groCTO Podcast

How do engineering leaders stay relevant in the age of Generative AI? With the rise of GenAI, engineering teams are rethinking productivity, prototyping, and scalability. But AI is only as powerful as the engineering practices behind it. In this episode of the groCTO by Typo Podcast , host Kovid Batra speaks with Suresh Bysani , Director of Engineering at Eightfold , about the real-world impact of...

How do you build a culture of engineering metrics that drives real impact? Engineering teams often struggle with inefficiencies— high work-in-progress, unpredictable cycle times, and slow shipping . But what if the right metrics could change that? In this episode of the groCTO by Typo Podcast, host Kovid Batra speaks with Mario Viktorov Mechoulam , Senior Engineering Manager at Contentsquare , abo...

In this episode of the groCTO Podcast , host Kovid Batra speaks with C S Sriram , VP of Engineering at Betterworks , about his journey from an Engineering Manager to a VP of Engineering , navigating leadership challenges, and scaling engineering teams effectively. Sriram shares insights into the critical mindset shifts required to transition from managing execution to driving strategy at an execut...

In this episode of the groCTO Podcast , host Kovid Batra speaks with Sheeya Gem , Director of Engineering and Product Strategy at Progress ShareFile , about her experiences leading dev teams through mergers and acquisitions. Sheeya discusses the importance of building collaborative relationships with stakeholders, maintaining effective communication, and fostering a shared purpose among teams. She...

In this episode of the groCTO Podcast , host Kovid Batra interviews Anton Zaides , the Director of Engineering at Taranis and author of the Leading Developers newsletter. The focus of their discussion is on the challenges and strategies involved in leading development teams versus platform teams. Anton explores the distinctions between overseeing development teams and platform teams, emphasizing t...

In this episode of the groCTO Podcast , host Kovid Batra welcomes Maher Hanafi , VP of Engineering at Betterworks , to discuss engineering productivity hacks. Maher shares insights from his 16+ years of engineering and leadership experience, emphasizing the importance of passion and individualized growth paths for team members. He recounts how his early interest in gaming and experiences as a guil...

In this episode of the groCTO Podcast , host Kovid Batra interviews David Archer , the Director of Software Engineering at Imagine Learning , with over 12 years of experience in engineering and leadership, including a tenure at Amazon. The discussion centers on successfully integrating acquired teams, a critical issue following company mergers and acquisitions. David shares his approach to onboard...

In this episode of the groCTO Podcast , host Kovid Batra is joined by Ben Matthews , Senior Director of Engineering at Stack Overflow , with over 20 years of experience in engineering and leadership. Ben shares his career journey from QA to engineering leadership, shedding light on the importance of creating organizations that function collaboratively rather than just executing tasks independently...

In this episode of the groCTO Originals podcast, host Kovid Batra engages in a comprehensive discussion with Geoffrey Teale , the Principal Product Engineer at Upvest , who brings over 25 years of engineering and leadership experience. The episode begins with Geoffrey's role at Upvest, where he has transitioned from Head of DevEx to Principal Product Engineer, emphasizing a holistic approach to im...

In this episode of the groCTO Originals podcast, host Kovid Batra engages in an insightful conversation with Christopher Zotter , the Head of Digital Engineering at Sky, Germany . Christopher brings a wealth of experience, including a decade of leading engineering teams and founding a software development agency. Known for his unique leadership philosophy, Christopher believes in the power of buil...

In this episode of the groCTO Originals podcast, host Kovid Batra engages with Vilas , an accomplished engineering leader with significant experience at companies like Walmart , Netflix , and Bill.com . They discuss the concept of Developer Experience (DevEx) and how it extends beyond simply providing tools. Vilas highlights the importance of enabling developers with frictionless processes and add...

In this episode of the groCTO Originals podcast, host Kovid Batra is joined by Carlos Neves , the Head of Engineering at Vitality , as they explore the often challenging transition from an individual contributor (IC) to an Engineering Manager (EM). With over 15 years of experience in engineering and leadership, Carlos shares his journey from Portugal to the UK, his initial interest in computer sci...

Welcome to today’s episode of the groCTO Originals podcast, where host Kovid Batra talks with Jagannath Kintali , former Head of Engineering at Dojo and ex-startup co-founder, about building impactful engineering teams focused on customer delight. Jagannath shares his extensive experience of over 18+ years in engineering, discussing the importance of building what is needed rather than overshootin...

Welcome to today’s episode of the groCTO Originals podcast, where host Kovid Batra sits down with Venkat Rangasamy , Director of Engineering at Oracle and an advisory member at HBR , to discuss how AI is reshaping the engineering landscape. Venkat shares his journey from a humble background to leading at Oracle, diving into his passion for mentorship and the revolutionary impact of AI on the Softw...

Welcome to today’s episode of the groCTO Originals podcast, where host Kovid Batra interviews James Charlesworth , Director of Engineering, Sheffield Site Lead at Pendo , to discuss the common conflict between product and engineering teams. James brings over 15 years of experience in engineering and leadership to share strategies for fostering empathy, collaboration, and effective communication. H...

Welcome to another episode of exploring tech leadership! Today, your host Kovid Batra welcomes Vladislav Maličević , CTO at Jedox . Vlado shares his 20-year journey from being one of the first developers at Jedox to becoming the CTO of the company. He discusses his personal background, the growth and transformation of Jedox, and the company's strategic decisions, including the shift from open-sour...

Welcome to another episode of exploring tech leadership! Today, your host Kovid Batra welcomes Leonid Bugaev , Head of Engineering at Tyk . With 20 years in IT, mostly with startups, Leo brings a fresh perspective on entrepreneurship and leadership. He’ll share his insights on navigating economic downturns, building strong engineering teams, and keeping motivation high in tough times. Leo’s focus...

Welcome to today's podcast episode, where we dive deep into the minds shaping the future of tech leadership! Today, your host Kovid Batra sits down with Sergio Visinoni , who is many things - a visionary Fractional CTO, Tech Advisor, and Mentor at groCTO Community . He’s also the brilliant mind behind the newsletter 'Sudo Make Me a CTO' . Sergio made a bold leap from the traditional VP of Engineer...

In this episode, Kovid Batra hosts Peter Peret Lupo , Head of Software Engineering at Sibli . With over a decade of experience in engineering and management, Peter also shares his most effective management strategies on his blog . Peter begins by emphasizing the vital role that engineering metrics play in shaping organizational culture. He delves into topics such as code collaboration, the relatio...

The Dora Lab - Ep. 03 In this episode, Kovid Batra welcomes Ben Parisot , Software Engineering Manager at Planet Argon , with over 10 years of experience in engineering and engineering management. Ben delves into engineering metrics, specifically DORA & the SPACE framework, highlighting their impact on customer satisfaction & DevEx, discusses implementation challenges, and shares strategies to ove...

Welcome to today's episode of the podcast! Your host, Kovid Batra , sits down with Leigh Rathbone , Head of Quality Engineering at CAVU , with past contributions to various reputable organisations like Sony Ericsson & The Very Group. Leigh has been at the forefront of tech innovation, from developing the first touchscreen smartphone and smartwatch to working with AR, VR, and AI tech. In this episo...

In this episode, host Kovid Batra is joined by Paul Lewis , a seasoned technology leader with over 30 years of experience. Paul has held prominent roles, including CTO at Hitachi Vantara, and currently serves as CTO at Pythian . In addition to his professional roles, Paul actively contributes to academia as a board member of the Schulich School of Business. In today’s episode, Paul shares his insi...

In this episode, host Kovid Batra is joined by Jacob Singh , CTO in Residence at Alpha Wave Global . Jacob's impressive career spans over two decades, during which he has held pivotal CTO and Director roles at renowned startups and organizations such as Blinkit, Sequoia Capital, and Acquia. Being a coder & a manager, Jacob understands the challenges faced by both developers & tech leaders and so,...

In this episode, host Kovid Batra welcomes Roman Kuba , VP of Engineering at a tech-based startup Tset . Roman brings a wealth of experience from his leadership roles at renowned organizations including GitLab, Cloudbees, and CodeSandbox. Roman explores the intricate dynamics of scaling a startup with a people-first approach, balancing effort & value delivery and overcoming challenges along the wa...

In today’s episode, host Kovid Batra is joined by Glenn Santos , VP of Engineering at PDAX . Glenn is also dedicated to empowering developers to become leaders with his initiative eHeads , a community for engineering leaders to exchange experiences and insights. His vast experience includes valuable contributions to renowned companies such as Salarium, TraXion Tech Inc., and HCX Technology Partner...