TechPod Talks
TechPod Talks is a podcast for tech leaders and executives navigating digital transformation. Host Stephen Koza, CEO of EverOps, interviews proven technical leaders about practical topics like IT modernization, scaling engineering teams, and AI implementation. The show aims to bridge the gap between leadership perception and on-the-ground realities, offering real-world advice without fluff.
Episodes
Product Market Fit, Secure by Design, and Betting on the Models with Daghan Altas
Product Market Fit, Secure by Design, and Betting on the Models with Daghan AltasDaghan Altas is Head of Product at Semgrep, a code security company that helps engineering teams find and fix vulnerabilities in the code they ship. He's spent his career moving between product and sales, from creating the MX security appliance and SD-WAN product line at Cisco Meraki to building Semgrep's sales functi
Coding Stopped Being the Bottleneck. So What Replaced It?
Back in April, Stephen Koza opened episode two with a claim: coding is not the bottleneck, it is everything else. Over the next ten episodes he put a version of that question to ten engineering leaders, and they did not agree with each other. This episode runs their answers side by side and lands on the one thing they had in common, which is that almost none of the answers were technical.Main Topi
Building to Understand, Storytelling, and AI Adoption Friction with Joel Cloralt
Joel Cloralt is Director of Product at Smartcar, a connected vehicle API platform that helps developers build applications connecting to cars, from routing Uber EVs by battery level to smartly managing grid load when everyone plugs in at 5pm. He's spent 15 years building products across fintech, developer tooling, and connected vehicle tech, all while shipping his own apps on the side. Stephen and
Career Pivots, Authentic Leadership, and the Agentic Era with Stephen Koza
TechPod Talks producer Lauren Dort turns the mic on host Stephen Koza, CEO of EverOps. Stephen traces his path from electrical engineering student at UT Austin to enterprise sales, through Silicon Valley startups and investing, to acquiring and running EverOps since February 2022. The conversation covers what authentic leadership actually looks like in practice, how to hire for ceiling rather than
Security, AI Adoption, and Human Judgment with Patrick McKinney
Patrick McKinney, VP of Security at Invisible Technologies, has spent his career building security and compliance functions from the ground up, from Coinbase to Dropbox to Salesforce. He shares the playbook lessons that carried across each stop, why phase two never adds security, and how he's applying an AI native approach to security at Invisible while still keeping judgment and accountability fi
Prebid, Music Royalties, and Leading Through Transformation with Tom Kershaw
Tom Kershaw, SVP and CTO at BMI, shares how a career spanning telecom, ad tech, travel, and now music rights taught him to learn new industries fast and lead through transformation. He breaks down the massive data challenge of tracking billions of music performances, the open source story behind Prebid that led to Google's antitrust trial, and why trying to stop AI in music is a losing battle.Main
From Six Sigma to AI: Turning Discovery Into Revenue with Jose Gonzalez
Jose Gonzalez, VP of Product at Ticketmaster, shares how a career spanning the dot-com bubble, Johnson & Johnson, Yahoo, EA, Amazon, and a Techstars-backed AI startup shaped his approach to product leadership. He breaks down the power law behind media platforms, what it takes to scale teams under pressure, and why trying to put the AI genie back in the bottle is the wrong move.Main Topics Cove
Systems Thinking, Shark Tank, and AI in Gaming with Chris Harden
Chris Harden, Director of Production Verification and AI Liaison at Unity, shares how a career spanning theme parks, embedded software, EA Sports, and a startup that was featured on Shark Tank shaped his approach to building the systems around software. He breaks down the AI debate in gaming, how he used agents to write his latest book, and why communication is the most underrated leadership skill
AI-Native Engineering: From Coding to Orchestration with Robert Gonzalez
Robert Gonzalez, VP of Engineering at SugarAI shares how he's transforming a 115-person engineering org into an AI-native operation, from building Scrum Master agents to rethinking how engineering value is measured. He also makes the case that in the age of AI, your product's durable moat isn't the UI, it's the context layer underneath it.Main Topics Covered:A self-taught career path from webmaste
Balancing Operational Excellence and Innovation in Engineering with Meir Wasserman
Discover how engineering leaders in gaming navigate the constant tension between keeping the lights on and building what's next. Meir Wasserman shares hard-earned lessons from EA Sports, Amazon Games, and 2K Games on driving change, creating urgency, and evolving as a leader, plus his take on how AI is reshaping the engineering workflow.Main Topics Covered:Balancing operational toil with deliverin
FinOps, AI, and the Non-Traditional Path to Tech Leadership with Chris Robertson
Explore how top tech leaders, like Chris Robertson, leverage unconventional career journeys, self-education, and cutting-edge AI strategies to achieve remarkable success in tech industries. Gain insights into building resilient teams, optimizing cloud economics, and fostering innovation through rapid experimentation.Main Topics Covered:The power of self-learning and non-traditional career paths to
Building Organizational Clarity to Unlock Growth with Dr. Janet Sherlock
Discover how organizational structure impacts performance, innovation, and growth. Join us as Dr. Janet Sherlock shares insights from her 30-year career, research, and practical experience transforming organizations for the digital age.Main Topics Covered:The overlooked importance of organizational structure in leadership successHow overlapping C-suite roles and organizational layering impact per
Software, Leadership, and the AI Era with Francisco Trindade
In this episode, Francisco Trindade, VP of Product Engineering at Braze, shares his insights on how AI is transforming software development, leadership, and education. We explore the evolving roles of engineers, the importance of understanding the system, and how leaders can create effective, adaptable teams amidst rapid technological change.Main Topics Covered:The impact of AI on coding and softw
Unlocking Leadership and Cost Optimization in Tech with Mark Sass
Discover how seasoned tech leader Mark Sass navigates the challenges of leadership, cost efficiency, and scaling platform engineering.This episode delves into practical strategies, leadership evolution, and the importance of understanding business context, all from a leader with a rich background across industries.Main Topics Covered:Mark Sass’s career journey and leadership style evolutionThe imp
Welcome to Techpod Talks
Are you a tech leader or tech executive struggling with the pressures of digital transformation? We’re talking specifically about things like IT modernization, efficient team scaling with limited resources, and developing a practical AI strategy. These are very real issues we’re all facing in the tech industry right now, and it’s proving difficult to find the advice you actually need.Host Stephen
Recommended
Conspiracy Files with Paige Carter
Bad Friends
Learn 50 English Phrases While You Sleep | Everyday English Phrases & Vocabulary
This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von
Dateline NBC
Back to the 80s Radio
Crime Stories with Nancy Grace
Bible Tea
این نقطه
TED Business
Dark Night Tales with Brian King
Fantasy Flex
