In this week’ episode of the CTO Lens Podcast, David Crawford and Sophie Valentine discuss various topics including social media court cases, recent AI trials and tribulations, and the emergence of Seedance, an app that can be used to generate Hollywood style videos.

They are also joined by Otto Hilska (CEO of Swarmia) who shares insights on engineering effectiveness and the integration of AI tools in organisations, highlighting the importance of teams and the role of AI in enhancing productivity.

The episode concludes with the mid-episode game and rather than a disaster diary entry this week, Sophie and David discuss the top five roles they would choose to build the perfect tech team in 2026. 

Link for London Tech Leaders Upcoming Events: https://luma.com/londontechleaders

Link for London Tech Leaders Engineering Summit: https://registration.crowdcomms.com/londontech2026

In this week’ episode of the CTO Lens Podcast, David Crawford and Sophie Valentine discuss various topics including their Valentine's weekend experiences, the viral success of their podcast clip on digital sovereignty, updates on the UK Online Safety Bill and the implications of AI in online safety, and discuss recent AI advancements in large corporations. 

They are also joined by Jon Sheehan (Co-Founder of Burns Sheehan) to discuss recruitment in the tech industry. They speak about the evolving role of CTOs, the challenges in the current job market, and strategies for positioning oneself effectively in a competitive landscape. They emphasise the importance of networking, patience, and understanding market dynamics while navigating career transitions. 

The episode concludes with the mid-episode game (titled "The CTO Winter Olympics”) and a disaster diary entry which is centered around becoming ‘an accidental’ CTO.

Link for London Tech Leaders Upcoming Events: https://luma.com/londontechleaders

In this week's episode of the CTO Lens Podcast, Sophie and David discuss various topics including France getting rid of Zoom, AI robots and the recent AI Gold Rush. They also are joined by Lee Provoost (CTO of fintech company Flagstone) who discusses his journey of falling out of love and falling back in love with the CTO role.

The episode concludes with the mid-episode game (titled ‘Touchdown Tech Leaders’) and a disaster diary entry which encompasses getting the board on side when it comes to technology.

In this week's episode of the CTO Lens Podcast, Sophie and David discuss various topics including AI training initiatives, Apple's sales trends, digital sovereignty, and the future of driverless cars. They also delve into the importance of incident management and organisational culture with guests Joe and Hamid from Uptime Labs, also sharing personal experiences of IT outages. The conversation emphasises the need for resilience in tech organisations and covers the metrics that can help measure success in incident management.

The episode concludes with a product angled mid-episode game (titled ‘Tech to the Top’).

Find out more about Uptime Labs: https://uptimelabs.io/

Link for London Tech Leaders Upcoming Events:https://luma.com/londontechleaders?k=c

In this week’s episode of The CTO Lens Podcast, Sophie and David cover a wide range of topics. They dive into the challenges facing the gaming industry, youth social media regulations, and discuss the balance between big-picture thinking and attention to detail in leadership during our leadership focused segment. 

The episode concludes with the mid-episode game (titled ‘Tech to the Top’) and a disaster diary, where the hosts reflect on whether Agile is still working?

Link for London Tech Leaders Upcoming Events: https://luma.com/londontechleaders?k=c

In this week’s episode of the CTO Lens podcast, hosts Sophie Valentine and David Crawford delve into various topics, starting with the internet outage in Iran, AI generated singers and a discussion about Elon Musk's relationships and the implications of AI in our daily lives.

Sophie and David then welcome guest Hema Purohit, who brings her extensive experience in technology and leadership development to the conversation. Hema discusses her Leadership Essentials masterclass, emphasising the importance of visibility versus volume in career advancement for women. She highlights the need for women to take on riskier projects and build relationships with senior leaders to enhance their visibility and career prospects.

The episode concludes with the mid-episode game (titled ‘Tech or Fake’ and a disaster diary, where the hosts reflect on the build vs. buy dilemma in tech, providing insights on making informed decisions in product development.

Find out more about Hema here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hemapurohit/

In this episode, Sophie and David discuss the latest developments in technology, including Nvidia's new AI platform for self-driving cars, the implications of ChatGPT in healthcare, and Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI. 

Furthermore, the hosts discuss essential communication skills for modern leaders, emphasising the importance of active listening, empathy, and understanding different communication styles. They explore the challenges of communicating in a tech-driven environment, particularly with neurodiverse teams. Guest Ben Pearce shares insights on storytelling and frameworks for effective communication, highlighting the need for clarity and flexibility in interactions. 

Finally, David and Sophie take part in the weekly mid-episode game (titled ‘Name That UK Tech City’) and also explore the challenges of transitioning into leadership roles and the importance of vulnerability in fostering team cohesion. 

You can find out more about Ben Pearce here: https://www.elevatedyou.live/ctolens

In this engaging conversation, Sophie Valentine and David Crawford reflect on their Christmas and New Year experiences, discussing the transition back to work and the challenges of disconnecting during the holidays. They delve into tech trends from 2025 and predictions for 2026, particularly focusing on the evolving landscape of AI and consumer technology. David and Sophie also discuss the evolution of IoT and health technology, emphasising the potential for innovative applications in health and communication. They explore the challenges of project management, particularly the early signs of project failure and the importance of communication in addressing these issues. The conversation highlights the need for transparency and proactive measures to ensure project success, ultimately advocating for a culture of open dialogue and accountability in teams. They also play the weekly mid-episode game, titled this week as 'The Resolution Race'!

In this episode, David and Sophie discuss their Christmas preparations, share technology news highlights, and delve into the importance of giving advice to one's younger self. They also take part in the weekly 'Mid Episode Game' titled 'Guess The Year' and conclude with the 'Disaster Diaries' segment, which sparks conversation on the significance of team culture and the common struggles faced by new leaders in tech.

In this episode of CTO Lens, hosts David Crawford and Sophie Valentine discuss personal updates, technology news, and the transition from CTO to CEO with guest Hywel Carver. They explore the challenges of maintaining a strong security culture during rapid growth, the importance of empathy in leadership, and the balance between innovation and security. The episode also features insights from a listener's disaster diary about security breaches and the need for organisational accountability.