12 episodes

Build Better Tech brings you into the room with technology leaders at influential companies, talking about how to do hard work really well. We'll have upbeat conversations about how they've leveraged excellent tech as business strategy to craft their companies' futures, and we'll share both war stories and proudest moments, all with an eye towards doing great work and building great teams.This show is for everyone seeking to build better in their own work world, regardless of technological expertise, interested in hearing from the top leaders at companies they love.

Build Better Tech: How the nation’s leading companies use tech as business strategy to win‪.‬ Colleen Reidelbach

    • Technology
    • 5.0 • 18 Ratings

Build Better Tech brings you into the room with technology leaders at influential companies, talking about how to do hard work really well. We'll have upbeat conversations about how they've leveraged excellent tech as business strategy to craft their companies' futures, and we'll share both war stories and proudest moments, all with an eye towards doing great work and building great teams.This show is for everyone seeking to build better in their own work world, regardless of technological expertise, interested in hearing from the top leaders at companies they love.

    Airbnb CSO & Head of Trust Engineering & Data Science Vijaya Kaza: "There are no failures in life, only opportunities and experiences to learn from."

    Airbnb CSO & Head of Trust Engineering & Data Science Vijaya Kaza: "There are no failures in life, only opportunities and experiences to learn from."

    Vijaya Kaza is the Chief Security Officer and Head of Engineering & Data Science for Trust & Safety at Airbnb. She has an extraordinary record of technology leadership in building teams, guiding product development, and driving innovation in the field of security, machine learning, and AI. 

    Her personal framework for scaling companies which she shares in our discussion comes from her years of experience doing exactly that at some of the biggest tech companies in the world. Make sure to follow Vijaya on LinkedIn to keep up with her insights. 

    I also want to highlight the inspiring account she shares of how Airbnb and many of its users have rallied to support the Ukrainian people during the terrible conflict in Ukraine. Prior to 2022, Airbnb had already helped match over 100,000 people in crisis with housing and other types of support, and the work carries forward with massive contributions and housing programs to support affected Ukrainians. Learn more at airbnb.org. 

    • 43 min
    Lexmark Global CTO & CIO Vishal Gupta: “Ask: Is this critical or good-to-have?”

    Lexmark Global CTO & CIO Vishal Gupta: “Ask: Is this critical or good-to-have?”

    Vishal Gupta is the Global CIO and CTO, and SVP of Connected Technology at Lexmark, a brand you’ve likely encountered through their printing products. Our conversation opened my eyes to the wide range of applications for the technologies Lexmark has developed: IOT, predictive data analytics, gaming, and curling irons. Vishal's leadership in the innovation, development, and commercialization of those technologies has no doubt been key to their success. 

    He shared stories and great advice as we recorded remotely in January 2022. 

    Thanks once again to Vishal and the Lexmark team members who helped coordinate our discussion. Vishal is a prolific member of the Forbes Technology Council and the Wall Street Journal CIO Council, so be sure to follow his work there and on LinkedIn. 

    For more from Build Better Tech including episode news and behind the scenes content, follow on Twitter, LinkedIn, and our fledgling Instagram account @buildbettertech. I’d also love a five star review on your favorite podcast platform! 

    • 45 min
    State Farm Chief Data Officer DeWayne Griffin: "Data is a team sport."

    State Farm Chief Data Officer DeWayne Griffin: "Data is a team sport."

    Today we hear from DeWayne Griffin, Chief Data Officer at State Farm. In the insurance industry, data is critical both to optimization of the business and to delivering a personalized customer experience, and the insight, expertise, and vision Dewayne brings to his role make it easy to understand why he was the right man for the job technically. His leadership philosophy and warmth make it clear why he excels in his executive and people management responsibilities.
    We met at the State Farm campus in Atlanta in January 2022.
    Thanks once again to DeWayne and the State Farm team members who helped coordinate our discussion. Make sure to follow DeWayne on LinkedIn for more of his insight.
    And while you’re making the rounds on your social platforms, give @BuildBetterTech a follow on Twitter, LinkedIn, and our fledgling Instagram account for episode news and the occasional behind the scenes snapshot. I’d also love a five star review on your favorite podcast platform!
    As always feel free to reach out with feedback at buildbettertechpodcast@gmail.com, or connect with me directly on LinkedIn. Thanks for tuning in!

    • 48 min
    Home Depot VP Justin Burleigh: “Play Chess, Not Checkers”

    Home Depot VP Justin Burleigh: “Play Chess, Not Checkers”

    Justin Burleigh is the Vice President of E-Commerce and Interconnected Experience at Home Depot. He is the archetype of a great product person: laser-focused on empathy for the user, and visionary in solving problems without an attachment to the solutions themselves. His team builds the innovative products that help Home Depot’s customers and pros fuel their DIY needs, and it was fascinating to get insight into this household as a technology company. 
    He also made me aware of the Home Depot Foundation, whose programs serve veterans, offer career paths to skilled trades, and provide disaster relief to affected communities. Very worthy work that we’d love for you to learn more about. 
    We spoke at the beginning of December 2021

    Links: 

    Careers Page at Home Depot — https://careers.homedepot.com/ 
    Justin Burleigh's Twitter — @dimonet

    KDD Conference info — https://kdd.org/conferences

    The Home Depot Foundation — https://corporate.homedepot.com/foundation 

    • 43 min
    Zoom CTO Brendan Ittelson

    Zoom CTO Brendan Ittelson

    Brendan Ittelson loves solving problems for people and enabling them to accomplish their goals. He loved it even as a kid when he was tapped to troubleshoot tech issues around his school so often that he started a “Tech Squad”, and it seems to me that he loves it more than ever now, as he serves as the CTO of Zoom. He took the helm in the early days of the pandemic, thereby stepping into a role important to all of us who have relied on Zoom to stay connected in trying times. It was a great pleasure to speak -- how else -- over Zoom.


    Brendan's Developer Keynote from Zoomtopia 2021: Innovate with the Performance, Scale, and Reliability of Zoom  https://zoomtopia.com/ondemand/?video-id=Su8cVCmz

    Topic Time Stamps 


    1:15 - What was it like to step into the CTO role at Zoom in April 2020? 


    3:00 - Were you aware of the weight of the role Zoom would play in the pandemic? 


    4:10 - As you were talking with your customers in those early days, what did they say that they needed? 


    5:18 - How important is the customer function within an organization, and what are some ways to be great at it? 


    7:25 - What have been some of your most meaningful experiences in working with your customers? 


    9:10 - With a much larger, much different user base now, how has the implementation or architecture of the product changed? 


    11:10 - What were some of the surprising use cases that you heard about for Zoom and what was it like to hear those? 


    12:40 - What questions or concerns that people building technology don't think about enough, or that people think about too much? 


    14:25 - How do you foster innovation while still prioritizing simplicity? 


    18:30 - Do you have a catchphrase or mantra that you're known for within the organization? 


    19:40 - What are some things about technology that you are watchful or concerned about? What are things you see that make you optimistic or excited about the future? 


    22:30 - What's the biggest challenge you're working on right now? 


    23:30 — The moonshot vision for what Zoom will be in 2050. 



    Pull Quotes from Brendan: 


    On the focus for Zoom as the pandemic set in: "We were looking at, How can we "deliver happiness" and connect the world in such a critical time? We were so humbled to have technology that could help people connect and collaborate."


    "Having the pulse on your customers and truly understanding them is key to sustainable business."


    On getting valuable feedback from customers: "A lot of it is meeting individuals where they are, not where you are. What channels are you providing for customers to reach out? How are they engaged? How simple is that process? it's really looking at how you can do that and make that a seamless experience for the end user and be able to scale and processing that information."


    "I fondly remember hearing about people getting married over Zoom, those personal experiences, and in most personal moments being able to connect and experience things at a different level even in this time when so many of us felt disconnected. It was just so empowering hearing that."

    "Technology is amazing. There is so much that you can do and there is a natural inclination to build these complex systems. But the most complex system is actually the simplest system because you've actually gone through all the use cases and whittled it down, and refined and perfected that so that it is extremely easy to use, understand, and scale."

    "The key thing for innovation is being able to step back, remove all the constraints, and have fun thinking about problems."

    • 26 min
    Dr. Luc Julia: Creator of Siri, CSO of Renault, Former CTO of Samsung, Inventor

    Dr. Luc Julia: Creator of Siri, CSO of Renault, Former CTO of Samsung, Inventor

    Dr. Julia is one of the most accomplished technologists I'll ever be lucky enough to meet. He is well known as the creator of Siri, but he has driven innovation in some of the biggest companies on the planet, making contributions so significant that he was awarded the Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur (the highest French order of merit) by his country of origin. 

    We cover tech culture in France vs. Silicon Valley, the necessity of listening to the weird guys, using discomfort to spark innovation, and the fatal flaws of "big data". Plus: what does Siri have to teach you about flirting in nightclubs? 

    For more Dr. Julia, check out his book, There is No Such Thing as Artificial Intelligence, and follow him on LinkedIn. 
    1:45 - Luc is an inventor. Picture little Luc building his first robot in France at the age of nine, and dreaming of being a researcher when he grew up. 
    3:05 - Tech culture and education in France vs. tech culture in the United States. What's the difference in how these two cultures view failure? Silicon Valley as a Gold Rush. 
    7:10 - What are some of the ways good leaders foster innovation in large companies? Dr. Julia tells stories from Samsung, Apple, and other industry leaders, and explains the primary mechanism for innovation in those types of environments.
    11:45 - Dr. Julia tells a story of failure and success: Live TV on smart phones (shoutout to Nokia) goes nowhere in 2002. 2007 brings the iPhone and user numbers go from a few thousand "weird guys" to 15 million in a couple of months. 
    14:30 - What advice would you give a CEO who wants to embrace innovation and fight the impulse to be conservative? Find the guys who seem weird, build multicultural, cross-functional teams, and push them out of their comfort zone.
    17:20 - Life at SRI International (Stanford Research Institute), and why those teams were so special. Also, Siri's origin story! Dr. Julia takes Colleen back in time to meet a cricket... A CHIC one. 
    26:20 - Siri gets a personality! How did she become the "person" she is, and how does she use "artificial stupidity" to charm her users out of caring that she doesn't know the answer? Turns out she's got the same moves as you and me in a nightclub. 
    31:45 - There is no such thing as artificial intelligence. AI is just a tool in the hands of humans, and it's only as accurate as the data that fuels it. AI is neither going to take over the world or save the world on its own: we as people have to be the ones to build and apply it effectively. 
    39:20 - What are some of the things that keep Dr. Julia up at night? And why does he turn down selfies? 
    43:17 - Three domains Dr. Julia is most excited about for near-term technology gains. 

    • 47 min

Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5
18 Ratings

18 Ratings

k.korbut ,

Great podcast!

Amazing podcast about technology! It covers not only the tech culture and creation process, but also many fun things. You get to know the personality of the guests, which is great. If you have not listened to this podcast yet - I suggest you begin as soon as possible!

TheReal_IG ,

Great Host. Great Insight

Pair a great host with insightful guests and you get the perfect recipe for an amazing podcast. A must listen if you are into business and tech!

Limimc ,

Great podcast!

Pragmatic interviews with outstanding leaders in the tech industry. Definitely adding this one to my rotation!

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