In this episode, Amir Bormand interviews James Turnbull, SVP of Engineering at Sotheby's, about organizational design. James shares his experience working with early-stage startups and emphasizes the importance of scaling best practices. He also talks about dealing with cultural changes and logistics while working with legacy companies. James explains his role as the owner of all engineering functions, including mobile and data engineering, at Sotheby's. They touch upon Sotheby's diverse business ventures, including an e-commerce luxury goods marketplace and a financial services business, SFS, that lends money against art.

Highlights:

[00:02:30] Scaling a growing company.

[00:04:09] Hiring with forethought.

[00:08:09] Suitability of Name Brands.

[00:12:08] Working with RSUs.

[00:16:12] Technology as a cost center.

[00:17:38] Suitability for startup vs mature company.

[00:21:21] Attracting talent with brand reputation.

[00:24:26] Managing technology FOMO.

James is an engineering, product, and business leader with over twenty-five years of experience. He focuses on helping companies build culture, leaders, and teams that develop and ship products that delight users. James coaches people to become better leaders and engineers and to build environments that make teams and individuals more productive and effective.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/turnbulljames/
---

Thank you so much for checking out this episode of The Tech Trek, and we would appreciate it if you would take a minute to rate and review us on your favorite podcast player.

Want to learn more about us? Head over at https://www.elevano.com

Have questions or want to cover specific topics with our future guests?

Please message me at  https://www.linkedin.com/in/amirbormand (Amir Bormand)