CTO Insights Podcast

In this episode of CTO Insights, Katerina is joined by Bryan Finster, co-creator of Minimum Viable Continuous Delivery (CD), to discuss implementing CD in legacy and enterprise environments. Bryan shares practical steps, the benefits of CD, and how to overcome challenges such as getting buy-in, improving test coverage, and dealing with legacy code. Learn how to drive progress without needing a complete rewrite and improve team morale and operational efficiency. Brought to you by Adeva, this episode is a must-watch for anyone struggling with slow manual releases. Subscribe for more insights on creating high-performing teams and standout products.00:00 Introduction to CTO Insights01:20 The Journey to Continuous Delivery03:31 Challenges and Benefits of Continuous Delivery05:40 Continuous Delivery in Different Contexts07:44 Minimum Requirements for Continuous Delivery12:48 Incremental Steps to Implement Continuous Delivery18:39 Organizational Changes and Team Dynamics22:32 Measuring the Impact of Continuous Delivery26:09 Common Misconceptions About Continuous Delivery30:08 Final Advice for CTOs and Engineering Leaders32:50 Conclusion and Contact Information This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ctoinsights.adevait.com

In this episode of CTO Insights, Katerina is joined by Farah Chabchoub, CTO at Worklife, to discuss the strategies for transitioning from a growth-driven model to a profitable and sustainable tech company. Farah shares her experiences aiding late-stage startups in building resilient organizations by transforming the development focus towards financial planning. They delve into topics such as budgeting, aligning with board members, and balancing quick feature delivery with long-term company health. The conversation also touches on how to manage team dynamics during significant transitions like acquisitions, laying off underperforming projects, and building ambitious yet budget-conscious roadmaps. Sponsored by Adeva, the episode offers valuable insights for engineering leaders facing high-burn environments.00:00 Introduction and Episode Overview01:11 Joining Post Series C: Challenges and Fixes02:27 EBITDA Positive: A CTO's Unique Goal05:35 First Steps in a New Company10:20 Aligning Product Roadmap with Financial Plan16:20 AI and Product Development17:49 The Cost of Poor Planning21:57 Managing Team and Stakeholders During Tough Decisions31:55 Mindset Shifts for Sustainable Growth34:42 Final Advice for Engineering Leaders35:46 Conclusion and Farewell This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ctoinsights.adevait.com

In this episode, Egil Osthus, CEO and co-founder of Unleash, joins Katerina to talk about how enterprise teams can move away from rigid, high-risk release cycles to safer, faster, and more iterative delivery. Egil shares how he led a 500-person engineering org from quarterly (and even yearly) releases to a deploy-whenever model—despite legal constraints, stakeholder objections, and legacy systems.They talk through the real-world playbook: how to manage stakeholder expectations, start small, build trust, and keep momentum with early wins. From feature flags to feedback loops, this episode is packed with practical strategies for engineering leaders who want to modernize release processes without triggering chaos.What You’ll Learn- How to shift from long release cycles to frequent, low-risk deployments- Why stakeholder alignment is more important than technical tooling- How to introduce change without triggering resistance- Practical strategies for starting small and building trust across the org- The role of feature management in enabling safer, iterative delivery- How better feedback loops can improve product direction and team focus- Why most developers already know this is the right way—and what’s still blocking them- How to win over skeptics by reframing big changes as small experiments- What leaders often get wrong about risk in modern release strategiesEgil Osthus is the CEO and co-founder of Unleash, an open-source feature management platform used by enterprises to ship software faster and safer. He’s an experienced engineering leader with a background in developer tools, large-scale software delivery, and organizational transformation.Before starting Unleash, Egil held multiple leadership roles at Visma, one of Europe’s largest SaaS companies, where he led product development across international teams and drove the transition from long release cycles to continuous delivery. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ctoinsights.adevait.com

In this episode, Laura Tacho joins Katerina to explore what really drives developer team performance. They dig into how to use self-reported and system data effectively, why metrics should never be used for individual performance, and how AI is changing developer workflows (and what it’s not doing yet). From scrappy startup practices to company-wide DevEx strategies, this episode is packed with practical ways to build healthier, higher-performing engineering teams.What You’ll Learn- How DX helps teams boost performance through developer intelligence- Why self-reported data can surface quick, actionable insights- What makes a developer survey actually useful — and how to get teams to respond- How to use system data to save time and streamline engineering workflows- Why developers already know where the friction is — and how to tap into it- How starting simple with metrics early on can build better habits as you grow- The risks of using metrics to judge individual performance — and how to avoid them- Where AI tools really stand today — more autocomplete than autonomous- How to let data guide your decisions when introducing AI tools This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ctoinsights.adevait.com

Brought to you by: Adeva — Global network of top developers connecting businesses with world-class talent.In this episode of CTO Insights, Katerina Trajchevska is joined by Mojtaba Hosseini, VP of Engineering at Zapier, to explore how Zapier built a culture of strong customer focus, meaningful metrics, and long-term performance — and how they're using AI to drive real impact across the organization.What You’ll Learn- Why engineering is applied science in service of the customer- How customer focus shapes culture and drives engineering decisions- What “high performance” really means, and why it’s about the slope of learning- How Zapier built a team-driven approach to metrics over four years- What to measure—and what not to—when evaluating developer productivity- How engineering can support other teams in adopting AI- Why “always be learning” is a core engineering principle- How to build habits of sharing and experimentation across teamsMojtaba Hosseini is VP of Engineering at Zapier, where he’s spent the last several years building high-performing teams grounded in customer focus, data, and continuous learning. With a systems-thinking approach to leadership, Mojtaba has led Zapier’s engineering team through a four-year journey of defining meaningful metrics, shifting measurement from a top-down requirement to a team-driven habit.He’s been leading Zapier’s efforts to bring AI into day-to-day work—helping engineers work more efficiently and supporting other teams across the company. He combines deep technical experience with hands-on leadership to build engineering teams that scale with focus, clarity, and impact.If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe, rate, and review it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Youtube. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ctoinsights.adevait.com

Brought to you by Adeva — a global network of top developers connecting businesses with world-class talent.In this episode of CTO Insights, Katerina Trajchevska is joined by Julien Lavigne du Cadet, CTO behind Zoe’s growth to 9-figures ARR. They discuss the challenges faced at different growth stages, the importance of balancing structure with lean processes, and the strategies for promoting internal talent versus hiring externally. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ctoinsights.adevait.com

In this episode of CTO Insights, I had the pleasure of hosting Alex Kroman, Chief Product and Technology Officer at AssemblyAI, to explore the evolving role of the combined Chief Product and Technology Officer position and its impact on creating high-performing engineering teams."I very much think about running a product organization as shipping two products - one product is what the customers use and another product is what the developers inside the company use to build that product."Here are the main takeaways from this episode:* Combining the CPO and CTO roles helps eliminate silos, align priorities under one unified vision, and create clearer accountability.* Instead of separating feature work from infrastructure or developer experience initiatives, Alex emphasizes having one comprehensive roadmap.* Every planning cycle begins by identifying a clear North Star metric and then mapping both product and tech efforts to move that needle.* Velocity isn’t about pushing teams harder; it’s about removing friction.* Metrics like deploy frequency, mean time to recovery, and off-hours paging are useful but only when viewed in balance.* Titles matter less than mindset. Product managers with technical curiosity and engineering managers who understand user needs tend to create more collaborative, high-functioning teams.* Even if roles remain distinct, Alex actively seeks PMs who understand tech and engineering managers who care about product outcomes.Listen now on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube.This episode is brought to you by Adeva, a global network of top developers connecting businesses with world-class talent. Whether you need to scale your team or bring an idea to life, Adeva empowers you to increase your engineering capacity without the overhead of traditional hiring. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ctoinsights.adevait.com

In this episode of CTO Insights, I had the pleasure of hosting Georgina Shute, Founder of KindTwo, to discuss why diverse teams outperform homogeneous ones. Following her own ADHD diagnosis, Georgina has dedicated herself to empowering leaders and organizations to understand and leverage the unique strengths of neurodiverse teams.We also share common misconceptions about neurodiverse employees, strategies for creating inclusive tech teams, and actionable insights for CTOs looking to leverage diverse thinking styles as a competitive advantage. Georgina points out, "People aren't broken and we don't need to be fixed. I think there are different environments where people thrive in different ways."“Future leaders won't just be managing teams. They're gonna become these architects of inclusive systems that enable every individual to contribute at their best, which then continues to drive that innovation and performance.”Here are the main takeaways from this episode:* Neurodiversity is a competitive advantage, not a challenge to fix. High-performing teams thrive when they leverage diverse ways of thinking rather than forcing everyone into the same mold.* Psychological safety is the foundation of innovation. When individuals feel safe to work in ways that suit them, they contribute more creatively and effectively, boosting team performance.* Leadership is evolving from management to system design. The best leaders won't just manage teams; they'll create inclusive structures where every individual can contribute at their best.* Workplaces weren't designed for neurodivergent minds, but they should be. Instead of expecting individuals to adapt to rigid systems, companies must build environments where diverse talent can thrive.Listen now on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube.This episode is brought to you by Adeva, a global network of top developers connecting businesses with world-class talent. Whether you need to scale your team or bring an idea to life, Adeva empowers you to increase your engineering capacity without the overhead of traditional hiring. Learn more about Adeva. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ctoinsights.adevait.com

In this episode of CTO Insights, host Katerina Trajchevska is joined by Allison McMillan, Fractional VP of Engineering and Leadership Consultant. Together, they navigate effective strategies for planning and budgeting from a CTO perspective, how to enhance team productivity through better meeting practices, and the challenges of scaling high-performing engineering teams.Allison is the Founder of Tavlin Consulting and serves as a Fractional VP of Engineering for various organizations. With a rich background in leadership roles at companies like GitHub and Quarterpath, Allison specializes in enhancing communication and collaboration within engineering teams. Her expertise lies in enhancing communication and collaboration within engineering teams to build high-performing, scalable, and resilient team cultures.If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe, rate, and review it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube. Instructions on how to do this are here.This episode is brought to you by Adeva, a global network of top developers connecting businesses with world-class talent. Whether you need to scale your team or bring an idea to life, Adeva empowers you to increase your engineering capacity without the overhead of traditional hiring. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ctoinsights.adevait.com

I had the pleasure of hosting Sven Peters, Developer Advocate at Atlassian to discuss Developer Experience, a topic that increasingly catches the attention of engineering leaders. We start the discussion with some mindblowing stats from the recent Developer Experience report, released by Atlassian. According to it, 69% of developers lose eight or more hours per week to inefficiencies. 69%. That’s a full day lost weekly due to the inability to organize work in a way that empowers productivity. Sven argues that developer joy is the single most important factor directly impacting the team's performance. Increasing it reduces inefficiencies. Or vice-versa. The bottom line is that when traditional metrics fail us, measuring developer joy will likely open perspectives that guide us toward more productive work. So, we talk about concrete actions they’ve taken at Atlassian, how they track developer joy, and what we can learn from the process.We asked developers, "Where are you losing time?" The top answer was tech debt, followed by insufficient documentation. Then we asked leaders what they see as the main challenge for developers. Their top answer was, "They’re understaffed." It’s not tech debt, not documentation, and not slow build processes. So, they try to fix the problem by adding more people to it.Here are the main takeaways from this episode:- 69% of developers lose eight or more hours per week to inefficiencies and less than half of them believe leaders are aware of these issues. On the other hand, nearly 40% of leaders use lines of code and hours worked to measure performance. There’s a huge discrepancy between leadership and engineering that only contributes to the team’s inefficiency.- Based on Atlassian’s research, Tech Debt is the number one reason developers lose time.- Leaders often misunderstand the challenges developers face and the first step in resolving them is improving the communication between developers and leaders.- Developer joy correlates with productivity and satisfaction. Regular surveys can help measure developer satisfaction and continued investment in improving the metrics directly contributes to increased performance.- Empowering teams to solve their problems increases engagement and creates a culture of continuous improvement and higher work satisfaction.- Quality assistance, a process where developers own the quality with a handful of QA experts to assist them, helps developers take responsibility for their code and improve the general team performance.This episode is brought to you by Adeva, a global talent network that connects companies with top-tier tech and product talent, ready to hit the ground running. With the ability to introduce a candidate within 24 hours and an exceptional 98% success rate on trial engagements, Adeva offers the flexibility for companies to scale their teams up or down as needed.If you’re looking to expand your team, drive momentum in new projects, or need to backfill a role, Adeva might be the solution you need.Visit https://adevait.com to learn more. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ctoinsights.adevait.com