CTO Confessions Brought to you by IT Labs

Tech leaders are drivers – they inspire people and draw them to ideas, concepts, new projects, and motivate them to be better by getting them to align with their MO and way of thinking – to a healthy extent, that is. I had the chance to talk about all of this with a tech leader who is working with a team diverse in skill – but also in culture, something that requires some serious leadership skills in itself – Krenar Muhidini, Director of Software Development at EML, who sat down with me to share his journey and experience in the world of tech, and hear his advice on leading teams – worth it’s weight in gold. Key takeaways from the podcast are: - user experience can sometimes defy logic, but - listening is the precursor to understanding, and is key to building trust between your teams and achieving goals - in order to achieve high discipline, you need well-defined processes that are easy to follow and understand Our Guest: Krenar Muhidini LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/krenarmuhidini/ Website: https://www.emlpayments.com/ Intro and background music: Craig MacArthur - Power Shutoff (www.youtube.com/watch?v=x74iB_jtauw)

Growing to become a tech leader means you’ve had your fair share of attempts to do something, and with that – a fair share of failures that you’ve learned from. But in the end, you’ve grown and have learned how to think like a leader, the importance of your team, and how to keep one eye on the big picture, the great idea. One leader that encapsulates all of this is Mijo Duric, CTO at Creative Car Park, who sat down with me to talk about his journey in the tech world, how he rolls as a leader, and what his experience all these years have taught him. Key takeaways from the podcast are: - Financial stability is the one thing that can give you the true freedom to truly experiment, learn, and grow as a professional and leader; - Hiring and retention is one of the most important aspects of leadership – surround yourself with good people - Work smart, not hard – drowning in your work can keep you from looking at the big picture and learn about the business and essence you’re working for Our Guest: Mijo Duric LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mijoduric/ Website: https://www.creativecarpark.co.uk/ Intro and background music: Craig MacArthur - Power Shutoff (www.youtube.com/watch?v=x74iB_jtauw)

The road of to becoming a change-maker, a tech leader, is – unlike in many other industries – anything but a straight line. But the traits that all tech leaders share are adaptibility and willingness to learn and grow. Enter Tramale Turner, CTO at TaxBit, who sat down with me to discuss his journey, the things he learned, and how he rolls as a leader! Key takeaways from the podcast are: - Recognizing patterns is the best way to solving problems, as well as finding areas in which you need to improve - Having difficult conversations on how and why something occurred is a good way for everyone to grow together - Adaptive leadership will allow you to get a grasp on things much faster, and also connect with people on a much deeper level Our Guest: Tramale Turner LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tramale-turner-31b24a/ Website: https://taxbit.com/ Intro and background music: Craig MacArthur - Power Shutoff (www.youtube.com/watch?v=x74iB_jtauw)

The tech leaders of today greatly differ from the tech leaders of yesterday – from their scope of work to their mindset, skills, and approach – a lot of things have changed. Basically, what changed was the answer to the question “What does it mean to be a leader?” - and with me here on this episode to help answer that question is David Germain, Group Chief Information Officer, who sat down with me to talk about all things leadership – from his journey through the world of tech, through his approach and perspective, all the way to his insight and experience worth their weight in gold. Key takeaways from the podcast are: - The importance of not letting stereotypes hold you back from achieving your dreams - Never take your eye away from the big picture - As a leader, your skillset must be diverse if you’re to drive people forward Our Guest: David Germain LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidcgermain/ Intro and background music: Craig MacArthur - Power Shutoff (www.youtube.com/watch?v=x74iB_jtauw)

How do tech leaders roll? What are they all about? What really is important for tech leaders and their approach? On the hows and whys, I got Jonathan Rigby, a senior engineering leader, who sat down for a chat with me, and we dived deep into his personal journey in the world of tech – from his beginnings, through today, all the way to what’s in store for the future and what he’s learned so far, coupled with advice and insights from him – all worth their weight in gold! Key takeaways from the podcast are: - Building a successful technology company requires a strong leadership team that can work together effectively. - Deep understanding of the company's core product or service is important as it can help engineers make better decisions and ultimately drive business success - Leaders must strike the right balance between management and technical skills in order to get the best out of their teams and empower them Our Guest: Jonathan Rigby LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-rigby/ Intro and background music: Craig MacArthur - Power Shutoff (www.youtube.com/watch?v=x74iB_jtauw)

Data and AI are the thing of today that is shaping the world of tomorrow – at a rate that is both exciting and scary. Some people, like Databricks’ CTO, Robin Sutara, have a vast experience in the field, and are using it to create solutions and services that help business leverage and use the data they have, to drive businesses forward. I sat down with Robin to talk about her journey in the world of tech, the leadership style she practices, and how she sets about tackling problems and finding solutions for customers and her teams. Key takeaways from the podcast are: - Collaboration and communication are essential in building successful products - Prioritizing diversity and inclusion leads to better business outcomes - Ethics and responsibility are critical in the development of technology Our Guest: Robin Sutara LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robin-sutara/ Website: https://www.databricks.com/ Intro and background music: Craig MacArthur - Power Shutoff (www.youtube.com/watch?v=x74iB_jtauw)

All public places get busy at some point in time, but nothing is as busy is airports – the run around the clock and they must do so with incredible precision and efficiency, as incidents and events that stop the flow of people and planes can cause a domino effect that can be hard to mitigate once it gets going. In this episode, I have the CTO of Manchester Airports Group, John Hudson, who sat down for a chat with me to talk about the work he does for them, how he rolls as a leader, all the way to sharing some bits of wisdom stemming from the experience he’s had as a techie and a tech leader. Key takeaways from the podcast are: • How to create champions from the people you have • The importance of succession plans and how they work • Why enjoying yourself while learning is important Our Guest: John Hudson LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-hudson-11588b2a/ Website: https://www.magairports.com/ Intro and background music: Craig MacArthur - Power Shutoff (www.youtube.com/watch?v=x74iB_jtauw)

Wearing a perfume means one thing – you feel good about yourself and you radiate that self-confidence. So in today’s digital era – how can we find those smells that will help us show our swagger and style? Well, a rocket-scientist-turned-tech-leader, Andrei Rebrov, CTO & Co-founder of Scentbird, seems to have found the answer to this question, with the work that he’s been doing for his company doing just that. In this episode, I sat down with Andrei, as he shared his experience and know-how from the world of tech! Key takeaways from the podcast are: - Find a great mentor if you’d like to grow properly and learn much more in a shorter period - The importance of having the right tools to execute strategies and ideas - Why proper communication is important among different departments in order to ensure seamless flow of business and information Our Guest: Andrei Rebrov LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrebrov/ Website: https://www.scentbird.com/ Intro and background music: Craig MacArthur - Power Shutoff (www.youtube.com/watch?v=x74iB_jtauw)

When growing teams and helping people develop is something that comes naturally to you, you know that your leadership skills are on point – so what’s left when you have that mastered? You help businesses grow by helping them utilize the latest, most cutting-edge technology out there. This is exactly how I would describe the work Scott Buchholz, CTO at Deloitte Consulting, has been doing. I sat down with Scott to talk more about his leadership style, the work he’s been doing for Deloitte, and waiting for him to give up the gems of knowledge and experience worth their weight in gold – and he has delivered! Key takeaways from the podcast are: - Telling stories helps bring people into the fold, giving them a better grasp of the task/project ahead; - Diversity of thought is paramount for growth and progress; - Finding the right role models is the fast-track to success; Our Guest: Scott Buchholz LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/buchholzscott/ Website: https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en.html Intro and background music: Craig MacArthur - Power Shutoff (www.youtube.com/watch?v=x74iB_jtauw)

We all know the joke – Excel spreadsheets are the thing that holds whole industries together and holding them from collapsing – and the truth is that a lot of data is stored in them. But sifting through all that data can be an arduous task, and the need for a solution that would do it faster and more efficiently is there. Fortunately, there’s a company named Coherent, that does a lot of this work, helping businesses extract valuable inputs from these vast seas of data, and I have Coherent’s Senior Technology Director, Nick Leimer, here to talk about it. From his journey in the world of tech, his leadership style, all the way to his views on how to improve teams – we talked in depth about all of these topics and much more! Key takeaways from the podcast are: - Why diversity in character and perspectives is more important than finding like-minded people - How changing roles and workplaces is important for growth and knowing what suits you - Failing is the gateway to learning, and allowing people to fail can be invaluable for growth Our Guest: Nick Leimer LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-leimer-05851611/ Website: https://www.coherent.global/ Intro and background music: Craig MacArthur - Power Shutoff (www.youtube.com/watch?v=x74iB_jtauw)