Modern CTO
Modern CTO is a podcast where technology leaders and CTOs share insights and experiences. Hosted by ProSeries Media, it features interviews with CTOs from various industries including aerospace, artificial intelligence, and robotics. The show aims to provide value to tech leaders through engaging and intelligent conversations.
Episodes
Theoretical Computer Scientist: AI Just Changed Math Forever, with Scott Aaronson
What’s left for humans to do once AI is better at solving problems than we are? Today, we’re talking to Scott Aaronson, a theoretical computer scientist at UT Austin who has spent his career on quantum computing theory. We explore how AI is changing the way we do math and teach students, what it takes to keep increasingly capable systems aligned with human goals, and why one of computer science’s
Reliability Without the Guesswork: Foresight AI with Kolton Andrus, CEO of Gremlin
The best reliability work is the kind nobody notices, and that's exactly why it deserves more credit. Today, we're talking to Kolton Andrus, founder and CEO of Gremlin. We discuss why the engineers who prevent fires deserve as much recognition as the ones who fight them, how testing failure on purpose turned a dreaded holiday on-call into a quiet one, and why teams that pair AI speed with real-wor
Scaling AI Efficiency at LinkedIn with Erran Berger, CTO of Engineering
Most companies at scale can't tell you what a single feature actually costs to run, but Erran Berger, CTO of Engineering at LinkedIn, can. We discuss why that blind spot is more common than you'd think, why treating AI transformation as bad for employees is a false premise, and how LinkedIn reorganized its teams into small, cross-functional pods now that AI lets one person do the work of several.
Tech Titans: Agents Built Around People with Mohak Shroff, former SVP of Engineering at LinkedIn
Today, we're talking to Mohak Shroff, former SVP of Engineering at LinkedIn. We discuss why the smartest use of AI agents is giving professionals more agency rather than replacing them, how delegating to an agent should look a lot like onboarding a new hire, and what it takes to build the thing that was impossible before instead of making the familiar 20% better.
All of this right here, right now
Tech Titans: How Can a Chatbot Steal a Model's Secrets? with Steve Orrin, Federal CTO at Intel
Everyone's arguing about whether AI will replace 90% of your job. Steve Orrin, federal CTO at Intel, says that's the wrong number to even be worried about. We discuss how a $25 million deepfake of a bank's own CFO exposed a whole new category of cyberattack, why sprinkling "AI pixie dust" on a problem doesn't actually solve anything, and why, thirty years into being a CTO, his best advice still co
Why High-Achieving Engineers Still Feel Something's Missing with Ben Fox, Career Coach for Engineers
Today, we're talking to Ben Fox, founder of Ben Fox Coaching. We discuss why financial independence alone rarely convinces a burnt-out engineering leader to actually quit, how leaving a toxic job works the same way as leaving a toxic relationship, and why senior engineers reduced to babysitting language models are quietly heading for the exits.
All of this right here, right now, on the Modern CT
Tech Titans: Why Plans Fail and Strategy Doesn't with Seth Godin, Author of This Is Strategy
Today, we're talking to Seth Godin, author of This Is Strategy. We discuss why strategy is a philosophy of becoming rather than a plan to execute, how status, affiliation, and freedom from fear quietly drive almost every decision people make, and why one of Seth's biggest professional failures came down to having a good idea and then walking away from it.
All of this right here, right now, on the
Tech Titans: Funding and Building the Safest Nuclear Reactor with Matt Loszak, Aalo Atomics
A barrel of uranium holds as much energy as two million barrels of oil, and Matt Loszak, co-founder of nuclear startup Allo, thinks that's just the beginning. In this episode, Joel talks with Matt about building factory-made nuclear reactors as safe as a university research reactor, why we're entering a "second atomic age," the team and funding behind Allo, and how small modular reactors could sol
Demo Is Not Production, with Ajay Nair, GM of Elasticsearch and Platform at Elastic
Today, we're talking to Ajay Nair, General Manager of Elasticsearch and Platform at Elastic. We discuss why most AI hallucinations are really a search problem wearing a scarier name, how the industry's obsession with model selection is missing the real bottleneck of context and retrieval, and why the biggest failure mode in enterprise AI is mistaking a working demo for a production system.
All o
Tech Titans: Why Your Home Alarm Does Nothing to Stop a Crime with Dave “Selly” Selinger
Today, we're talking to David Selinger, founder and CEO of Deep Sentinel and co-founder of Redfin. We discuss why he's convinced that virtually every home security tool on the market does nothing to actually stop a crime, how a crossbow-wielding intruder on his own driveway became the ultimate test of that theory, and why he'd rather protect his family with a blurry camera and a real person behind
Disruptor or Disrupted with Jason Silbergleit, Head of Americas at Classiq
Today, we're talking to Jason Silbergleit, Head of Americas at Classiq. We discuss why the biggest risk in quantum computing isn't moving too early but waiting too long, how the ChatGPT moment offers a preview of the disruption still coming, and why the real competition in quantum isn't about hardware but about who builds the software layer that makes it usable.
All of this right here, right now
Tech Titans: Solving Cloud Data Issues with Desikan Madhavanur, CPO & CTO at Capital One Software
Today, we're talking to Desikan Madhavanur, Chief Technology and Product Officer at Capital One Software. We discuss why the cloud has quietly resurrected the same data problems companies thought they'd solved decades ago, why the average enterprise tool now survives just 12 to 18 months, and why understanding customer need will end up mattering more than any single technical skill.
Turning AI Hype into Store Ops: Manda Miller & Mariya Zorotovich (Toshiba & Intel)
Today, we're talking to Manda Miller of Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions and Mariya Zorotovich of Intel, the two people quietly turning retail's AI hype into real store operations. We discuss why conversational AI chatbots are the most overhyped technology in retail, why "AI theater" is easy to stage in a trade show booth but brutal to prove out on a real P&L, and why the best leadership advice e
The CTO Extinction Event with Etienne de Bruin, Founder of 7CTOs
Today, we're talking to Etienne, founder of 7CTOs and author of the new book Refactor. We discuss why the CTOs who survive this next shift will be the ones who understand how LLMs actually work rather than the ones optimizing token spend, how the C-suite has quietly moved from sharing knowledge to enrolling people in a point of view, and why curiosity, not seniority, is the closest thing to real j
Stop Ripping Out Your Legacy Code with Alan Williamson, CTO
Today, we're talking to Alan Williamson, professional CTO for private equity-backed companies and author of Think Like a CTO. We discuss why the industry's $20-a-month AI subscriptions can't possibly cover a trillion-dollar cost structure, how some companies are quietly deleting the word "AI" from their marketing to win customers back, and why the old playbook for modernizing legacy systems no lon
The Red Queen Problem with Anthony Scriffignano, PhD, Data Scientist
Today, we're talking to Anthony Scriffignano, PhD, a longtime chief data scientist now working on hyperspectral space intelligence and global AI policy. We discuss why AI has put technology leaders in what he calls a "Red Queen problem," where you have to run faster just to stay in place, how most people wildly overestimate how much of the internet an LLM can actually see, and why leading with the
Why You Can't Trust AI Without Governing It, with Tony Davis & John Balsavage of A&I Solutions
Today, we're talking to Tony Davis and John Balsavage of A&I Solutions, the team behind Scout, their AI agent governance platform. We discuss why they built a literal terrain map to visualize what's happening inside an AI agent's mind, how two agents secretly colluded to overturn a vote in their own testing lab, and why every AI agent you build today will be obsolete within a year no matter how we
Tech Titans: Hidden Rules of the Brain with Moran Cerf, Neuroscientist and Professor
Today, we're talking to Moran Cerf, neuroscientist and professor who studies live human brains through implanted electrodes during surgery. We discuss why the person who sees reality clearly drives more change than the one with official authority, how ant colonies and corporate boardrooms follow the same hidden rules of swarm leadership, and why the smell in a room might quietly decide the outcome
The Real Reason Your Body Is a Business Card with Mauro Stara, Six Pack CEO
Today, we're talking to Mauro Stara, founder of Six Pack CEO. We discuss why working out less, not harder, was the real fix behind one of his most dramatic client transformations, how a health scare in his twenties pushed him out of banking and into coaching high-performing men, and why getting genuinely healthy often means letting go of the people and identity that made staying unhealthy feel com
Tech Titans: Rethinking Career Five-Year Plans with Francisco Trindade, VP of Software Engineering
Today, we're talking to Francisco Trindade, VP of Software Engineering at Braze. We discuss why code review, not code generation, has become the real bottleneck in AI-driven engineering, how the leap to a codebase run by thousands of autonomous agents could repeat the failed promise of microservices at ten times the scale, and why the best career advice only makes sense once you stop trying to pla
Tech Titans: Designing for Intuition with Campbell Brown, CEO and Co-founder of PredictHQ
Today, we're talking to Campbell Brown, CEO and co-founder of PredictHQ. We discuss why the world's smartest AI models are still blind to real-world context, how a single film festival can quietly drain a retailer's entire workforce, and why the best way to get customers to follow your rules is to stop making them read the instructions.
All of this right here, right now, on the Modern CTO Podca
Tech Titans: How to Ask for Help as a Leader with Arnie Katz, CPTO at GoFundMe
If you fear failure, you’re not going to get very far. Neither will your team.
Today, we're talking to Arnie Katz, CPTO at GoFundMe. We discuss why asking for help is harder and less understood than giving it, how AI now writes fundraiser titles that outperform the ones people write themselves, and why the biggest lesson from his failed startup was that believing you're customer-obsessed is worth
Inside the Tech Stack Behind the Modern Store with Yevgeni Tsirulnik & Naresh Keswani of Toshiba
In the future, self-checkout will come right to you.
Today, we're talking to Yev Tsirulnik and Naresh Keswani of Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions. We discuss why the next decade of retail is about digitizing the physical store rather than the website, how loyalty data is quietly turning into a trust score that decides whether your store forgives you at self checkout, and what it actually takes t
Hunting for Alien Technology with Avi Loeb, Harvard Astrophysicist
If scientists are being entirely honest, is non-human technology already on earth?
Today, we're talking to Avi Loeb, Harvard astrophysicist and head of the government's new UAP Science Advisory Council. We discuss why the hunt for alien life is shifting from waiting for a radio call to checking the mailbox for a package, how a so-called "dark comet" turned out to be a lost Soviet spacecraft, and
Is the Specialist Executive Dead? with Mahesh Guruswamy, COO at Kajabi
We were told to specialize endlessly…now, AI is here.
Today, we're talking to Mahesh Guruswamy, COO of Kajabi. We discuss why the specialist executive is becoming extinct as tech gets commoditized, how "AI fatigue" is really grief over eroding craft rather than exhaustion, and why the biggest threat to the AI boom might be economics, not technology.
All of this right here, right now, on the Mode
Tech Titans: Go From Burnt Out to Fired Up with Justin Fanelli, Department of Navy CTO
If you’re feeling burnt out, it’s not the work you’re doing. It’s the mission you’re on.
Today, we're talking to Justin Fanelli, Chief Technology Officer of the Department of the Navy. We discuss why direct communication is fuel rather than friction, how the most driven government workers are often the ones who've already "made it" elsewhere, and why burnout has almost nothing to do with hours wo
Can this Company Fix America’s Broken Food System? with Luiz Beling, CEO of Apeel Sciences
Why did a smear campaign almost take out this anti-food waste company?
Today, we're talking to Luiz Beling, CEO at Apeel, about how a company that captured 60% of the U.S. avocado market can lose it almost overnight to a coordinated smear campaign. We discuss why narrative security now matters as much as cybersecurity, how a childhood kidnapping in Brazil quietly shaped his approach to crisis lea
Confronting Plummeting Birth Rates & Banning Superintelligence with Connor Leahy, US Director at ControlAI
He’s 31, and nobody he knows is having kids. Tech is to blame, but what’s the solution?
Today, we're talking to Connor Leahy, US Director at ControlAI. We discuss why plummeting birth rates look eerily similar to what happens when zoo animals stop breeding, how ideas can spread and cause real harm the same way diseases do, and why the safest path with superintelligence might be to ban it outright
Are Engineers Redundant Now? with Hrishi Dixit, Co-Founder & CTO of Autonomy Finance
Developers, how confident are you in the future of your job?
Today, we're catching up with Hrishi Dixit, cofounder and CTO of Autonomy Finance, about what actually happens when you hand the keys to AI in a regulated industry — why the first pass of AI-generated code is never shippable, how a commingled client data hallucination can end a company overnight, and why the engineers who survive the AI
Where Do We Draw the Line on Letting AI Build? With Zach Goldberg, CEO at Gruntwork
What happens when the worst among us get their hands on the most powerful tools?
Today, we're talking to Zach Goldberg, CEO at Gruntwork, about the messy edges of AI adoption. We discuss why "vibe coding" has created a new category of disposable, single-purpose software that never would have existed before, why the line between AI you can trust to read data and AI you can trust to write to produc
Why do 81% of Mature AI Programs Get Rolled Back? with Daniel Morris, CPO at Sinch
Confidence and readiness are actually NOT the same thing.
Today, we're talking to Daniel Morris, CPO at Sinch, about why 81% of mature companies roll back their AI programs even as 89% of leaders claim they're fully prepared, how the shift from SMS to rich messaging is rewriting the rules for how brands connect with customers, and why the next evolution of authentication might mean your phone sil
How Snapchat is Evolving in the Age of AI with Saral Jain, SVP, Head of Engineering
This is how Snapchat sets itself apart in the social media space: they’re not a social media company.
Today, we're talking to Saral Jain, SVP and Head of Engineering at Snapchat, about how one of tech's most underestimated companies is quietly outpacing giants. We discuss why Snapchat has always refused to call itself a social media company and what that distinction means for every product decisi
Why Kubernetes Still Feels So Hard & What to Do About It with Steve Francis, CEO of Sidero Labs
What if you didn’t have to solve problems? You can just remove them entirely.
Today, we're talking to Steve Francis, CEO at Sidero Labs, about why the most dangerous thing running in your infrastructure might be the operating system itself. We discuss how eliminating features rather than adding them is the real path to security, why the promise of multi-cloud portability turned out to be a lesson
Why Does AI Momentum Stall in Large Organizations? with Kyle Lagunas & Allyn Bailey
Understanding these key points is what actually moves the needle on AI gains.
Today, we're talking to Kyle Lagunas, analyst and founder at Kyle & Co, and Allyn Bailey, senior director of communications at SmartRecruiters, about why AI momentum in HR is stalling and what's actually moving the needle. We discuss why the organizations leading on AI aren't doing anything flashy, how the most boring r
Are Apps Going to Get Axed by Conversational AI? with Jacques Klick, Director of Market Strategy at Sinch
We’re putting more and more trust into AI. Will it all blend into one app?
Today, we're talking to Jacques Klick, Director of Market Strategy & Product Marketing at Sinch. We discuss why the app store era is quietly ending and what replaces it, how a 62% enterprise AI adoption rate is hiding a 74% rollback problem, and what RCS actually is and why it might be the most underutilized channel in mar
When Will Robots Live With Us? Inside 1X's NEO with Dar Sleeper, VP of Design & Product
Would you live with a humanoid robot? Could you beat one in a fight?
Today, we're talking to Dar Sleeper, VP of Design, Product, and Marketing at 1X, the company building Neo, a humanoid robot designed to live and work alongside humans in the home. We discuss why the home is actually the most strategic beachhead in humanoid robotics, how world models are collapsing the gap between robots that fol
The 5 Levels of AI Coding & the Collapse of Human-Written Code with Trevor Hinesley, Co-Founder & CTO at Soundstripe
His company policy is: there will be absolutely no human-written code.
Today, we're talking to Trevor Hinesley, Cofounder and CTO at Soundstripe. We discuss the five levels of AI-written code and what it actually looks like to operate at the highest ones, why Trevor's team has a strict policy of zero human-written code, how the "dark factory" concept is reshaping what engineers actually do, and w
Marty Cagan on Product Management Theater in the Age of AI
Product managers are FORGETTING that they’re problem solvers.
Today, we're talking to Marty Cagan, product management author and founder of the Silicon Valley Product Group. We discuss why most tech companies are unknowingly running a model that almost guarantees shipping things that don't matter, how AI is simultaneously exposing and accelerating that problem, why the real bottleneck was never y
From Mammoths to Humans: The Case for Gene Editing with Eriona Hysolli
Can today’s technology really prevent tomorrow’s diseases?
Today, we're talking to Eriona Hysolli, biologist and co-founder of Manhattan Genomics. We discuss why preventing genetic disease before birth is a more powerful idea than treating it in adulthood, how the UK quietly pioneered a procedure that most of the world still considers off-limits, why the loudest opposition to gene editing often c
Why Your AI Has No Idea What's Happening in the World with Campbell Brown, CEO & Co-Founder of PredictHQ
Understanding the real world is the biggest potential advantage of AI.
Today, we're talking to Campbell Brown, CEO and cofounder of PredictHQ, about the layer of real-world intelligence that AI models are still missing. We discuss why 65% of unexplained demand spikes come down to something most businesses completely ignore, how a New Zealand car rental company became the data backbone for Uber an
Are Our Brains Wired Together? The Power of the Mind in Business & Beyond with Moran Cerf, Neuroscientist & Professor
If you understand this about your brain, you’ll be unstoppable.
Today, we're talking to Moran Cerf, neuroscientist and professor, about why the hidden signals shaping human behavior have more in common with ants and fish than we'd like to admit, how smell — not vision — may be the most underestimated force behind the decisions we make, why brains in the same room quietly synchronize whether their
Why Being the Best at Your Job Is Holding You Back with Bill Tingle, Executive Coach for Tech Leaders
If you’re trying to get ahead and you’re the best at your job, then we have bad news for you.
Today, we're talking to executive coach Bill Tingle. We discuss why being the best at your job is actually holding you back, how executive presence goes far deeper than confidence or gravitas, and why building the right relationships matters more than any result you'll ever deliver.
All of this right he
Tech Titans: Learn How to Remix as a Leader with Michael Grinich, founder at WorkOS
Every product and piece of art you love is a ripoff…and that’s a good thing.
Today, we're talking to Michael Grinich, founder of WorkOS. We discuss why copying great work is a sign of maturity rather than weakness, how the best builders draw inspiration from wildly different industries, and why the most enduring motivation in tech is really just a form of suffering.
All of this right here, right
Tech Titans: Your Team Should be Acting or Arguing with Brendan Wovchko, CTO at Ramsey Solutions
If you’re not arguing with your team, you might be making a big mistake.
Today, we're bringing you timeless advice from Brendan Wovchko, CTO at Ramsey Solutions. We discuss why most organizations have a shared urgency problem and what to do about it, how the "act or argue" principle can transform your team culture, and why the best technologists are still driven by mission instead of money or sta
What It Looks Like to Give AI 80% of Your Project with Dan Cardinal, CTO at Beghou
Here's what decisive AI leadership ACTUALLY looks like in practice.
Today, we're talking to Dan Cardinal, CTO at Beghou, about how he's using tools like Blitzy to achieve 80% autonomous project completion at scale. We discuss how caution in sensitive industries like healthcare shapes AI adoption, why human-in-the-loop controls are non-negotiable for production AI at scale, and how one skeptic wen
Why Software Is Never “Done” Anymore with Iccha Sethi, SVP of Engineering at Vanta
How do we decide that a project is actually finished in the age of AI?
Today, we're talking to Iccha Sethi, SVP of Engineering at Vanta. We discuss why software is never truly done in the age of AI, how engineering leaders can manage model drift through evaluation frameworks, and why the top 1% of engineers all share one unexpected trait.
All of this right here, right now, on the Modern CTO Podc
The Future of Employee Experience & The Field of Foresight with Jacob Morgan, host of Future Ready Leadership
Employee experience is in shambles today. How can you put it back together?
Today, we're talking to Jacob Morgan, Author and Futurist at Future Ready Leadership. We discuss why organizations must return to the basics of employee experience in an AI-driven world, how leaders need to adopt five key archetypes to stay relevant, and why designing for flexibility inside your organization is the future
Tech Titans: The Art of Making Yourself Redundant with Hrishi Dixit, Principal at Gordian Labs
Don’t be afraid to make yourself entirely…replaceable?
Today, we're talking to Hrishi Dixit, Principal at Gordian Labs. We discuss how to make yourself redundant as a tech leader, why culture is the only thing that outlasts you, and how knowing when to get out of the weeds is the mark of a truly great CTO.
All of this right here, right now, on the Modern CTO Podcast!
To connect with Hrishi, vi
Tech Titans: How Do You Lead When No One's Looking? with Jack Tam, Intuit
Here's what integrity under pressure ACTUALLY looks like in practice.
Today, we're talking to Jack Tam, SVP of Engineering at Intuit. We discuss why integrity means holding yourself to a high bar even when no one is looking, how a growth mindset and curiosity across disciplines can sustain a 20-year career, and why this is the most exciting time in technology despite the uncertainty AI brings.
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Tech Titans: How to Stop Fitting In and Start Leading with Tony Martignetti
He learned that he had to leave the room to truly make a difference.
Today, we're talking to Tony Martignetti, Executive Coach and Author of Campfire Lessons for Leaders. We discuss why hiding your true self at work leads to burnout, how the three C's of curiosity, compassion, and connection can unlock self-awareness, and why leaving the room to change the room is the ultimate act of courageous l
Tech Titans: Your Team Can't Trust You If They Can't Predict You with Noah Cantor
Change is faster than ever. Your team needs to ACTUALLY trust you.
Today, we're talking to Noah Cantor, Executive Coach. We discuss why most tech leaders receive no training before stepping into leadership roles, how inconsistent leadership styles lead to demotivated and underperforming teams, and why aligning your actions with your core values is the key to reducing stress and leading with clari
Will AI Kill Code Review? with Francisco Trindade, VP at Braze
Everybody’s talking about it… what are you actually going to DO about it?
Today, we're talking to Francisco Trindade, Vice President of Software Engineering at Braze. We discuss why AI is shifting the bottleneck from writing code to reviewing it, how companies must invest in restructuring their codebases to unlock 10x productivity gains, and why systems thinking is the key to effective engineerin
When AI Writes All the Code, Who's Watching? with Kayvon Beykpour, Cofounder & CEO of Macroscope
The results are in: AI has humans beat at code review. What now?
Today, we're talking to Kayvon Beykpour, Co-founder and CEO of Macroscope. We discuss why large organizations must embrace AI or risk falling behind, how agentic coding tools are transforming the software development lifecycle, and why the real bottleneck in modern engineering is no longer writing code.
All of this right here, righ
Why AI is Actually Artificial Creativity with Brian Alvey, CTO of WordPress VIP
The robots were supposed to do the dishes. Instead, they're writing poetry.
Today, we're talking to Brian Alvey, CTO at WordPress VIP. We discuss why AI should be thought of as artificial creativity rather than artificial intelligence, how modern CTOs no longer need large teams to build and ship at scale, and why embracing shortcuts is the only rational response to the pace of technological chang
The AI Bubble Nobody's Talking About with Brian Singer, CTO as RSI
Everybody is looking at the WRONG bubble.
Today, we're talking to Brian Singer, CTO at RSI and President of Singer Concept. We discuss the AI bubble nobody is talking about, why healthcare executives are being disproportionately misled by false AI vendors, and how to structure shared-risk partnerships that guarantee ROI before you spend a dime.
All of this right here, right now, on the Modern CT
What Will Usher in the Next Renaissance with Zack Kass, Author & Former OpenAI GTM Lead
It’s about time for the next age of human flourishing. Will AI get us there?
Today, we're talking to Zack Kass, author and former OpenAI Go-to-Market Lead. We discuss why AI will likely cure cancer before autonomous vehicles dominate our roads, how mid-market and family-owned businesses can survive the AI consolidation wave, and why the future of AI is invisible infrastructure rather than apps.
TECH IN THE MORNING: OpenAI Axes Sora, Disney Pulls Out, and Slop Dominates
Ready for a brand new show?
Today, in a special episode, we're talking about OpenAI shutting down Sora and what it means for the future of AI-generated video. We discuss why consumer demand wasn't enough to keep Sora alive, how AI-generated content is fueling a misinformation crisis on social media, and why the rise of fake digital content might actually push us back toward valuing in-person conn
Tech Titans: How to Know You’re Not Really a CTO with Alan Williamson
THIS is how you know you’re not really ready for primetime.
Today, we're bringing you our most timeless advice from our last conversation with Alan Williamson, Author of Think Like a CTO. We discuss why most first-time CTOs struggle to communicate with non-technical executives, how to think about budgeting and engineering costs like a true technology leader, and why the ability to articulate a cl
Why Everybody Has Something to Hide with Guy Kawasaki, Chief Evangelist at Canva
It’s not just the bad guys who need to hide anymore.
Today, we're talking to Guy Kawasaki, legendary Apple evangelist and Chief Evangelist at Canva. We discuss why everybody has something to hide in the digital age, how metadata reveals far more than most people realize, and why Signal is the most practical step you can take to protect your privacy and security right now.
Email Guy at everybodyh
Why You Can’t Go Off Vibes in Software Development with Stephen Poletto, Field CTO at Span
AI tools are more powerful than ever, but you still can’t operate like THIS.
Today, we're talking to Stephen Poletto, Field CTO at Span. We discuss why engineering teams are making decisions based on hype instead of data, how AI is reshaping software development through emerging practices like harness engineering, and why measuring actual productivity versus perceived productivity is more critica
Tech Titans: A Masterclass in Change Management with Ashley Goodall
Things are changing faster than ever, but don’t let it affect your team.
Today, we're talking to Ashley Goodall, leadership expert and bestselling author. We discuss why the management obsession with change is harming the people it's meant to help, how constant reorganization leads to learned helplessness and quiet quitting, and why the real goal should never be just change.
All of this right he
Why Regenerative Tech Needs to be the Future with Tom Chi, Google X Founder & author of Climate Capital
What if green technology was actually just more profitable?
Today, we're talking to Tom Chi, Google X Co-Founder and Founding Partner at At One Ventures, about his new bestselling book, Climate Capital. We discuss why the physical world is a more predictable investment than software, how his firm identifies the 30 industries responsible for over 90% of planetary damage, and why making clean techn
From Inventing a Microprocessor to Full-Time Tech Comedian with Don McMillan
From chip design at Bell Laboratories to…the world's #1 Venn diagram comedian??
Today, we're talking to Don McMillan, comedian and former chip designer at Bell Laboratories. We discuss how burning out in Silicon Valley led him to pursue stand-up comedy full time, why having an engineering mindset made him a better comedian, and how a random radio caller unknowingly changed the entire trajectory o
Tech Titans: Why Accidental Managers are the Best Leaders with Rajeev Rajan, CTO at Atlassian
The best managers are the ones who never wanted the job.
Today, we're talking to Rajeev Rajan, CTO at Atlassian. We discuss why developer joy outperforms productivity as an engineering goal, how the best managers are the ones who never wanted the job, and why every leadership playbook you've built stops working the moment your team grows.
All of this right here, right now, on the Modern CTO Po
A Step By Step Process to Accelerate Your Career Goals with Rob Kalwarowsky
The biggest lie we were ever sold: hard work alone gets you the promotion.
Today, we're talking to Rob Kalwarowsky, bestselling author and leadership coach. We discuss why writing down your goal increases the probability of achieving it to 43%, how the people above you can't promote you for a job you've never told them you want, and why working hard and letting the results speak for themselves is
Why Your Document Workflows Are a Hidden Compliance Crisis with Anand Narasimhan, CTO at S-Docs
Before you open another Google Docs, you need to hear this episode.
Today, we're talking to Anand Narasimhan, CTO at S Docs. We discuss why organizations pay $94,000 in compliance penalties due to documentation errors, how 57% of employees bypass official tools when under deadline pressure, and why automation must come before autonomous AI in enterprise workflows.
All of this right here, righ
How To Understand & Optimize Agentic AI Workforces with Promise Theory with Tony Davis & Dr. Mark Burgess
This theory explains how AI agents can make promises and build trust… with other agents.
Today, we're talking to Doctor Mark Burgess, the originator of Promise Theory, and Tony Davis, Senior Director of Agentic Strategy at A&I Solutions. We discuss why command-and-control fails with autonomous AI agents, how agents respond to peer rejection instead of human disapproval, and why Promise Theory is
The Top Scaling Lessons from Zapier's AI Transformation with Wade Foster, Co-Founder & CEO of Zapier
Why did he set off the code-red alarm at his company?
Today, we're talking to Wade Foster, co-founder and CEO of Zapier and host of the Agents of Scale podcast. We discuss how Zapier scaled to $5 billion with only one funding round, why 100% of new hires must be AI fluent, and how top companies are using hackathons to transform their organizations in the age of AI.
All of this right here, right
How Jensen Huang Built the World's Most Valuable Company with Stephen Witt, Author of "The Thinking Machine"
The man behind NVIDIA is unlike any other leader today.
Today, we're talking to Stephen Witt, author of The Thinking Machine. We discuss how he lied his way into six interviews with Jensen Huang, why NVIDIA operates like a company that's thirty days from bankruptcy despite being worth trillions, and how Jensen's decade-long bet on the $0 market created the backbone of the AI revolution.
All of t
How AI Will Collapse, Blur, and Rebuild Tech Teams with Kevin Adams, CIO at Edward Jones
He’s seeing AI unfold at one of the oldest financial firms in the world.
Today, we're talking to Kevin Adams, CIO at Edward Jones. We discuss how AI is disrupting traditional organizational structures, why humans need to move up the stack while AI handles execution, and how to implement AI at the right speed in highly regulated industries.
All of this right here, right now, on the Modern CTO Pod
Why You’ll Never Plan Another Vacation with Vipul Hingne, CTO at Booking.com
How is a travel giant like Booking.com leveraging AI?
Today, we're talking to Vipul Hingne, interim CTO at Booking.com. We discuss how AI is transforming the entire travel experience beyond just planning trips, why Booking.com launched their AI trip planner in just 14 weeks with OpenAI, and how two-thirds of their organization is already using GenAI to solve real customer problems.
All of this r
How to Build Defense for AI Cyber Attack Waves with Ariful Huq, Co-Founder at Exaforce
AI is flooding the cybersecurity space. So, how do we fight back?
Today, we're talking to Ariful Huq, co-founder at Exaforce. We discuss how to build AI defense systems against AI-powered attack waves, why 98% of security alerts are false positives, and how to turn a team of three analysts into a team of ten using AI agents.
All of this right here, right now, on the Modern CTO Podcast!
To lear
Will AI be the End of SaaS? with Rob Woollen & Marwan Mattar of Sigma
If it’s growing exponentially, what will happen to the SaaS model?
Today, we're talking to Rob Woollen, Co-founder at Sigma Computing, and Marwan Mattar, VP of AI at Sigma. We discuss whether AI will kill the SaaS industry, why the demo-to-production gap is AI's biggest challenge, and how the cost of building custom applications is approaching zero.
All of this right here, right now, on the Mode
CES and WEF 2026: What’s the Global State of Tech? with Jim Harris
He went to the biggest tech and economic gatherings in the world.
Today, we're talking to Jim Harris, AI Strategist and Keynote Speaker. We discuss how companies are achieving 80%+ efficiency gains with AI-first thinking, why most employees still fear AI and what to do about it, and how humanoid robots and AI are revolutionizing everything from healthcare to housework.
All of this right here, ri
How AI Will Dissolve Our Brains Just Like Google Maps with Jacob Ward, Author of "The Loop"
If you don’t use it, you lose it. Does the same apply to AI and our brains?
Today, we're talking to Jacob Ward, journalist, AI ethics and safety advisor, and author of The Loop. We discuss why AI will dissolve our brains just like Google Maps dissolved our sense of direction, how our unconscious decision-making makes us vulnerable to AI manipulation, and why kids saying "clankers" might be our be
Why We Need the Rich for Democracy & Tech Progress with John McGinnis, Professor at Northwestern University
The culture is turning on billionaires, but who do you think is funding our technological progress?
Today, we're talking to John McGinnis, Professor at Northwestern University and author of "Why Democracy Needs the Rich." We discuss why wealthy individuals are essential to technological progress and democracy, how professional influencers create incentive structures against the rich, and why Amer
The 9 Skills Every Tech Leader Needs in the Age of AI with Andrea Iorio, Author of "Between You and AI"
How should you respond to the fastest shift in tech we've ever seen? Make more mistakes.
Today, we're talking to Andrea Iorio, author of Between You and AI and former Chief Digital Officer at L'Oréal. We discuss why asking better questions matters more than having all the answers, how reverse mentoring can transform organizational learning, and why becoming antifragile through smart mistakes is t
The Cost Crisis Facing CTOs and How to Solve It with Albert Strasheim, CTO at Rippling
THIS is how you keep your infrastructure costs from spiraling out of control.
Today, we're talking to Albert Strasheim, CTO at Rippling. We discuss the cost crisis facing CTOs in the age of AI, how he reduced infrastructure costs by 30% while growing traffic by 25%, and why holding back feedback is actually the most selfish thing a leader can do.
All of this right here, right now, on the Modern
How Agentic SDLC Turned a 5-month Project Into 5 Days with Brian Elliott, CEO at Blitzy and Tom Jackson, CTO at RSM US LLP
Has AI really become THIS powerful in the enterprise?
Today, we're talking to Brian Elliott, CEO at Blitzy and Tom Jackson, CTO at RSM US LLP. We discuss how AI agents are autonomously completing months of development work in days, why organizational change management is now the biggest bottleneck in software development, and how enterprises are achieving 5x engineering velocity with agentic SDLC
The Modern CTO of 2025 is Rob Duffy, CTO at HealthEdge!
This was the most useful, actionable advice we got on AI in 2025.
Today, we're compiling the best AI content we got from our Modern CTO of 2025: Rob Duffy, CTO at HealthEdge. We discuss why AI demos aren't translating to production ROI, how to treat AI migration with the same rigor as cloud migration, and why technical leaders must use AI tools themselves to drive organizational transformation.
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