How can the lessons learned from a childhood of tinkering and a career influenced by tech visionaries like Bill Joy and Andy Bechtolsheim guide us toward a more sustainable future for technology? We’re joined today by Adrian Cockcroft, a trailblazer in cloud architecture at Netflix and a proponent of open source at Amazon Web Services, who is now channeling his expertise into the vital cause of sustainability in cloud computing. Adrian shares his journey from the early days of buildi...
Jan 31, 2024•55 min•Ep. 122
Connie Kwan is a seasoned product and marketing expert with over two decades of experience in a variety of fields. During her time at Microsoft and Atlassian, she honed her skills in simplifying complex concepts and navigating ambiguous situations with powerful questions. She’s currently putting those skills to work as the Chief Product Officer at Nobody Studios. Connie joins Barry O’Reilly to delve into the concept of unlearning perfectionism in the professional world, how to balance perfection...
Jan 17, 2024•28 min•Ep. 121
Sahra-Josephine Hjorth, co-founder and CEO of CanopyLab, joins Barry O'Reilly on this episode of the Unlearn Podcast to explore the interconnectedness of different skills, fields and interests. Sahra’s career has spanned diplomacy, startups, creating social learning experiences and inventing the first AI course authoring tool, and she has been recognized for her innovative contributions to education, including being selected for Barack Obama's Leaders in Europe program in 2022. Sarah and Barry t...
Jan 03, 2024•39 min•Ep. 120
Dr. John Lowry, CEO of Thrivence, a management consulting firm based in Nashville, TN, joins Barry O'Reilly on this episode of the Unlearn Podcast to talk about John's journey from being a lawyer to teaching negotiation skills worldwide. John uses his diverse background in law, consulting, entrepreneurship, coaching, and university administration to bring a unique perspective to negotiation. He currently serves as the President of the Lowry Group and teaches at Pepperdine University's Straus Ins...
Dec 06, 2023•35 min•Ep. 119
What if we have barely scratched the surface of human potential? According to Nichol Bradford, a pioneer in technology and human transformation, we need to challenge the assumption that machines will surpass humanity. Nichol has led operations for gaming giants like Activision Blizzard and Epic Games in China. She built communities that connected people globally through the power of shared narratives. Now she lectures at Stanford and Singularity University, while investing in startups focused on...
Nov 22, 2023•35 min•Ep. 118
Drewe Broughton - “The Fear Coach” - is a former professional footballer who now helps athletes and executives overcome obstacles and unlock their potential. His approach involves guiding his clients to explore their true selves and confront difficult emotions like fear and shame. He believes that people can find genuine, lasting success through self-awareness and personal fulfillment. In this episode of Unlearn, Drewe joins Barry O’Reilly to share thoughtful perspectives on fear, vulnerabi...
Nov 14, 2023•37 min•Ep. 117
Sophie Wade is a thought leader in workforce innovation, flexible working, and the future of work. With an enviable background in strategic development, financing, and entrepreneurship, Sophie has become a sought-after speaker, author, and consultant, helping organizations navigate the ever-changing landscape of work. She is particularly known for her insights into how businesses can adapt to the changing nature of work, embracing flexibility, and leveraging technology, including AI. Sophie is t...
Oct 25, 2023•38 min•Ep. 116
Hope Gurion is a seasoned professional with a background in product management, business development, and coaching within the tech industry. As the founder of Fearless Product, she plays a pivotal role in advising and supporting product leaders and teams. Hope's career traces back to the early stages of the internet, where she contributed to shaping digital experiences. She held positions at AOL, Jobster, CareerBuilder, and Beachbody, and she brings a wealth of experience in dealing with various...
Oct 13, 2023•30 min•Ep. 115
Peter Walker is a data-driven content marketer known for his expertise in using data and analytics to create insightful and engaging content. In his role as Head of Insights at Carta, Peter's work often revolves around visualizing data in a way that makes it accessible to a broad audience, helping people understand complex topics and trends. He has contributed significantly to the field of data-driven content marketing and is known for his ability to provide valuable insights through his work. I...
Sep 27, 2023•33 min•Ep. 114
With a strong emphasis on rapid development and accelerating ideas into tangible products, Adam Bragg believes in the ethos of "launching". He introduced the concept of "activity networks," a fresh take on community-building, where people congregate based on shared activities rather than just online interactions. He has been involved in several projects that unite diverse groups of enthusiasts, giving Adam rare insight into the evolving landscape of tech and human connection. In this episode of ...
Sep 13, 2023•34 min•Ep. 113
Marcos Fernandez is a visionary in the fintech sector, characterized by his profound understanding of its evolving dynamics and the importance of strategic collaborations across industries. His vast network, ranging from prominent banks to venture capital, underlines his dedication to fostering strategic partnerships and ensuring financial inclusivity. He champions the creation of innovative ways to finance the future startups of tomorrow. In this episode of Unlearn, Marcos joins Barry O’R...
Aug 30, 2023•30 min•Ep. 112
Casey Ebro is a veteran editor who has significantly contributed to the publishing world. She formerly served as an Executive Editor with the Business Group at McGraw Hill Professional. In this role, she was responsible for acquiring, editing, and publishing business books in various subjects such as leadership, workplace culture, entrepreneurship, and innovation. She has been responsible for bestsellers and notable titles, including “Madoff Talks” by Jim Campbell, which inspired a Netflix docum...
Aug 16, 2023•34 min•Ep. 111
Kyle Hermans is the CEO and co-founder of Be Courageous, a globally recognized business consultancy that helps ambitious leaders and brands grow and transform. They do this through improving company culture, strategy, innovation, technology, research, and ESG/SDG. Kyle has led transformation initiatives for hundreds of Fortune 1000 companies and startups throughout his distinguished career. He is a faculty member at Singularity University and a guest lecturer at several prestigious institutions ...
Aug 02, 2023•40 min•Ep. 110
Kyle Byrd is a seasoned product strategy and uncertainty leader with a background in industrial design. He was the former Head of Product at Atlassian, where he led the product strategy for Jira Align, a leading enterprise agile planning software. He is also the founder of the Uncertainty Project, a community initiative aimed at exploring decision-making models to manage uncertainty. In this episode of the Unlearn Podcast, Kyle joins Barry O’Reilly to share his unique perspective on embracing un...
Jul 19, 2023•35 min•Ep. 109
Wendy Steele is a changemaker and has the honor of being recognized on Forbes’ 50 over 50. She is the founder and CEO of Impact100, a global network of chapters that each raise $100,000 to fund grants for local nonprofits. In the past 20 years, Impact100 has awarded more than $123 million in grants, making it one of the largest women-led philanthropic organizations in the world. In this episode of the Unlearn Podcast, Wendy joins Barry O’Reilly to share her story of how she founded Impact100 and...
Jul 05, 2023•34 min•Ep. 108
Daniel Stillman, an executive coach, and facilitator, is an authority in the field of conversational leadership. With a wealth of experience as a conversation designer and an author, Daniel has dedicated his career to enhancing the way we communicate. His book, Good Talk: How to Design Conversations That Matter , is recognized for its impactful insights into communication dynamics and strategies. In this episode of the Unlearn Podcast, Daniel joins Barry O’Reilly to explore the importance of col...
Jun 21, 2023•35 min•Ep. 107
Diana Kander is a keynote speaker, bestselling author, and a vanguard when it comes to memorable pitches. She is the author of Go Big or Go Home , a book that teaches readers the art and science of making impactful pitches for film, sports, business, and philanthropy. Her pioneering research reveals the direct correlation between emotion and memory, offering insights into enhancing audience engagement and recall. In this episode of the Unlearn Podcast, Diana joins Barry O’Reilly in a thought-pro...
Jun 07, 2023•28 min•Ep. 106
Etienne de Bruin is a visionary community builder, successful startup founder, and accomplished author. Overcoming personal struggles and adversity, he has channeled his experience into creating an emotionally intelligent community for CTOs called 7CTOs, now with 300 members globally. In addition to leading this thriving community, Etienne penned the impactful book, CTO Excellence in 100 Days, where he articulates the essence of heart-centered leadership and empathetic networking. With his sight...
May 24, 2023•39 min•Ep. 105
Chris Butler is a seasoned technology leader with a proven ability to lead teams, drive innovation, and deliver results in a fast-paced and dynamic industry. He is a highly accomplished executive with over 20 years of experience in the industry. Prior to his current role at Google, Chris held several leadership positions at companies like Microsoft, Facebook Reality Labs, Kayak, and Waze, where he gained extensive experience in the areas of product management, engineering, and business developme...
May 10, 2023•36 min•Ep. 102
Have you ever wondered why so many people fail to land their dream job after attending a boot camp or taking an online course? In this episode of Unlearn Podcast, Barry O'Reilly chats with Sarah Doody, a UX researcher and designer, and the founder and CEO of the Career Strategy Lab, a program that helps UX and product professionals at all career stages navigate the job search and articulate their skills and experience to help them grow. Sarah talks about her journey of designing her career and h...
Apr 26, 2023•45 min•Ep. 103
On this episode of Unlearn Podcast, Barry O'Reilly hosts Anurag Gupta, founder and CEO of Shoreline, a product that helps reliability engineers reduce the “heavy lifting of dealing with incidents” so they can focus on improving their systems. Anurag is a notable leader in the reliability space: his experience includes joining Oracle in its infancy, and over seven years at AWS, where he ran their analytics and relational database services. In this episode, he explores the importance of embracing ...
Apr 12, 2023•30 min•Ep. 102
Accountability is a buzzword in business, but is the traditional notion of assigning ownership to a single individual the most effective approach? In this episode of the Unlearn Podcast, Barry O'Reilly is joined by Kate Tarling, author of The Service Organization: How To Deliver and Lead Successful Services, Sustainably. Kate is the founder of a services company and a service leader and designer who has made a significant impact in public and private organizations, especially in the UK Governmen...
Mar 29, 2023•31 min•Ep. 101
“Joining a startup is irrational for most people. Launching a venture studio to build a hundred startups is totally irrational to pretty much everybody,” Barry O’Reilly remarks. “You've got two sticks, you rubbed them together, and you're telling people that this is going to turn into a 500-story skyscraper." On this show, Barry celebrates this 100th episode of the Unlearn Podcast with Mark McNally, co-founder of Nobody Studios. Mark, who has started 14 companies in his career, shares that what ...
Mar 15, 2023•27 min•Ep. 100
Pascal Finette is a well-respected entrepreneur and innovation expert with a wealth of knowledge and insights to share about achieving success in the business world. Having led entrepreneurship and open innovation tracks at Singularity University, Pascal is an experienced mentor and coach with a focus on amplifying positive change in the world. He is an advocate for finding companies with a greater purpose and mission, and emphasizes the importance of taking risks and being open to new opportuni...
Mar 01, 2023•31 min•Ep. 99
In this episode of Unlearn Podcast, host Barry O'Reilly and two experienced tech executives, Melissa Perri and Gibson Biddle, meet for a Personal Board of Directors meeting. Melissa Perri is the founder and CEO of Produx Labs, a product management consultancy, and author of Escaping the Build Trap. She is also a Senior Lecturer at Harvard Business School. Gibson Biddle is a former Chief Product Officer at Netflix and renowned product leader and speaker. Using the CAMPS Model (community, autonomy...
Feb 15, 2023•53 min•Ep. 98
On this episode of the Unlearn podcast, host Barry O'Reilly is joined by Michael Wu, Chief AI Strategist at PROS. Michael is a seasoned expert in the field of AI, with over 25 years of experience and a background in math, physics, and molecular biology. Michael shares his journey from studying nonlinear dynamics and the brain to working in the tech industry and how his diverse education has helped him approach problems from multiple angles. He and Barry also talk about how influence spreads, and...
Feb 01, 2023•40 min•Ep. 97
Gisela Martinez is the Executive Director for Clinical Research at Merck, an organization who has brought important medicines and vaccines to the world through intensive biopharmaceutical research for more than 130 years. Working at Merck for over 20 years, Gisela has done it all in various roles. She is a proud mom, a passionate, inclusive, and people-oriented leader, and DE&I ally. In this episode of Unlearn, Gisela joins Barry O'Reilly to share how she found success by diversifying her skills...
Jan 18, 2023•25 min•Ep. 96
Barry O’Reilly wraps up 2022 in this solo episode of the Unlearn Podcast. He shares five unlearning stories from listeners across the globe. He recaps how Nobody Studios has evolved ahead of the equity crowdfunding campaign launch and shares their plans for 2023. Rewind Despite its young age, Nobody Studios has been recognized as one of the Top 10 Venture Studios of 2022. Barry comments that this accolade is humbling and motivates Nobody to prove that it’s deserved by building themselves over ti...
Dec 07, 2022•20 min•Ep. 95
Victor Chima and Boina Babu are the founders of LearnCrunch, business partners, and former co-workers at Spotify. LearnCrunch is a live cohort-based interactive learning platform that helps tech professionals learn business-critical skills they can apply on the job to increase their impact. Both Boina and Victor are continuous learners, working in data and other industries to build the best learning experience for tech professionals. In this episode of Unlearn, Boina and Victor discuss upskillin...
Nov 23, 2022•34 min•Ep. 94
Sharena Rice is a neuroscientist, cybernetician, and storyteller. As an advisor and consultant to startups, she works at the intersection of artificial intelligence and natural intelligence, and health and wellness. Her life’s goal is to take as much suffering in as she can in this lifetime and invert it. Focused on her health and wellness domain, Sharena helps Nobody Studios through her background knowledge of biomedicine and startup skills. In this episode of Unlearn, Sharena shares her experi...
Nov 09, 2022•32 min•Ep. 93
