The Tech Trek

How do you know when you’re ready to start a company, especially with few resources or capital? Ken Babcock, Co-Founder and CEO of Tango, offers his insights on this episode of The Tech Trek. Ken also discusses several key moments in his career with host Amir Bormand. Show Notes 03:23 - Ken discusses his past experiences with Uber and Atomic. 08:05 - How do you know when you’re ready to start a co...

Allan Cutler, Director of Engineering at Endpoint, discusses why data-driven leadership is important on this episode of The Tech Trek. Allan also shares several standout moments from his 15 years as a technology leader with host Amir Bormand. Highlights 00:47 - Allan explains what data-driven leadership means to him. 06:03 - Finding the right software for the right job. 11:17 - Using data to overc...

This episode of The Tech Trek features Harish Parwani, the VP of Platform Engineering at CarGurus. Host Amir Bormand and Harish discuss the intricacies of shared services and how teams can maximize their productivity.  Highlights 00:56 - Harish offers his perspective and experience with shared services. 03:12 - Why do we need shared services? 06:37 - How do shared services impact team structure? 1...

Partha Chakraborty, security executive at Humana, joins host Amir Bormand in episode #230 of The Tech Trek. He and Amir explore the critical factors contributing to successful - and unsuccessful - cloud security projects. Highlights 00:51 - Partha shares his perspective on what contributes to the successful adoption of Cloud security services. 09:20 -  What is the “Fail-Fast” approach, and how doe...

In this episode of The Tech Trek, host Amir Bormand interviews Roman Kleiner, the VP of Engineering at Egnyte. How and when do you decide to hire external talent when working on a task? When should you promote internally over hiring externally? These are just some of today’s topics. Show Notes 00:50 - What factors cause companies to look for external help? 06:27 - Is it possible to seamlessly inte...

Jonathan Villa, Practice Director of Cloud Security at GuidePoint, meets with host Amir Bormand in this episode of The Tech Trek. Jonathan shares his insights on how organizations can build effective Cloud security teams and adapt to a changing environment. Highlights 2:29 - How to upskill your Security team for the Cloud. 7:46 - Best practices for integrating Cloud security. 11:21 - Which skills...

This episode of The Tech Trek features Vinod Ralhan, Director of Engineering at SurePrep. Vinod has immense experience managing projects and working with Microsoft Azure. He shares his best practices for using Azure for migration and modernization. Highlights 2:50 - Vinod recalls what his on-premises environments looked like before Azure. 4:36 - Which internal and external professionals can help w...

Host Amir Bormand speaks with Leadership Coach Taha Hussain in Episode 226 of The Tech Trek. Taha started his career as a software engineer who made his way into management. Now, he helps teams and individuals improve their leadership skills. Highlights: 2:05 - How can you motivate someone to try something they’re initially uncomfortable with?  5:34 - Can a blameless culture help or hinder growth?...

Host Amir Bormand speaks with Indy Khare, the Head of Engineering at Convex. Indy previously worked with Google to reach 1 billion users for Google Photos. Transitioning back to a startup has a host of challenges and opportunities that Indy is happy to discuss. Highlights: 2:25 - Indy shares how he landed his position with Google. 8:26 - How to know if you should leave a large company for a startu...

Host Amir Bormand sits down with Paul Kocan in this episode of The Tech Trek. Paul is the Senior Director of Infrastructure Services at CCC Intelligent Solutions. Today, he shares his experience with promoting a culture of accountability on a company-wide scale. Highlights 04:29 - Paul explains how “the power of focus” can strengthen infrastructure. 10:34 - Transparency makes all the difference re...

Is it possible for a team to think and act quickly without sacrificing quality? This episode of The Tech Trek delves into this ever-divisive topic. Host Amir Bormand asks Ross Desmond, Head of Software at Butlr, to share his insights and experience on building fast and functional teams. Highlights: 03:57 - Here’s how to start building fast teams the right way. 06:55 - Ross recommends asking yourse...

In today’s episode of The Tech Trek , host Amir Bormand talks with Atul Tulshibagwale, the Chief Technology Officer at SGNL. Amir and Atul discuss Open Standards and the various factors that contribute to the creation of new standards. Highlights 03:39 - Atul explains what Open Standards are. 06:56 - How to determine if a phenomenon could be an Open Standard 11:35 - How can you encourage more peop...

Host Amir Bormand interviews Dr. Lauran Star on this episode of The Tech Trek . Dr. Star is a Workplace Inclusion, Diversity & Equity Psychologist. She and Amir explore virtual diversity and inclusion. Highlights: 03:08 - Dr. Star explains why your organization needs both diversity and inclusion. 08:50 - Here’s how D&I can improve your workspace both culturally and productively. 17:59 - &n...

Ben Rothke, Senior Information Security Manager at Tapad, is the featured guest on this episode of The Tech Trek . Host Amir Bormand asks Ben to share his insights about Cyber Security and employee burnout. Highlights: 2:09 - Ben gives us an overview of burnout in the Cyber Security industry. 6:43 - Which signs should managers look for that indicate burnout? 10:32 - How can people get into the Cyb...

In this episode of The Tech Trek , host Amir Bormand speaks with Asish Soudhamma. Asish is the Vice President of Platform Engineering at PIMCO. He and Amir delve into the topics of Cloud Security and Developer Experience. Show Notes 05:08 - Asish shares his outlook on developer experience. 07:53 - Here’s how leaders can effectively improve the developer experience. 10:50 - Can products clash with...

Host Amir Bormand speaks with Jack Kora in this episode of The Tech Trek . Jack is the Vice President of Engineering at dscout. He and Amir talk about the various ways organizations can drastically improve their software development process. Highlights 3:00 - Jack recounts his early experience with dscout. 6:41 - How do you decide on a process when two or more different teams are working together?...

This episode of The Tech Trek explores the field of Information Security. Host Amir Bormand sits down with Rohit Parchuri, the Chief Information Security Officer of Yext, to discuss Rohit’s background, experiences, and insights concerning the world of Cyber Security. Highlights 02:09 - Amir and Rohit briefly discuss the history of the CISO (Chief Information Security Officer) role. 06:23 - Rohit e...

Host Amir Bormand meets with Sunil Mallya in this episode of The Tech Trek . Sunil is the Vice President of Engineering at OncoHealth and he has many years of experience in the digital healthcare space. He and Amir discuss the unique challenges that engineering teams often face in digital healthcare. Highlights: 03:44 - Sunil discusses some of the common challenges in the healthcare industry. 07:1...

Host Amir Bormand meets with Eric Labourdette, a seasoned Cloud Services Consultant in this episode of The Tech Trek . Amir and Eric dissect the Cloud Services industry and leverage Eric’s experience to paint a fuller picture of cloud computing trends. Highlights: 01:15 - Eric shares his philosophy for improving Cloud efficiency. 03:23 - Which metrics can companies use to gauge how well they’re ad...

On this episode of The Tech Trek , host Amir Bormand meets with Kelsey Steinbeck, the Director of Software Engineering DevOps at Indigo. Amir and Kelsey delve into the subject of DevOps best practices and break down various ways that teams can stay agile when working on large and small projects. Key Takeaways 04:24 - Kelsey shares her strategies for determining when and how she makes adjustments t...

Host Amir Bormand meets with Vivek Menon in this episode of The Tech Trek . Vivek is the Head of Cybersecurity & Compliance at Digital Turbine who also boasts a strong background in Data. He and Amir explore Vivek’s unique experiences and discuss how more Data experts can impact Cybersecurity. Highlights: 04:12 - Why aren’t there more Data experts in Cybersecurity? 11:12 - Will the CISO role d...

On this episode of The Tech Trek, host Amir Bormand speaks with Tony Dong, the Senior Director of Engineering at Rippling. Tony is a major advocate for maintaining a startup mindset regardless of your team’s size. He and Amir also discuss strategies for effectively scaling a team. Notes 04:29 - Tony explains why he prefers to maintain a startup mindset even as his teams grow. 09:03 - How can engin...

In this episode of The Tech Trek , host Amir Bormand speaks with Amit Gulati, the Senior Vice President of Engineering at Angi. Amit reflects on his 20 years of experience as an engineering leader - sharing the ups, downs, ins, and outs of the various roles he’s taken on. Highlights 00:02:51 - Amit discusses some of the changes that he encountered while he progressed as an engineering leader. 00:0...

In this episode of The Tech Trek , our host Amir Bormand speaks with Lee Eason, the Director of Digital Branch Experience at Edward Jones. Amir and Lee share insights about working with distributed/remote teams, supporting new leaders, and prioritizing team health. Highlights: 00:05:35 - Lee shares his experience with adapting to leading a distributed/mostly remote team . 00:12:55 - What’s the lin...

In this episode of The Tech Trek , Amir Bormand speaks with Shruthi Murthy, the Executive Vice President of Engineering at Modern Treasury. Amir and Shruthi discuss the various phases of growth that companies like Modern Treasury and WhatsApp experience. They also discuss how businesses and entrepreneurs can choose the right growth strategies for their needs. Highlights: 00:01:47 - Shruthi breaks...