Keep Moving Forward

Most organizations treat AI governance like a gate. Something legal wants before anyone can move. It’s actually not a gate. It’s an on-ramp. That’s why Rob Stone built it first and says that's exactly what let SS&C deploy at scale. In this episode of Keep Moving Forward, Gemma Versace sits down with Rob Stone, who runs the $550 million AI and automation business at SS&C Technologies, to talk about...

Giving employees formal feedback once a year is prehistoric. Once a quarter is medieval. And most organizations are still doing both. In this episode of Keep Moving Forward, Gemma Versace sits down with Arnaud Grunwald, chief product officer at ClearCo, to talk about why the philosophy behind the annual performance review no longer holds up and what AI for managers is about to replace it with. The...

Most organizations think self-assessment tells them what their people are capable of. It doesn’t. It tells them how confident their people are. Those aren’t the same thing — and the gap between them is quietly distorting how teams get staffed, developed, and led. Dustin Clinard, CEO of Ignis AI, has spent close to two decades watching this play out. In this episode of the Keep Moving Forward podca...

Many companies are having the wrong conversation about hybrid work — and it could be costing them their best engineers. Dan Bladen, CEO of Kadence, has spent years helping organizations design smarter, more intentional ways of working. His take: the word "hybrid" has stopped being useful, return-to-office mandates are usually a leadership problem in disguise, and the distributed teams that built s...

For most tech leaders, a bad call means a missed milestone. For Kevin Andrews, it means someone doesn't get paid. Kevin is President of PrismHR and CTO of Vensure Employer Solutions, two companies handling payroll and HR for more than 160,000 small businesses and processing nearly $160 billion in payroll annually. In this episode, host Gemma Versace talks with Kevin about what responsible AI adopt...

Your team completed the workshop. They did the role play. They said it was amazing. Then they went back to their desks and kept doing exactly what they were doing before. Esha Joshi, co-founder and Chief Customer Officer at Yoodli, has spent years watching this pattern repeat inside some of the world's largest companies. She says the problem with most communication skills training isn't the conten...

Your transformation roadmap is set. The strategy looks solid. Leadership is aligned. So why does nothing seem to actually change? Victoria Pelletier, global vice president at Kyndryl and keynote speaker, has led change through more than 40 mergers and acquisitions in some of the world's most complex technology environments. She argues that the biggest blocker to transformation is not technology. T...

Your enterprise AI agents are up and running. The outputs look polished. The answers sound confident. So why do decisions still feel risky? Richard Sonnenblick, Chief Data Scientist at Planview, has built decision systems in high risk industries where bad data leads to real consequences. He argues the biggest challenge with enterprise AI is not autonomy. It is data quality and human ownership. In...

Most AI adoption conversations focus on speed and capability. Raj Natarajan focuses on what those conversations skip: trust as a design requirement. In this episode, the global CTO of Gorilla Technology Group breaks down the five decisions that determine whether an AI system will be trusted long-term, and why sovereign AI is reshaping where data centers are built, how models are trained, and how s...

Great leaders aren’t just experts in their field—they’re mentors, problem-solvers, and collaborators who empower others to succeed. In this episode, we talk to Vishnu V. Ram, Vice President of Engineering at Credit Karma, about his career journey, leadership philosophy, and the innovations driving Credit Karma’s success. Vishnu reflects on his early experiences during the dot-com boom, shares insi...

Your AI rollout looked fine on paper. The launch happened. The training got done. The metrics held. So why is your team still running everything on spreadsheets? Paul Gentile, former senior director of pre-sales engineering and architecture at Broadcom, has spent years inside some of the largest enterprise tech environments in the world, and he says most AI adoption failures aren't technology prob...

In this episode of Keep Moving Forward, I sit down with Will Jung, CTO of nCino, to explore how AI is revolutionizing the banking sector. Will shares his journey from engineering roles in finance to leading nCino's global engineering team, offering insights into the transformative power of AI in enhancing customer experiences. We discuss the importance of designing AI solutions that prioritize tru...

Joel Hron, chief technology officer at Thomson Reuters, shares the AI adoption strategy that his team used to achieve 80% uptake across a 5,000-person engineering organization. In this episode of Keep Moving Forward, Joel explains how innovation becomes everyone’s job, how he pushed through early failures, and how grounding AI work in deep subject matter expertise creates lasting competitive advan...

Andy Sen, chief technology officer and co-founder of AppDirect, shares how bottom-up experimentation accelerates AI adoption, strengthens ownership, and unlocks unexpected innovation across teams. In this episode of Keep Moving Forward, Andy breaks down why fear fades when people start to use AI, how celebration drives more progress than mandates, and what leaders should focus on when beginning th...

Mike Gibson, chief technology officer at Planet DDS, shares how empathy drives performance, why clarity builds trust, and how communication holds distributed teams together. In this episode of Keep Moving Forward, Mike explains how to lead through change with transparency, build autonomy through trust, and create the space teams need to innovate—even in fast-moving, high-stakes tech environments.

In this episode of Keep Moving Forward, I sit down with Justin Kerestes, Senior Vice President of Engineering at Fanatics Betting and Gaming. We delve into Justin's unconventional journey from economics to leading a thriving engineering organization in the fast-paced world of sports betting. Justin shares valuable insights on remote leadership, emphasizing the importance of authenticity and trust...

Ancestry’s Suresh Teckchandani, VP of Product and Engineering, has led teams through transformation by defining non-negotiables, treating innovation as an everyday discipline, and preparing for AI’s impact on engineering. In this episode of Keep Moving Forward, he explains why principles create alignment, how small innovations add up to big outcomes, and how AI can free teams to focus on what matt...

In this episode of Keep Moving Forward, I sit down with Tim Zallmann, VP of Engineering at GitLab, to explore the intricacies of building fast-moving, distributed teams. Tim shares how he leads globally-distributed engineering teams while fostering a culture of trust and autonomy. We discuss the critical balance between innovation and operational stability, emphasizing the importance of clarity in...

In this episode of Keep Moving Forward, I sit down with Ayesha Mahmood, Vice President of Software Engineering at Zscaler. Ayesha shares her inspiring journey from growing up in Pakistan to leading engineering teams in Silicon Valley. We delve into her leadership philosophy, emphasizing adaptability and empathy, and discuss how her father's encouragement shaped her perspective on independence and...

In this episode of Keep Moving Forward, I sit down with Bala Muthiah, Director of Engineering at Lyft, to explore the transformative power of leadership through systems thinking. Bala shares his journey from individual contributor to leader and emphasizes the importance of fostering a strong team culture centered around purpose. We discuss how to navigate uncertainty, maintain engineering excellen...

In this episode of Keep Moving Forward, I sit down with Brandon Lonac, Vice President of Software Engineering at Disney Streaming. With over 20 years of experience in shaping media consumption, Brandon shares insights on scaling engineering teams with a focus on respect and clear communication. He discusses the importance of treating every team member with dignity, fostering a culture that empower...

In this episode of Keep Moving Forward, I sit down with Abhishek Kumar, Vice President of Engineering at Trellix, to explore the vital role of mindset in engineering leadership. With over two decades of experience, Abhishek emphasizes the importance of soft skills, particularly attitude, over technical expertise in hiring and team dynamics. He shares insights from his journey, from developing comp...

In this episode of Keep Moving Forward, I dive into a fascinating conversation with Ivy Chiu, Senior Manager of AI Research Partnerships at TELUS. We explore Ivy's unconventional journey from building circuits with her dad to leading ethical AI initiatives and fostering inclusive engineering cultures. Ivy shares insights on formalizing AI for good programs and designing effective hybrid work envir...

In this episode of Keep Moving Forward, join me as I sit down with Anand Thaker, Managing Vice President of Engineering at Gartner's Peer Programs. Anand shares his remarkable journey from founding a VC-backed startup to navigating the challenges of Y Combinator and ultimately leading his company through acquisition. We explore the art of effective cold emailing, the critical importance of buildin...

In this episode of Keep Moving Forward, I sit down with Amanda Stapleton, a trailblazer in engineering leadership. From her early inspiration at a STEM camp to her current role as Systems Engineering Director at Northrop Grumman, Amanda shares her journey of stepping out of her comfort zone to drive innovation. We delve into her experiences leading global teams, managing cultural shifts in digital...