the business one video at a time. With the bonus ...

May 31, 202148 min

Episode 37: Healthy Feedback Loops Improving Cancer Intelligence With Denali Lumma

In this episode, we talk to a tech leader who has turned a technical ship around. Her leadership resides in a cancer intelligence organization that uses data science to help oncology care teams better personalize treatment and improve drug toxicity management for their patients. Denali Lumma, the VP of engineering at Project Ronin, shares her story and her leadership. Particularly on how she, her peers, and team pivoted a troubling technical situation and created a state of technical flow in the...

May 31, 202153 min

Episode 36: Layering technology onto the art of creating homes with Rajiv Peter

With technology permeating and threading through all industries, it's surprising when you come across an industry that has further growth in the digital space, giving the tech leaders in that arena the opportunity to spearhead an industry evolution. This is exactly what our guest Rajiv Peter, the Director of Digital Technology at Notting Hill Genesis, is doing. Under his leadership and tech team, the company creates opportunities for more growth, efficient operations, and insights from the data ...

May 31, 202121 min

Episode 31: Thoughts From A Non - Linear Tech Leader With Paul Clarke

In this episode, we have the former CTO of Ocado, a company that is a huge operational and business success story in the UK. As part of his leadership and the work he does on various boards for the UK Government, Paul Clarke is a huge advocate for digital twins, which are models that allow us to run real--world simulations. And as we progress to make these twins even more sophisticated, the aim of Paul and other leaders in the digital space is to integrate them to run even larger and more sophis...

May 06, 20211 hr 19 min

Episode 33: The Art Of Digital Experience With Marcus Lambert

In this information-obsessed modern world, marketing takes on many forms. And a word that gets banded around a lot (and quite rightly) is brand. For Omobono, the brand isn't just logos and fancy billboards; it's more than that. The CTO from Omobono, Marcus Lambert, joins us to tell us about its importance and how an organization's brand can be enhanced digitally. Key takeaways from the podcast are: • Organizational trust layered into every nook-and-cranny of the business is the key to lasting tr...

May 06, 202145 min

Episode 32: Leadership With Style With Florian Klemt

In this podcast, we look at an interesting B2B startup called Fashion Cloud. In particular to its CTO, Florian Klemt. The business idea that was born out of a strategic pivot shows great promise. It's morphing into something bigger and providing more supportive avenues for end clients. Key takeaways from the podcast are: • A human-centric leadership style has a great ROI. One that can't be pinned down in a spreadsheet or ledger but exists non the less • The pivoting tool in the business toolbox ...

May 06, 202151 min

Episode 34: Creating Tech For Chip Manufacturers Atomic Metrology With Hamed Sadeghian

Niches don't get any tighter than this. Our guest Hamed Sadeghian, President and CTO of Nearfield Instruments, shares with us his journey in a super high-tech, high- science market. From his metrology in the oil and gas industry to the measurement of atoms, he now heads an organization that helps chip manufacturers sharpen their cutting edge. Key takeaways from the podcast are: • Sanitizing your vision and making it your war • What you need to be able to lead effectively in an entrepreneurial co...

May 06, 202140 min

Episode 35: Clarity for the opaque world of seaborne energy with Maksym Schipka

In this episode, we talk to a tech leader who initially had very little desire to become a CTO. However, once the journey began, not only was he a success, but he also came to appreciate and love the role. His passion shows and is a great inspiration to try things you think you don't want. Maksym Schipka, the CTO at Vortexa, shares his tech journey and what's worked, and is working for him. Just to put into perspective the importance of Vortexa's operation, it tracks more than $1.8 trillion of w...

May 06, 202148 min

Episode 30: Keeping Companies Secure in the Era of COVID with Tom Meehan

Security has always been a part of human needs beyond those sitting at the lower echelons of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Through our inventiveness, we create new domains of attack and subsequent security needs. In these modern times, the digital world has many doors and windows, and that's the topic we touch on in this episode. Tom Meehan of CONTROLTEK USA joins us to share his thoughts on this subject and his leadership style. Tom is an author and speaker in various technical spaces, so we are...

Apr 13, 20211 hr 2 min

Episode 29: The Art of People-Centric Leadership with Shane Emmons

It's great when you meet a leader who takes an elegant approach to making life easier. i.e., using a leadership style to bleed ownership into the organization. One such tech leader achieving this with his personal, well-defined philosophy on work and life is Shane Emmons. As the CTO of TeamSnap, not only does he talk about this philosophy, he has also positioned it out there for all to see on his LinkedIn profile. Then, as a man of integrity, he brings it to life in his daily work and leadership...

Apr 13, 202145 min

Episode 28: Being a Transformation Warrior With Michele Sollecito

Tech leaders not only lead organizations to create products, but often lead transformations also -- transformation of people, processes, and of course tech. In this podcast, Michele Sollecito shares his thoughts on his role and how he works to make sure projects come in on scope and on time through the wonderful women and men engineers doing the work. Key takeaways from the podcast are: • Why integrity matters. i.e., Doing the right thing even when no one is looking. • How software development i...

Apr 13, 202143 min

Episode 27: Making Car Hire As Easy As ABC With Marc Roberts

For all those who have hired a car, do you think it's a smooth process? Could it be easier? Well, our tech leader guest from "hiyacar", Marc Roberts, tells us about how they are smoothing out the wrinkles in this much-needed service. Having been involved in a previous venture that didn't quite make it to success, Marc shares how the market and driver information systems have evolved enough to make it viable. Listen to Marc Robert's' wisdom about leading the technological aspect of this venture a...

Apr 13, 202141 min

Episode 26: The Intersection of Culture and Security with Hazel Olivier

In this podcast, we talk to Hazel Olivier, the CTO of Nimbla, a company serving medium-sized organizations' financial well-being (through insuring their invoices). Hazel has been instrumental in leading Nimbla's platform's modernization while strengthening its robustness. Thus, allowing Nimbla to offer a much-needed self-service financial lifeline 24/7. In the podcast, we look at how Hazel has been spearheading her career in the tech industry ,as well as her passion for security and working with...

Apr 13, 202145 min

Episode 25: Leading and hiring in the data space With Roy Keyes

Data, data, data everywhere! Sometimes I wonder if we’re going to drown in it all. Thankfully we have a super expert on the subject to join us to demystify some of the reoccurring topics in this arena. Roy Keyes, a data science and machine learning guru and expert in knowing what people to hire for this elusive new field of computing, tells us all in the time we had for the podcast. We got so carried away, it’s a long one. He has written a book on the subject. Details can be found below. The key...

Mar 22, 20211 hr 13 min

Podcast 24: The tech leadership behind Long marketing cycles with Oded Cohen

Oded Cohen, Chief Technology Officer at Nativo Inc, joins CTO Confessions to share his tech leadership style within an impressive, cutting-edge marketing company – a company that helps organizations sell high ticket items with looooooooong marketing and sales cycles. Nativo uses big data and agile processes to connect the brands to the desired target audience. Some of the key takeaways from the podcast are: • How distributing leadership and decisions makes complex development environments more m...

Mar 22, 202153 min