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

About Krishna Krishna Bala, is currently Sr. VP of Engineering at Proscia, a leading provider of digital and computational pathology solutions, where he oversees the development of its enterprise pathology platform. He is an experienced healthcare technologist with more than 20 years of experience in software development, data engineering and AI/Machine-Learning. He is also an entrepreneur with several successful exits including an IPO as CTO/Founder. Krishna has a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Columbia University in New York. Today We Talked About Krishna's past Data and Healthcare Going from Product to Platform AI in Pathology Scrum of Scrums Conway's Law Breaking down Silos Product Management Robust Dialog Transparency Prioritization Quarterly Business Review (Retrospective) Connect with Krishna https://www.linkedin.com/in/kbala97/ Pathology Software for the Modern Digital Laboratory | Proscia   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!

About Hannah and Veronica Hannah Ryu is the Co-Founder of Oak Theory alongside her other half, Veronica Shelton. Oak Theory is a design studio specializing in UX/UI, web and application design. Their resumés have names on them like Disney, HBO, Salesforce, Estée Lauder, Oprah, Unilever, Sephora, Subaru, and MAC cosmetics, where Oak Theory now currently works with industry giants like Google and the University of California.  Leading with a human-centered yet deeply analytical approach, Hannah’s strategic know-how shapes Oak Theory’s mission to transform diverse perspectives into robust digital designs. Growing Oak Theory as one of the 0.1% of agencies founded by women of color posed its own challenges, but in just 3 years Hannah, alongside Veronica, has built a team that delivers exceptional, inclusive, and human-centered design. “Our cultural backgrounds and unique perspectives as a collective of diverse creatives help our clients show up in a more authentic, impactful, and purposeful way. It’s been a joy to enable that transformation for them.” Hannah’s career trajectory has been anything but ordinary. Starting out in a nonprofit, she then took on the role of a magazine assistant (think “Devil Wears Prada”), and ultimately ascended to a product manager position in a tech company. Her journey has given her perspective and clarity, making her uniquely equipped her to shape a workspace that prioritizes psychological safety, and promotes a culture that combines open-ended curiosity with solution-driven thinking. To put it simply, Veronica’s brain is literally built for design. Being a neurodivergent person, she has a knack for capturing complex concepts and ideas with visuals that anyone can relate to. Over the past 10+ years, she has partnered with brands of every size, from startups to Fortune 500 conglomerates, using her abilites to build impactful experiences across every medium, from print, to social media, to entire rebrands for top organizations. Her work is more than a profession; it’s a reflection of her life. Whether she’s exploring new technologies, mastering programming languages, or indulging in her gaming life with Apex Legends, Veronica’s hobbies are a testament to her dedication to her craft. A true globetrotter at heart, she eagerly anticipates the opportunity to draw fresh inspiration from her travels. The inception of Oak Theory, co-founded with Hannah during the pandemic, marked a pivotal moment in her career. Their mission: to forge a space where inclusivity is not just a goal, but the cornerstone of design philosophy. This endeavor is about more than creating sharp visuals and frustration-free navigation; it’s about making every user feel seen and accounted for. Parallel to her role at Oak Theory, Veronica is the driving force behind ChunkyBones, a mobile game development company. Here, her focus is on infusing mobile puzzle games with a feminine flair and bringing better representation to women of color in emerging media. Whether it’s through game development or her broader design work, Veronica’s vision is clear: to create experiences that resonate universally, transcending audience differences and showcasing the power of inclusive design. In everything she does, Veronica embodies the essence of a designer who not only captures complex concepts with ease but also paves the way for greater diversity and representation in the world of design and beyond.” Today We Talked About Hannah's background Veronica's background AI Diversity in Design Leadership Creativity Solving Problems Showing up Data-Driven UI/UX UI/UX Ecosphere Connect with Hannah LinkedIn - Hannah LinkedIn - Veronica 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,

About Vitaly Vitaly is the Chief Business Development Officer of the global Adtech video platform for publishers Viqeo. During his career, he managed to work with Google, META, Amazon Ads as well as the largest publishers & advertisers. He is also an Investor, Limited Partner at True Global Ventures (16+ projects). Vitaly has 15+ years of experience in AdTech, MarTech and project oversight, and 5+ years of experience in mentoring startups in AdTech and unit economics. Today We Talked About Vitaly's background AI in Ads Privacy Hiring Soft Skills and Hard Skills ad performance Connect with Vitaly LinkedIn Website X 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!

About Sean Sean Falconer has a lofty goal: to make the digital economy safer. And he's doing so one API at a time. A former competitive programmer, entrepreneur, and expert storyteller, his many accomplishments include designing the software used to create ICD-11 at the World Health Organization, founding Proven.com, and leading developer relations teams at Google. When he's not interviewing industry insiders as one of the hosts of the popular Software Engineering Daily podcast or diving into all things data security and privacy on Partially Redacted, you can find this world-class tech talent serving as Head of Marketing and Developer Relations at Skyflow, the world's first and only data privacy vault delivered as an API. Today We Talked About startups teaching developer advocacy data manipulation privacy abstracting privacy away from engineering   Connect with Sean Podcast LinkedIn Substack 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!

About Lisa Lisa Nestor, a seasoned strategist in the financial services industry, is the Chief of Strategy at Airtm, an innovative online platform that provides financial services to people around the world. With her guidance, Airtm has facilitated over 26M transactions and helped hundreds of thousands of individuals access financial markets. Passionate about building solutions that empower individuals by improving their financial capabilities, Lisa believes that everyone should have access to the tools they need to manage their finances effectively and participate in the global economy. Lisa has a strong background in digital assets, payments, and ecosystem development. An early employee of the Stellar Development Foundation, she led partnerships and ecosystem strategy from 2016 – 2020. She has played a crucial role in Airtm's success and has been instrumental in creating a platform that offers low fees and quick transaction times for users. Lisa Nestor's dedication to empowering individuals and improving financial markets has helped to make Airtm a leader in the online financial services space, and her insights and expertise will undoubtedly continue to shape the industry. Today We Talked About Lisa's background Micro Finance Blockchain Stellar Blockchain Connect with Lisa 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!

About Nick Nick is the Founder and CTO of Dagster Labs, the company behind Dagster, a popular open-source data orchestration platform. Before Dagster Labs, he was a Principal Engineer and Director at Facebook from 2009 to 2017, where he founded the Product Infrastructure team and co-created GraphQL. After cutting his teeth at Facebook, he pursued his passion for working on engineer pain points after hearing that data infrastructure was a big issue. He founded Dagster to address this issue, highlighting how quickly open-source projects were able to make an impact at legacy companies. Dagster couldn’t come at a more critical time as data and ML engineering are beginning to drive both human and business decision-making. Today We Talked About Nick's background Dagster's start Hiring Pete? GraphQL Productivity in Software Data Pipelines Machine Learning Artificial Intelligence Dagster University Connect with Nick LinkedIn Website X 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!

About Debbie Debbie Levitt, MBA, is the CXO of Delta CX, and since the mid-1990s has been a CX and UX consultant focused on strategy, research, training, and Human-Centered Design/User-Centered Design. She’s a change agent and business design consultant focused on helping companies of all sizes transform towards customer-centricity while using principles of Agile and Lean. She has worked in various CX and UX leadership and individual contributor roles at companies including Wells Fargo, Macy’s, StepStone, Sony Mobile, and Constant Contact. In the 2010s, San Francisco UX and marketing agencies had Debbie on speed dial. She completed projects for Traction, Fjord, LIFT, Rauxa, ROI·DNA, and Fiddlehead. Clients have given her the nickname, “Mary Poppins,” because she flies in, improves everything she can, sings a few songs, and flies away to her next adventure. Her new book, “Customers Know You Suck,” (2022) is the customer-centricity how-to manual. Start investigating what’s holding you back from improving customer-centricity. Learn how to be value-led: how much value we can frequently create for potential and current customers. In 2016, she became an O’Reilly author, but has since chosen to self-publish, and now has her own publishing imprint, Delta CX Media. Outside of CX work, and sometimes during CX work, Debbie enjoys singing symphonic prog goth metal, opera, and New Wave. You can also catch her on the Delta CX YouTube channel. Today We Talk About Delta CX Debbie's Background Being a Geek Guessing Lasagna Agile Assumptions Start with Research Focus on Quality and Value Research Experience Fake Empathy Accountability Tie customer experience to business metrics Connect with Debbie YouTube 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!

About Tom Tom Bairstow is a Creative Director, Designer & Founder of NorthHouse, a multi-award-winning creative studio focused on video & digital design for music, brands and live shows. NorthHouse are globally recognized as a leading studio within the music and live events industry, working with the likes of Coldplay, Beyoncé, Adele, Katy Perry, Shawn Mendes, Lewis Capaldi, Ferrari, GQ, BAFTA, The NFL SuperBowl Half-time Show, The UEFA Euro's, The Rugby World Cup, and many more. Most recently they projection mapped Buckingham Palace for the Queen's Jubilee and are currently working on shows globally. Tom grew up in Bradford, West Yorkshire, attending Bradford Grammar School, Bradford Art College and Leeds Metropolitan Uni, graduating in 2008 with a BA Hons in Graphic Art & Design where he specialized in moving-image. He pursued a career in music, playing in touring bands between 2006 - 2009 whilst developing a portfolio as a freelance video director and designer, creating live music visuals, music videos and event films. In 2010, he moved to London to continue his freelance video work, which gradually progressed into Tom founding NorthHouse in 2012. NorthHouse have gradually grown as a team over the years, beginning with just one employee in a tiny South London studio beneath a railway arch, into the global creative studio it is today with its UK studio in the heart of London Bridge. Tom is passionate about creative business and helping people to find a path within the creative industry. He is a creative mentor, the ambassador for media at Big Creative Education College, London and gives talks to schools and Universities around the UK. Today We Talk About Tom's background Live Shows Technologies roles in design AI in design Projection Mapping VR and AR 360 videos Growth mindset Playing to your strengths time blocking Connect with Tom 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!

Jon Perl, co-founder and CEO of QA Wolf, dives into the intricate world of quality assurance. He shares his journey from leading engineering teams to tackling automated testing challenges. Jon emphasizes the importance of learning from mistakes, particularly in high-stakes fields like healthcare. He discusses the transition to automated QA and the necessity of listening to user feedback. Additionally, he explores building a strong company culture in remote teams, stressing the value of personal connections and transparency in fostering success.

About Kasheef As a first-generation American born to parents of Caribbean descent, Kasheef attributes the alignment of his career and purpose to interventions and exposure to educational resources far outside of the community that raised him. With such a dichotomy between the two worlds he grew to know, an unshakeable commitment to be on the frontline of change was born. As the National Director of Dream.Org's tech program, Kasheef is responsible for the integrity of tech programs, trainings, and materials, ensuring that all offerings align with the mission, vision, and values of the organization. Today We Talked About Kasheef's background Racial Inequality Justice TECH Train Engage Change Humanize Building Empathy Martial Arts Imposter Syndrome Physical Fitness Discipline Resilience Stress Stay ready so don't have to get ready   Connect with Kasheef 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!