I am a senior technology leader with over 24 years of experience. Most of my experience has been leading and growing software engineers, but I have also managed infrastructure departments. Recent roles include CTO, VP of Software Engineering, and Software Engineering Manager. In my current role as VP of Engineering, I oversee 4 software engineering teams including 30 employees and contractors across 7 countries.Regardless of the role, my leadership goals are to:■ Make an impact■ Recruit & retain top talent■ Inspire delightful UI/UX■ Empower autonomous teams■ Influence corporate culture■ Get things doneI earned my first technical stripes with my bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering, specializing in “Computer Science for Medicine” (Bioinformatics). I earned my professional chops at the Chicago Board of Trade and Goldman Sachs, developing C/C++ apps on Unix/Linux. Both engagements required building systems that were fault-tolerant and high-throughput.Roughly speaking, my career has progressed from a Software Engineer to a Team Lead to a Software Engineering Manager to a CTO. Not only have my leadership and management skills grown with on-the-job experience, but they have also grown with “off-duty” learning. I am a lifelong learner, and I use podcasts to quench my curiosity. I mostly listen to tech leadership and strategy podcasts, and I blog about my findings… when I get the chance. You can read my blogs on Medium - https://johndifini.medium.com/list/technology-leadership-9d75be4b3226.My favorite topics to blog about are the culture and principles that served as the foundations of ultra-successful tech companies. My favorite tenants from those companies include:■ Hire smart, ambitious, and creative talent – Google and PayPal■ Create products that are simple and elegant, eye-catching, and have a wow-factor – Apple and Google■ Build a culture that favors autonomy, thinking big, and moving fast – Tesla and Google