Southwest Airlines Managing Director of Technology Priya Narayan joins Tracy Lee to unpack what it takes to lead engineering in a highly regulated, zero downtime environment. Priya traces her path from engineer to leader, balancing safety, union timelines, and customer experience while shipping change at scale. She breaks down mobile first product strategy for pilots and flight attendants, how Southwest runs Scaled Agile with innovation sprints, and the tactics for building high performing, cross functional teams that mix deep domain experts with fresh technical talent. If you lead engineers or aspire to, this is a pragmatic playbook for quality under pressure, communication growth for introverts, and making innovation a priority when deadlines will not move.What You’ll Learn:• Moving from individual contributor to leader through mentoring and business context• Leading in regulated and union environments without hurting customer or employee experience• Structuring Scaled Agile with an innovation sprint that actually ships• Building high performing teams by mixing domain experts and strong technologists• Using crew alpha and beta testing to harden quality before wide rollout• Designing mobile first tools for crews who work on the move• Communication habits that help introverted leaders be heard

Chapters:

0:00 Balancing innovation in regulated settings

1:32 Priya’s path to MD at Southwest

10:03 What regulation means for airlines

14:01 Building high performing crew tech teams

17:28 Scaled Agile and innovation sprints

21:56 Cross functional roles and testing with crew

27:49 Mobile first design for crew and closingTracy Lee on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracyslee/Priya Narayan on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/priyanarayantechseniorleader/This Dot Labs Twitter: https://x.com/ThisDotLabsThis Dot Media Twitter: https://x.com/ThisDotMediaThis Dot Labs Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisdotlabs/This Dot Labs Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thisdot/This Dot Labs Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/thisdotlabs.bsky.socialSponsored by This Dot Labs: ai.thisdot.co

In this episode of Leadership Exchange, Danny Thompson talks with Rossella Vital, VP of Engineering at Sprout Social. They map the shift from building single models to designing intelligent systems with agents, evaluation loops, and strong data governance. The conversation covers how roles are changing for data scientists, analysts, engineers, and product managers, what enablement looks like inside a company wide AI platform, and why leadership structures are adapting with the rise of the Chief AI Officer. You will also hear practical advice on prototyping for executive buy in and the skills that help teams stay relevant.What you will learn • Architecting intelligent systems with agents and evaluation • Judgment and validation to manage hallucinations • Data quality and governance as a prerequisite for agent workflows • How AI product managers operate and what they must own • Practical prototyping to clarify strategy for executives • Why leadership is evolving toward a Chief AI Officer

Chapters

00:00 Intro

03:00 Role shifts for data scientists and engineers

06:08 Inflection point with LLMs and agents

08:31 Expertise, hallucinations, treat AI like a teammate

12:25 From single models to intelligent systems and evaluation

16:42 Enablement platforms to scale AI across teams

18:26 Agentic analysts plus data quality and governance

31:41 The Chief AI OfficerDanny Thompson on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dthompsondev/Rossella Blatt Vital on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rossellavital/This Dot Labs Twitter: https://x.com/ThisDotLabsThis Dot Media Twitter: https://x.com/ThisDotMediaThis Dot Labs Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisdotlabs/This Dot Labs Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thisdot/This Dot Labs Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/thisdotlabs.bsky.socialSponsored by This Dot Labs: https://ai.thisdot.co/

In this episode of Leadership Exchange, Tracy Lee welcomes Tom Occhino, Chief Product Officer at Vercel and former leader of the React team at Meta. Tom shares the story of React’s early days, how incremental adoption and escape hatches gave it an edge, and why simplifying concepts was always more important than adding new features. He reflects on building a culture of humility and openness in open source, as well as the strengths-based management approach he still applies at Vercel. The discussion explores how Vercel maintains speed through lightweight programs instead of heavy processes and how the team embraces mistakes as long as they bring new learning.

Tom explains how he measures success by customer outcomes rather than vanity metrics and why his role is about empowering people who drive technology forward.Four key points from this episode- React’s success came from incremental adoption and escape hatches that made it easier to use than other frameworks.- Strengths-based leadership, humility, and giving more credit than you take shaped both the React org and Vercel’s culture.- Vercel ships fast by using lightweight “tell first, then ship” programs and treating novel incidents as learning opportunities.- The long-term vision is to keep the open web as the most important platform, with React, Next.js, and Vercel driving its future. Tom Occhino on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomocchino/Tracy Lee on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracyslee/This Dot Labs Twitter: https://x.com/ThisDotLabsThis Dot Media Twitter: https://x.com/ThisDotMediaThis Dot Labs Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisdotlabs/This Dot Labs Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thisdot/This Dot Labs Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/thisdotlabs.bsky.socialSponsored by This Dot Labs: https://ai.thisdot.co

In this episode of Leadership Exchange, Tracy Lee welcomes Tom Occhino, Chief Product Officer at Vercel and former leader of the React team at Meta. Tom shares the story of React’s early days, how incremental adoption and escape hatches gave it an edge, and why simplifying concepts was always more important than adding new features. He reflects on building a culture of humility and openness in open source, as well as the strengths-based management approach he still applies at Vercel. The discussion explores how Vercel maintains speed through lightweight programs instead of heavy processes and how the team embraces mistakes as long as they bring new learning. Tom explains how he measures success by customer outcomes rather than vanity metrics and why his role is about empowering people who drive technology forward.

Four key points from this episode:

- React’s success came from incremental adoption and escape hatches that made it easier to use than other frameworks.

- Strengths-based leadership, humility, and giving more credit than you take shaped both the React org and Vercel’s culture.

- Vercel ships fast by using lightweight “tell first, then ship” programs and treating novel incidents as learning opportunities.

- The long-term vision is to keep the open web as the most important platform, with React, Next.js, and Vercel driving its future.

Chapters

0:00 React’s role in keeping the web open

0:40 Host and guest introduction

3:05 How React started at Facebook

5:00 Why React overtook other frameworks

12:00 Balancing features with simplicity

17:02 Transition to Vercel and leadership lessons

22:12 Measuring impact and community adoption

25:21 Guiding people who guide technology

28:31 Leadership principles and team culture

37:03 Vision for the open web in the next decade

38:48 Upcoming Next.js Conf and Ship AI

39:26 Closing and sign-off

Tom Occhino on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomocchino/

Tracy Lee on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracyslee/

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In this episode of the Leadership Exchange podcast, Tracy Lee sits down with Rich Walker, CEO of Quick, to explore the intersection of entrepreneurship, AI, and modern software development. Rich shares his unconventional journey from a finance graduate and self-taught coder to leading an enterprise SaaS company, highlighting how he leveraged AI agents like Claude to build a fully functional, enterprise-grade product in record time.They explore the mindset shift required to integrate AI into business, treating it as a collaborative expert rather than a junior assistant, and how this approach can transform productivity, coding efficiency, and innovation. Rich also discusses his philosophy as a product-oriented CEO who is not afraid to get hands-on, and how AI is enabling leaders and teams to rethink their roles and scale their impact. Rich also gives insights into his podcast Customer Wins, where he explores how business leaders create exceptional customer experiences.Keypoints from this episode:- Rich Walker, a non-traditional technologist, leveraged AI agents like Claude to build a fully functional, enterprise-grade web application, handling everything from databases to dashboards.- He treats AI as a collaborative expert rather than a junior developer, using iterative planning, unit-of-work breakdowns, and business-driven prompts to achieve high efficiency.- Integrating AI requires a mindset shift for leaders, focusing on orchestration, product vision, and problem-solving rather than hands-on coding, elevating both individual and team impact.- Clear and detailed business plans, implementation strategies, and structured prompts allow AI to understand requirements, optimize processes, and deliver results aligned with business goals.Rich Walker on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/quikformsceo/Tracy Lee on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracyslee/This Dot Labs Twitter: https://x.com/ThisDotLabsThis Dot Media Twitter: https://x.com/ThisDotMediaThis Dot Labs Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisdotlabs/This Dot Labs Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thisdot/This Dot Labs Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/thisdotlabs.bsky.socialSponsored by This Dot Labs: https://ai.thisdot.co

On this episode of the Leadership Exchange, Rob Ocel talks with Ivan Burazin, co-founder and CEO of Daytona. Ivan shares how his company is building “computers for agents,” what he’s learned from years of developer tooling and event organizing, and why trust, context, and long-term relationships matter more than chasing star résumés. They also dig into cultural differences in engineering talent and what it really takes to grow a resilient team in the AI era.

Key Points from this Episode:

• Daytona is building infrastructure that gives AI agents workspaces similar to how a MacBook serves a human.

• Strong teams form through trust, shared context, and long-term relationships rather than stacking résumés with big names.

• Eastern Europe has exceptional engineering talent but often lacks emphasis on sales, branding, and communication.

• Experience organizing developer conferences built a network that continues to fuel Daytona’s growth.
  

Ivan Burazin on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ivanburazin/

Rob Ocel on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robocel/

Danny Thompson on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dthompsondev/

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In this episode of Leadership Exchange, host Rob Ocel speaks with Alfredo Lopez, VP of Engineering at Hearst, about what it really takes for leaders to guide their organizations through AI adoption. Alfredo shares insights from more than a decade at Hearst on how engineering leadership has evolved, from balancing startup urgency with long term stability to knowing when not to solve problems with code. Together they explore the cultural shifts needed for AI readiness: why context matters more than prompts, how process discipline separates hype from meaningful results, and why leaders must help teams break down work into smaller, repeatable tasks that AI can accelerate.

Key points from this episode:

- AI adoption is a cultural shift, not just a technical one, requiring leaders to focus on communication, context, and process discipline.

- The quality of AI outputs depends more on context and documentation than on prompts alone.

- AI is most effective when applied to small, structured tasks that build momentum rather than tackling complex features in one step.

- Leaders play a critical role in setting the tone for sustainable AI transformation by modeling clarity, investing in documentation, and raising expectations for process discipline.

Alfredo Lopez on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lfredo/

Rob Ocel on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robocel/

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In this episode of The Leadership Exchange, Tracy Lee sits down with Sam Bhagwat, co-founder of GatsbyJS and now co-founder and CEO of Mastra AI. Sam shares his journey from building one of the most popular React frameworks to leading an open-source TypeScript framework for AI agents. The conversation explores lessons learned from scaling Gatsby, why intuition and pattern recognition matter in leadership, and how trust, feedback, and collaboration shape strong teams. Sam also talks about the shift of web developers moving into AI, the importance of usability in developer tools, and his book Principles of Building AI Agents.

Key points from this episode:

- Sam reflects on his journey from co-founding GatsbyJS to building Mastra, highlighting how past lessons in developer experience and scaling shape his current approach.

- The conversation explores how web developers moving into AI are carrying over a culture of usability and accessibility, making it easier for more people to adopt AI tools.

- Tracy and Sam discuss the role of intuition in leadership, including how to know when to pivot, when to trust your instincts, and how to calibrate confidence.

- They dive into the importance of collaboration, feedback, and trust in building strong teams that can weather both successes and setbacks together.

Chapters

00:00 – Intro

01:04 – Gatsby Journey

01:38 – Founding Mastra.ai

02:37 – From Web to AI

03:47 – Building Mastra & YC

06:17 – Web Devs Entering AI

08:08 – Lessons from Gatsby

11:20 – Trust and Leadership

13:37 – Mistakes and Course Correction

17:20 – When to Pivot

20:14 – Culture of Feedback

23:28 – Resilience Through Challenges

25:30 – The Role of Intuition

29:09 – Book: Principles of Building AI Agents

30:21 – Closing Reflections

Follow Tracy Lee on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracyslee/

Follow Sam Bhagwat on Linkeidn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sambhagwat/

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Tracy Lee sits down with Charlie Cichetti, a leader in green building and workforce upskilling, to unpack what it really takes to run high-performing, healthy, and profitable buildings. Charlie shares lessons from years helping companies pursue LEED and WELL certifications, navigate decarbonization, and turn sustainability goals into measurable ROI.They get into practical playbooks for retrofits vs. new builds, how policy and incentives shape project timelines, the role of data and AI in ongoing building performance, and the skills teams actually need to execute. You will also hear Charlie’s career advice for future sustainability leaders and a candid look at what separates projects that stall from ones that scale.Key Points from this Episode- Sustainability Certifications in Action: Charlie explains how organizations can pursue and maintain LEED and WELL certifications while aligning them with business goals.- Data and AI in Building Performance: They discuss how modern tools, from sensors to AI analytics, help monitor energy use, improve occupant health, and ensure long-term operational efficiency.- Retrofit vs. New Construction: Charlie shares the trade-offs, cost considerations, and policy influences that shape the decision between upgrading existing buildings and starting fresh.- Developing the Next Generation of Leaders : The conversation covers the skills future sustainability professionals need and practical career advice for breaking into and growing within the green building industry.Follow Tracy Lee on Linkedin:https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracyslee/Follow Charlie Cichetti on Linkeidn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tanya-faddoul-917b81a/This Dot Labs Twitter: https://x.com/ThisDotLabsThis Dot Media Twitter: https://x.com/ThisDotMediaThis Dot Labs Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisdotlabs/This Dot Labs Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thisdot/This Dot Labs Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/thisdotlabs.bsky.socialSponsored by This Dot: https://ai.thisdot.co/

Chapters

0:00 – Gratitude as the Antidote to Overwhelm
1:08 – Introducing Guest Charlie Cichetti
2:20 – Bourbon, Atlanta, and Shared Connections
2:31 – Founding Schema.ai for Architects and Developers
3:06 – Transition from Green Buildings to AI
3:53 – Tips for Greening Your Business and Home Offices
7:54 – AI Predictions and Data Privacy in Architecture
13:26 – Enabling Early-Career Professionals with AI
14:38 – Previous Ventures and Building Multiple Companies
16:42 – How to Found and Operate Multiple Businesses
22:02 – Avoiding Overwhelm While Leading
28:14 – Patterns for Running Businesses in Tandem
31:03 – Management vs. Leadership and the Five Levels
34:18 – Final Sustainability and Leadership Tips
35:01 – Bourbon as Community and Collection
37:30 – Favorite Bourbons and Ryes
40:44 – Closing Remarks and Where to Find Charlie

In this episode of the Leadership Exchange podcast, Tracy Lee sits down with Tanya Faddoul, VP of Strategy for Cisco’s Digital Resilience business. The two reflect on Tanya’s nonlinear journey from media sales to leadership roles at Amazon, DocuSign, and now Cisco.

Tanya shares how she brings the voice of the customer into product strategy and how she’s navigating the fast-changing world of cybersecurity, AI, and digital transformation. They unpack how AI is reshaping internal collaboration, the urgency companies are feeling around reinvention, and why shared goals and customer-aligned narratives are key to healthy product and go-to-market partnerships.

Key points from this episode:

- Tanya Faddoul shares her unconventional path into tech leadership, highlighting lessons from her transitions between Amazon, DocuSign, and Cisco.

- She emphasizes the importance of aligning product strategy with real customer pain points, using voice-of-customer insights and sentiment analysis.

- The conversation explores how AI is transforming both external products and internal collaboration, enabling faster iteration and smarter decision-making.

- Tracy and Tanya discuss the need for strong cross-functional partnerships, clear shared goals, and compelling narratives to drive successful digital transformation.

Follow Tracy Lee on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracyslee/

Follow Tanya Faddoul on Linkeidn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tanya-faddoul-917b81a/

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