CTO Confessions Brought to you by IT Labs

In business development and in particular startups, we talk about pivoting whenever the situation has changed or an even better idea has emerged. One that solves a real problem and pain point in the real world. Well, our guest in this episode of CTO Confessions, Eoin O'Brien, tells about a huge pivot that led to a big success. He is the CTO of Tracworx, a company that offers a cloud-hosted Wi-Fi-based patient flow management and asset tracking solution. This is all in the spirit of improving operational efficiency within organizations. Eoin joins us to share his leadership and startup journey and lessons learned so far: Key takeaways from the podcast with Eoin are: • Having a varied set of leaders allows for a blend of leadership that can create a strong foundation for success. • Pivoting is not just a cool Jazz dance move, its an important and potentially high return business tool • Build a good strong, resilient team around you, so your business has resilience in tough times Our Guest: Eoin O'Brien LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eoin-obrien/ Website: https://www.tracworx.ai/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/tracworx_ Intro and background music: Craig MacArthur - Power Shutoff (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x74iB_jtauw)

There are mountain ranges of it! There are oceans of it! Not only do we climb the mountains, but we also swim in it as well. Yes! We are talking about data. And yes, it's an understatement to say there is a bit of it about. To help us tech leaders get clarity on this bonkers situation, we have Arend-Jan Nijhuis, a data expert who joins us on CTO confessions, to share his experience and some tips about how to harness its potential. Also, some sharing of cases where the use of data went curly at the edges and created a huge undesirable impact. Key takeaways from the podcast with Arend are: • How companies and governments are using big data and the pitfalls and benefits of using it • The gravitation towards harmonized systems so data can be shared in standardized forms • Some tips on outsourcing (Arends experience) • The importance of multidisciplinary teams so that innovation can emerge from the exportation of data • The role of an analytical translator to help understand and use the data Our Guest: Arend-Jan Nijhuis LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arendjannijhuis/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ArendJanNijhuis Intro and background music: Craig MacArthur - Power Shutoff (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x74iB_jtauw)

We are all served by them in these modern times. Those helpful men and women bringing our orders to our homesteads. The complexity of this last logistical mile becomes evident as one scales, and constraints become evident. Expected costs are being driven down, and time to deliver ever smaller. In this episode, we speak to the CTO of Stuart, a company in this space; Lachlan Laycok joins us to celebrate his lessons learnt and his team's efforts. Key takeaways from the podcast are: • Making your life easier as a leader by employing people better than you • How using data sharpens the edge of the competitive blade • The importance of addressing the really good, the bad, and the damn right ugly. Those towers-of-knowledge and toxic members of your team Our Guest: Lachlan Laycock LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lachlanlaycock/ Website: https://stuart.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/Stuart_Delivery Intro and background music: Craig MacArthur - Power Shutoff (www.youtube.com/watch?v=x74iB_jtauw)

A techie who started out as a system administrator, and slowly worked his way up the ladder, ending up as the Director of DevOps at TUI Travel Group, the world’s number one holiday business group – Christian Rudolph. We sat down with him in an episode, and he just let us pick his brain as we tried to see what’s really ‘techy’ that’s going on behind the scenes in a big corporation like TUI, as well as learn about his experience as a tech leader. From his humble beginnings, all the way to leading teams in a big company, Christian has wisdom that we’re sure many of you would like to hear – from his advice on how to put together high performing teams, all the way to how he manages them, there’s not much else to say than: this is an episode you must hear. Key takeaways from this podcast: - How leading teams can actually help you maintain your passion - Why maintaining team spirit is more important than ensuring efficiency - How trust shapes teams and ensures longevity efficiency Our Guest: Christian Rudolph LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-rudolph-592ab841/ Website: https://www.tuigroup.com/en-en Twitter: https://twitter.com/chrisru82 Intro and background music: Craig MacArthur - Power Shutoff (www.youtube.com/watch?v=x74iB_jtauw)

Most tech leaders can be found plying their trade in the private sector, but there are those with big dreams and the willingness to make the world a better place by rolling up their sleeves, and getting down in the mud. Ian Gordon, Head of Data Architecture @ Highway England is just that. This starry-eyed young techie with big dreams and goals understood what it means to provide value for customers and users, and just set about doing that by working with a network bigger than the internet – the road network. We talked with Ian about his journey through tech world, how he envisages roads in the 21st century, and how to find pockets of imperfection in which one can make a telling contribution. Key takeaways from the podcast: - How large amounts of data can actually hinder progress if they lack quality - Why looking at the bigger picture is a “quick fix” when looking for areas in which you need to improve - How do the public and private sector differ in terms of functionality and keeping up with the times Our Guest: Ian Gordon LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/igordon/ Website: https://highwaysengland.co.uk/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/infradatas Intro and background music: Craig MacArthur - Power Shutoff (www.youtube.com/watch?v=x74iB_jtauw)

What started out as a quest to develop a tool for management, tracking progress, and streamlining work processes, turned into a business which is helping other businesses deliver high quality products and improving workflow! The man behind this business? Gerry Sweeney, the Founder & CEO at Hornbill - a techie with a natural affinity for technology who loves automation and solving problems, and a tech leader with a vast experience in various IT fields. In this episode, we talk with Gerry about his journey as a tech leader, how it started, how it’s going, as well as his thoughts on how teams can become more efficient, and why the concept of uniqueness in the tech world is so much more than just providing the next big thing. Key takeaways from the podcast are: - How creativity is not always about something new, but an improvement on something existing - Why focusing on providing value for your customers almost always delivers success - How to learn from past mistakes by revisiting them every now and then Our Guest: Gerry Sweeney LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gerrysweeney/ Website: https://gerrysweeney.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/gerrysweeney Intro and background music: Craig MacArthur - Power Shutoff (www.youtube.com/watch?v=x74iB_jtauw)

When we think of tech leaders, we usually think of people who knew where they wanted to be in the future, always with a clear picture of the destination, or position, that they were going after. And sometimes it’s like that, but it’s far from a straight line to the top – just ask Adam Leach, Chief Information Officer at Nominet. A techie who let the current drive him around the industry, but who knew how to take advantage of that and get to where he is now – a tech leader. In this episode, we talked with him about his seemingly simple journey through the world of tech, his efforts in making the virtual space more accessible to users, and his effective hands-off approach when leading his teams! Key takeaways from the podcast: - How to lead teams with little effort and maximum focus on the important stuff - Why it’s important to think creatively instead of preventively - How awareness of problems in general makes it easier to look at them from various perspectives Our Guest: Adam Leach LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamleach/ Website: https://www.nominet.uk/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/adamhleach Intro and background music: Craig MacArthur - Power Shutoff (www.youtube.com/watch?v=x74iB_jtauw)

Aside from proficiency in his or her field, a tech leader must also know how to treat people fairly to get the best out of them, but also empower them. As Mike Villalobos, Director of Engineering at Fair.com, shared with us in this episode, a leader must be able to see the furthest, but never forget the valuable input of those around him. “A high-performance team is not just about everyone delivering day-in day-out, they also need to feel they belong there, to see themselves doing it in that company for years to come - that’s the magic of leadership.” Key takeaways from this episode: • Transparency and open communication create a good working environment and motivates people • Being proficient in a skill doesn’t automatically make you a leader • Your team might have a better solution to a problem - trust them and listen to them Our Guest: Mike Villalobos LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mcvillalobos Intro and background music: Craig MacArthur - Power Shutoff (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x74iB_jtauw)

"The intersection of machine learning and real estate - Bringing data science to land investment decisions" It's always interesting to hear from people who have traveled from one field and arrived at a very different one. Well, here is another great example of this. Marios Tsatsos, CTO of Honest AI, once was a scientist in the Quantum mechanics arena and had a doctorate in the field. He now transfers his algoristic and scientific mindset to a new field solving real business challenges. Key Takeaways from the podcast are: - Bringing the tools of science to business: Quantum scientist to Data scientist - How the application of AI to real estate asset management speeds up the decision-making process by up to 30% - How Honest AI is making commercial real estate investing great again Our Guest: Marios Tsatsos LinkedIn: Marios Tsatsos Website: Artificial Intelligence for Real Estate Investors | Honest AI Intro and background music: Craig MacArthur - Power Shutoff (www.youtube.com/watch?v=x74iB_jtauw)

We here at IT Labs love people who are bees. What we mean by that is people with varied careers bring opportunities for cross-pollination. Cross-pollination of ideas and new ways of doing things. Like bee's these individuals are the backbone of innovation and industry leaps. They play an important part in the industry landscape, buzzing around doing their thing. Simultaneously, creating bridges for all kinds of concepts to travel and blend with the organization at the other end of that bridge. One of these bees is Fabricio F. Costa, Senior Product Developer & Strategy Executive at Accenture. His varied experience and passions create an interesting tech leadership mix. Key takeaways from the podcast are: • The importance and balancing of communication. Managing how that is exposed. Not too much, and not too little. • The emergence of data and its impact on the micro to the mega. The emerging tools will speed up the emergence of new insights • Never forget the importance of seeing businesses as a collection of human beings. The lens through which any collective human endeavor starts. Our Guest: Fabricio F. Costa LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fabriciofcosta/ Website: https://www.accenture.com/us-en Twitter: https://twitter.com/ffalconi Intro and background music: Craig MacArthur - Power Shutoff (www.youtube.com/watch?v=x74iB_jtauw)