CTO Confessions Brought to you by IT Labs

In this episode, John Williams, the CTO at Amplience, shares his super hot tips from his years of service. We get to talk about the problem in the market that Amplience is solving and creating robust systems that reliably get the job at hand done. The industry that Amplience sits in is the marketing space. It's created a system that provides personalized content for the myriad of devices and screen sizes people use, with a touch of personalization to make a brand really pop out for the target audience. The key takeaways from the podcast are: • Thoughts on creating an architecture that deals with extreme surges in real-time content creation. With the capability of handling high loads and baked in resilience to deal with parts of the system falling over • When creating workplace cultures, see everyone as equals with equal voices to speak up. i.e. freedom of speech in the workplace. • With the many voices chiming in, create an environment where the best ideas win. • Design systems with the vision of the future in mind. With resilience and expected levels of demand. Intro and background music: Craig MacArthur - Power Shutoff (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x74iB_jtauw)

We all rely on it. Many of us use it without even realizing it. Some even joke it's in the base layer of the Maslows hierarchy of needs. If you haven't already guessed, it's the internet. You will be surprised to know that the fifth biggest economy globally (the UK) is lagging behind many other modern nations concerning internet coverage and bandwidth to people's homes and businesses. Well, the Strategy Director at CityFibre joins us on a discussion about how he and his team are working hard, working smart, and working fast to upgrade the nation's digital infrastructure. It cannot be stressed enough how important a resilient and fast internet is for a service-based nation like the UK. The key takeaways from the podcast are: • The reason why the UK is so far behind other developed nations • What CityFibre is doing to create a better, more resilient, and faster internet • The leadership and culture that is creating a high-performing and adapting organization to deliver quality results Our Guest: Clayton Nash LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/claytonnash/ Website: https://www.cityfibre.com/ (CityFibre - The UK's alternative digital infrastructure provider) Twitter: https://twitter.com/CityFibre Intro and background music: Craig MacArthur - Power Shutoff (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x74iB_jtauw)

Here at IT Labs, we love disruptors. Particularly a disruption in a stuffy industry, drowning in its old ways. Guy Duncan from Tide joins us to tell the story of the company he is tech leading to create exactly that kind of disruption. Tide is a Fintech carving out a nice chunk of the market by focusing on customer needs (time, ease, and smooth service). We particularly touch and gravitate around Guy's leadership approach that encompasses Yoga and mindfulness. So the key takeaways from the podcast are: • All through the lens of a Yogi • The powerful art of finishing (the motto: "Stop Starting, Start Finishing") • The art of interpreting various industry trends and using them as a foundation for technology and product planning • The importance of setting the levels of abstraction in a business right, and how it improves performance and interoperability Our Guest: Guy Duncan LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/duncanguy/ Website: https://www.tide.co/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/TideBusiness Intro and background music: Craig MacArthur - Power Shutoff (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x74iB_jtauw)

In this episode, we speak to Anna Dick, CTO of an innovative startup call HIRING HUB. It provides a B2B service to help rate and track the quality of recruitment agencies. We speak to her about the exciting objectives and growth of the business. Also, the problems she and her team are working to solve in the recruitment space. The recruitment industry is a highly competitive market with varying levels of trust and the ability to deliver on the hiring needs of their end clients. Key takeaways from the podcast are: • How you don't need to come from a traditional software background to become a tech leader. • How HIRING HUB is aiming to address the diversity biases that are endemic in the recruitment process. Helping agencies see how well they are doing and what actions will serve them in getting better. • Overcoming the challenges of working remotely. Our Guest: Anna Dick LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-dick-b4bb434/ Website: https://www.hiring-hub.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/hiringhub Intro and background music: Craig MacArthur - Power Shutoff (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x74iB_jtauw)

We are pleased to be hosting another podcast with a tech leader in the construction industry. An industry that is ripe for innovation and digitalization. Our guest Vicki Reynolds, CTO at i3PT, is doing just that. In light of the disaster that unfolded here in the UK (the Grenfell Tower disaster), the construction industry is going under a much-needed update around standards, compliance, and auditing. Vicki, who originally started as an actress, found her fulfillment in solving big challenges in the industry. Her story and journey are interesting and inspiring. Key takeaways • You will hear about the pain points of the building industry and the solutions that Vicki and i3PT have developed • How digitizing the construction industry creates a better audit trail to save lives • Why diversity of people in the industry is positively impacting how business is conducted. Confirming what many of us knew already. That people of different genders and ways of thinking was always good for business. • You will hear how careers can take interesting routes. Vicki's hunger to make things better and the love of solving big industry challenges have led her from a very different industry to a place of work she loves. Our Guest: Vicki Reynolds LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reynoldsvicki/ Website: https://i3pt.ie/ Intro and background music: Craig MacArthur - Power Shutoff (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x74iB_jtauw)

Some companies are getting ready to use their data. Some businesses drive growth by using it in parts of their operation. In this podcast, we speak to a business that's milking their data for everything they can get. The Modern Milkman is on a mission and they are proud to call themselves a data-driven business. James Renshaw (the CTO) and John Hughes (Data warrior) at The Modern Milkman join us in this podcast to share their stories and tech-leading efforts. The Modern Milkman, a wonderful, fun business, brings the milkman service tradition into the 21st century with tech and modern-day data analysis, with a planet life-affirming mission to eliminate plastic. That's right! A business built on the grounds of doing something wonderful for all of us and thrive at the same time. Key takeaways from the podcast are: • How the morning milkman service is modernizing • How driving the business with data in the driving seat can create a sharp and nimble edge of business dexterity • Holding your workforce with care and considering their future and career growth create a high-performing business team for an all-around win/win. Our Guest: LinkedIn: James Renshaw https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-renshaw-02a879a/ Website: https://themodernmilkman.co.uk/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ModernMilkman_/ Intro and background music: Craig MacArthur - Power Shutoff (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x74iB_jtauw)

From time to time, we come across a very niche organization. One that has evolved with the industry over many years. Well, Airport Information Services is one of those businesses, creating Flight Information Display Systems and Aeronautical Billing Systems for the industry. Rick Goold, the managing director of said company, joins us to speak to his journey as a tech leader and how he and his business have carved out a successful piece of the airport industry. Rick's career has spanned many evolutions of the IT industry, therefore he has a noteworthy perspective on things that have passed and things to come. Key Takeaways from the podcast are: • How AIS serves the airport industry and gets their products hitting the bull's eye • Ricks journey as a tech leader from early mainframes to the modern digital world we are immersed in • How as a business leader, you can set up feedback loops and let them have a life of their own (user groups for people who use the product) Our Guest: Rick Goold LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-goold-698a8422/ Airport Information Services: https://www.linkedin.com/company/airport-information-systems-limited/ Intro and background music: Craig MacArthur - Power Shutoff (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x74iB_jtauw)

It's a shame we rarely get to speak to someone who oversees important aspects of an industry that many of us use. In the context of this podcast, it's the airport industry. Wouldn't it be great to take a peek under the covers of this business arena to appreciate some of its complexities, challenges, and direction? Well, in this episode, we are doing a bit of that peeking. Nicholas Woods, the CIO of the Manchester Airports Group (MAG) joins us to share his leadership journey. The challenges this industry is facing and aspirations for the future. To get an idea of Nicholas's leadership scope, MAG owns and operates Manchester, London Stansted, and East Midlands Airports in the UK. Not one, but three airports. Key takeaways from the podcast are: • Examples of leadership that worked and didn't work • Designing, operating and maintaining tech in an airport • Aspirations for the future of the industry Our Guest: Nicholas Woods LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ngwoods/ Website: MAG (Airports Group) https://www.linkedin.com/company/manchester-airports-group/ Intro and background music: Craig MacArthur - Power Shutoff (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x74iB_jtauw)

The world of technology opens up endless avenues of possibilities. It's an enabler and creator of healthy businesses (i.e., the bottom line). So, it's wonderful to come across a business that uses technology to create success in acquiring and selling unique items. And when we say unique, we mean one-off items. So, the guest of this podcast works for a business just like that. The VP of technology, Brian Powell at EVERYTHING BUT THE HOUSE (EBTH), tells us all about his operation, his team's challenges, and how they are solving them. Key takeaways from the podcast are: • Finding the sweet spot in Lean, Kanban, and Scrum to create high performing teams • Adapting to huge differentials in demand on a platform • The ins and outs of being part of a business that sells anything from old collectible watches to Picasso paintings Our Guest: Brian Powell LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/powellbriang/ Website: http://www.ebth.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/EBTHofficial Intro and background music: Craig MacArthur - Power Shutoff (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x74iB_jtauw)

For tech leaders heavily involved in the software development and deployment processes, ranging from embedded software to more user-facing applications, you'll love this. Anders Wallgren, the Vice President of Technology Strategy at CloudBees joined us to share a few things. Nope! Correction. Shared LOADS of things about the benefit and importance of having a smooth end-to-end development process. Being a software developer in the past (I'm a geek that managed to de-geek), I know the pains and benefits of getting this right. The investment in automation and auditing-as-you-go saves many headaches and Kerr-chings (money) over and over again. The system that Anders and CloudBees have created is just awesome. Especially for high compliance industries. Key takeaways from the podcast are: • How automation can become your implicit auditing • How tech leaders can enable companies to balance governance and developer freedom with a win/win scenario • The benefits of taking two steps back to make huge leaps forward in the efficiency of your value delivery Our Guest: Anders Wallgren LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anderswallgren/ Website: https://www.cloudbees.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/anders_wallgren Intro and background music: Craig MacArthur - Power Shutoff (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x74iB_jtauw)