Newsletter #51 : Who are the CTOs?

Andrew Weaver
February 15, 2021

It’s that Friday feeling again and the return of your favourite tech leadership newsletter.

To those of you who’ve been swanning around Las Vegas for #ces2020 … we’re not jealous at all.

Instead we’ve been focused on getting this edition out and have been dedicating our gaze towards a topic close to our hearts, that of the Chief Technology Officer.

Articles that explore what they do, who they are and what makes a good one.

Happy reading.

Andrew Weaver
CTO Academy
[email protected]

Day in the life of a CTO

Every CTO is different and every CTO role has its nuances but to get a flavour of what a typical day might look like, we asked Jason to run us through what’s it looked like for him in the past, particularly with the uncertainties of an early stage company.

If you’re from marketing, cover your eyes now … for the rest of you, enjoy the article.

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4 Common CTO Personas

Article from Gartner came out towards the end of 2019 and provided an explanation about what they view at the most common CTO personas.

We think they’ve missed out one of the most significant … CTO as people enabler.
What do you think?



What makes a good CTO?

Jason tells me it’s someone prepared to tolerate working with a non-technologist like me, which is probably fair.

This article asked “top CTOs” their view on the same question … headline responses below and full article here;

– Don’t build tech for tech’s sake
– Communicate concepts to a broad audience
– Be in touch
– Constantly look for alternatives
– Take responsibility for bad things that happen
– Balance breadth and depth
– Check your ego at the door
– Understand business and technology


And here is what winning CTOs look like

The CTO of the Year Europe award recognises the work of  pioneering technology leaders.

Amina Hamidi-Calvo (pictured left), CTO of ABB Electrification, claimed the title in the Large Enterprises category;

while Faktion CTO Joeri Van Steen (pictured right) triumphed in the SME category.

Here is an interview with the winners.


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And finally … are you eyeing the CEO role?

This study suggests that half of you might be.Time for me to sign off and check out what my CTO is up too …Have a great weekend!



January Discount – 28% Off Courses Membership

We’ve launched into the new year with bags of energy and bonhomie.  

So much so that we’re offering a chunky discount against our courses membership.

Available until midnight 15th January 2020, we’re discounting our courses subscription down from $49pm to $35pm.

Take advantage of this offer and the price is locked in for the duration of your membership. Use discount code D55882F9BF when checking out.

There is no contact, cancel anytime and you get a FREE DISCOVERY MENTORING SESSION so it really is ….

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