The Tech Trek

Meet: Michael Weiss has spent the past 16 years in information security. While at Microsoft, he managed the Security Assurance Program for Windows 7. His latest role is as Chief Information Security Officer at Funding Circle, a fintech small business lender based in London. What you’ll learn: Look to security adjacent roles to find your next security hire natural interest in security is one of you...

Meet: Shailvi Wakhlu, the Head of Analytics at Komodo Health. She loves to volunteer, mentor, and inspire within the data and analytics community. What you’ll learn: Resume and Interviewing - tips for analysts Women in Data - how to share your achievements Women in Data - job promotion advice The best way to connect with Shailvi is on Twitter - @ShailviW

Meet: Daniel Barber is the CEO & Co-founder of DataGrail. In the new age of privacy, DataGrail is the only purpose-built privacy management platform that ensures sustained compliance with the GDPR, CCPA, and forthcoming regulation. Prior to DataGrail, Daniel led revenue teams at DocuSign, Datanyze (acquired by ZoomInfo), ToutApp (acquired by Marketo), and Responsys (acquired by Oracle). He als...

Meet: Chris Byington is VP of Data at Updater, where he leads the Data team in partnering with stakeholders to bring data to bear on the company’s toughest problems.  Before Updater Chris led Analytics at Heroku, a Salesforce company, where he used data to deeply understand software developers and help them be more successful.  A recovering stats nerd, Chris’s favorite statistical techni...

Meet: Mahesh Ramasubramanian is the co-founder and CEO of Loom.ai, a San Francisco-based company that has developed an end-to-end deep learning platform for deploying personalized 3D avatars for enterprise applications. With over 15 years of experience leading visual effects for several blockbuster movies at DreamWorks Animation, Mahesh is also a voting member of the Oscars Academy of Motion Pictu...

Meet: Lisa Mirkovic, VP of Data Engineering at Capital Group. Lisa has been at the Capital Group for over 20 years and is passionate about paying it forward whenever possible, especially within the data and engineering community. What you’ll learn: Career Advice - how to be self-aware and be happy in your career Data Engineering - the key attributes it takes to be a good data engineer Leveling Up...

Meet: Mike Doll is the Head of Data at Udacity, an online education platform dedicated to training the world's workforce in the careers of the future. Mike is responsible for the functions of data engineering, data science, BI, and analytics. What you’ll learn: Nontraditional path - transitioning to data science without having the hard skills Lean into the curiosity and opportunity - build connect...

In this episode, we talk to Suxi Li, the head of data analytics at Investors Business Daily in Los Angeles, California. They discuss building teams, onboarding through COVID-19, interview tips, and more. Suxi shares his background and extensive experience in data science, business insights, and market research across various industries. He also talks about how he built a centralized data and analy...

Sivan Aldor-Noiman, Data Science leader, speaks on the podcast about her transition from academia to industry and why data science is an ideal field for diversifying the industry. She talks about her background in Israel and her experiences managing teams and transitioning back to technical work and data engineering. She describes her current role and the platform her team is working on, designed...

Meet: Sri Sethupathy, the VP of Data and Analytics at Age of Learning. Sri built the analytics team at Hulu. He has served as an executive advisor to multiple startups and early-stage companies as well. What you’ll learn: Building teams - set the right tone with relationships and have the right people in the right roles Interviewing - do research, be prepared, and be passionate. Your attitude matt...

Meet Pedro Alves, founder and CEO of Ople.ai. Pedro founded Ople.ai in 2017. He started Ople with the goal of creating a platform that puts the knowledge and expertise of the world’s leading data scientists at the fingertips of analysts and SMEs. What you’ll learn from this episode: ROI - the top 3 things to help establish ROI for AI projects Democratize AI - allow larger numbers within an organiz...

Meet Raghu Dhara, the Head of Data Science at KeepTruckin. He is a Harvard grad who founded a start-up from his dorm room and was also a staff writer on the Harvard Crimson newspaper. What you’ll learn: Entrepreneurship - do’s and don'ts of building a start-up Skills - what data scientist need to do to up their skills and stay relevant Hiring - what to put on your resume and interviewing tips Bonu...

Today’s guest is Jon Morra, the Chief Data Scientist at Zefr, in episode #2 of The Tech Trek. Jon founded a start-up early in his career and was the Director of Data Science at eHarmony before his current position at Zefr. He’s a member of the LA CTO Forum and organizer of the LA Machine Learning Meetup.  Highlights 01:56 - Jon reflects on his experience leading a time during the pandemic. 04:46 -...

I had an insightful conversation with Dennis Mortensen, CEO and founder of x.ai , about the software’s uses and the people it serves. Founded in 2014, x.ai is a productivity tool powered by AI that allows users to schedule meetings effortlessly. It should be easier and less time-consuming to schedule meetings, and x.ai is built to help achieve that. Dennis is an entrepreneur at heart and we discus...