Cillers Developer Experience

Meet Jose Plans, Former Engineering Director at CitrixJose Plans is a former Engineering Director at Citrix, where he spearheaded the transition to cloud-based solutions, achieving exceptional system reliability and enhanced security. At Citrix, he managed a large team of 50, focusing on streamlining operations and boosting system performance. Currently, he is on a career break, deepening his skills in big data, AI, and system architecture, while also spending time with his family.In this episode, we discussed what makes hackathons great and worth investing in. They need to have a clear purpose and a business objective that is interesting to explore, while simultaneously providing insights into technological advancements. We also talked about different lengths of hackathons and what Jose believes is the optimal duration. Our conversation covered how to increase development velocity in day-to-day projects. From Jose’s rich experience, some things stand out: It’s good to know the models of software production, but in reality, it’s important to adapt to circumstances rather than strictly following the rules. Additionally, clarity in expectations and deadlines is crucial. He also revealed his approach to organizing sprints, what has worked best for him, and what has significantly increased his development velocity! Regarding how to write better code faster with AI, we discussed how AI can provide a head start in projects but also what to be careful about... Recommended link: https://ollama.com/x/llama3.2-vision

Meet Varun Shrivastava, Senior Software Engineer at AWSVarun Shrivastava is a seasoned Full Stack Developer at AWS, specializing in the development of scalable enterprise software for the finance and retail sectors. His passion for continuous learning and development is matched only by his belief in the transformative power of collaboration. Working alongside like-minded tech enthusiasts to advance the frontiers of technology thrills him, making him an ideal guest for a podcast themed "World Class Hackathons."In our discussion, Varun shared insights from his experience creating an AI-powered personal shopper during a hackathon. We also explored strategies for accelerating coding efficiency with AI. If Varun were to create an online course, it would feature these innovative workshops: 1) Prompting Engineering: Learn to master prompt design and its significant impact on Large Language Models (LLM), potentially enhancing effectiveness by a factor of 100. 2) Understanding various AI tools such as Amazon Q and Claude. 3) Developing your own code assistant using established AI platforms, focusing on best practices.

Meet Arhaan Saksena, Head of Customer Engineering, Google CloudArhaan Saksena is a technology leader specializing in cloud solutions and customer success. As Head of Customer Engineering for Google Cloud, he focuses on acquiring new enterprise customers and maximizing their value through innovative solutions. With over 15 years of pre-sales experience, Arhaan excels at building trusted relationships and understanding client needs. He translates those needs into effective technical solutions, leveraging his expertise in cloud-native technologies, SaaS, and data/AI applications.During his 7+ years at Google, he has consistently delivered impactful results in various customer-facing engineering and leadership roles. Arhaan is passionate about helping businesses harness the power of the cloud to drive growth and solve complex challenges.His strong academic foundation includes a Master of Science in Information Systems from the University of Maryland and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering. He further honed his business skills through the Stanford LEAD Online Business Program.In this episode, we talked about how Google runs both hackathons with customers and open hackathons for the entire development community. We also discussed how to increase software development velocity: use the power of AI to write better code faster and optimize your infrastructure with a code assistant. The goal is always to minimize time spent on boilerplate code and instead focus on business logic and user-centric features.

Meet Bernd Drothen, Pre-Sales Expert, former Vice President of Solution Engineering at Salesforce (Austria and Germany)My guest today spent nearly two decades at Salesforce, most recently as Vice President of Solution Engineering for Germany and Austria. He played a key role in growing Salesforce's presence in these countries from the very early days. Now, he's excited to share his expertise with startups and established companies as an advisor. Bend has been involved in something very interesting: external hackathons where companies looking for a specific software solution asked various competitors to engage in a hackathon in order for them to assess which solution would be a better fit, faster to implement, more adaptable, etc.In this episode, we talked about how to use hackathons to help potential clients evaluate software systems. Bernd shared how Salesforce won 80% of the deals when they used this method, which they refined over time. This type of activity was targeted towards large customers where the order value was very high. Salesforce would say to the customer, "To truly understand the difference between our system and the competitors, and to experience what it's like to work with us, let us run a hackathon where you get to try setting up the system and perform the most important use cases." Potential customers often found this to be a great idea.Salesforce divided the customer team, which often consisted of technicians, salespeople, and managers, into smaller groups where they were given different challenges. Salesforce was skilled at building a culture with the potential customer, not coming in as teachers, but more as people who helped them along when they got stuck. They became good friends. They handed out swag like mugs, t-shirts, and hoodies, and they set up a Salesforce coffee truck outside the office. At the end of the hackathon, they had internal champions present Salesforce to the decision-makers in the management team.It's fascinating. Organizing such hackathons with customers is beneficial for everyone involved: good for the customer because they make better choices, good for Salesforce as they learned more about the customer, and good for product development because there's nothing better than spending time "on the floor" with customers and seeing how things really work. The question in my head after the interview was: Shouldn't large enterprise systems - especially if your target audience is developers - always be sold like this?

Meet Bassem Dghaidi, Senior Software Engineer at GithubBassem is a Senior Software Engineer at GitHub. He has led major projects in the Netherlands, USA, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and his native Lebanon. He was a founding member of SE Factory, Lebanon's top coding bootcamp that's been featured in The Guardian, TechCrunch, and Forbes. Additionally, he is a very active content creator, sharing his technical and career insights through his own podcast and social media. He also does a lot of public speaking!In this episode, we talked about Bassem's experiences when he built software systems for optimizing container handling and unloading from ships. To understand how to build the system, he really needed to observe the port, how the containers were unloaded, ride along with truck drivers, etc. This provided a valuable insight into how important it is to understand what the customers are trying to achieve.We discussed the SE Coding Bootcamp, where Bassem was a founding partner. In 12 weeks, developers really learned everything about tech fundamentals, how to build an MVP, and how to excel at soft skills like communication. The result was that many got jobs at the world's best tech companies after completing the bootcamp. It was like a 12-week-long hackathon with interspersed lessons.We also talked about the hackathon culture at Github and the desired outcomes of why they do hackathons: increase collaboration, explore new tech, come up with ideas for improvements on existing products, improve presentation and communication skills, and explore new territories that you are not used to.A new concept also came up, "Docathons" - 1-day events with the goal of improving essential parts of Github's documentation.Finally, we concluded by discussing how to increase software developer velocity in day-to-day projects - where everything comes back to the most important question you can ask yourself no matter what you're doing: have we really understood what the customer is trying to achieve?Link to Bassem's blog: https://blog.bassemdy.com/

Meet Zohaib Hassan Shaikh, Founding Member & Head of Engineering, Krave MartZohaib Hassan Shaikh is the Head of Engineering at Krave Mart, a leading startup revolutionizing the grocery delivery industry in Pakistan. With a background in scalable systems and a passion for using cutting-edge technology to solve real-world problems, Zohaib has spearheaded multiple projects involving AI, ML, and data analytics.Beyond his professional accomplishments, Zohaib is deeply passionate about social work and is the founder of Meal Donate, an initiative focused on raising awareness about preventing food wastage and providing free groceries to underprivileged communities. He loves participating in hackathons, particularly those that focus on driving positive change in underserved regions. Zohaib enjoys mentoring, contributing to hackathons, and working on social impact-driven technological initiatives in emerging markets.In this episode, Zohaib shared valuable insights into the significant impact hackathons had on starting his own company. He revealed that he regularly takes his team to participate in external hackathons, with the primary objectives of fostering team building, mastering the art of rapid feature development, and staying up-to-date with game-changing technologies. After each hackathon, the team meticulously evaluates the pros and cons of the newly discovered tech, enabling them to continuously improve their underlying tech stack. Zohaib enthusiastically remarked, "When the entire team returns from a hackathon, it works wonders for their morale and collaboration. They start coding with the same enthusiasm they exhibited during the event!" Our conversation also delved into strategies for enhancing software development efficiency in day-to-day work. Zohaib emphasized the importance of automation, intelligent prioritization of critical features, and consistent code reviews to ensure the long-term sustainability and maintainability of the codebase.

Meet Kristofer Vernmark, PhD, MSc, Linköping University.Kristofer is a well-known researcher at Linköping University and co-author of the groundbreaking book "Dream! Hack! Build!". He is also the creator of the Build for Earth program. In collaboration with the Hack for Earth foundation, Kristofer has worked with diverse and innovative teams from around the globe, united in their mission to develop solutions for a more sustainable planet.With over 17 years of experience as a psychologist, manager, consultant, author, and researcher in the field of digital mental health, Dr. Vernmark has been a pioneer in making internet-based treatments accessible within the Swedish primary care system. His exceptional contributions were recently recognized with the prestigious 2022 eMHIC award for Leadership Excellence in eMental Health Implementation.In this episode, we delve into the process of transforming hackathon projects into reality. Discover how 8 teams, selected from a pool of 1,000 participants in Hack for Earth's global hackathons, are granted the opportunity to join the 6-month BUILD accelerator program. The transition from a hackathon to establishing a company is a significant leap, and we explore the components of the Build program and the crucial emphasis on fostering psychological safety within the teams. While we merely scratch the surface in this episode (we could easily spend another 4 hours discussing this topic), we provide valuable insights into the distinguishing characteristics of successful start-ups and innovation projects.

Abhinav Mehta, Director Software Engineering, PhotonPhoton, a global leader in AI and digital solutions, helps clients accelerate AI adoption and embrace DigitalHyper-expansion® to make tomorrow happen today. Working with 40% of the Fortune 100, Photon enables them to remain agile and future-ready in an era of converging digital and AI boundaries. Powering billions of touchpoints daily, Photon combines AI management, digital innovation, product design thinking, and engineering excellence to drive lasting transformation for F500 clients.As the Director of Software Engineering at Photon, Abhinav drives innovations in AI and cloud security, transitioning architectures to microservices, and aligning technical initiatives with strategic business goals.In this episode, we delved into the hackathons at Photon and Abhinav's previous employer, Pandora. We discussed the numerous reasons to participate in a hackathon, such as learning about technology, experiencing roles different from your usual ones, collaborating with others, and driving ideas you believe in. A hackathon could be the perfect platform to demonstrate the validity of your idea to the world. We also explored the various "avenues" within a hackathon, like the "in it to win it" and the "learning" avenues. We examined the elements necessary for a successful hackathon, including a robust platform for finding teammates, presenting ideas, and forming teams; essential resources like test data, APIs, and licenses; and the crucial role of both internal and external mentors. Abhinav shared his best practices for increasing development velocity in day-to-day projects and recounted how a single hour of weekly coaching from an experienced mentor transformed his entire team.

Meet Jesse Ralston, NetSec CTO, Palo Alto NetworksJesse joined Palo Alto Networks in 2008 as a Software Engineer in the Platform team. Since then, he has held various leadership roles managing PAN-OS and Cloud Delivery Security Services Engineering and Product teams. He is currently the NetSec CTO, focusing on forward-looking technologies including new security offerings, AI security, and the use of AI in products. Prior to joining Palo Alto Networks, he was a Software Engineer doing platform development at Cisco Systems.In this episode, we talk about the hackathons at Palo Alto Networks, how they are set up, and the desired outcomes. We talked about the judging criteria that involve: How innovative is the product? Could it be a real product? How well was the work done during the hackathon? Is it a cross-functional project? How well was the project presented? We also discussed how to increase software development velocity. According to Jesse, the number one challenge is reducing latency: getting everybody in the same room from the different teams that the project depends on. We discussed the importance of cross-team commitment and the use of “war rooms” to facilitate collaboration and reduce latency.

Meet Satej Mirpagar, Senior Technical Program Manager, AtlassianSatej is a Senior Technical Program Manager at Atlassian with over 20 years of experience optimizing performance across various tech stacks. His journey has taken him through some of the largest banks and security companies. Currently, he is working on enhancing the performance of Jira Cloud, used by 83% of Fortune 500 companies. Remarkably, Jira even played a key role in NASA's Ensemble project, helping to send the Curiosity rover to Mars.In this episode, we will explore his tech journey and talk about the innovative hackathon culture at Atlassian, including the quarterly held hackathons called ShipIT and how they foster collaboration among developers across the globe. We discuss the difference between Innovation Sprints and hackathons and explore how to increase the number of projects that turn into real products and tools - what could be done to improve the impact of hackathons even further? We also discuss Satej's ideas around development velocity, what typically slows it down, and what can be done about it: it's about giving developers the best tools, continuously improving code quality, increasing developer joy, and more....

Meet Erik J. Kudler, Senior Software Engineer, AWS, BBC etcEric is an experienced Software Engineer who has developed web apps for software and broadcast companies, such as Amazon and the BBC. At Amazon, he worked on AWS Jam, a platform for teaching engineers how to use Amazon Web Services in a gamified, hackathon-style environment.In this episode, we talked about AWS Jam and the Unhackathon concept (Erik was one of the founders), which is centered around learning new skills and technical ambition. We also discussed Erik's participation in several hackathons, including HackMIT, McHacks, and the NYC Open Records Virtual UX Hackathon, which he won in 2017. Additionally, we explored how there could be even more projects initiated in hackathons that could become reality. And of course, we delved into our new discussion point in this podcast: how to increase development velocity.

Meet Bob Sira Sira, Software Engineer, MicrosoftBob Sira Sira is part of the Cloud + AI team, focusing on the Windows Containers Operating System. In this episode we dive into the fascinating worlds of hackathons and competitive programming, exploring their similarities and distinct differences.In this episode Bob shares insights on how experience from coding competitions can provide invaluable skills for job interviews at tech giants like Google, AWS, and Microsoft, where quick problem-solving abilities are often a requirement. We also get a behind-the-scenes look at Microsoft's annual internal hackathon – why it's organized, how it's structured, and Bob's experiences as a mentor during the event.

Meet Zack Akil, Senior Machine Learning Engineer & Developer Advocate, GoogleZack Akil is a senior machine learning engineer & developer advocate at Google specializing in practical AI. He spends most of his time building experimental Machine Learning applications - often inspired by his many random hobbies - that help and inspire other developers to build with ML in unique and better ways.In this episode, we discussed how and why Google conducts internal hackathons and what they aim to achieve. We explored why it's particularly beneficial to organize hackathons when groundbreaking new technologies emerge. There are many advantages to quickly setting up hackathons to explore potential uses for these technologies. Building an organization around new technology takes time, so a hackathon is an ideal format to see what happens when you invite everyone to participate and contribute their ideas and development efforts.Zack has also virtually won every hackathon he has participated in—truly remarkable! In this podcast, he reveals his very concrete winning strategies.We also discussed development velocity in general and what can be done to increase it.

Meet Ran Ribenzaft, Co-Founder and CTO at EpsagonRan is the co-founder and CTO of Epsagon, an innovative company that was acquired by Cisco for $500 million. Recognized by Forbes 30 Under 30 and an AWS Serverless Hero, Ran is a passionate developer, influential leader, and dedicated mentor to early-stage founders. He provides actionable advice for starting a business through his podcast, drawing on his extensive experience and insights.We talked about Ran's incredible journey with Epsagon, his involvement in hackathons with major companies like Cisco, and in open hackathons across Israel focusing on cybersecurity. He also shares his invaluable insights and the three "must-know" tips for accelerating development velocity.Ran's own pod: https://open.spotify.com/show/7vC4mEgUTKe7BJNzdHBvPo

Meet Jacky Teng, CEO, Smart G TechJacky is an award-winning technologist and entrepreneur with a diverse background in AI, VR, and mobile development. As one of the top 100 developers in Southeast Asia, Jacky’s journey started with a deep interest in technology during childhood, which led him to his current role at Smart G Tech, where he leads innovative projects in cancer research AI, CRM solutions, and mental health apps. Jacky is also known for his active participation in hackathons, where his creative solutions have garnered attention. He has completed notable projects such as AgendaGenie, an AI-powered meeting management system, SkinV, a health-focused app, and various other AI systems that reflect his passion for solving real-world problems through technology.In this episode, we discussed the Slingshot Singapore Competition, Global Entrepreneur Cup, Kaggle Competition, and Y Combinator Hackathons. We explored how hackathons like these can serve as a catalyst for startups, providing a platform where you can meet potential teammates and investors, as well as receive valuable feedback on your ideas.Slingshot Singapore. Slingshot is a global startup competition hosted by Enterprise Singapore. It aims to discover and support innovative startups by connecting them with investors, mentors, and industry partners. The competition focuses on various sectors, promoting entrepreneurship and technological advancement in Singapore.The Global Entrepreneur Cup is an international competition that brings together aspiring entrepreneurs from around the world. It offers a platform for startups to showcase their ideas, gain exposure, and compete for investment opportunities. Participants benefit from mentorship and networking with industry leaders.Kaggle Competition is a popular platform for data science and machine learning competitions. It hosts a variety of challenges where participants can work with real-world data sets, collaborate with others, and showcase their skills. Competitions range from beginner-friendly to advanced levels, making it an excellent resource for learning and improvement.Y Combinator is a renowned startup accelerator that provides funding, mentorship, and resources to early-stage startups. Through its seed funding and intensive programs, Y Combinator helps entrepreneurs turn their ideas into successful businesses. The organization runs regular funding cycles and has a strong alumni network.

Meet Sethu Pavan, Software Engineer at Microsoft.Sethu develops and maintains high-performance, scalable systems that serve tens of millions of end users.In this episode, we dive into his experiences with hackathons at universities and big companies like JP Morgan. Seth has an impressive track record of winning hackathons and takes us through three specific events. He also shares his winning strategies, giving us all his secrets to success in this exciting episode!Some online recordings with Sethu: Online hackathon - https://devpost.com/software/something-ukx6q7Tech Talk IRL - https://youtu.be/4oLIPfB_9RY?t=3132

Meet Tengiz Tutisani, Senior Director and Head of Architecture and IT Operations at Bright HorizonsBright Horizons is known worldwide for its high-quality education and childcare services.Tengiz is a veteran tech leader with over 20 years of experience driving innovation at both startups and large companies. He's skilled in software development, technology leadership, and has a strong background in entrepreneurship. Tengiz has also written a book called “Effective Software Development for the Enterprise.” When he’s not working, he enjoys spending time with his family, traveling, and practicing meditation.In this episode, we cover several exciting topics. First, we dive into Tengiz's initial hackathon experience in Ukraine. Next, we explore how Dell organizes their hackathons, which often lead to new features in production and new patents. We also discuss how venture capital firms can leverage hackathons among their portfolio companies to accelerate product launches. This process involves understanding what customers want, organizing a hackathon to flesh out ideas, selecting the best concepts, and securing customer investments in these initiatives. Towards the end of our conversation, we also touch on the benefits of meditation.

Meet Suman Debnath, Principal Developer Advocate for Machine Learning at AWS.Suman has spoken at over 100 global events and meetups across multiple countries and has directed the AWS Developer Community expansion in India. He has also served as a judge at numerous hackathons.In this podcast, we discuss the differences between open-ended hackathons and client-based hackathons. We delve into the elevator pitch at the end of the hackathon, discussing how to structure it. We also talk extensively about evaluating presentations, the challenges involved, and how judging teams sometimes change their minds after discussions. Additionally, we touch on large AI communities, with over 400,000 members, organizing hackathons open to anyone eager to learn more about AI.

Meet Ricardo Sueiras, Principal Developer Advocate at AWS.Ricardo assists developers in exploring innovative methods to construct software. He develops code and workshops that showcase how generative AI coding assistants, like Amazon Q Developer, can help developers work more efficiently, experiment with new ideas, and maintain focus. He also disseminates his work and insights through his blog, GitHub, and speaking engagements worldwide.In this episode, we explored how Ricardo assembled one of the first hackathon playbooks at AWS and its development over time. How do you incorporate the AWS principle of WORKING BACKWARDS into your hackathon planning? What are the potential desired outcomes of a hackathon? How can you enhance the likelihood that the innovations not only address real-world issues but also progress to production? How do you engage stakeholders from client companies who are eager to see the demos at the conclusion of the hackathon? How do you ensure that developers, who put in significant effort, are acknowledged and valued?

Meet Sushant Hiray, Senior Director of Machine Learning at RingCentralRingCentral is a three-billion-dollar company offering cloud-based solutions for businesses, including video conferencing, voice calls, SMS, and other communication services.In this episode, we discuss how Sushant's victory at a hackathon became the starting point for his startup, which was later acquired by RingCentral. We also explore how hackathons are evolving into a key format for launching new businesses. Much like the 'Idol' contest was a new way to generate superstars, could hackathons, where potential customers and venture capitalists participate, be the next big thing for producing successful startups? I was so inspired after our conversation I could barely fall a sleep that night!

Meet Yash Sharma, Senior Software Developer at Google NYC!At Google, he is currently building a Gen AI platform that enhances observability across all Google products. Previously, he served as the Tech Lead for Search Experiments, helping to transform search in the era of Gen AI. Additionally, he initiated a Health AI project exploring AI's capacity to diagnose complex medical cases. He has authored a paper on this topic, published on the Google Blog and submitted to Nature.In this episode we discussed his fascinating journey to Google NYC, his early hackathon experiences which had a significant positive impact on his career, and the vibrant hackathon culture he has witnessed at both Microsoft and Google. We also delve into some of the innovative products that have emerged from these companies' internal hackathons.

Meet Andrei-Alexandru Tulbure, Head of AI at StockRxAndrei-Alexandru is a seasoned AI engineer and PhD student. He leads the AI team at StockRx, where he oversees projects in document processing, demand forecasting, and data analytics. His research has been presented internationally and has also led to practical AI solutions in areas like defect detection and sales analytics.In this episode, we talk a lot about the personal benefits of participating in many hackathons when you are young and what it takes to win. By participating in numerous hackathons, you'll encounter a wide range of scenarios that mirror workplace challenges. This exposure gives you a wealth of reference experiences, so even though you may be new to the workforce, you'll already have a familiarity with similar situations. We also talked about what makes a good team? How do you ensure all participants work together with great spirit?

Meet Matheus Guimarães, Senior Developer Advocate at AWS.Matheus boasts over 20 years of experience in the industry, ranging from developer to CTO and everything in between. He remains as enthusiastic as ever about the possibilities and the role that technology plays in bridging our present with our future.In this episode, we talked about how participating in top-tier hackathons not only broadens your understanding of game-changing technology but also deepens your self-awareness. According to Matheus, there's no better path to self-knowledge and personal growth than through hackathons. Participating in these events can also ignite new motivation and aspirations within yourself.

Meet Alex Astrum, Developer Relations at Google.Alex is a software architect, a hackathon enthusiast, public speaker, traveler, and musician.He has 20+ years of industry experience, including web development, software engineering, community building, management, and entrepreneurship.In this episode, we talk about what characterizes high-class hackathons and aspects of judging, mentoring, and tech support.

Meet Our Guest: Iida Loukkaanhuhta, CEO of Junction.Junction is the powerhouse behind world-class hackathons hosted throughout the year across the globe. Junction started in 2015 in Finland and grew to be one of the largest hackathon organizers in Europe. They host events with over a thousand participants and teams coming from all over the world to visit Finland at the darkest period of the year—November. They have also expanded their hackathons globally.In this episode, you’ll hear their CEO, Iida, share how it all started and where they are heading with their "Impossible Is Nothing, We Can Do It" spirit.

Meet Our Guest: Henrik Johnsson, Principal Software Engineer, Amazon Web Services.Henrik has over 30 years of experience in software engineering, founded several startups in Sweden, and moved to the USA after his project Tora was acquired by Quest Software in 2004.He has worked extensively with database tools, mobile, and backend development, and is currently a Principal Software Engineer at Amazon Web Services focusing on scalable cloud services.In this episode, we talked about hackathons before the name "hackathon" was invented. The so-called “Demo Scene” with “Demo Days” was huge in the Nordics and gathered thousands of developers. The events were very self-organized; people slept in their sleeping bags, brought their own lamps, and music equipment to the parties…

Meet Manan, Upadhyay, Senior Product Manager, AWSManan is a former engineer who now excels as a Product Manager at AWS. A significant passion of his is developing AI products that optimize user-friendly experiences. He's currently leading a team at AWS, developing a system that tailors how the AWS website, emails, and SMS communicate with its users. Outside of work, he enjoys sailing on the Hudson River in the summer and snowboarding in the winter.In this episode, we talked about his journey, including hackathons at Deloitte, the hackathon culture at AWS, the similarities between innovation sprints and hackathons, and how hackathons have affected his leadership style and thoughts on building MVPs (Minimum Viable Products). We also discussed how participating in hackathons could improve your growth mindset, to make it easier to go from "thinking of doing it" to actually doing it. Additionally, we talked about his experiences judging hackathons!

Veliswa Boya is a Senior Developer Advocate at Amazon Web Services (AWS). Veliswa’s tech background includes software development, business and systems analysis, solutions architecture, and cloud engineering. Veliswa loves technology and its ability to transform lives. She uses her deep understanding of cloud and ability to communicate this understanding to inspire and lead developer communities who are embarking on their own cloud journeys. Veliswa is passionate about mentoring the next generation of technical talent, and shares her experience on this topic with other technology leaders whenever she gets an opportunity to do so. As a strategist for developer advocacy efforts in the Sub-Saharan Africa, Veliswa leads ground-breaking initiatives that make cloud technologies accessible to everyone, with the ultimate goal of fostering an inclusive and innovative tech ecosystem.

Sumon Mal is a visionary leader and AI enthusiast, currently shaping the future of technology as the VP of Engineering at Sony Entertainment. With an impressive track record of leadership across industry giants such as Paytm, Tesco, Expedia, Amazon, and Samsung, Sumonhas consistently driven the creation of high-performance, scalable systems that power some of the world’s most innovative businesses. A dynamic force in the tech world, Sumon has built B2B and B2C products from inception, pioneering engineering roadmaps and sustainable processes that have propelled organizations into new realms of success. His expertise spans global cross-functional alliances, and his passion for AI is matched only by his dedication to building future-proof systems that push the boundaries of what's possible in technology.

Beverly Wright, PhD, CAP serves as Vice President of Data Science & AI at Wavicle Data Solutions, and Director for Data Science & AI at University of Georgia’s Executive Education. With a career spanning over 30 years across utilities, financial services, telecommunications, healthcare, consulting, and academia, Beverly has led numerous teams and established herself as a data science & AI thought leader, executive professor, national speaker, podcast host, and a trailblazing advocate for data science for good. She also serves as Board Chair for TAG Data Science & AI, Board Member for Georgia Institute of Technology’s Master of Science in Analytics program, Past President of the Analytics Society at INFORMS, and podcast host for TAG Data Talk.Beverly has developed or helped with hackathons at Georgia Institute of Technology University of South Carolina QTM Emory Spelman College Morehouse College Clark Atlanta University (and helped w/ Purdue University The University of Texas at Arlington Arizona State University and others); several proprietary engagements for prior clients, and organizations including Technology Association of Georgia.

Lavanya Ramani is Director of Engineering in Palo Alto Networks leading genAI, Co-pilot initiatives in the network security business group. Lavanya is passionate about diversity and equity initiatives and represents PAN in conferences like Afrotech. She is part of the Women in Technology, Australia Chapter spreading awareness for women returning to work, and co-chair of the Women in Product Community leadership council in PAN.

Ali Mustafa is a Senior Developer Advocate at Postman. He is committed to supporting new developers by transforming the way they learn and build their careers.He has made a significant impact by teaching in over 200 colleges across 38 cities worldwide, reaching more than 100,000 students with his courses and workshops.He has trained professionals at major companies like Rakuten and Deloitte and shared his insights on platforms like TEDx. Through his courses on topics such as machine learning and full-stack development, he equips students to meet the changing demands of the tech industry.

Mike Xie is the winner of several hackathons in the US. With a lot of experience from participating in hackathons, Mike has gained a deep understanding of their strengths and weaknesses. He advocates for more thoughtful, sustainable coding practices to ensure that hackathon innovations can be valuable long-term.

Meet Our First Guest: Ann Molin, Founder of Hack for EarthAnn Molin is a leading figure in hackathons and an advocate for sustainable innovation. With over 18 years of experience, she has inspired audiences globally, including at prestigious platforms like the United Nations General Assembly and TEDx.⭐️ Ann has made substantial contributions to sustainable development, earning the Sustainable Climate Investment Award at the House of Lords during the Global Sustainability Summit 2024. She also heads the Hack for Earth Foundation, initiating projects that significantly impact the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.⭐️ Recently, Ann published “Dream! Hack! Build!”, a book that provides business leaders with strategies to use hackathons for organizational innovation.⭐️ The creation of the "Dream! Hack! Build!" method is among her most significant achievements. This groundbreaking approach has distinguished her in the global hackathon community, showcasing her unique vision for tackling worldwide challenges through citizen-driven initiatives.The podcast will be available on all popular podcast platforms. We look forward to sharing these inspiring stories with you. Join us on this exciting journey into the world of hackathons!