Leadership In Tech Companies

🌐 Key Insights from the World Economic Forum's "Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2025" 🌐 The cybersecurity landscape in 2025 is marked by unprecedented challenges and opportunities. The report delves into several critical areas: 1️⃣ Escalating Threat Landscape: Geopolitical tensions are driving sophisticated, state-sponsored cyberattacks. Complex global supply chains are increasingly targeted, exposing vulnerabilities across industries. 2️⃣ Emerging Technologies: Rapid adoption of AI, IoT, and quantum computing is a double-edged sword—offering immense potential but introducing new security gaps. Attackers are leveraging emerging tech to outpace defensive capabilities. 3️⃣ Regulatory Pressures: An evolving patchwork of global regulations demands that organizations stay agile to ensure compliance. Leaders must balance operational efficiency with adherence to laws like the EU’s Cyber Resilience Act and the AI Act. 4️⃣ Skills Gap: The growing shortage of cybersecurity professionals remains a critical bottleneck. Organizations are urged to prioritize workforce development and collaboration to close this gap. 5️⃣ Security-First Leadership: Cybersecurity is now a strategic priority for business resilience, requiring active engagement from C-suite leaders and boards. Building a robust security culture and proactive risk management frameworks is essential to navigate these complex challenges. 💡 Actionable Takeaway: The report calls for a global, coordinated approach to cybersecurity, emphasizing collaboration across industries, governments, and international boundaries to build a resilient digital future. 🔗 Read the full report to explore how your organization can stay ahead: #Cybersecurity #WEF #CyberResilience #Leadership #EmergingTech #AI #QuantumComputing #Regulations #RiskManagement #DigitalTransformation #CISO #CyberSkills #GlobalCollaboration #FutureOfWork

Speaking Tech and Human: Why Every Team Needs a Communication Chameleon Ever been in a meeting where it feels like everyone's speaking a different language? Not in the literal sense, but in that "tech jargon vs. human speak" kind of way. It happens all the time, especially in cross-functional teams. Engineers, with our love of acronyms and complex terminology, can sometimes leave non-technical folks feeling lost in the weeds. I recently witnessed this firsthand. Picture a late-night meeting about an upcoming AI launch. The tension is high, the deadline is looming, and suddenly, someone asks a seemingly simple question: "So, what exactly is an IDE?" The engineer on the call launches into a detailed explanation, complete with references to command-line interfaces. It's like trying to explain astrophysics to someone who just learned the alphabet. This is where we TPMs (or anyone with a knack for both tech and "human speak") come in. We're the interpreters, the bridge-builders, ensuring everyone's on the same page. In that late-night meeting, I jumped in with a simple explanation: "An IDE is basically the tool where developers write and test their code. It's like a word processor for software." Problem solved! The question-asker got the gist, the engineer learned a valuable lesson about audience-focused communication, and we all got a little closer to hitting that launch button. Key takeaways for clearer tech communication: - Know your audience: Tailor your explanations to the listener's technical understanding. - Focus on the "why": Explain the impact and benefits, not just the technical details. - Keep it simple: Avoid jargon and acronyms whenever possible. - Use analogies (when appropriate): Relate complex concepts to everyday experiences. Effective communication isn't about showing off your technical expertise, it's about building a shared understanding and achieving goals together. And in a world where tech is increasingly intertwined with every aspect of our lives, the ability to translate "tech-speak" into "human-speak" is more important than ever. Have you ever witnessed a "lost in translation" moment in tech? Share your stories in the comments! 👇 #TPMlife #TechLeadership #Google #LifeAtGoogle

The Pendulum Swings Back — Corporations Reclaim Control Another leader and I were recently discussing Gen Z expectations in the workplace, and I submitted that it appeared changes were afoot, that the pandemic and immediate post-pandemic corporate stance was shifting back to more traditional attitudes. Recent announcements from noteworthy corporate leaders in the past few days confirm that. How did we get here? In the immediate aftermath of the pandemic, employees held the upper hand. The “Great Resignation” has forced even the most traditional companies to evolve, with flexible work, purpose-driven cultures, and talent retention becoming existential priorities. But in 2025, with RTO policies increasingly in place, employment rebalancing from AI-enabled efficiencies, and a suppression of capital inflows due to the chaos tax of the tariffs, the tide has turned. What is shifting now? Two recent internal memos made headlines and made it clear: the power balance is shifting back to corporations. First, AT&T CEO John Stankey issued a direct mandate: return to the office five days a week or reconsider your role at the company. Despite 79% of employees reporting strong engagement, Stankey emphasized a new culture focused on “capability over comfort” and market-driven performance. No ambiguity. No negotiation. Then, Microsoft CFO Amy Hood sent a call-to-action following record profits, demanding “intensity, clarity, and bold execution.” Notably absent? Any acknowledgment of the recent layoffs that made those profits possible. These are not isolated cases. They are signals. Economic uncertainty, AI-driven efficiency, and saturated talent markets are emboldening executives to prioritize performance over preference. Companies are no longer asking employees what they want. Instead, they're telling them what the business needs. Where will this lead? While this doesn’t mean a wholesale return to command-and-control leadership, it does mean employees who once negotiated from a position of strength now face a new reality: align with strategic direction or risk being left behind. The question now isn’t whether the power has shifted, but how leaders will wield it. In my next article on this topic, I’ll discuss how senior leaders can navigate this change with both power and empathy.

My “WOMEN in TECH” project wants to make EVERY DAY of 2024 an IWD, not just today. On January 1st I set myself the challenge of learning about one brilliant female tech leader every day. I had 3 motivations: 1. Most examples of inspirational tech leaders (inc. quotes & keynotes) feature men. I was as guilty as anyone in always referring to the usual suspects. 🎤 2. There is still a HUGE imbalance in the workforce (74% of the AI-industry is male) and it is estimated that it will take 131 YEARS 🤯 to close this gap at the current rate of change. ⚖️ 3. Many of the best storytellers are women but we don’t do a good enough job of shining a spotlight on them. 🔦 ⬇️ So, in a tiny way, I thought I would dedicate 2024 to making a small impact. There are now 72 amazing women on this list already and we’ll end the year on 366. The list has already been viewed by over 567,623 PEOPLE who have clicked on 1.91M links to view their keynotes, conversations and showreels!!!!! 🙌🏻 So if you’re interested in being inspired by some brilliant female scientists, storytellers and CEO’s, then head over to BetterStories .org / WOMEN FEATURED LEADERS WORTH FOLLOWING: Talia Gershon • Cleo Abram • Dr. Joy Buolamwini • Daniela Braga, PhD • Kieran Snyder • Margaret Mitchell • Clara Shih • Jennifer Eberhardt • Liv Boeree • Timnit Gebru • Galit Ariel • Fei-Fei Li • Whitney Wolfe Herd • Hannah Fry • Dr. Sasha Luccioni • Kate Soule • Melanie Perkins • Limor Fried • Alice Zhang • Julia Hartz • Prof. Amanda Kirby • Ida Tin • Eleonore Fournier-Tombs • Tania Boler • Sukhi J. • Nancy Giordano • Dr Catriona Wallace • Julie Sweet • Francessca Vasquez • Miranda Ratajski • Asu Ozdaglar • Francesca Cornelli • Senta Cermakova • Lauren Ingram • Frances Frei • Jodie Cook • Sophie Devonshire⚡️ • Rav Bumbra • Dr Magda Chelly • Helene Li

The architects of scale.  Capital, code, and power?  They have it all and more. Breakthroughs change nothing alone. Scale decides what shapes the world. These women build the systems behind it. 📌 Mary Meeker The queen of capital who forecast the tech future. Created reports that shaped trillion-dollar decisions. Drove investment into the heart of innovation. Built the lens through which tech became economy. 📌 Ann Miura-Ko The deep tech VC with a PhD in risk itself. Backed Lyft, TaskRabbit, and the unknowns before launch. Models the future with math, not instinct. Scales science from whiteboard to market. 📌 Kirsten Green The consumer whisperer who bets before the hype. Backed Warby Parker, Glossier, and Dollar Shave Club. Reads markets like others read mood boards. Scales human insight into tech empires. 📌 Sallie Krawcheck The Wall Street insider who built her own system. Ran Merrill Lynch, then founded Ellevest for women. Flipped finance from gatekeeping to access. Scales capital with gender as strategy. 📌 Gwynne Shotwell The rocket operator who made Mars a business plan. Scaled SpaceX from 11 staff to orbit and beyond. Turns launches into logistics, not fantasy. Builds space as infrastructure, not spectacle. 📌 Padmasree Warrior The CTO who scaled the pipes beneath the web. Led tech at Cisco, Motorola, and electric vehicles. Architected mobile and network revolutions. Builds platforms that outlive hype cycles. 📌 Amy Hood The CFO who turned Microsoft into a cloud empire. Engineered the pivot with precision and scale. Led deals like GitHub and LinkedIn. Builds strategy where numbers drive innovation. 📌 Ginni Rometty The CEO who rewired a century-old tech giant. Shifted IBM toward AI, cloud, and quantum bets. Divested the past to fund the future. Builds transformation at enterprise scale. 📌 Susan Wojcicki The operator who scaled YouTube into a universe. Pushed Google to acquire it before others saw value. Led a platform of 2 billion creators and viewers. Builds the backbone of the creator economy. 📌 Dr. Sue Desmond-Hellmann The oncologist who scaled science into policy. Led Genentech, then the Gates Foundation’s billions. Pioneered precision medicine and global health strategy. Builds systems where science meets scale. 📌 Dr. Mariana Mazzucato The economist redefining who drives innovation. Champions public investment as tech’s true engine. Advises NASA, WHO, and global governments. Builds missions, not markets, to scale impact. 📌 Dr. Dambisa Moyo The economist who questions the rules of capital. Critiques Western aid and foundation-first thinking. Advocates for market-based global growth. Builds policy with a sharper lens on power. Scaling is not neutral. It rewrites the playing field. What futures get funded?

A $34 billion gamble that could have gone wrong, but instead, it changed IBM’s fate forever. He’s the man who rewired IBM for the future!🤯 When we talk about Indian leaders dominating the global tech stage, a few names always come up: Sundar Pichai, Satya Nadella. But there’s one more leader who deserves just as much recognition. Born in Andhra Pradesh, Arvind Krishna started his journey at Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, studying Electrical Engineering. Like many ambitious students of that era, he pursued higher studies in the U.S., earning his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He joined IBM in 1990, and over the next 3 decades, he played a key role in shaping the company’s future. He has co-authored 15 patents, edited IEEE and ACM journals, and has published extensively in technical journals. But here’s something most people don’t know: In 2013, IBM was considering selling its hardware server business to Lenovo. The deal was nearly finalized, but at the last minute, regulatory hurdles and pricing issues forced IBM to walk away. Following this near-miss, Arvind had decided that IBM must stop chasing low-margin hardware and start focusing on leading the charge in enterprise AI and cloud solutions. One of his biggest achievements is IBM’s jaw-dropping $34 billion acquisition of Red Hat (the largest in the company’s history)! This move positioned IBM as a formidable contender in the cloud computing arena. In 2021, he earned the title of “Most Influential Executive” from CRN, joining the ranks of Indian-origin CEOs like Sundar Pichai, Satya Nadella, and Shantanu Narayen. Under his guidance, IBM's annual revenue reached $61.86 billion in 2023. It’s incredible to see how talent from India continues to shape global tech. His journey is a reminder that the right mix of vision, perseverance, and risk-taking can redefine industries. What leadership lesson do you find most inspiring?👇 #startups #entreprenruship #tech #innovation #AI #cloudcomputing #GenerativeAI

TIME just named Neal Mohan CEO of the Year. The choice says something important about what leadership looks like now. In an era of tech CEOs hyping AI, dismantling government agencies, or launching space tourism ventures, Mohan does something radical: he just runs YouTube. And he does it well. Since taking over from Susan Wojcicki in 2023, he's expanded YouTube's dominance across every screen in our homes while navigating some of the most consequential content moderation decisions in media. ➡️ The $2 billion National Football League (NFL)'s Sunday Ticket deal. ➡️ Major partnerships with The Walt Disney Company, Warner Bros. Discovery, and NBCUniversal. ➡️ And recently, the decision to reinstate creators banned during COVID, acknowledging that "the world, with respect to COVID, is different than March of 2020." What stands out isn't the deals. It's the approach. 🎤 NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on Mohan: "He's very well prepared. He understands what he's trying to build." 🎤 Sundar Pichai: "You have to have big aspirations, place big bets, make tough calls." TIME's description: "Quiet-spoken, deliberative, hard to ruffle." That's the Neil I knew when we worked together when I was CMO of Oracle | Datalogix. And I continue to see his leadership in the creator economy as a board director of Whalar Group. This is what smart governance looks like at scale. YouTube now shapes what TIME calls "the cultural diet that the globe is beginning to subsist on." Every content moderation decision, every algorithmic choice, every policy shift carries weight that extends far beyond the platform. Mohan's metaphor captures it perfectly: YouTube has evolved from "a village, where lots of the creators knew each other" into "a metropolis with lots of interconnected dependencies, and what you do on one street impacts what happens on another street." Boards overseeing AI-consequential companies should take note. The leaders who will matter most in this next era won't be the loudest or the flashiest. They'll be the ones who understand their responsibility, prepare thoroughly, and make tough calls with clear eyes. Congratulations, Neal. 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 CC: Tara Walpert Levy Neil Waller 🐳

Poor leadership doesn’t just hurt morale. It drains everything — energy, trust, and potential. People don’t quit overnight. They disengage quietly first. They stop caring. Then they stop trying. ⚠️ Productivity drops. ⚠️ Innovation stalls. ⚠️ Your best people leave — and your culture goes with them. The real cost of poor leadership isn’t measured in dollars. It’s measured in lost potential and silent exits. Here’s how great leaders prevent that: 1) Take radical ownership. Admit when you’re wrong and learn faster than you fail. 2) Listen with intent. Feedback isn’t criticism — it’s direction. 3) Lead with clarity. Confusion is the enemy of trust. 4) Develop others. The best leaders grow leaders, not followers. 5) Show empathy daily. People give more when they feel seen and valued. Leadership isn’t a title — it’s a daily decision to serve better.

🔒 As a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), my role is to ensure the security and protection of the organization's critical assets and data. Today, I want to shed some light on the challenges that come with this responsibility. Being a CISO is a rewarding role, but it's crucial to acknowledge the negative sides as well. Here are five aspects that we, as CISOs, need to navigate: 1️⃣ Constant Pressure: As CISOs, we operate in a rapidly evolving threat landscape. The pressure to stay ahead of cyber threats while also ensuring business continuity can be intense. Balancing security needs with business objectives requires constant vigilance and quick decision-making. 2️⃣ Resource Constraints: Allocating resources for cybersecurity initiatives is often a challenge. Striving for robust security measures may not always align with budget limitations. Communicating the importance of cybersecurity investments to stakeholders can be an ongoing struggle. 3️⃣ Handling Incidents: Dealing with cybersecurity incidents can be stressful. Rapid response and mitigation are essential to minimize the impact. Additionally, managing the aftermath, conducting investigations, and learning from incidents demand considerable time and effort. 4️⃣ Overcoming Complacency: Convincing stakeholders of the ongoing cybersecurity risks can be difficult, especially during periods of no visible attacks. Avoiding complacency and reinforcing a proactive security culture is essential to stay prepared. 5️⃣ Talent Shortage: Finding and retaining skilled cybersecurity professionals is a continuous challenge. The demand for expertise often surpasses the available talent pool, making recruitment and retention efforts crucial for a strong security team. Despite these challenges, I firmly believe that as CISOs, we play a pivotal role in safeguarding our organization's future. By embracing the difficulties and focusing on collaborative solutions, we can build a resilient cybersecurity program that protects our organization and its stakeholders. Let's stay united and work towards a safer digital world! 🔐💪 #CISO #Cybersecurity #Infosec #Challenges #SecurityLeadership #RiskManagement

The 2025 Verizon Business Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR) is here, and it delivers critical insights into the shifting cybersecurity landscape. For Enterprise and Public Sector business decision-makers, understanding these trends is crucial for protecting your organizations and the communities we serve. Here are some key findings from the report that rose to the top for me: - Exploitation of Vulnerabilities Surges: A 34% increase in vulnerability exploitation, with a focus on zero-day exploits targeting perimeter devices and VPNs, demands heightened vigilance and proactive patching strategies. - Ransomware Remains a Persistent Threat: Ransomware attacks have risen by 37%, now present in 44% of breaches. Enterprise and Public Sector entities must bolster their defenses and incident response capabilities. - Third-Party Risks Double: Breaches involving third parties have doubled, highlighting the critical importance of supply chain security and robust vendor management programs. - Espionage-Motivated Attacks Rise: We're seeing an alarming rise in espionage-motivated attacks in sectors like Manufacturing and Healthcare, as well as persistent threats in Education, Finance, and Retail. Public Sector entities are also at risk. - Credential Abuse Continues: Credential abuse remains a leading attack vector, emphasizing the need for strong authentication, multi-factor authentication, and continuous monitoring. For Enterprise and Public Sector organizations, these findings underscore the need for a multi-layered defense strategy, including: - Robust Vulnerability Management: Implement timely patching and vulnerability scanning. - Enhanced Security Awareness Training: Address the human element and reduce susceptibility to social engineering. - Strengthened Third-Party Risk Management: Thoroughly vet and monitor vendors and partners. - Advanced Threat Detection and Response: Invest in technologies and processes to detect and respond to threats quickly. The 2025 DBIR provides actionable insights to help us navigate these challenges. To dive deeper into the findings and learn how to enhance your organization's security posture, visit: https://lnkd.in/eXdHUYVM #Cybersecurity #DataBreach #EnterpriseSecurity #PublicSector #DBIR #Ransomware #ThreatIntelligence #VerizonBusiness #PublicSectorSecurity Verizon Jonathan Nikols | Daniel Lawson | Robert Le Busque | Sanjiv Gossain | Maggie Hallbach | Don Mercier | Chris Novak | Alistair Neil | Ashish Khanna | Alex Pinto | David Hylender | Suzanne Widup | Philippe Langlois | Nasrin Rezai | Iris Meijer