Jim Balis, Shawn Walchef

The Enterprise CTO Podcast

Technology EN ↓ 4 episodes

Real conversations about technology, leadership, and scaling modern restaurant brandsShawn Walchef, CEO of Cali BBQ Media, and Jim Balis, Head of Strategic Operations at CapitalSpring, host The Enterprise CTO Podcast, a long-form interview show exploring how technology decisions shape the future of hospitality. Through candid conversations with CTOs, operators, investors, and industry leaders, the show breaks down the real challenges behind growth at scale, from selecting the right tech stack and navigating AI to aligning teams, improving operations, and building smarter businesses. Each episo...

Author

Jim Balis, Shawn Walchef

Episodes

Why Great Restaurant Technology Removes Friction. Convo w/ Tim Newton 30.06.2026 28:09

What does it take to modernize technology at a legacy restaurant brand while keeping operations simple for employees and guests? Tim Newton, Chief Technology Officer and Head of Brand Operations at Long John Silver's, joins Shawn Walchef to discuss how better data, simpler systems, and thoughtful technology create better experiences for both operators and guests. Newton shares his perspective on u...

Building Restaurant Tech Across Nearly 900 Locations. Convo w/ Isaac Morton 27.05.2026 35:01

What does it really take to unify technology across nearly 900 restaurants operating under eight different franchise brands? Isaac Morton, Vice President of Information Technology at Sizzling Platter, joins Jim Balis and Shawn Walchef to break down the realities of enterprise restaurant technology from the franchisee side. The conversation explores managing multiple POS systems, building centraliz...

Why Restaurant CEOs Need to Think Like CTOs. Interview w/ Troy Hooper, CEO of Pepper Lunch 29.04.2026 33:20

What happens when restaurant leadership, technology, and growth strategy all collide in one conversation? Troy Hooper, CEO of Pepper Lunch joins Jim Balis and Shawn Walchef for the debut episode of the Enterprise CTO Podcast. They discuss what today’s restaurant leaders need to understand about tech stacks, AI, vendor selection, and scaling systems across hundreds of locations. The conversation co...

Enterprise CTO Podcast Trailer 22.04.2026 0:40

Enterprise CTO Podcast Trailer