Leaders In Tech

Hosted by David Mansilla

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Episodes

124

Latest episode

Jul 2026

Language

EN-US

About the show

Welcome to the leaders in tech podcast. This show focuses on talking with top CIO / CTOs and industry leaders and learning how they are leveraging human and technology resources on growing their business exponentially.

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60 recent

August 14, 2026Episode 2837 min

Mastering AI & Quantum Shifts: What Every Tech Leader Needs to Know Now

What does it take to lead at the absolute edge of technological innovation? 🚀In this episode of the Leaders in Tech Podcast, host David Mansilla is joined by Chris Murphy, a technology leader representing the CTO Office (EMEA) at Viavi Solutions. Chris shares fascinating insights into the invisible infrastructure powering our connected world, the imminent rise of 6G and quantum networks, and what these shifts mean for business leaders, entrepreneurs, and remote teams.Whether you're curious about the mechanics of modern telecommunications or trying to navigate leadership in an AI-driven era, this episode is packed with practical wisdom and mind-bending discussions.KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE:Building Resilient Infrastructure: Why stress-testing your systems (and your business) in the lab prevents real-world disasters.The Evolution to 6G & Open RAN: How flexible, decoupled networks are changing global connectivity.Quantum Computing & Post-Quantum Security: The upcoming threats to encryption and how industries are preparing today.Leading in the Age of AI: Empowering software developers and teams to adapt as AI tools transform the workplace.The Human Side of Remote Work: Balancing the freedom of global, dispersed teams with the need for authentic human connection.Subscribe to the Leaders in Tech Podcast for more inspiring conversations with technology pioneers and business leaders shaping tomorrow!#TechLeadership #5G #6G #Telecommunications #OpenRAN #QuantumComputing #Cybersecurity #FutureOfTech #RemoteWork #Podcast #LeadersInTech

July 30, 2026Episode 2743 min

The Cybersecurity Mistake That Costs Companies Millions

Welcome to another episode of Leaders in Tech hosted by David Mansilla! In this episode, we welcome Thom Langford, air CTO at Rapid7 and former CISO at Publicis Groupe and Velonetic. Thom takes us through his fascinating career path—from early days setting up 640K memory PCs and Vax VMS systems to building enterprise cybersecurity programs from scratch. Beyond tech stacks and vulnerability management, Thom opens up about his personal battle with burnout and addiction, offering powerful lessons on mental health, leadership, and setting workplace boundaries. Key Takeaways & What You’ll Learn:The Security Paradox: Why absolute security stops business innovation, and how CISOs must manage compromise and complexity. Unconventional Career Paths: How a corporate identity theft crisis launched Thom’s CISO career. Mental Health in Cybersecurity: Overcoming burnout, dealing with "secrets and failure," and why normalizing mental health discourse saves careers. Empathetic Leadership: The rule of "Public Support, Private Correction," providing air cover for your team, and leading with trust. Work-Life Balance: Practical strategies for tech professionals, including learning to decline unnecessary meetings and setting hard boundaries. 🔔 Subscribe & Stay Connected:If you enjoyed this episode, please like, subscribe, and hit the notification bell so you never miss an episode of Leaders in Tech!#Cybersecurity #CISO #Rapid7 #LeadersInTech #ITLeadership #ThreatIntelligence #VulnerabilityManagement #MentalHealthInTech #ExecutiveLeadership #WorkLifeBalance #TechPodcast #IncidentResponse #BusinessContinuity #CareerJourney #EmpathyInLeadership

July 16, 2026Episode 2641 min

How to Leverage Machine Learning to Monetize Your Fractional Expertise

In this episode, host David Mansilla is joined by Azam Beyk, a former professional football player, telecom engineer, and the visionary founder of Neoma.From surviving the ruins of the Yugoslavian war in Croatia to facing career-ending sports injuries, Azam’s path to tech leadership was anything but traditional. He opens up about the painful two-year emotional transition of rebuilding his life, how he went from deep-tech engineering to corporate pre-sales, and why he ultimately stepped away from corporate life to build an AI platform that is modernizing how enterprises and high-tech vendors collaborate.If you want to build a deeply aligned, resilient, and human-centric organization, Azam’s unique leadership perspective will change how you view your business.Key Takeaways from This Episode:The "New Moon" Philosophy: The inspiration behind his startup, Neoma, representing the power of starting fresh and embracing personal/business reinvention in the era of AI.The Ultimate Business Skill—Resiliency: How surviving geopolitical displacement and physical setbacks created an unshakeable mindset capable of handling the emotional roller coaster of entrepreneurship.Translating Tech to Business Value: Learning the critical executive skill of bridging the gap between deep technical code and high-level business strategy.The Corporate Football Pitch: A genius team-building strategy where Product acts as Defense, Sales as the Offense, and Marketing as the Midfielders.Human-Centric Future of Work: How Neoma leverages AI to accelerate B2B digital transformation while opening decentralized, flexible financial opportunities for modern tech contributors.The Ultimate Golden Rule: Why leading with mutual value—"Loving for others what you love for yourself"—is the key to achieving global peace and successful collaboration.#LeadersInTech #TechPodcast #DigitalTransformation #AIStartup #BusinessLeadership #CareerPivot #MindsetShift #OvercomingAdversity #EntrepreneurMindset #Neoma

June 29, 2026Episode 2247 min

The Crushing Weight of Bootstrapping a Tech Empire | Jerod Venema (LiveSwitch)

What does it really take to scale a global technology architecture completely on your own terms? In this deeply emotional and highly technical episode of the Leaders in Tech podcast, host David Mansilla is joined by real-time communications pioneer Jerod Venema, Founder and President of LiveSwitch.🔑 Key Takeaways From This Episode:(1) Seizing the WebRTC Revolution: How Jerod aligned his architecture with Google and Firefox’s browser updates to release the world's first native WebRTC SDK for iOS and Mac.(2) Redefining Failure: Why mistakes are simply transaction costs paid to experience. In Jerod's framework, failure isn't a bad quarter—it's the exact moment you choose to stop trying.(3) Cosmic Scale vs. Commonplace Value: Why providing real-time diagnostic video apps to working-class painters and plumbers to give them their family time back is more rewarding than powering stadium jumbotrons.(4) The Unilateral Hires Veto: Inside the hiring framework Jerod used with his co-founding brother, where either could veto an applicant based purely on an cultural red flag with zero explanations required.(5) Smashing the Founder’s Ceiling: The structural trap of the "hustle mentality" and how learning to step aside to form a grassroots partnership with Brian Hamilton saved the company from stagnation.🚀 About Our Guest:Jerod Venema is the Founder and President of LiveSwitch, a premier provider powering high-quality, mass-scale interactive video for Fortune 500 giants and small businesses globally. Founded in 2008, LiveSwitch has evolved from a grassroots startup into a multi-million dollar tech leader featured across Inc. Magazine, VentureBeat, and the Financial Post.🎯 CHALLENGE FOR THE WEEK: Are you empowering your team to operate with the same intensity as a founder, or are you absorbing all the organizational stress yourself? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!If you found value in this unfiltered masterclass on tech entrepreneurship, make sure to LIKE, SHARE, and SUBSCRIBE for more leadership breakdowns!#LeadersInTech #WebRTC #LiveSwitch #TechLeadership #Bootstrapping #FounderMindset #SoftwareArchitecture #NASA #SuperBowlTech

June 29, 2026Episode 2329 min

Moving from Technical Expert to Market Leader with Pete Steege

What happens when a brilliant engineer or software developer builds a successful business, but realizes they don't actually know how to be a CEO? In this episode of the Leaders in Tech podcast, host David Mansilla interviews growth adviser Pete Steege to tackle the unique challenges faced by "Accidental CEOs."Pete spent decades in tech marketing before launching his own firm, B2B Clarity, right during the pandemic. Today, he shares his proprietary CMP (Clarity, Meaning, Purpose) Growth framework designed to help technical founders simplify their messaging, align their company culture, and scale intentionally.If you are tired of losing deals because your product feels "too complicated" to explain, this episode is your masterclass in marketing with meaning.🚀 Watch the full episode to hear Pete’s inspiring story and actionable business advice!📌 Key Takeaways:(1) The "Accidental CEO" Trap: Technical founders excel at building great products but often struggle to lead a company because their expertise is in code or engineering, not corporate strategy.(2) Uncover Your "True Story": Stop selling features and start selling outcomes. Pete shares how a $20M low-voltage company went from explaining complicated tech to pitching the ultimate result: "bringing the workplace to life."(3) The CMP Growth Framework: A deep dive into the four waves of business evolution: Uncover (finding clarity), Deploy (building an aligned culture), Scale (becoming a market leader), and Sustain (defining your legacy and finish line).(4) Marketing is Generosity: Why traditional "spammy" marketing fails, and how providing free, high-value content on platforms like LinkedIn naturally attracts your ideal clients.(5) The Value of a Crisis: How Pete used a sudden pandemic-era job loss as the ultimate stepping stone to build a thriving advisory practice.If you enjoyed this episode, please Like, Subscribe, and hit the Notification Bell to stay updated with more insights for tech leaders!#AccidentalCEO #TechStartups #B2BClarity #LeadersInTech #BusinessFramework #FounderToCEO #CMPGrowth

June 29, 2026Episode 2427 min

The Terrifying Reality of Replacing Traditional Doctors' Tools With AI

Welcome back to another episode of Leaders in Tech! In this episode, host David Mansilla sits down with Bill Phillips, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and former Chief Information Officer (CIO) of University Health in San Antonio, Texas.Bill shares his highly inspiring personal story: how discovering he was colorblind shattered his early plans of becoming an electrician, and how that exact roadblock redirected him into a brilliant, lifelong career in technology and healthcare operations.💡 KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE:The Invisible Power Grid: Why healthcare IT is like the electric company—thankless when it works perfectly, but absolutely vital to keeping patients alive during a crisis.AI as a Medical Super-Tool: Real-world examples of how AI is reading mammograms, detecting early brain bleeds on CT scans, and cutting MRI breath-hold times down from 14 seconds to just 4.The "30-Day Vice President" Myth: Why rushing to the top doesn't work, and how bouncing around different IT layers makes you a well-rounded, irreplaceable leader.Leading from the Front: How showing up two hours early with a documented plan to handle the COVID-19 vaccine rollout completely shifted Bill’s career path from CIO to COO.Overcoming Self-Limitation: A powerful reminder that you are what you think, and why you should never let anyone tell you what you can't achieve.#LeadersInTech #HealthcareIT #ArtificialIntelligence #OperationsManagement #TechPodcast #CIO #COO #CareerAdvice #Inspiration

June 29, 2026Episode 2536 min

How an Unconventional CIO Scales a Billion-Dollar Retail Empire | Nicholas Hien (Dollarama)

Welcome to another episode of the Leaders in Tech podcast! In this episode, host David Mansilla sits down with Nicholas Hien, the Chief Information Officer at Dollarama and Executive Vice President at Dollar City.Nick shares his fascinating, unconventional journey from studying operations management and logistics to unexpectedly steering the IT division of a massive, coast-to-coast retail corporation experiencing global expansion into Latin America, Mexico, and Australia.Whether you are an aspiring tech leader, an entrepreneur, or a corporate executive, Nick’s grounded approach to technology, disciplined lean management, and professional resilience will completely change how you view digital transformation.Key TakeawaysGlobal Footprint: How Dollarama successfully expanded into the Latin American market through its thriving subsidiary, Dollar City.The Unconventional Path to IT: Why a background in logistics and operations management can actually make you a superior, business-centric tech leader.The Accidental CIO Masterclass: What happens when you are thrown into a multi-million dollar corporate IT role overnight and have to self-teach yourself everything between sunset and sunrise.The Myth of Services vs. SAS: How Nick built, scaled, and successfully sold his 2-man consulting startup to Big Four giant KPMG.Tool vs. Process Philosophy: Why you should never deploy a technological solution onto a broken foundation. Fix the business process first!The Discipline of Staying Lean: How to fight corporate bloat, resist over-hiring, and maintain a high-performing culture during hyper-growth.The Billboard Wisdom: Why focusing strictly on your circle of influence is the ultimate antidote to executive burnout and anxiety.Connect with the Guest: 🔗 Nicholas Hien on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolashien/Subscribe to Leaders in Tech for more masterclasses from global tech executives! #RetailTech #InternationalExpansion #CorporateStrategy #ITLeadership #LeanBusiness #ProcessOptimization #EntrepreneurialJourney #FocusOnWhatYouControl

May 3, 2026Episode 2145 min

From Mechanic to CTO: The Secret to 100x Growth Was Hidden In The Grease

In a world where tech leaders jump ship every two years, Jake Blough (CTO of Service Express) has spent a quarter-century building a legacy from the ground up. Starting in a family auto shop and eventually entering Service Express in shipping and receiving, Jake’s journey is a masterclass in stewardship, grit, and technical innovation. Today, Jake oversees Supply Chain, Data Science, and R&D for a global leader in datacenter infrastructure maintenance. In this conversation, we dive deep into how a "mechanic’s heart" and a "No Rearview Mirror" leadership style propelled a company from $4 million to over $325 million. Key Takeaways from this Episode: 💡The Hardware of Leadership: Why the ability to troubleshoot a car engine translates directly to fixing complex enterprise servers. Celebrating the Red: How to build a "failure-tolerant" culture where red metrics are viewed as opportunities for innovation rather than grounds for punishment. The 100x Algorithm: The strategies behind scaling a business across the UK, Ireland, and Europe. The Power of Partnership: Why every "Activator" needs a patient partner to balance urgency with wisdom. Working Yourself Out of a Job: The "secret sauce" to career longevity—building systems so well you can hand the keys to the next leader and find a bigger problem to solve. About Jake Blough: Jake is the CTO of Service Express, where he focuses on the future of datacenter infrastructure, mergers and acquisitions, and internal process optimization. He is a firm believer in "Progress over Perfection" and building "scrappy" teams that aren't afraid to fail fast. Don't forget to LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, and hit the BELL to stay updated on the latest leadership insights in tech!#ServiceExpress #TechCTO #Leadership #DataCenter #BusinessScaling #CareerAdvice #DigitalInfrastructure #LeadersInTech

March 31, 2026Episode 2047 min

You Won't Believe the "Horrible Lie" We Were Told About Keeping Knowledge Secret

In this episode of the Leaders in Tech podcast, host David Mansilla sits down with Kin Lee-Yow, CIO of CAA Club Group. Kin oversees the technological backbone of an organization obsessed with member safety—from roadside assistance to complex insurance underwriting through CAA Insurance and Echelon Insurance. Kin shares his personal "immigrant success story," moving from the tropical climate of Mauritius to the University of Waterloo, and how his early love for "tinkering" evolved into a high-stakes career in Cybersecurity and AI. Key Takeaways:The Mission of Safety: Learn how a simple mission statement—"obsessed with member safety"—drives every technical decision at CAA. Leadership is Psychology: Kin explains why his high school psychology course ended up being more valuable than his coding classes when it came to managing people. The 5 Principles of Success: A deep dive into Kin’s framework for a healthy corporate culture: Respect, Learning, Collaboration, Innovation, and Commitment. Collaboration Over Competition: Discover the definition of true collaboration—working to make your partner look good rather than trying to outshine them. The AI & Internet Parallel: Insights on why Generative AI is a powerful research tool that still requires human discernment and the "Clarify and Verify" method. Sharing is Growing: Why the "old school" mentality of hoarding knowledge is a "horrible lie" that keeps your career stagnant. About the Guest: Kin Lee-Yow is the CIO for CAA Club Group, focusing on digital transformation, cybersecurity, and the ethical implementation of AI. He is a mentor to students and a firm believer in the "Golden Rule" of business: doing unto others as you would have them do unto you. Follow for more insights from the giants of the tech industry!#LeadersInTech #CAACanada #CIO #TechLeadership #CyberSecurity #GenerativeAI #ServantLeadership #BusinessStrategy #Mentorship #TechInnovation

March 2, 2026Episode 196 min

Refugee Grit: The Unfair Advantage of Leaders Who Started with Nothing

In 1998, Miloš Topić arrived in the U.S. with two suitcases and zero English. Today, he is the VP and Chief Digital Officer at a major university, leading thousands. How do you close that gap?In this episode, we explore the "Refugee Grit" mindset—an unfair advantage that allows leaders to thrive in chaos and innovate when there is no roadmap. We’re breaking down a "golden nugget" from the Leaders in Tech podcast that reveals the exact strategies Miloš used to scale the executive ladder by focusing on people, problem-solving, and the "Machete Principle."This story is just the beginning. If you want to hear the full, deep-dive conversation about the future of tech leadership and Miloš's incredible journey, you can watch the complete episode here:https://youtu.be/arkNzF6GyGM[What You’ll Learn]🔑 The Machete Principle: Why entrepreneurs don't need a map, they need a blade.🔑 The Insomnia Hack: The fastest way to get noticed by your CEO.🔑 Wartime Leadership: How to handle a massive tech crisis without losing your team.🔑 The Power of the Second Choice: Why your "passion" might be hiding behind an accidental opportunity.If you’re building your own path right now, drop a "Machete" 🪓 in the comments. We’d love to hear which of Miloš’s lessons resonated most with your journey. Don't forget to Like and Subscribe to join our community of tech leaders and entrepreneurs.