CTO Confessions Brought to you by IT Labs

Some of the most dynamic and battle-scarred tech leaders are those that have journeyed through a startup journey. In this episode, we get to speak to a tech leader just like that. David Kell, our guest, describes how he left his university degree to start a successful series of startups. In this podcast, we talk about how Gyana's platform. A no-code, data science tool that is democratizing the art of using data that many companies have pooled up. Key takeaways from the podcast are: - Seeing a gap in the market and solving a big challenge for many companies - Looking at Maslow's hierarchy of needs for data - How the tech leadership (and business leadership) wisdom to many leaders yearn for are already articulated Our Guest: David Kell LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-kell-22203656/ Website: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gyana/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/gyaanaa Intro and background music: Craig MacArthur - Power Shutoff (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x74iB_jtauw)

Erik Dasque joins us for another episode of CTO Confessions, where he shares his intriguing journey of becoming a geek, de-geeking, and geeking up again. He shares his thoughts on the absolute importance of actively designing teams on an ongoing basis. Also, retaining and developing one's skills in the technical space can hugely serve one's tech leadership. Key takeaways from the Podcast are: - How to hire for success - The importance of diversity in organizations - The power of being a compassionate leader Our Guest: Erik Dasque Website: https://www.linkedin.com/company/formassembly/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edasque/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/edasque Intro and background music: Craig MacArthur - Power Shutoff (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x74iB_jtauw)

Any techie will tell you that APIs revolutionized the way we go about developing software, but with all the regulations bestowed upon the IT world, it’s only the best ones that meet the light of day and make a change in our everyday lives. Meet Cedric Fabianski, Co-founder and CTO @ Bearer, a techie with a burning passion for entrepreneurship and leading teams – by striking the right balance. In our episode with Cedric, we listened carefully as he shared his experience in IT – from his beginning in the world of IT, through creating and leading teams, all the way to navigating his way through customer and client feedback. Our key takeaways from this podcast: • Why working remotely can help increase transparency and help improve teams • How leaders can find their way through something unknown by asking the right questions • How losing control is part of leadership, and is actually desirable Our Guest: Cedric Fabianski Intro and background music: Craig MacArthur - Power Shutoff (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x74iB_jtauw)

We all consume TV shows and movies to feed our entertainment-hungry minds. And it’s no wonder why - the TV and movie production industries vie for our hearts and minds through elegant storytelling, immersing us in worlds that capture our hearts and expand our minds. Well, now we get to look under the covers of the industry, shining a light on a particularly important and unsung hero of this industry - the art of editing. We speak to Stephen Tallamy, the CTO of EditShare, a company that works on simplifying editing and storytelling. Particularly as we have have been jolted into a remote work and the boundaries of the studio have moved further into the virtual space. Stephen shares the tech challenges and solutions in this industry along with his tech leadership tips. • The demands of the TV and film production industry and how EditShare is making it an art in simplifying story telling through remote editing • The spectrum of tech leaders(Clarity on tech leadership names) • Riding the elevator(Communication skills for the organization spectrum) Our Guest: Stephen Tallamy LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephentallamy/ Website: Media Workflow, Storage and Editing Solutions | EditShare https://editshare.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/StephenTallamy Intro and background music: Craig MacArthur - Power Shutoff (www.youtube.com/watch?v=x74iB_jtauw)

A mechanical engineer turned tech-wizz, Wayne Strydom is not your typical techie with roots set in coding or other IT discipline. He says it’s all about having the bigger picture in mind and understand systems and how they interact and function, and considering the success he’s had as the CTO & CIO @ Virtulab - we trust him. “Building teams based just on skill and talent is a recipe for failure! Surround yourself and your employees with characters, especially the kind that can stick it out when the going gets tough!” We sat down for a long, data-rich conversation with him, where dived deep into every aspect of his journey as a tech leader – from assembling and developing teams, all the way to his wishes which include a time machine and the possibility to see all press releases regarding tech development from the future. In short? An episode for the ages. Key takeaways from this episode: • Why building teams is much more than just matching needs to skills • How to lead teams by only asking the right questions • How a story is the foundation on which a product is sold Our Guest: Wayne Strydom LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wayneatcgtech/ Website: https://thevirtulab.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/waynestrydom1 Intro and background music: Craig MacArthur - Power Shutoff (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x74iB_jtauw)

Developing high-quality service or tools does not guarantee success - you need to deliver it in a proper manner. That’s exactly what our guest Adam Dille, Senior VP for Product and Engineering at Quantum Metric is focused on doing, as he helps companies deliver tech that has the potential to solve everyday problems, as well as make our lives easier! His focus on continued product/service development is what drives the company forward, all the while helping ambitious startups meet the light of day. “The better your product is - the more the end-user will expect from you. And a true leader will always anticipate these expectations and figure out how to meet them” What we learned from Adam: • Asking the right questions will always bring you closer to a solution • Looking at data from various perspectives helps deliver a more complete product • Closely-knitted teams understand every single piece of the puzzle, even the ones outside their domain Our Guest: Adam Dille LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamdille Website - Quantum Metric https://www.quantummetric.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/quantummetric Intro and background music: Craig MacArthur - Power Shutoff (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x74iB_jtauw)

For start-ups and established companies, it's never just about crunching and creating and pushing a product or a service out - that's why tech leaders must consider the short and long-term ramifications of every decision they make at every stage. We sat down with Vijay Venkatesh, a CTO and Product Development leader on various projects, shared his journey, and gave advice on finding the right balance in every aspect and process while leading teams in the tech world. • Key takeaways from this episode: • Quick ascent is all about adaptability and flexibility • Constraints can solidify teams and make them more efficient • Understanding the wishes and whims of customers and clients is a form of art Our Guest: Vijay Venkatesh LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/venkateshvijay/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/vijayv Intro and background music: Craig MacArthur - Power Shutoff (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x74iB_jtauw)

In our episode with Brian Roche (Director of IT @ Belfast City Airport), you can hear about his amazing journey which began with a job as a system administrator, then moving on to various positions in development and sales teams, before making the jump to executive positions. His goal and passion? To bring some simplicity to a world that is riddled with acronyms and complex structures - the tech world - and bring it closer to the average businessperson. Key Takeaways from this episode: • How education can help in the fight against cybersecurity threats • Why it’s important to mentor young techies, and teach them about giving chances • How technology can fail a business, and what leaders can do about it Our Guest: Brian Roche LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brroche/ Website: George Best Belfast City Airport https://www.belfastcityairport.com/ Intro and background music: Craig MacArthur - Power Shutoff (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x74iB_jtauw)

Phil Wood is a man of many talents, all cored in his unabating curiosity. What started off as the need to know how things function and what they’re made off, led him to learn and develop, and eventually become the Director of IT Services at one of the most prominent airlines – easyJet. In this episode, Phil shared his advice and experience, ranging from his unique leadership style with which he allows teams to lead themselves by letting them take the responsibility and giving them freedom, all the way to creating feedback loops that help not just a service or a product in work, but also future R&D. All worth its weight in gold, we boiled down the episode to the following key takeaways: • How to create high performing teams by allowing them to take on responsibility and authority; • Why are feedback loops important in the development process of a product or a service • How looking at the bigger picture and not just your product/service can help in ensuring end-to-end satisfaction for clients and customers. Our Guest: Phil Wood LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-wood-2089a13/ Intro and background music: Craig MacArthur - Power Shutoff (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x74iB_jtauw)

Marketing comes in many forms, everything from the big brand advertisements for the masses, to smaller campaigns specific to local needs. Well, Marvia has created a platform that does just that. i.e., activating local marketing potential for big brands (e.g., Domino's Pizza). The CTO of this company, Merlijn Bruijnes, joins us to tell us all about what they do. Merlijn also shares his journey to becoming a tech leader, lessons he has learned and tips for other tech leaders. Key takeaways from the podcast are: • The challenging transition from software developer to Tech leader (letting go of one's baby) • Helping large brands conduct marketing with a local flavor • Creating a learning organization (a win for the business and a win for the people) Our Guest: Merlijn Bruijnes LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/merlijnbruijnes/ Website: Marvia https://www.getmarvia.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/marvia Intro and background music: Craig MacArthur - Power Shutoff (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x74iB_jtauw)