The CTO Lens

In this week’ episode of the CTO Lens Podcast, David is back and joins Sophie to discuss the latest in tech innovations and news.

Both share insights on leadership, strategy, and the evolving role of technology leaders in organisations. From understanding the importance of strategic thinking to the future skills needed for CTOs, this episode offers valuable guidance for tech leaders aiming to make a broader impact.

The episode concludes with the mid-episode game (titled Buzzword or Baloney) and a disaster diary entry which covers team conflict.

Link for London Tech Leaders Upcoming Events: https://luma.com/londontechleaders
Link for London Tech Leaders Engineering Summit: https://registration.crowdcomms.com/londontech2026

In this week’s episode of the CTO Lens Podcast, Sophie Valentine is joined by guest host Samantha Burrows, in an International Women’ Day week special.

They explore the significance of culture in leadership, especially for women+ in tech, and continue with news on the ethical implications of AI in defence, the future of AI and its potential economic consequences, innovative AI projects in the civil service, and some light-hearted tech updates.

They are also joined by Jeremy Adcock and Josh Silverstone of Hartley Ultrafast. They are building the world’s fastest decision making machines, bringing artificial intelligence to the scale of single nanoseconds for the first time. This was a fantastic conversation and one not to be missed. Find out more here: https://hartleyultrafast.com/

The episode concludes with the mid-episode game and Sophie and Sam discuss what International Women’s Day means to them.

Link for London Tech Leaders Upcoming Events: https://luma.com/londontechleaders
Link for London Tech Leaders Engineering Summit: https://registration.crowdcomms.com/londontech2026

In this week’ episode of the CTO Lens Podcast, David Crawford and Sophie Valentine discuss various topics including social media court cases, recent AI trials and tribulations, and the emergence of Seedance, an app that can be used to generate Hollywood style videos.

They are also joined by Otto Hilska (CEO of Swarmia) who shares insights on engineering effectiveness and the integration of AI tools in organisations, highlighting the importance of teams and the role of AI in enhancing productivity.

The episode concludes with the mid-episode game and rather than a disaster diary entry this week, Sophie and David discuss the top five roles they would choose to build the perfect tech team in 2026. 

Link for London Tech Leaders Upcoming Events: https://luma.com/londontechleaders

Link for London Tech Leaders Engineering Summit: https://registration.crowdcomms.com/londontech2026

In this week’ episode of the CTO Lens Podcast, David Crawford and Sophie Valentine discuss various topics including their Valentine's weekend experiences, the viral success of their podcast clip on digital sovereignty, updates on the UK Online Safety Bill and the implications of AI in online safety, and discuss recent AI advancements in large corporations. 

They are also joined by Jon Sheehan (Co-Founder of Burns Sheehan) to discuss recruitment in the tech industry. They speak about the evolving role of CTOs, the challenges in the current job market, and strategies for positioning oneself effectively in a competitive landscape. They emphasise the importance of networking, patience, and understanding market dynamics while navigating career transitions. 

The episode concludes with the mid-episode game (titled "The CTO Winter Olympics”) and a disaster diary entry which is centered around becoming ‘an accidental’ CTO.

Link for London Tech Leaders Upcoming Events: https://luma.com/londontechleaders

In this week's episode of the CTO Lens Podcast, Sophie and David discuss various topics including France getting rid of Zoom, AI robots and the recent AI Gold Rush. They also are joined by Lee Provoost (CTO of fintech company Flagstone) who discusses his journey of falling out of love and falling back in love with the CTO role.

The episode concludes with the mid-episode game (titled ‘Touchdown Tech Leaders’) and a disaster diary entry which encompasses getting the board on side when it comes to technology.