2945: Tom Conrad's Silicon Valley Story: From Pandora to Zero Longevity and a Lifelong Metabolic Wellbeing

Join me, Neil, on this episode of Tech Talks Daily, where I sit down with Russ Thornton, Chief Technology Officer at Shawbrook Bank. Russ is at the forefront of Shawbrook Bank's ambitious digital transformation journey, leveraging AI-powered decisioning and workflow automation from Pegasystems to revolutionize their operations. Under Russ's leadership, Shawbrook Bank has streamlined their loan processing time by an impressive 75%, while freeing up underwriters from 1,500 hours of manual work each month, all aimed at enhancing the customer experience. Recently, they've embarked on phase two of their transformation, deploying Pega Platform™ to overhaul their buy-to-let mortgage underwriting process, cutting processing times in half and tripling underwriter productivity. In our conversation, Russ shares insights into his career journey and how it shapes his decisions as CTO. We explore the pivotal milestones Shawbrook Bank has achieved with these automation projects, and what lies ahead on their transformative roadmap. Russ also reflects on the lessons learned from these initiatives and provides a glimpse into future projects that will further elevate Shawbrook Bank's digital capabilities. Tune in to learn how Shawbrook Bank is harnessing technology to drive efficiency, improve customer satisfaction, and pave the way for continued innovation in banking. What are your thoughts on the role of AI and automation in shaping the future of financial services? Share your thoughts with us after listening to this insightful episode.

In this episode of Tech Talks Daily, join me, Neil, as I sit down with John Simon, Co-founder and Board Chair at GreenLight Fund, and Managing Director at Sigma Prime Ventures. We delve into how GreenLight Fund is reshaping social innovation across America. Founded on the principles of venture philanthropy, GreenLight Fund identifies and scales proven nonprofit solutions to tackle systemic challenges faced by communities nationwide. With operations spanning 13 cities and plans to expand to 16 soon, their unique model bridges the gap between local needs and impactful solutions. John shares insights into GreenLight Fund’s journey over the past two decades, from their grassroots origins to becoming a catalyst for change in underserved communities. We explore their rigorous approach to selecting and implementing high-impact initiatives, driven by data and community collaboration. Discover how GreenLight Fund leverages partnerships with local governments, schools, and nonprofits to ensure sustainable impact and measurable outcomes. John also discusses their ambitious vision for the next decade, aiming to reach millions of families across 25-30 cities with tech-enabled solutions. Join us as we uncover the transformative power of social innovation and discuss the future of philanthropy in driving meaningful change. What are your thoughts on scaling social impact through venture philanthropy? Share your insights with us after listening to this episode.

How is artificial intelligence reshaping the landscape of language translation? Today on the Tech Talks Daily Podcast, we are thrilled to welcome Steve Rotter, Chief Marketing Officer at DeepL, a company that has been at the forefront of AI-powered translation since 2017. With a mission to help businesses and individuals thrive through superior translation tools, DeepL's journey is one of continuous innovation and unwavering commitment to quality. In this episode, Steve shares insights into DeepL's specialized AI approach that sets it apart from general-purpose AI models. We dive into how their technology not only delivers high-quality translations but also ensures unparalleled security and data privacy, crucial for business-critical applications. With a portfolio boasting over 30 languages and various platforms, including web, mobile, desktop apps, and even an API, DeepL is revolutionizing the way we communicate across borders. Steve highlights the incredible business value of machine translation, showcasing its ability to save 90% of the time compared to manual efforts, driving significant ROI and enabling global expansion. We also explore DeepL’s eco-friendly data center in Sweden and stringent data handling policies that underscore their commitment to security and compliance. Looking ahead, DeepL is set to launch exciting new products, including an AI writing assistance tool and an enhanced enterprise offering. We discuss how these innovations will further empower businesses and individuals, all while maintaining their core focus on language quality. Tune in to learn about the unique advantages DeepL brings to the AI translation space and gain a deeper understanding of the broader European tech and AI landscape. How are European companies leveraging their global mindset and expertise in language nuances to excel in specialized AI fields? And where do you see the future of AI-powered translation heading? Join the conversation and let us know your thoughts on the evolution of AI in language translation. What opportunities and challenges do you foresee? Share your insights and continue the dialogue with us!

Hi, are we overlooking the monumental failures in our quest for innovation? Today on Tech Talks Daily, I'm joined by Tom Conrad, a Silicon Valley veteran with a rich history in shaping how we interact with technology, from Pandora to Snapchat and beyond. Currently leading Zero, Tom brings a unique perspective on the resilience required in tech, diving into the harrowing yet enlightening lessons from billion-dollar blunders like Quibi and Pets.com. Tom will unravel the layers of success that extend beyond just a stellar product. He'll explain the importance of robust investment strategies, insightful leadership, and scalable operations that are vital to turning a great idea into a thriving enterprise. Furthermore, we delve into how Zero is transforming the healthcare landscape by democratizing health data, aiming to empower millions with accessible, understandable information to manage their health proactively. This episode will not only explore Tom’s remarkable journey through tech’s highs and lows but also look ahead at the exciting intersection of AI and biodata that could redefine our health systems. How can past failures illuminate future strategies in business and personal health? After listening, share your thoughts on how we can better harness technology to turn setbacks into stepping stones for success.

Have you ever wondered what the future of data management looks like? In this episode, we dive into the world of data lakehouses with Ori Rafael, the CEO and co-founder of Upsolver. Ori shares his insights on why the lakehouse is poised to be the next big thing in data, and how Upsolver is at the forefront of this revolutionary architecture. A data lakehouse is not just a buzzword; it's a transformative approach that decouples storage, metadata management, and compute. Ori explains how this separation allows for greater flexibility and significant cost savings compared to traditional data warehouses. By leveraging object storage like S3, open-source Iceberg for metadata, and various compute engines, lakehouses reduce vendor lock-in and provide the ability to use specialized engines for different workloads, such as AI. We explore the key advantages of lakehouses, including cost reduction, flexibility, and avoiding vendor lock-in. However, transitioning to a lakehouse architecture is not without its challenges. Ensuring performance parity with data warehouses and managing data access controls are significant hurdles. Ori discusses how Upsolver is tackling these challenges head-on, providing ETL solutions and lake management capabilities that optimize data lakes for performance and interoperability. The episode also delves into the trends shaping the future of data management. With the rapid adoption of open lakehouses and Iceberg emerging as the standard, enterprises are moving away from traditional data warehouses and legacy data lakes. Ori provides a glimpse into how open source catalogs with governance capabilities are evolving, paving the way for more robust and scalable data management solutions. We wrap up the conversation by asking Ori a fun question: If he could have a private breakfast or lunch with anyone in the business, VC funding, or tech world, who would it be and why? You never know, the person he mentions might just be listening! Join us for this insightful discussion on the future of data management and discover why the lakehouse is the next big thing in the industry. Be sure to find out more about Upsolver and their innovative solutions by visiting their website or connecting with their team online.

In this episode, I sit down with Sudhir Chaturvedi, President of LTIMindtree, to delve into the transformative power of digital technologies. From the increasing use of Generative AI and automation to the strategic investments necessary for business resilience and growth, Sudhir offers an in-depth look at the future of various industries. We begin by discussing the critical considerations and challenges businesses face as they integrate Generative AI and automation into their operations. Sudhir highlights the complexities around trust, bias, explainability, security, regulation, and cost, shedding light on how these issues can be navigated to harness AI's full potential. The conversation then moves to digital transformation and its profound impact on the workforce and industries such as retail and financial services. Sudhir explains how digital transformation is not just a buzzword but a crucial strategy for operational efficiency, customer experience enhancement, and the creation of new revenue streams. Sudhir underscores the importance of investing in technology to build resilience and sustainability. He shares insights on how leveraging cloud, data, digital, and AI technologies can significantly reduce carbon footprints and drive sustainable growth. We also explore the exciting future trends in technology, including advancements in AI, quantum computing, and robotics. Sudhir provides a glimpse into how these innovations will continue to shape industries and create new opportunities. Join us for this enlightening discussion with Sudhir Chaturvedi, where we unpack the strategic importance of digital transformation and technology investment for a resilient and sustainable future. How do you see AI and digital transformation influencing your industry? Share your thoughts with us!

In this episode, we sit down with Harry Caldwell, the dynamic leader of the CX Americas organization at Cisco. Recorded live at Cisco Live, this conversation uncovers the human side of technology and explores how a focus on customer experience (CX) can drive innovation and business success. Harry Caldwell shares his journey from his early days in North Carolina, through a 23-year tenure at Microsoft, to his current role at Cisco, where he leads a team of 4,400 professionals across the U.S., Canada, and Latin America. His passion for enabling people to do their best work shines through as he talks about his leadership philosophy and the importance of deep collaboration in achieving business outcomes. We'll delve into the vibrant atmosphere of Cisco Live, where Harry describes the event as a melting pot of innovation, technology, and people from around the world. With 20,000 attendees, the diversity of voices and ideas is a highlight, providing a fertile ground for networking and learning best practices. Harry emphasizes the critical role of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) within Cisco's culture. He discusses how the DEI council within the CX Americas organization ensures these values are integral to their operations, leading to a more inclusive and innovative work environment. We also explore the significance of the Customer Hero Awards, which celebrate customers who are pushing the boundaries of their industries through innovative use of Cisco technologies. Harry shares inspiring stories from this year's winners, such as Lowe's, which transformed its customer service operations using AI and Cisco's Webex Contact Center, and Mass General Brigham, which leverages AI to advance healthcare research and patient care. This episode underscores the powerful intersection of technology and humanity, demonstrating how Cisco's collaborative approach and cutting-edge solutions are helping customers achieve remarkable transformations. Harry's insights highlight the importance of aligning technology with human intelligence to drive real-world outcomes. What role do you think customer experience plays in driving innovation in your industry? Share your thoughts with us!

In this episode, we dive into the fascinating journey of Joe Vezzani,  the visionary co-founder of LunarCrush, a leading social media analytics firm in the crypto space. From his background in finance and advertising to the inception of LunarCrush in 2017, Joe's story is one of innovation, resilience, and foresight. We'll explore how LunarCrush aggregates social media data to offer investors valuable insights into crypto, stocks, NFTs, and other markets. Joe shares how the company weathered the 700+ day crypto bear market, pivoting to a subscription model and launching a groundbreaking platform that connects brands with creators. Discover the core products of LunarCrush, including their latest innovation that pays creators based on engagement metrics. Joe also highlights the growing significance of social data for investors and how LunarCrush is democratizing access to this data for retail investors. As we delve into the company culture, you'll hear about their focus on hiring passionate, curious individuals who are encouraged to tinker with new technologies like AI. Joe emphasizes the importance of a remote-first culture in fostering innovation and retaining top talent. Looking ahead, Joe shares his vision for the future, where utility-focused Web3 apps are seamlessly adopted by users without them even realizing the underlying blockchain technology. We'll discuss how LunarCrush plans to integrate social and market data for diverse fields such as sports, betting, and NFTs, bringing users into the Web3 ecosystem with an exceptional user experience. Join us as we uncover the dynamic world of LunarCrush and the exciting future trends in the crypto and Web3 landscape. What do you think is the future of social media data in investment strategies? Share your thoughts with us!

Have you ever wondered how to build a work culture that fosters high performance and innovation? In today's episode, we're joined by Francis Lacoste, an expert in engineering leadership coaching. Francis has dedicated his career to helping CTOs and VPs of Engineering at tech startups develop amazing work cultures and high-performing teams. Drawing on over 25 years of experience in the open-source and cloud developer tools industry, Francis shares his journey from being a Senior Director at Salesforce to becoming a sought-after coach for tech leaders. We dive into the "inner game" of leadership, exploring how self-awareness, emotional mastery, and mindset shifts can transform the effectiveness of tech leaders. Francis emphasizes the importance of maintaining a strong company culture, especially during rapid scaling phases, and shares strategies to foster psychological safety and mutual accountability within teams. In our conversation, Francis reveals his best tips for staying effective and making an impact at every stage of being a startup CTO or VPE. We discuss his insights on the critical role of culture, the challenges tech leaders face when scaling, and how to create an environment where innovation and collaboration can thrive organically. Tune in to learn from Francis's extensive experience and discover how you can enhance your leadership skills to build teams that not only meet but exceed expectations. And as always, we'd love to hear your thoughts. What strategies have you found effective in nurturing a high-performance team? Share your experiences with us!

In a digital age where enterprises are tasked with protecting an extensive network of data, traditional methods of safeguarding sensitive information often fall short. Static, rules-based models for detecting data breaches rely heavily on the quality of training data, leaving gaps in security. How can organizations bolster their defenses against ever-evolving cyber threats? In today's episode of the Tech Talks Daily Podcast, we are joined by Shamim Naqvi, CEO of SafeLiShare Inc., to explore the transformative potential of Secure Enclave technology in the cloud, also known as Confidential Computing. Shamim delves into how this cutting-edge technology can enhance data security, especially when leveraging third-party AI and ML models. SafeLiShare’s ConfidentialAI platform brings unprecedented security to enterprise data pipelines through digital fingerprinting and a tamper-proof, immutable ledger. This ensures comprehensive monitoring of every user, service, account, and machine, employing a zero-trust approach during runtime interactions. By integrating Confidential Computing, organizations can secure their AI workflows, pipelines, and ML operations against unauthorized access and breaches. SafeLiShare provides runtime security for AI and ML workloads through Confidential Computing, ensuring data is protected during processing. This technology secures data within isolated hardware enclaves, making it inaccessible to external threats and providing auditable logs for compliance. Achieving high levels of security with minimal performance overhead (3-5%) makes this approach feasible for extensive use. Confidential Computing is set to become pervasive across cloud and on-premises environments, driven by the increasing need for data security and regulatory compliance. Traditional encryption methods differ from Confidential Computing in that the latter protects data during processing using secure enclaves. SafeLiShare’s ConfidentialAI enables the secure use of large language models by combining them with enterprise context data within secure enclaves. This addresses the main challenges in providing confidential context to public AI models while offloading key management to secure enclaves, resulting in significant security benefits. Join us for an insightful discussion with Shamim Naqvi as we unravel the complexities of data security in the AI era. How can Confidential Computing reshape your approach to protecting sensitive enterprise data? Tune in to find out, and don't forget to share your thoughts on this evolving landscape.