Futureproof by Xano

If everyone in your organization wants AI, but half of them can't explain what for—where do you start? In this episode of Futureproof, Xano CEO Prakash Chandran sits down with Fred Hennige, Director of Enterprise Architecture at Jack in the Box , to explore what enterprise architecture actually looks like inside a fast-growing restaurant company navigating AI adoption. Fred shares lessons fro...

If you plug an AI agent into your data, how do you know it's giving you the right answer—and not just a confident one? In this episode of Futureproof, Prakash Chandran sits down with Heather Lutz, Director of Engineering at Datasite, the provider of AI-powered solutions that enable private market investment, including virtual data rooms for mergers and acquisitions. Together, they unpack what...

If an AI agent gives you the correct answer but took the wrong path to get there, can you actually trust it? In this episode of Futureproof, Prakash Chandran sits down with Karthik Narayan, Director of Product Management at Komodo Health, where he leads Marmot, an enterprise AI product for life sciences. Marmot's promise is that life sciences companies no longer need to send their data to McK...

If AI is making us faster, why does it feel like we're understanding less? In this episode of Futureproof, Prakash Chandran sits down with Doug Merritt, CEO of Aviatrix. Doug is one of the most accomplished enterprise technology leaders of the last two decades—after serving as CEO of Splunk for years, he's now leading Aviatrix to tackle cloud-native security. Together, they unpack why th...

If AI agents are writing your code, how are you making sure it's secure? In this episode of Futureproof, Prakash Chandran sits down with Tim Olshansky, CTO and co-founder of Fencer, to explore what application security really looks like in a world where AI writes most of the code and open source software underpins everything. Tim shares his journey from engineer—navigating bureaucratic securi...

What does it really take to build a regulated fintech product from scratch—with a small team and a bootstrapped budget? In this episode of Futureproof, Prakash Chandran sits down with Michael Konrath, co-founder and Chief Product Officer of Choice Digital, a fintech company that ensures customers—including the unbanked—actually receive the payments they're owed. Michael shares the full arc of...

What if AI is just the latest Blockchain? In this episode of Futureproof, Prakash Chandran sits down with Joshua Greenbaum of Enterprise Applications Consulting to explore the AI hype cycle. Josh reflects on his 30 years of technology consulting and examines whether AI is following the same trajectory as other technologies, where true value can get lost in the froth and frenzy of investors and fou...

If enterprises already have massive SaaS platforms, why would they build custom tools instead? In this episode of Futureproof, Prakash Chandran sits down with Yvonne Lau, CEO of HR Verticals Inc., to explore the real tradeoffs of build vs. buy in technology—and what changes when AI and low-code tools enter the picture. Yvonne shares her journey from corporate HR practitioner to founder, tracing a...

What if writing code isn’t actually the most important part of engineering? In this episode of Futureproof, Prakash Chandran sits down with Aleksander Hakestad, CTO and co-founder at Apart Tech , to explore what it really takes to build software in an AI-native world without losing quality, craft, or control. Aleksander explains why the best leaders stay hands-on so they can evaluate quality, why...

What if your biggest AI advantage isn’t a model—it's how fast your team can learn together? In this episode of Futureproof , Prakash Chandran sits down with Alfonso Quijano, CTO of Lean Solutions Group, to explore how Lean is becoming AI-ready by turning learning into a team sport. Alfonso explains how they create space for engineers to test new tools, teach each other what works, and build a...

What qualities matter most for builders in an AI-native world? In this episode of Futureproof, Prakash Chandran sits down with Karthik Puvvada (KP), Head of Community at Netlify, to explore how artificial intelligence is reshaping creation, careers, and community-driven growth. KP explains why the industry is moving away from rigid “developer vs. non-developer” labels toward a new divide of high-a...

Are engineering leaders asking the wrong questions when deciding what to build? In this episode of Futureproof, Xano CEO Prakash Chandran talks with Chris Horn, SVP of Operations at Deriv, about what it takes to build AI inside a regulated, global software environment. Chris explains the difference between prototypes and proofs-of-concept, why data architecture is the real unlock, and how Deriv us...

If AI becomes a creator, where do humans bring value to storytelling? In this episode of Futureproof, Xano CEO Prakash Chandran talks with Sylvain Monterrey, founder and CEO of Animatix, an AI-powered film production platform used by leading advertising agencies and media studios. Sylvain shares his journey from fashion to AI — and explains how the creative production pipeline is being rebuilt on...

What does it mean to be a builder in a time when AI can build all on its own? In this episode of Futureproof, Xano CEO Prakash Chandran sits down with JJ Englert, founder of NoCode Alliance and community and education lead at Softr, creator, teacher, filmmaker-turned-builder, and a major voice in the no-code movement. JJ shares the unlikely journey from roofing to becoming a filmmaker, to finally...

If AI can find the lead and write the email… what still separates the best GTM teams from everyone else? In this episode of Futureproof, Xano CEO Prakash Chandran talks with Derek Evjenth, longtime go-to-market leader and current enterprise sales lead at Adobe, about what it really takes to build a successful GTM strategy in the age of AI. Derek draws on his journey from bootstrapped founder at Se...

How do you prepare a decades-old enterprise for an AI-native future? In this episode of Futureproof, Xano CEO Prakash Chandran talks with George Bock, CIO at Generali Global Assistance, about what it takes to modernize an enterprise when the technology landscape is moving faster than ever. George shares lessons from a career of leading complex transformations — from cloud migrations and legacy sys...

Have the basic requirements for building a good user experience actually changed? In this episode of Futureproof, Xano CEO Prakash Chandran sits down with Tony Casparro, senior staff software engineer at OpenAI , to talk about his current work on ChatGPT. Tony shares some of the past user experience lessons he learned at Netflix, and how they can be translated into an AI world. Together, they cove...

Is software dead? Are engineers going to disappear? In this episode of Futureproof, Xano CEO Prakash Chandran talks with Ray Deck, founder of State Change and longtime technologist, about how software creation is evolving in the age of AI. Ray explains why the future isn’t about replacing developers or building the right SaaS — but about rethinking how we define both of those terms. Together, they...

What if the future of software isn’t about AI replacing everything, but about learning how to work with AI to build products that are more human?  Futureproof, the new podcast from Xano , explores how to rethink the way we design, develop, and lead. Join host Prakash Chandran as he talks with engineers, startup founders, and app dev leaders about the evolution of software, the rise of AI-native te...