The G&T Sessions Hugo Farinha, Co-Founder & CTO of Virtuoso, Navigating the Future of Software Testing
In this episode of the G&T Sessions podcast, Andrew Turner speaks with Hugo Farinha, co-founder and CTO of Virtuoso, about the evolution of technology, the role of AI in software testing, and the importance of embracing change in engineering teams. They discuss Hugo's journey as a CTO, the democratisation of software testing, and the future of work in an AI-driven world. The conversation highlights the need for continuous learning and adaptation in the face of technological advancements, as well as the importance of collaboration between technical and non-technical teams.
Takeaways
- Hugo Farinha is a co-founder and CTO focused on autonomous testing.
- AI is transforming the role of testing in software development.
- Embracing AI can alleviate anxiety in engineering teams.
- Democratising testing allows more people to contribute to quality assurance.
- The shift left approach enables earlier testing in the development cycle.
- Human roles will evolve but remain essential in an AI-driven world.
- Feedback from customers is crucial for product development.
- The CTO role will adapt but remain important in the future.
- Technology is a tool that can empower humans to innovate.
- Continuous learning and adaptation are key to success in tech.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Background
02:20 The Role of a CTO and the Impact of AI
05:41 Embracing Change in Engineering Teams
11:20 Revolutionising Software Testing
16:54 Democratising Software Testing
21:56 The Future of AI in Software Development
26:07 Overcoming Obstacles and Building Resilience
27:15 The Importance of Customer Feedback
29:55 Navigating Peaks and Valleys in Leadership
33:24 Evolving from Technical to People Leadership
36:10 The Future of the CTO Role
39:43 The Role of Agents in Software Development
43:28 Human Creativity in an AI-Driven World
47:21 Technology and Human Evolution
Hugo Farinha is the Co-Founder and CTO of Virtuoso QA, where he leads the development of an autonomous testing platform that is transforming how enterprises validate software at scale. He is also the Co-Founder and CEO of TestSlick, a next-generation TestOps platform designed to unify test management, results, environments, datasets, and execution into a seamless, developer-friendly experience.
With a career spanning over two decades, Hugo has built mission-critical systems across telecom, media, healthcare, and revenue assurance.
At Virtuoso QA, he pioneered the use of Agentic AI to shift quality assurance from a reactive, manual process to a proactive, AI-driven practice — enabling organisations to test faster, adapt to change, and deliver software with confidence. At TestSlick, he’s now focused on redefining how teams manage the entire testing lifecycle, delivering the observability and operational tooling that modern software teams need to stay ahead.
Hugo began his career at Alcatel-Lucent, automating legacy infrastructure in large-scale modernisation programs. He then led engineering teams at Viatecla during the internet boom, building national-scale digital platforms for media, travel, and public services. Later, he joined WeDo Technologies, a global leader in revenue assurance and fraud management for telecoms, where he helped scale complex enterprise-grade systems that processed massive volumes of transactional data across continents.
He is especially focused on the intersection of automation, reasoning, and user intention — designing systems that not only perform tasks, but understand goals. Hugo frequently speaks on the future of testing, agentic systems, and the measurable business value of practical AI.
Links
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