At Spectrum Equity, we have a robust community of technology and product leaders that meets virtually throughout the year to share insights on building – and empowering – high-performing teams. We engage in vibrant discussions on a range of issues from Running a Lean Organization and Engineering Management to Security Issues in the Software Development Supply Chain, Cybersecurity, and Ransomware. But the most important topic – and the one that permeates every aspect of their jobs as tech and product leaders at high growth software and data services companies – is how to stay ahead of the curve in our ever-evolving market and technology environment. It’s such an important topic, particularly against the backdrop of today’s rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), that we decided it would be the focus of our inaugural Technology Summit.
Photo: Spectrum Equity Chief Technology Officer Sanjay Tiwary welcomes technology and product leaders from across the portfolio to our 2023 Technology Summit.
Nearly 60 technology and product leaders from our portfolio companies joined us in Denver this year. Similar to previous Spectrum portfolio events such as our CEO Summit, Sales Summit, and Finance, Legal and Talent Summit, we called upon executives and friends of the firm to share their perspectives. Speakers explored the challenges of building operational efficiencies across software and data services companies and AI readiness:
Kitt Caffall, VP of Engineering at Customer.io; James Graham CTO at AllTrails; Kelsey Stevenson, Chief Product Officer at Bitly; and Kevin Studders Principal, Product & Strategy at Empyrean Solutions, shared insights on building operational efficiencies across product and tech organizations.
Nader Mousavi, who is widely recognized as one of the top technology transaction attorneys in the world, discussed AI and its implications on intellectual property. Nader also joined a panel led by Spectrum’s Chief Marketing Officer Dan Kimball on AI Risks and Opportunities with Chi-Chao Chang, the SVP of Engineering at Indeed and board member at Otter.ai.
Brian Pugh, SVP of Engineering at Lucid, and Alex Langowski, Chief Data Officer at Datassential, discussed how they leverage AI within their organizations.
We also had thought-provoking roundtables on how AI impacts all areas of business operations, from marketing and DevOps to data management, analytics, org design, resource allocation, and more.
It was inspiring for all of us to come together and share insights on how to stay ahead of new technology frontiers and better equip our teams to harness their potential. While we connect regularly over Zoom, over Slack, and through one-on-one conversations, it was invaluable to tackle these issues together in-person.
We’re so grateful for this vibrant community and all of their expertise, openness and foresight. We cannot wait for our next gathering!