Wolfed

Lisa Hornschemeier is the Vice President of Software Engineering for Oracle Cloud Infrastructure at Oracle. She is an experienced engineering leader with a successful history at some of the world's largest companies, including GE Aviation, Microsoft, and Oracle. She originally planned to use her passion for math and science to become a doctor. That changed when she fell in love with a Java class at Miami University. She has since become a champion for DevOps as a guiding principle for business operations to achieve results that matter. She is dedicated to finding “how the company wants to differentiate itself and where its super powers are based on the talent we have and the products we're developing.” Being a customer-centric engineering leader is just one of her roles. She is also a mother striving to find the perfect balance between family and business. What is her secret In the season one finale of Wolfed, Hornschemeier joins host Chris Cohen to discuss: Her thrilling career journey, from pre-med student at Miami University to leadership roles at GE, Microsoft, and Oracle. The leadership philosophy behind her team's customer-centric approach to product development. The ideals versus business realities of DevOps. How to overcome unconscious bias in the workplace through grassroots efforts. Learn more at qawolf.com.

Jimit Maheta is Cisco's Vice President of Engineering. He's known for his highly energetic, results-driven leadership and enthusiasm for creativity and innovation. Jimit is a Cisco “lifer.” He started in a contract role, and was brought on full time because of his work ethic, warm personality, and team mindset. For more than 25 years he has driven high performance teams and developed new leaders. One of his secrets is aligning the individual contributor's personal goals with business outcomes. He's championed DevOps development. He sees it as the path to better teamwork, professional development opportunities, and more impactful results throughout every digital transformation. With such an impressive tenure at the company, how does he stay ahead of every technological leap? Get his full story in this episode of Wolfed with host Chris Cohen! Maheta talks with us about: His secrets to transitioning from a Cisco contractor to a successful 27 year executive at the company. How his teams have been successful by lining up personal and company goals. Why he stays on the "never-ending learning path" to remain a sharp and effective people leader. His perspective on creating a healthy culture of work-life integration for his global teams. Learn more at qawolf.com.

Rasmus Ekman is Oracle's Vice President of Cloud Engineering. He manages key partners like Uber and NVIDIA using his wealth of global leadership experience in Europe, Japan, and the United States. Through his successful 20-year track record, he's become the go-to leader at companies like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft, and IBM. Fellow executives call him a tech leader who produces outstanding results. His peers and reports recognize his passion for international diversity and inclusive, empathetic, and down-to-earth leadership style. His resume might surprise you, considering he tried to avoid the tech sector in college. Ekman double-majored in Statistics and Econometrics / Mathematics and Japanese Linguistics. He planned a career in finance, but he was instead recruited by IT companies in Japan to work with engineers. As he puts it, "I didn't choose engineering. It chose me." This unexpected journey is a testament to his versatility and adaptability. In this episode of Wolfed, host Chris Cohen interviews Ekman to learn about: His career journey, starting abroad in Japan and joining major U.S. companies like IBM, Microsoft, and Oracle. Transitioning into engineering from a non-traditional background in mathematics and Japanese linguistics. How different cultures affect the way engineers work in each country. Why curiosity is an essential value for aspiring engineering leaders. The role customer feedback should play in developing a new product. Learn more at qawolf.com.

Tara Ellis, Senior Engineering Leader at Netflix, has overcome the odds. She didn't attend an Ivy League school and originally focused on IT roles before a stint working in Japan. Despite her non-traditional background, she's coded through the ranks to become an engineering leader at world-renowned companies like Amazon and Disney before joining the streaming giant. She's got unmatched communication skills and is a relentless problem-solver known for applying critical thinking, analysis, and technical skills to build and manage teams that deliver results that matter. How did she reach such heights throughout her career? In this episode of Wolfed, Ellis joins host Chris Cohen to discuss: How she started her career in Japan before moving from tech giant Amazon to Disney, and eventually Netflix. Why it's important to change communication and management styles when taking on new roles. How to adapt the way you work across company cultures. Effective strategies for building and influencing high-functioning management teams. Learn more at qawolf.com.

Artem Fishman is Dow Jones's CTO. He leads more than 2,000 people who work on products across the company's portfolio, including The Wall Street Journal, Barron's, and MarketWatch. If you're engaging with news, he's influenced its delivery to your mobile device. Becoming the CTO of Dow Jones is not a feat achieved overnight. Fishman is a technologist known for setting up technical teams to deliver results swiftly in financially prudent environments. His career, which has seen him in global leadership roles at SoundCloud, Yahoo, Huge, and Thomson Reuters, is a testament to his ability to deliver results. Like many engineers, he began his journey to success more humbly. He developed his calling for engineering at a very young age in his native country of Moldova (the Soviet Union at the time). After immigrating to the U.S. as a teenager, he intended to become a medical professional. That changed after he took a few computer science courses at New York University. What changed his career trajectory from a would-be doctor to one of the world's leading engineers? Check out this episode of Wolfed for the full story. In this episode, Fishman joins host Chris Cohen to reflect on: His career journey from The New York Times to Dow Jones. How he overhauled Yahoo Finance's entire infrastructure and what he took away from the experience. The biggest challenge in reimagining the future of today's technologies. The balance between taking risks and delivering business outcomes. Why he adapts his leadership style at each new organization.

Shawn Meyer is the Senior Director of Engineering at Okta. He's responsible for making identity approachable for every step of the developer's journey. His knack for driving engineering excellence has earned him respect and influence across the company. Meyer's colleagues and peers admire his inclusive mindset, technical expertise, and commitment to making each project as successful as possible. His inherent curiosity consistently improves company processes and delivers value. This success is Meyer's long-held aspiration. His journey to engineering began at a young age through his interest in video games. Throughout his formal education, his focus was landing a gig as a software engineer. He eventually found his way to Hallmark Business Connections where he grew into his first management role. His inquisitive growth mindset took him to Okta after nearly seven years in the greeting card industry. How did this young engineer fast-track his leadership career at one of the world's most prominent cloud companies? Tune in to this episode of Wolfed with Meyer and host Christopher Cohen covering: His career journey to becoming Senior Director of Engineering at Okta. How he defines leadership, success, and a thriving workplace culture. Why leaders should be flexible and adaptable to foster team growth opportunities. His philosophy on sharpening team strengths versus eliminating weaknesses to be effective. Learn more at qawolf.com.

Brian Timmeny, the Chief Technology Officer at Walmart México & Central America, is the go-to leader for Fortune companies seeking a visionary in tech, business strategy, and culture guidance. Timmeny's career didn't reach this level overnight. His journey into tech started with a coding boot camp at Accenture. He applied his new skills to technology delivery before transitioning to the healthcare industry. Subsequently, he led tech teams in banking, with significant roles at Capital One in Washington, DC, and Citibank in Mexico City. His latest venture at Walmart México & Central America creates a world-class end-to-end customer experience in retail. How has he engineered success across the diverse portfolio of industries? Find out on this episode of Wolfed. Timmeny talks with host Chris Cohen about: His career story, from Accenture boot camp to working for banks in multiple countries, culminating in his role as CTO of Walmart México & Central America. The unique challenges developers face in centering every task around customers in the retail sector. The critical importance of building an end-to-end customer experience with no downtime. The value of a company culture, honoring its past, and using it to build for the future. How to turn a transformation journey into a "flywheel" for business growth. Learn more at qawolf.com.

Eric Schvimmer is the Executive Vice President of Technology and Chief Technology Officer at the Bloomberg Industry Group. He has been around the block, fighting to get engineers to the table for major decisions. He's a technology leader with extensive experience overseeing product-focused engineering teams. From in-house expert to consultant for Fortune 100 companies and start-ups, he's the executive you want to be. His track record for building high-performing teams focused on collaboration and timely deliveries of meaningful solutions has established him as a respected engineering leader. His knack for taking advantage of technological changes has made him the mentor you want in your corner. He wasn't always on the path to becoming a CTO. When he started college, he wanted to be a meteorologist.  Where did his dream of being a weatherman end and the journey to becoming a technology executive begin? In this episode of Wolfed, Schvimmer joins host Chris Cohen to discuss: His career journey from studying meteorology to falling into an engineering role in the media industry, and eventually becoming the CTO of the Bloomberg Industry Group. Why creating a “zone of safety” for engineers is critical for innovation. The role mentorship plays in raising the next generation of engineering leaders. How to stay curious by listening and responding to feedback. Learn more at qawolf.com.

Irina Krechmer is the former CTO of Blue Apron, a tech investor, and a people leader who has been around the block. She wrote code before Agile was the name of the game for development and has guided many companies in the e-commerce, education, media, and food industries, both private and public, into the future of tech. She's known for her knack for people and a passion for mentoring the next generation. This personable reputation made her the inspiring leader many professionals in engineering aspire to become. She didn't always want to oversee large teams. Like many business icons, the opportunity for greatness was thrust upon her. How did she find her calling to leadership? Tune into this insightful episode of Wolfed to find out. Krechmer joins host Chris Cohen to cover: Her career journey from being born in Ukraine to falling in love with software engineering and eventually becoming the CTO of Blue Apron. Reluctantly embracing her knack for management to achieve career success. The contrast between leading individual contributors and leading leaders. How to shape and scale a culture of trust and autonomy among teams. Why vigilance in the recruiting process creates a positive work environment for engineers. Learn more at qawolf.com.

Javier López looks at engineering challenges differently. He became Vice President of Engineering at Carta after starting his career building web pages in his spare time. He eventually leveraged his development skills from Mexico City to emigrate to the United States and enter the world of start-ups. López is a self-made leader driven by a passion for learning. From his early days disassembling and reassembling VCRs as a child to reading up on programming languages during his early career on the web, he remains inquisitive. In his spare time, López has a keen eye for photography. His philosophy on work balances curiosity, creativity, and company strategy to provide customer-focused solutions. In this episode of Wolfed, López joins host Chris Cohen to discuss: His career journey, from aspiring photographer to immigrating to the United States and leading teams at Carta. Overcoming imposter syndrome as a U.S. immigrant by leveraging his unique experience collaborating with international teams. How IT leaders can work cross-functionally to gain buy-in and generate top-line revenue. The role transparency plays in leading high-performers prepared for emerging technologies and tomorrow's business challenges. Learn more at qawolf.com.

Eldad Persky is Samsung's Senior Vice President of Global Product, Engineering, and Business Development. He has more than 20 years of experience mastering the media and advertising industries and has unmatched technical general manager experience. In fact, he's a big believer in the technical general manager role—a single person owning product management and engineering and providing strategic direction and vision. There's no geography, market, or platform he's not ready to take on with the right resources. He has scaled a team of one hundred in two countries to a team of 700 in seven. He currently leads product managers, designers, engineers, architects, analysts, and researchers globally and makes growth and success look easy. How does he do it? From being raised in a family of lawyers to seeking opportunities to grow and lead, Persky has come from a non-traditional background and remained dedicated to the vision he had for his career when he finished college. In this episode of Wolfed, Persky joins host Chris Cohen to discuss: His career journey from majoring in computer science to arriving at Yahoo and eventually climbing to the top of Samsung. Navigating cross-team collaboration in large corporations to forge meaningful relationships. Building international product and engineering teams that deliver solutions that matter. Fostering a culture of innovation with companies from the top down. Learn more at qawolf.com.

Andy Parsons is Adobe's Senior Director of Content Authenticity. Not only is he an exceptional engineering leader who builds systems that improve how people interact with the media, but he also holds the "coolest cat in town" status in the tech sector thanks to his side hustle as a professional jazz saxophonist and composer. When he's not coding for fun or giving creators the attribution tools they need for their work, he's creating software and standards for digital provenance. He embodies the principles of an authenticity-focused leader. Simply put, he's passionate about empowering creative professionals to be real and innovative through technology. Where does he find his drive? In the series premiere of Wolfed, Parsons joins host Chris Cohen to discuss: His career journey from aspiring musician to multi-start-up co-founder. before becoming a senior director at Adobe. How savoring your failures can make you a better people leader. Why it's important to take accountability when your team takes risks. The cultural differences between start-ups and large corporations. https://www.qawolf.com/

Season 1 of Wolfed, a podcast about the paths software engineering leaders have taken to reach the top of their game, is coming soon. Subscribe today to be the first to hear these exciting conversations!