The IT Masters

The IT Masters

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The IT Masters episodes

  • Own Your Number: Transparency, AI Adoption, and Building a People Company with Gabe Abshire

    Gabe Abshire spent six to eight months telling his leadership team to start using AI. Nothing moved. Then he brought in EY to run a session for that same group, and he says that in the six months since, the perception of every one of his leaders has changed. Same message. Different messenger.

    In this episode of The IT Masters Podcast, host Rob DeVita sits down with Gabe Abshire, founder and CEO of Move Concierge, a nationwide company of about 180 people that helps roughly 35,000 home buyers a month sort out internet, electricity, security, and a dozen other services when they move into a new house. Gabe started a satellite installation company back in 2004 and kept losing jobs because nobody had turned the power on at the house or the TV was still sitting in the moving truck. He built a business in that gap, and the channel it created is now named after his company.

    This one is not about the moving industry. Rob and Gabe get into what actually decides whether technology gets used:

    • Why six to eight months of the CEO pushing AI did nothing, and what changed when an outside firm made the same case to the same people
    • The rule that stuck: use AI as a thought partner first, before you try to build anything with it
    • Why the budget objection disappears when you talk to a business unit leader instead of the IT team
    • How Gabe analyzed CFO candidates with AI, and why his advisors came back asking which search firm he had hired
    • The 30 percent of customers he says he loses simply because the only way in is a phone call, at a company with 25,000 five-star reviews
    • What happens when every employee's numbers go out company-wide every morning, and why the people who do not want that accountability leave on their own
    • Why he believes HR should never have owned recruiting, and the hire he just made to fix it
    • What he wants from a technology leader on AI right now, including agents that prep the day so his team can stop cold calling
    • Where the business goes next, with 1.2 million neighborhood boundaries from LiveBy and a new product built for what happens after the move

    Gabe has been building this for 17 years. Move Concierge has spent six consecutive years on the Inc. 5000, works with tens of thousands of real estate professionals, and recently rebranded, expanded its leadership team, and acquired LiveBy.

    If you are a CIO, CTO, or executive trying to get AI past the pilot stage and into how your leaders actually think, this is a conversation worth your time.

    🎧 Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. Subscribe to The IT Masters Podcast and never miss an episode.

    53 min
  • Gen Z, AI, and the Skills Gap: What College Interns Want IT Leaders to Know

    Mejeticks CEO Robert DeVita sits down with four summer interns, Riley McIntosh and Georgia Thompson from TCU, Abby Seton from the University of Alabama, and Danny Devlin from the University of Oklahoma, for a candid roundtable on artificial intelligence, sales, marketing, and the future of technology careers.

    They compare notes on how differently their universities are handling AI in the classroom, the tools they actually reach for every day (Claude, Canva's AI features, and the outbound platform Kixie among them), and whether AI generated content helps or hurts creativity. The conversation also covers remote work versus office culture, what surprised them most about working inside a technology consulting firm, and their predictions for how AI will reshape sales, marketing, and IT careers over the next decade. They also weigh in on the most overrated tech trend right now, and settle some friendly TCU, Alabama, and OU rivalry along the way.

    For IT leaders building their next generation of talent, this episode is a direct line into how that talent is actually thinking about the tools already reshaping their jobs.

    New episodes of The IT Masters release regularly. Subscribe so you don't miss the next one.

    43 min
  • Cybersecurity Is a Business Problem: How CISOs, Boards, and Executives Need to Think About Risk with John Shin

    Most companies treat cybersecurity as an IT problem. John Shin has spent 20 years proving it's a business problem — and the difference in how you frame it determines whether your organization survives a breach or gets buried by one.

    In this episode of The IT Masters Podcast, host Rob DeVita sits down with John Shin, founder and managing director of RSI Security, a cybersecurity advisory firm serving organizations from Fortune 500 companies to fast-growing SMBs. John started his career as a night-shift data center technician, got called into a boardroom during a breach, couldn't answer a single financial question about what happened — and spent the next two decades building the bridge between technical security work and executive decision-making.

    This conversation doesn't stay in the weeds of tools and tech. Rob and John go straight to the issues that board members, CISOs, and IT leaders are dealing with right now:

    • Why compliance is the floor and security is the ceiling — and what organizations stuck in between are missing
    • Where the CISO should sit in the org chart, and why reporting to the CIO creates an accountability gap
    • What 50% of breaches actually come from — and why millions in firewall spend won't stop it
    • The real reason employees are using personal AI tools at work, and what leadership needs to do about it
    • Which security investment delivers the highest ROI (it costs less than $100 per user per year)
    • Why companies with mature security programs carry 10% more enterprise valuation — and what that means during M&A
    • The talent gap in cybersecurity and why universities are already 2–3 years behind what the job market needs
    • John's leadership philosophy on building teams that perform under pressure — and what it means to fight well

    John is a member of the Forbes Technology Council and has contributed research to the US Air Force Research Laboratory. He's built RSI Security over nine years into one of the most trusted cybersecurity advisory firms in the country.

    If you're a CISO, CIO, CTO, or business leader trying to get your organization ahead of its next threat — this is a conversation worth your time.

    🎧 Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. Subscribe to The IT Masters Podcast and never miss an episode.

    55 min
  • How Elite Performers Stay Consistent Under Pressure | NFL Kicker Nick Folk on Mindset, Leadership, and Technology

    What does it really take to perform under pressure — over and over again — at the highest level?

    Nick Folk is still doing it.

    Nearly two decades in the NFL. Multiple teams. Different systems. Different coaches. Different eras of the game. And somehow, he’s still one of the most reliable kickers in football.

    In this episode of The IT Masters Podcast, Nick sits down with Robert DeVita for a real conversation about performance — not the highlight reel, but what actually happens behind the scenes.

    They break down:

    •  How elite athletes manage pressure in high-stakes moments 
    •  The mindset required to stay consistent over a long career 
    •  How technology, film, and real-time data have changed preparation in the NFL 
    •  What Nick learned from leaders like Bill Belichick, Rex Ryan, and Mike Vrabel 
    •  Why team culture is the foundation of execution — in sports and business 
    •  The difference between talent, potential, and actual performance 

    This conversation goes beyond football.

    It’s about how high performers think.
    How leaders build trust.
    And how organizations create environments where people can consistently execute when it matters most.

    Whether you’re in IT, sales, leadership, or building a business — the lessons translate.

    Because at the end of the day, pressure shows up everywhere.

    And how you respond to it is what separates good from great.

    Listen now on The IT Masters Podcast.

    1 hr 6 min
  • Hybrid IT & Cyber Resilience: Revenue‑Growth Strategies with Dante Orsini

    How do you cut through the noise of endless technology options to build systems that actually move your business forward? 

    Join host Robert DeVita as we explore this question with Dante Orsini who shares real insights from major cloud migrations, merger integrations, and cybersecurity transformations. 

    You'll discover how to evaluate cloud investments that deliver measurable ROI, why successful cybersecurity starts with organizational culture, and the real cost of integration mistakes in M&A scenarios. 

    Dante brings the unvarnished truth about what really happens when organizations transform their technology landscape - the unexpected challenges, the surprising wins, and the leadership decisions that make or break these critical initiatives.

    55 min
  • AI Infrastructure & CapEx Discipline: Lessons from Sean Charnock

    CapEx discipline isn’t optional when building AI‑ready infrastructure.
     

    Host Robert DeVita and entrepreneur Sean Charnock unpack the operational realities of scaling capital‑intensive tech businesses. Learn why CapEx discipline matters, how to lead through hypergrowth, what founders miss about financial strategy, and how AI, cloud and colocation are reshaping infrastructure.

    Download our AI Infrastructure Checklist and subscribe for future insights.

    55 min
  • Gen Z & AI: What Tomorrow’s Talent Means for IT Leaders

     Gen Z isn’t waiting for the future; they’re redefining work and technology today.
     Overview: Robert interviews Mejeticks interns Camille Ferachi, Lindsey Gattis and Avery Copple about how digital natives communicate, use AI at work, and what they expect from employers.

    👉 Join the conversation on LinkedIn


    41 min
  • Startup to Enterprise: IT Leadership Lessons with John Muller

    How do you scale from a shoestring startup to a global IT powerhouse?


     Robert DeVita sits down with John Muller, whose career spans Hotels.com, Expedia, ATX Group, One Technologies and Intertek. Muller shares how he built a leading e‑commerce platform on a budget, navigated acquisitions, and now leads global infrastructure teams.

    Together they explore cultural shifts in tech and what it takes to earn a seat at the executive table.

    Stream the episode, then read our Start‑Up‑to‑Enterprise Scaling Guide. Share your biggest scaling challenge on LinkedIn. 

    48 min
  • AI Strategy for CIOs & CTOs: From Hype to Business Impact with Shawn Mills

    Stop experimenting—start driving ROI with AI.


    Robert and AI pioneer Shawn Mills explain why AI adoption is business‑led, how to move from proof‑of‑concept to ROI, avoid implementation mistakes, and how AI reshapes IT roles.

     👉 Download the AI Strategy Checklist and subscribe for upcoming AI insights. 

    Listen now and stay ahead in the AI revolution!

    Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review! 🎧 

    42 min

About The IT Masters

From the publisher's feed

The IT Masters Podcast is built for CIOs, CTOs, and enterprise IT leaders responsible for driving business outcomes through technology.

We go beyond surface-level conversations to break down…