A Geek Leader Podcast - inspiring technical and creative leaders around the world

About James James Turk is an author, executive coach, keynote speaker, and CEO of The Turk Group, a boutique learning and development consulting firm. With over 25 years of experience, he has designed and delivered leadership solutions to clients globally, coaching and training upwards of 10,000 people. His extensive experience provides a unique perspective on effective leadership. Clients include Walmart, NYSE, BuzzFeed, Spotify, Seattle Genetics and others.. Influenced by his background as a trained actor, James builds strong, trusting client relationships. He holds a BS in Liberal Arts from The New School and gained valuable HR experience at Goldman Sachs, Random House, and P&O Nedlloyd. Clients highly value his forward-thinking insights. A self-diagnosed “geek” in behavioral science, James relishes new ideas and perspectives on the drivers of performance. He is an avid lover of food, travel, art, and culture. Today We Talked About James’s background The Giving Game Fear Emotional Intelligence Self-Awareness 4 considerations from the Secret Generosity What kind I bring vs. What is mine. F45 – First 45 Adding Value Language around your mission Investing in people climate vs culture Transparent and Vulnerable Is this a “Me decision, or a We decision”?   Connect With James Website LinkedIn Book Leave me a tip $ Click here to Donate to the show I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to Apple Podcasts and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again! #1 in Technical Leadership

About Trevor Trevor Francis, Founder & CEO of 46 Labs, is an innovator in telecom with a relentless drive to improve global connectivity. With decades of experience building voice and business connectivity across several continents, Trevor has tackled some of the most complex challenges in telecom—whether modernizing infrastructure in developing nations, integrating networks after mergers, or streamlining enterprise communication. From his early days solving telecom issues in Central America to developing cutting-edge software for global enterprises, his ability to turn fragmented network systems into seamless, high-performance solutions has positioned 46 Labs as a leader in digital transformation. Today We Talked About Trevor’s background The Telecom space Copper telecom Latency Analog to Digital Wireless is the future Wireless Security Connect With Trevor Website LinkedIn Leave me a tip $ Click here to Donate to the show I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to Apple Podcasts and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again! #1 in Technical Leadership

About Jamie Jamie Schwartzman is the Chief Creative Strategist and founder of Flux Branding, a premier branding agency with over 25 years of experience transforming businesses. An expert in corporate rebranding, Jamie developed the IDEA Method—a proprietary four-step branding process that reduces risk, reveals a brand’s true identity, and guides it to success. Under his leadership, Flux Branding has revitalized public and private companies, including helping Motor Car Parts of America [NADSQ:MPAA] boost their stock price from $2 to $38 per share through strategic rebranding. Jamie’s expertise was featured on Gordon Ramsay’s TV show “Food Stars,” where he appeared as an Expert Brand Strategist, coaching the winning contestant for the grand prize. For over a decade, he has shared industry insights through his “First Tuesday” newsletter, which includes monthly essays with branding insights. Passionate about crafting authentic brand stories that achieve growth, Jamie believes that change is the only constant. He and his team at Flux Branding continue to inspire and lead brands to embrace change, think strategically, and communicate boldly. He’s known for his wit, wisdom, and ingenuity— making him a seasoned advisor to business leaders who demand performance. Today We Talked About Jamie’s background IDEA Method Ignite Distill Energize Activate What is branding? How you feel about the company What is brilliant What is special What is unique Culture… Diamonds Leaders Eat Last Purpose finding Passage – Explorer Lead the way Small steps consistently taken, can yield a big journey   Connect with Jamie Website LinkedIn Leave me a tip $ Click here to Donate to the show I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to Apple Podcasts and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again! #1 in Technical Leadership

About Piers Piers Fallowfield-Cooper is a seasoned executive mentor and leadership coach with over 30 years of experience as a senior executive, having held roles such as Managing Director, President, CEO, and Chairman in global finance, technology, and e-publishing industries. Despite a late start due to undiagnosed dyslexia, Piers has built a remarkable career, leveraging his deep business acumen and passion for personal development to guide over 60 C-suite executives worldwide in the past decade. He holds an MSc in Coaching and a Certificate in Applied Neuroscience, blending academic expertise with practical experience to address diverse leadership challenges. Piers began his career in the financial markets of London, quickly advancing to roles in Chicago, where he honed his skills in futures and commodity markets. He later transitioned into general management, focusing on global sales and marketing strategies across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, gaining valuable insights into cultural differences. As President and later Chairman of the International Division of Oster Communications Inc., he played a pivotal role in expanding the business, increasing its enterprise value fivefold over 11 years while elevating service reliability, customer satisfaction, and client retention to top-tier levels. Known for his holistic approach to leadership, Piers has been featured by the Financial Times for his insights on intuition in business and as an inspiring leader. He is the author of Are You Still The Future?, a book that draws on his journey and those of his clients to offer thoughtful leadership guidance. With a reputation for insight, wisdom, and compassion, Piers customizes his mentoring to help executives discover their “internal compass,” fostering both personal and professional growth. Based in London, he continues to inspire leaders globally, fueled by his love for travel, music, and lifelong learning. Today We Talked About Piers’ background Steven Covey Emotional Bank Account Is this a scrimish or is this a battle?? Lose the scrimishes, win the battles Law of Requisite Variety Adaptability is what survives. Be Adaptable and Adoptable… Get a Mentor Work with What’s working… and do more and more of it. Find a world in which you fit, or create a world to suit you. What are your fatal flaws?   Connect with Piers LinkedIn Website Book   Leave me a tip $ Click here to Donate to the show I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to Apple Podcasts and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again! #1 in Technical Leadership

About Matt As a technical systems-builder, Matt Van Itallie is passionate about problems that are hard and problems that matter. He co-founded Sema Technologies Inc., which he currently leads as CEO, to help organizations drive better outcomes through their software. Sema’s flagship solution, Comprehensive Codebase Scans, has earned a reputation as the leading codebase scanning tool for the technical due diligence process. Having evaluated more than $1T in value for leading private equity firms and enterprise M&A teams, Sema has built one of the most comprehensive datasets to provide actionable suggestions to engineering organizations. With this foundation, Matt is leading the development of the AI Code Monitor, which helps engineering organizations increase developer productivity and address the regulatory risks of generative AI code. Matt’s interest in technology began in his childhood. The son of a computer programmer and a computer programmer turned mathematician, code was a part of his upbringing. At a young age, he developed an interest in logic, data, and information systems. His experience as a Boy Scout and ultimately an Eagle Scout taught him invaluable lessons, in particular a commitment to the civic good and the importance of “leaving campgrounds better than you found them.” Matt graduated with High Honors from Swarthmore College and then with honors from Harvard Law School. He spent his early years consulting to public and private sector institutions including a stint as an Engagement Manager at McKinsey. He left management consulting to serve in urban school system reform, focused on operational improvements to deliver better outcomes for students. Matt served as Baltimore City Public Schools’ Chief Accountability Officer, where he built analytics systems to support educational reform initiatives for a $1.2B school district with 80,000 students. Following his work in school reform, Matt worked in edtech and human services software companies backed by a leading private equity firm. There he developed a passion for engineering metrics that were understandable to tech and non-tech audiences, and for improving non-functional requirements of codebases to help organizations deliver better outcomes. Matt believes that human-machine relationships are one of the most pressing issues of our time. In his work, he sees a clear connection between the advancement of Generative AI and the empowerment of engineers to improve outcomes. When he’s not building the AI Code Monitor or thinking about code as data and CTO dashboards, Matt enjoys hiking with his wife, cooking with his kids, and throwing dinner parties to bring diverse minds together. Today We Talked About Matt’s background GenAI in software development Risks with GenAI Code Security Maintainability Risk Copyright protection Investors Inception – Vibe Coding Code inspection Deep Learning model AI for Product Roadmaps   Connect with Matt LinkedIn Website Leave me a tip $ Click here to Donate to the show I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to Apple Podcasts and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again! #1 in Technical Leadership

About Anatoly Anatoly Kvitnitsky is the visionary CEO and Founder of AIorNot.com, a cutting-edge platform dedicated to combatting misinformation and advancing compliance solutions. Leveraging his extensive expertise in corporate development, strategy, and business growth, Anatoly has propelled AIorNot.com to the forefront of the battle against misinformation. With a proven track record in leadership roles at American Express and Trulioo, coupled with his mentorship at Plug and Play Tech Center, Anatoly excels in driving innovation and forging strategic partnerships. Today We Talked About Anatoly’s background AI Image Detection Deep Fakes Same.dev Legality What we need to know What’s next in GenAI? Connect with Anatoly Website LinkedIn Leave me a tip $ Click here to Donate to the show I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to Apple Podcasts and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again! #1 in Technical Leadership

About Andy As CEO of Accelerance, Andy helps companies find the talent they need to scale high- performing, globally distributed software engineering and product development teams. Andy and Accelerance travel the world, assessing and certifying development partners with a proprietary matching system, so clients can connect with confidence to the top 1% of outsourcing partners worldwide. The Accelerance team also helps clients optimize their outsourcing partner relationships through mutual understanding, communication, and effective management. Today We Talked About Andy’s background Near shore Development Peace Corp Culture Managing teams across the globe Why Costa Rica? Importance of team building Servant Leadership Software Without Borders Connect with Andy LinkedIn Website Book Leave me a tip $ Click here to Donate to the show I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to Apple Podcasts and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again! #1 in Technical Leadership

About Rand Rand Selig has an MBA from Stanford and earned undergraduate degrees in mathematics and psychology. He has managed hundreds of complex projects in his career and has run his own financial services firm for over 35 years. He has lived and worked in Europe, Asia, Mexico, and the Caribbean. He was a Little League coach and Scoutmaster and has served on numerous boards for decades. He is a roll-up-your-sleeves conservationist committed to helping others and Mother Earth by making annual philanthropic contributions. This book is based on extensive research and a wide range of experiences he has had going through life. Having a high set point for happiness and being relentlessly positive has been invaluable to him in overcoming his challenges and setbacks. He is committed to personal growth and is willing to learn from his mistakes. Rand believes he can design his own life and believes others can too.  Rand takes time every week to rest and recharge. He loves reading, watching movies, hiking, and playing tennis. He lives with his wife of 42 years in Mill Valley, California. They have two children and two granddaughters. Today We Talked About Rand’s background Rand’s past episode Don’t Balance work and life… integrate. Avoiding Burnouts take care of yourself rest exercise be involved in work you like and work you are good at get to know you co-workers Ask Questions Life long learning risk taking curiousity Defining Success Your way Good communication Ask some more questions The hardest part is the relationship, not the work Managing Transitions be resillant bounce back be mental tough Connect with Rand Website LinkedIn Book Leave me a tip $ Click here to Donate to the show I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to Apple Podcasts and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again! #1 in Technical Leadership

About Heather Heather is an accomplished product management executive with over 30 years of experience helping companies innovate and scale to successful outcomes. As an active leader in the evolution of Product Management, she has led product teams at every stage, from startups to IPOs and acquisitions, specializing in building strong product cultures, developing leadership talent, and delivering exceptional results. Her expertise spans consumer and B2B products, with a track record of driving growth and innovation in fast-paced environments. ‍Heather’s proven track record includes leading product innovation as Chief Product Officer at The RealReal during its high growth phase leading to a $1.6B IPO, and serving as Head of Product at Hautelook where she built the product team and practice that supported the company’s rapid growth to 4M members and $270M acquisition by Nordstrom. Heather founded The Product Consult to build a best-in-class team of product managers that embed with clients under contract to drive strategic initiatives, streamline execution, and deliver impactful results. She happily sits at the intersection of humans and technology – with a curious mind about what technology is only now making possible and a compassionate heart that loves to see people soar. Heather brings a passion for coaching product leaders, managers, and teams, helping them cut through the noise, execute with clarity, and reach their full potential with confidence. Today We Talked About Heather’s Background Product Development Brandmen Product Owner vs. Product Manager Getting Things Done vs. Getting the “Right” Things Done Motivation – Drive (Autonomy, Mastery, Purpose) How to get into Product Management? Traits of Product Managers Influence without Authority Inspirational, Motivational Strategic Curious Likable Marshall Goldsmith AI Coaching Feedback Connect With Heather LinkedIn Website Leave me a tip $ Click here to Donate to the show I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to Apple Podcasts and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again! #1 in Technical Leadership

About Toby Toby Mills is the founder and CEO of Entopy, a leading innovator in supply chain visibility based near Cambridge, UK. Under his leadership, Entopy transitioned from a hardware-focused business to a pure-play software company in 2020, driving an impressive 300% year-on-year growth. Before launching Entopy, Toby held several management roles in the retail sector, gaining valuable experience that now informs his approach to transforming supply chain technology. Today We Talked About Background Digital Twins Replicating the physical in digital terms Testing Components Predicting Critical Infrastructure Data inputs GenAI The future of AI in business leadership and decision-making Human Handoffs Find a clear purpose first Connect with Toby LinkedIn Website Leave me a tip $ Click here to Donate to the show I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to Apple Podcasts and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again!