Tech Teams Today

In this episode of Tech Teams Today, we’re joined by John Van Vranken, CTO at Mobile Pricecard, for a deep dive into building AI systems that scale—with trust, transparency, and velocity.

John shares hard-won lessons from his work across Wall Street, healthcare, and early-stage startups. We explore how to navigate stakeholder inclusion, when not to use ML, migrating legacy systems, and why the best teams aren’t necessarily the ones with the fanciest résumés.

Whether you’re leading a distributed team or evaluating your AI roadmap, this is a must-listen for engineering leaders navigating what’s next.

In this episode of Tech Teams Today, host Matthieu McClintock sits down with Hongbo Tian and James O’Brien, co-founders of Ducky.ai, to explore what it really means to build an AI-native startup, from engineering stack decisions to team structure and GTM strategy.

Hong shares key lessons from his time at Scale AI, while James brings a founder-operator lens on building fast, lean teams in high-stakes environments.

They dive into how AI is reshaping the traits we look for in engineers, what it takes to ship production-ready LLM systems, and why startup leadership must evolve to keep pace with rapid AI cycles. They also share bold predictions for the future of infra, team design, and agent-based systems.

It’s a candid look at what works—and what doesn’t—when building tech teams in 2025.

🎧 Subscribe to Tech Teams Today for weekly episodes with engineering leaders shaping the next era of software.

Yassine Açoine, Co-Founder and CTO of North.cloud, joins Tech Teams Today to explore the intersection of AI, DevOps, and engineering leadership in 2025.

In this conversation, Yassine breaks down how LLMs are transforming the role of solutions architects, why the line between DevOps and engineering is blurring, and what the new full-stack engineer needs to own. He shares lessons from building across continents, hiring with a generalist mindset, and leading teams through constant change.

Whether you're navigating cloud cost optimization or rethinking team structure in the AI era, this episode is packed with tactical insight for engineering and product leaders.

🎧 Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.

Subscribe to Tech Teams Today to hear from the builders shaping the future of tech.

What happens when one person owns both product and engineering?

In this episode of Tech Teams Today, we talk to Prabhu Inbarajan, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Colibri Group, about what it really takes to lead in the AI era.

We explore how simplicity scales, why product and engineering alignment matters more than ever, and how generative AI is reshaping everything from infrastructure to hiring.

With 20+ years leading global teams at Intuit, eBay, PayPal, and Blackhawk Network, Prabhu shares hard-earned lessons on:

• The hidden power of simple systems
• Choosing between AI-native vs. AI-adaptive strategies
• Why trust is the true unlock for AI adoption
• How agent-based infrastructure changes the game
• Building lean, high-performing teams in a rapidly evolving tech landscape

Whether you’re scaling, rebuilding, or just trying to keep up—this episode offers a rare behind-the-scenes look at modern tech leadership.

Subscribe to Tech Teams Today for more conversations with engineering and product leaders who are shaping the future of technology.

Learn more about what Prabhu is doing at the Colibri Group by checking out: https://www.colibrigroup.com/

In this episode of Tech Teams Today, we’re joined by Arun Shankar, Director of Engineering at Tubi, to talk about what it takes to lead engineering at scale in one of the most complex environments in tech.

We cover:

• Tubi’s multi-CDN strategy for web and TV apps
• Building for 30+ platforms from a single config
• The shift from coders to product-minded developers
• AI's role in personalization, testing, and productivity
• Balancing velocity, experimentation, and long-term impact

Read Arun’s blog on Tubi’s Super Bowl architecture: https://code.tubitv.com/scaling-tubi-for-the-super-bowl-implementing-a-multi-cdn-strategy-for-web-and-tv-apps-1dc0ed267cdf

Want more? Watch Arun speak at our T3 Live  panel in Downtown SF: “Building and Leading High Performing Teams in the AI Era” -> https://youtu.be/oHgir8Si-nU

Subscribe to Tech Teams Today for weekly conversations with the engineering leaders building the future of tech.

In this episode of Tech Teams Today, Lloyd Hsu (CTO at Roofstock) shares practical lessons from leading engineering, data, and IT through a major post-merger integration.

We explore how to unify teams and processes without losing momentum, and what it really takes to evolve from execution-focused leadership as an SVP of Eng to a strategic CTO mindset.

Topics covered:

• Merging engineering teams and aligning on roadmaps
• Navigating cultural and process integration post-acquisition
• Managing global, distributed teams in 2025
• The evolving role of AI in engineering orgs
• What changes (and what stays the same) when you become a CTO

Subscribe to Tech Teams Today for weekly conversations with engineering and product leaders building the future of software.

Join the T3 Exchange — a private community for engineering leaders to share ideas, solve real-world problems, and grow together: t3-live.com/exchange

What does it actually take to lead a product org through AI disruption, acquisitions, and scale?

In this episode of Tech Teams Today, we sit down with Jose Maldonado, VP of Product at ProcessMaker, and discuss how his team:

• Acquired and integrated AI tech before the hype hit
• Scaled from 2 releases a year to shipping every 2 weeks
• Merged global teams post-acquisition
• Navigated AI implementation without losing product focus

This one’s for product and engineering leaders dealing with pressure to move fast, stay relevant, and make AI real—without burning out the team.

🎧 Subscribe to Tech Teams Today for new episodes every week on the future of software, leadership, and team-building.

Want to stay connected with other engineering leaders?Register for our exclusive community for eng leaders at T3-Live.com/exchange

Robert Gonzalez didn’t follow a traditional path—he taught himself to code, said yes to high-risk projects, and kept learning fast. Today, he’s the VP of Engineering at SugarCRM, leading a global org powering $100M+ in annual product revenue.

In this episode of Tech Teams Today, hosted by Lucas Mendes, Robert shares:

• What it really takes to scale into VP-level leadership
• How to manage global teams and still move fast
• Why staying technical gives him an edge
• How AI is transforming engineering teams from the inside out
• And the mindset that helped him outpace the ladder

Want to connect with other senior engineering leaders?

Join the T3 Exchange: https://T3-Live.com/exchange

Watch Robert’s T3 Live panel on building high-performing teams:

https://youtu.be/oHgir8Si-nU?si=pQ42P4GX-4p-x0MU

🎙️ Subscribe to Tech Teams Today for weekly episodes with top engineering leaders.

Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.

How do top engineering leaders navigate hypergrowth, cultural change, and the rise of AI?

In this episode of Tech Teams Today, we talk with Jim Meyer, a Fractional CTO and founder of Meyer4Hire, who’s led engineering teams at Slack, LinkedIn, Salesforce, DreamWorks, and more.

Jim shares practical insights on:

• Scaling culture in hypergrowth environments
• Balancing product delivery with platform health
• Navigating technical debt and AI adoption
• Building alignment across distributed teams
• Embracing servant leadership in modern orgs

Whether you’re managing 5 engineers or 500, this episode will help you lead with clarity, conviction, and impact.

🎧 Subscribe to Tech Teams Today for weekly episodes with some of the top engineering leaders in tech.

🔗 Learn more about Jim at meyer4hire.com

In this episode of Tech Teams Today, Mauricio Cardenas—Director of Technology at Orchest Automation—joins host Lucas Mendes to share hard-earned lessons from his global journey through engineering, AI, and product leadership.

Mauricio discusses:

• How AI is reshaping product management—from features to behavior
• Why product managers must own go-to-market from day one
• The mindset shift required to build trust in probabilistic systems
• Building and leading cross-functional, remote-first teams
• What aspiring PMs and engineers need to thrive in the GenAI era

From leading tech at the United Nations to scaling low-code automation platforms at ProcessMaker, Mauricio shares a wealth of insights for engineering and product leaders navigating the AI-driven future of work.

Want to stay in touch with Mauricio? He has a newsletter where he drops the unspoken truths of Product Management on "Product Quintessential Pulse" every Monday. Subscribe at the URL below! https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7120438421092724737/?displayConfirmation=true