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 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:
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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Sponsored by This Dot Labs: https://ai.thisdot.co/
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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Sponsored by This Dot: https://ai.thisdot.co/
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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In this episode of the Leadership Exchange podcast, Tracy Lee sits down with Atlanta-based investor, coach, and creator Von Wright for an honest conversation about purpose, transformation, and building a better future for yourself both personally and professionally. Von shares his journey from corporate success to finding deeper meaning in the “second half of life”, how personal challenges sparked radical change, and why he now focuses on impact-driven work. Von also breaks down why it’s important to invest in a healthy human economy and what he looks for in purpose-driven founders.Key points from this episode:- Von Wright shares how personal challenges pushed him to leave a successful corporate career and pursue more meaningful, purpose-driven work in the second half of his life.- He explains Zane Venture Fund’s focus on improving human health as a way to build a stronger, more sustainable economy.- He talks about creating Lifters of Men, a group that helps men through life transitions and encourages service, accountability, and support.- He describes what he looks for in founders, including a deep sense of purpose, lived experience with the problem, humility, and resilience.Chapters00:00 Trusting Yourself Over Outside Advice01:12 Meet Von Wright and the Many Roles He Plays04:47 What the Second Half of Life Really Means08:01 Futurecasting and the Pull to Create13:58 How Venture Capital Became a Path to Purpose15:43 What a Healthy Human Economy Looks Like21:04 Red Flags and Green Lights in Founders27:06 Von’s Personal Breaking Point and Reinvention32:28 The Question to Ask When You're at a Crossroads34:44 Tuning Out the Noise to Find Your PurposeFollow Von Wright on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vonwright/Follow 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: ai.thisdot.co
In this episode of Leadership Exchange, Rob Ocel sits down with John Aron, founder and CEO of Aronetics, to talk about authenticity in leadership, business, and government contracting. They explore what it takes to build trust and credibility as a small player in a space dominated by massive public and private institutions. John shares how staying grounded and transparent has helped him win trust in high-stakes environments, and how authenticity can scale from individuals to entire organizations. It’s a candid conversation about ambition, honesty, and why faking it just doesn’t cut it when the stakes are high.
Key points from this episode:
- John Aaron emphasizes the importance of being honest about your capabilities, especially in high-trust environments like government and defense. Trying to appear bigger than you are can backfire.
- Despite competing with massive government contractors and enterprises, John shows how startups can hold their own by focusing on transparency, deep expertise, and consistent execution.
- Authentic sales isn’t about manipulation. It's about clearly stating your value, understanding the other party’s needs, and seeking alignment, not just closing a deal.
- As organizations grow, the authenticity of leadership sets the tone. Leaders who model transparency and integrity create space for their teams to do the same, building trust at every level.
John Aaron Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jga/
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Sponsored by This Dot Labs: ai.thisdot.co
In this episode of Leadership Exchange, Tracy Lee speaks with Karyn Mullins, a Fractional CTO, about how engineers can increase their impact by becoming more business-savvy. They unpack what it really means to “stay close to the money,” how understanding a company’s business model unlocks stronger engineering decisions, and why engineers should be involved early in strategic planning.Karyn shares practical advice for both engineers and business leaders: from how to identify a business-oriented engineer, to how cross-functional collaboration and exposure to customer needs can elevate careers and company outcomes. They also touch on AI, tech trends in healthcare, and why curiosity might be one of the most underrated engineering traits.Key takeaways from this episode:
- Engineers who ask “why” instead of just “how” tend to be more aligned with business goals and create more impactful solutions.
- Building relationships across departments like marketing and operations helps engineers gain context and improve decision-making.
- Involving engineers early in strategic conversations leads to better outcomes, especially as AI shifts execution expectations.
- Exposure to customer needs, through calls or direct feedback, helps engineers prioritize and design more valuable features.
Follow Karyn Mullins on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karynmullins/Sponsored by This Dot: ai.thisdot.coChapters 00:00 – Why most AI projects fail and the need for early engineering involvement02:20 – “Stay close to the money”: what business-savvy engineering looks like06:00 – Why this mindset matters more now than ever09:18 – How to identify engineers who think like business partners13:47 – Practical ways engineers can become more business-aware14:17 – What leaders can do to support business alignment in engineering19:58 – The engineer’s role in customer experience and value delivery22:01 – Strategic engineers drive better business outcomes25:35 – A healthcare case study of early engineering impact28:13 – Three actions engineers can take this quarter30:23 – Rewarding curiosity and building inclusive cross-functional teams31:20 – Final thoughts: it’s a great time to be an engineer
How should business leaders approach AI?In this episode of Leadership Exchange, Rob Ocel sits down with Dr. Priya Sarathy to unpack what it really takes for organizations to adopt AI successfully. Priya shares insights from her executive workshop and upcoming book The AI Leadership Compass, emphasizing the critical role of leadership in making AI initiatives impactful and sustainable.They discuss why AI isn’t just a tech project, the importance of cross-functional stakeholder involvement, how to build AI fluency without hype, and why empathy matters more than ever. Whether you’re a tech-savvy leader or just starting to explore AI’s potential, this conversation is a practical guide to thinking strategically and humanely about transformation in the age of AI.Keypoints from this episode:- AI success starts with leadership engagement — Leaders must go beyond delegating AI initiatives to technical teams and develop personal fluency with the tools to guide strategy and measure impact effectively.- Business goals should drive AI adoption — AI shouldn’t be adopted for its own sake. Start with a clear business need, then explore how AI can enhance or support that objective.- Cross-functional collaboration is essential — Successful AI integration requires involvement from a wide range of stakeholders, including procurement, UX, and customers, not just data or engineering teams.- Empathy and communication reduce fear — Leaders must proactively address team concerns about AI replacing jobs by reframing the conversation around growth, new opportunities, and human strengths AI cannot replicate.Follow Priya Sarathi on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/priyasarathy/Sponsored by This Dot Labs: thisdotlabs.com
Tracy Lee talks with Felicia Schwartz about how to scale AI the right way. They cover what actually works beyond the hype, how to pick the right use cases, and why getting buy-in from your team matters more than fancy models. Felicia shares her six-step framework for real AI adoption and lessons from companies that got it right and wrong.Keypoints from this episode:
- Scaling AI starts with business value, not technology hype. Felicia emphasizes the need to align AI initiatives with real business goals and measurable outcomes.- Leaders must demystify AI for their teams. Success starts with education and cross-functional collaboration, especially at the leadership and middle management levels.- Start small with high-impact use cases. A clear framework helps prioritize initiatives based on feasibility and value, avoiding the trap of “just checking the AI box.”-Feedback loops and transparency drive adoption. Sharing wins, failures, and learnings openly is key to building trust and momentum across the organization.Follow Felicia Schwatz on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/felicia-schwartz/Sponsored by This Dot Labs: thisdot.co
In this episode of the Leadership Exchange, Danny Thompson sits down with Dr. Stephanie Adams, Director of Intellectual Property and Grants at Micron Biomedical, to explore how Micron’s groundbreaking microneedle patch is redefining drug delivery. Stephanie shares how this painless, self-administered technology—already making waves in global vaccine distribution—could transform access to healthcare worldwide.
They also discuss the intersection of IP protection and equitable access, the challenges of scaling a first-of-its-kind product, and how mission-driven innovation can drive real impact.
Key points from this episode:
- Micron Biomedical has developed a painless, self-administered microneedle patch for vaccines and injectables, reducing the need for cold storage and trained medical staff.
- The technology is already being used in clinical trials in Africa with support from the Gates Foundation, showing promise in improving vaccine access in low- and middle-income countries.
- Dr. Adams explains how Micron is protecting its innovations while keeping affordability and global accessibility at the core of its strategy.
- She shares her journey from molecular biology and IP law to public health and biotech, emphasizing how aligning passion and skills can lead to meaningful, purpose-driven careers.
Chapters
0:00 – The Problem with At-Home COVID Tests
0:46 – Meet Dr. Stephanie Adams
3:04 – What Micron Biomed Is Building
7:07 – How the Microneedle Patch Works
10:02 – Solving Needle Phobia and Expanding Use Cases
14:02 – Cold Chain Elimination and Global Distribution
16:46 – Community Feedback and Early Impact
19:36 – Balancing IP with Accessibility
23:13 – Scaling Production and Regulatory Navigation
26:02 – Stephanie’s Career Journey and Mission
30:51 – Most Rewarding Moment and Final Thoughts
Follow Dr. Stephanie Adams on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-adams-ph-d-415b681/
Sponsored by This Dot: thisdotlabs.com
In this episode of the Leadership Exchange podcast, Tracy Lee talks with Maria Thacker-Goethe, President and CEO of Georgia Life Sciences, to discuss the future of life sciences in Georgia and beyond. They talk about the growth of the local biotech and medtech ecosystem, the critical need for stronger innovation pipelines, and how collaborations between tech and life sciences are reshaping the industry.
Maria shares insights on how AI, manufacturing, and public-private partnerships are driving change, the urgent need for federal investment to maintain U.S. leadership in biotech, and the realities of building a thriving life sciences workforce.
Key Points from this Episode:
- Georgia's life sciences ecosystem is growing rapidly, with strong university pipelines, a strategic location, and increasing focus on biomanufacturing—but continued collaboration and urgency are needed to stay competitive.
- Cuts to NIH, NSF, and BARDA threaten the U.S.’s leadership in biotech. Maria stresses that public-private partnerships and sustained R&D investment are essential to maintain global standing.
- AI, robotics, and advanced tech are transforming the sector. While life sciences move slower due to regulation, there's a growing opportunity to shorten timelines through thoughtful integration.
- Life sciences is a high-risk, high-reward investment space. Scientific, regulatory, and reimbursement hurdles make returns slower and more complex than in tech, but the impact can be massive.
Chapters
0:00 – The risks and rewards of biotech
01:17 – Atlanta’s life sciences ecosystem
02:46 – What Georgia Life Sciences does
05:11 – Georgia’s growth and competitive pressure
07:29 – Innovation showcases and female founders
10:14 – AI and emerging trends in life sciences
13:07 – Biotech timelines vs tech timelines
14:35 – How the US can stay globally competitive
18:23 – Workforce, manufacturing, and trade policy
24:02 – Investment risks in the life sciences sector
30:07 – Biotech startup lifecycle and acquisition path
32:43 – Where to learn more and stay connected
Follow Maria Thacker-Goethe on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariathacker/
Sponsored by This Dot Labs: thisdotlabs.com
In this episode of The Leadership Exchange, Rob Ocel sits down with Shawn Wang—better known as Swyx—to explore how AI is reshaping the software industry from the inside out. Swyx shares his journey from parsing Bloomberg chat logs as a trader to co-founding the AI Engineer Summit and helping define the emerging discipline of AI engineering. He draws parallels to previous waves like frontend and DevOps, noting how AI engineering is quickly becoming its own specialization with unique practices, tools, and community norms.
They discuss where AI is genuinely driving productivity—particularly for developers—and where hype still outpaces adoption. Swyx offers a grounded perspective on concepts like maintainability in the age of agents, and what it means for teams when both humans and machines are shaping the codebase. The episode also explores how leaders can navigate internal vs. external AI strategy and why building strong mental models is essential for staying ahead in a fast-moving field.
Four Keypoints for this Episode:
- AI engineering as a discipline – Swyx outlines how AI engineering is emerging as a distinct field, similar to how frontend and DevOps evolved, with its own tooling, best practices, and professional identity.
- Real vs. hyped productivity gains – While AI tools have meaningfully increased productivity for developers, especially in coding workflows, broader low-code and no-code adoption has yet to deliver the same level of impact.
- Rethinking maintainability – Traditional ideas of code maintainability may shift as agent-generated code becomes more common. Readability remains crucial, but flexibility and agent compatibility may redefine what "good" code looks like.
- Leadership in an AI-augmented world – Leaders should focus on both internal and external AI use cases, develop frameworks for experimentation, and encourage teams to learn in public to stay adaptive in a fast-moving ecosystem.
Follow Shawn Wang on Social Media
Twitter/X: https://x.com/swyx
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawnswyxwang/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/swyx.io
Sponsored by This Dot: thisdot.co
In this episode of The Leadership Exchange, Danny Thompson sits down with Mike Davey, VP of Product at Raptor Maps, to explore the impact of AI on product design, team efficiency, and the renewable energy sector. Mike shares lessons from working across fintech, adtech, and now clean tech—highlighting how AI can drive data efficiency without compromising quality.
They unpack the human side of leadership, including the balance between empathy and accountability, the power of user manuals at work, and what separates good hires from great ones.
Keypoints from this episode:
- AI in renewable energy – Mike discusses how large language models (LLMs) can improve data quality and efficiency in industries like clean tech by reducing manual work and unlocking value from messy or incomplete datasets.
- Balance between efficiency and oversight – The conversation highlights the importance of maintaining a human feedback loop when using AI tools to avoid over-reliance and ensure quality doesn’t suffer in the pursuit of speed.
- Creativity vs. automation – Mike shares a cautionary tale about how auto-generated content can flatten user experiences, emphasizing that AI should amplify human value—not replace it.
- Hiring in the AI era – From adding “just enough friction” to application forms to looking for outcome-oriented thinking, Mike explains how leaders can spot strong candidates and foster growth through structure, not micromanagement.
Chapter
0:00 – AI bios and loss of differentiation
0:40 – Intro to Mike Davey
2:10 – AI and data efficiency in clean tech
5:03 – Over-automation risks
7:05 – Human oversight in AI processes
10:01 – RAG and agentic workflows
12:09 – Creativity loss with AI-generated content
14:29 – AI tools in product and design
18:25 – AI in hiring and filtering candidates
21:48 – Identifying future leaders
25:23 – OKRs and outcome thinking
27:01 – Empathy vs accountability
29:07 – User manuals for team alignment
31:12 – Soft skills and adaptability
33:43 – Wrap up
Follow Mike Davie on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daveymichael/
Sponsored by This Dot: thisdot.co
In this episode, Tracy Lee sits down with Trip Barnes from Insperity to talk about the winding paths of leadership, startup life, and personal growth. Together, Tracy and Trip unpack what it means to build something that lasts—whether that’s a business, a family, or a mini cheesecake company started from a random party conversation. They explore the tension between hustle and burnout, how to recognize when it’s time to pivot, and what founders often miss when it comes to building culture and caring for people.Keypoints from this Episode
-Career pivots and personal growth – Trip Barnes reflects on navigating multiple jobs, grad school, and mental health challenges to eventually find meaningful work supporting small businesses and startups.
- Burnout and work-life balance – Tracy and Trip discuss the cost of hustle culture, how overworking can impact health, and why it's crucial to recognize personal limits before it's too late.
- The importance of people and culture – Founders often overlook culture early on; this episode highlights why investing in people, benefits, and a supportive environment is key to long-term success.
- Startups, support systems, and serendipity – From escape rooms to cheesecake businesses, the episode shows how small conversations and strong support networks can lead to big shifts and unexpected opportunities.Chapters0:00 – Introduction4:23 – Career pivots and lessons from the hospitality industry7:31 – Mental health, burnout, and learning balance14:04 – Founder mindset vs CEO mindset21:22 – Delegation, trust, and scaling a team25:06 – Advice for people ready to pivot31:00 – Supporting startups through ATDC and closing thoughtsFollow Trip Barnes on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trip-barnes/Sponsored by This Dot: thisdot.co
In this episode of Leadership Exchange, Rob Ocel is joined by Eric Poon, Head of IT at Shoppa’s Toyota Material Handling, for a fascinating conversation on the future of industry, the evolving role of humans in automation, and the ethical responsibilities of computing.Eric shares his journey from Peloton and PepsiCo to leading IT at a company with bold ambitions to double in size in five years. He breaks down what Industry 4.0 brought us—edge computing, IoT, automation—and why Industry 5.0 is the next step: one where humans and machines work together, not in competition.They explore why removing people entirely from the equation doesn't work, how data strategy underpins everything from AI to operational success, and what it really means to design ethical systems. Expect stories (including a wild AI résumé rejection), real-world insights on data governance, and a call for more human-centered approaches in tech.Key points from this episode:- Industry 5.0 emphasizes human-machine collaboration: While Industry 4.0 focused on automation and efficiency through technologies like IoT and edge computing, Industry 5.0 highlights the need for humans to work alongside machines—especially for creativity, nuance, and adaptability.- You can’t automate good judgment: Efforts to fully replace human workers with robots often fail. Eric shares that human insight is still critical, particularly in tasks that require context, subtlety, or ethical considerations.- Data strategy is foundational to AI success: Rather than jumping straight to AI, organizations must first build strong data governance practices. Without clean, well-structured data, even the best AI models will produce poor results.- Ethical computing goes beyond compliance: Designing responsible systems requires more than just following the law. Eric calls for integrating philosophy and ethics into tech development—especially as AI becomes more embedded in decision-making.Chapters0:00 – Why AI needs good data2:15 – What is Industry 5.0?4:56 – Why automation alone isn’t enough10:35 – Building a data strategy before AI19:39 – Ethics and responsibility in computing27:40 – Real-world AI failures and accountability36:18 – Final thoughts and how to connect with EricFollow Eric Poon on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/epoon02/Sponsored by This Dot: thisdot.co