Between Fires and Futures: Real Conversations for Tech Leaders Navigating What’s Now—and What’s Next
Between Fires and Futures is the podcast for modern tech leaders caught in the constant tension of today and tomorrow.
It’s the space between daily firefights—cloud issues, AI hype, security breaches—and the visionary work of building scalable, resilient, future-ready organizations.
Each week, we talk with the strategists, technologists, and innovators doing the real work of leading change. These are unfiltered conversations that expose the tradeoffs, wins, and lessons no one puts in the case studies.
No spin. No fluff. Just pressure-tested leadership, real-world insight, and bold thinking.
https://www.technologymatch.com/
Episodes
33 episodes
Everyone’s Talking About AI, But No One’s Saying This with Raheela Nanji
AI is moving fast, but most leaders aren’t talking enough about the human side of what this moment is actually creating inside organizations: fear, uncertainty, imposter syndrome, and the pressure to adapt in real time. In this conv...
AI Is Exposing Security Gaps Most Companies Don’t See: Why Reactive Security is Failing And What IT Leaders Need To Do Next with John Fraser
AI is accelerating cybersecurity threats faster than most organizations are prepared for, and this episode will challenge the way you think about security, visibility, and prevention in the age of AI.In this conversation, Tonya sits down...
Your Employees Already Work From Anywhere, Your Infrastructure Doesn’t with Jess Jorgensen
If flexible work feels like the future but your infrastructure still feels stuck in the past, this episode is going to challenge how you think about connectivity, security, and control.In this conversation, Tonya sits down with Jess Jorg...
What IT Leaders Still Get Wrong About Data in the AI Era with NetApp’s Ray LaMarca
If AI feels like the right move but you’re still not seeing results, this episode reframes where the real problem is.In this conversation, Tonya sits down with Ray LaMarca, Director of Solutions Engineering at NetApp, to unpack why most ...
AI Isn’t a Tool. It’s a Coworker: Why data and autonomous development will define the next era of software with Rich Walker
If AI feels like the biggest opportunity (and risk) in your business right now, this episode reframes the conversation in a way most leaders are missing: it’s not an AI problem, it’s a data problem—and more importantly, it’s a thinking problem....
Telecom Is Quietly Draining Your IT Budget. Here’s How to Fix It with Socium IT’s Stephen Hancock
If telecom sits underneath everything in your business but rarely gets attention, this episode pulls back the curtain on why that invisibility is exactly where cost, inefficiency, and risk quietly accumulate.In this conversation, Tonya s...
Your AI Strategy Is Already a Cyber Risk with Scott Alldridge
If last week’s conversation challenged the way you think about cybersecurity discipline, this episode pushes that conversation into even more urgent territory: AI.In this continuation, Tonya sits down again with Scott Alldridge to unpack...
The Zero Trust Illusion: Why Most Organizations Aren’t There Yet with Scott Alldridge
If your organization believes it has “implemented zero trust” but things still feel uncertain beneath the surface, this episode challenges that assumption and reveals why cybersecurity gaps are often rooted in discipline, not tools.In th...
Why IT Projects Stall. Talent Decisions That Quietly Derail Delivery with Limitless Staffing’s Clayton Dinger
If your IT initiatives keep stalling even with the right strategy, this episode pulls back the curtain on what’s really happening underneath and why talent decisions, not technology, are often the root cause.In this conversation, Tonya s...
The Unspoken Rules of Women Leading in Tech: Power, Bias, and Advancement with Jossie Haines
If you are a woman in tech leadership quietly wondering why success still feels exhausting, this episode names the invisible forces shaping that experience and what it actually takes to rise without burning out.In this conversation, Tony...
The IT Buyer Has Changed. What IT Leaders Really Want from Tech Partners with Global Consulting Group’s Lara Mayes & Leslie Bonsett
If you are selling to IT leaders and wondering why your outreach is getting ignored, this episode explains the real shift happening inside enterprise buying: the modern IT buyer no longer needs a pitch. They need a partner.In this conver...
Your AI ROI Lives or Dies on Adoption with Robyn Anderson
If you are a CIO, CTO, or IT leader who secured the AI budget but still are not seeing meaningful ROI, this episode names the real issue: adoption is the constraint.In this conversation, Tonya sits down with Robyn Anderson, AI adoption s...
The Human Blindspot: Why Employees Still Fall for Scams with Cybersecurity Expert Robert Siciliano
If you are a CISO or IT leader who has invested in tools, training, and compliance programs yet still feels exposed, this episode confronts the uncomfortable truth: security doesn’t fail because of technology. It fails because of trust.I...
Leading IT Without Panic: Decisions, Security, and AI in a High-Pressure Era with Manuel Ruiz
If you are an IT leader feeling buried under nonstop urgency, executive AI mandates, rising security risk, and shrinking capacity, this episode speaks directly to the tension you are carrying. In this conversation, Tonya sits...
The Invisible Load of IT Leadership: Pressure, Clarity, and Decision-Making in the AI Era with Dave Zaron
If you are an IT leader carrying constant urgency, invisible pressure, and expectations that keep shifting faster than your organization can stabilize, this episode names what most leaders are experiencing but rarely talk about.
AI Grew Up Fast: Reasoning Models, Agents, and What Leaders Do Next with Dell’s Allen Clingerman
If you still think AI is something your organization can “watch for another year,” this episode will change your mind.To open season two of Between Fires & Futures, Tonya welcomes back Allen Clingerman, Chief Technology Stra...
Toxic MSPs: The Silent Threat Inside Your IT Strategy with Z7’s Zack Aleksic
If you’ve ever renewed an MSP contract while thinking, “This partnership isn’t working…but I don’t have the energy to fix it,” this episode is the one you’ve been waiting for. In today’s conversation, Tonya sits down...
Cool Again: What IBM’s Reinvention Signals for IT Leaders Right Now with IBM’s Josh Kropf
If you think you know IBM, this conversation will change that. In this episode, Tonya sits down with Josh Kropf, Director for IBM Americas (Arrow), for a candid, energizing, myth-busting look at what it really takes ...
Stop the AI Chaos: How to Start Where It Actually Matters with Sciata CEO, Michelle Tinsley
In this episode, Tonya sits down with Michelle Tinsley, CEO of Sciata, to cut through the noise and finally get honest about what it really takes to do AI right inside a modern organization. With 30 years of experience across In...
Inside the Hacker’s Mind: How IT Leaders Can Stay Ahead of Cyber Threats with Z7’s Zack Aleksic
In this episode, Tonya sits down with Zack Aleksic, Founder and CTO of Z7 Solutions, to explore the evolving battlefield of cybersecurity—and what it really means to lead when attackers are already inside the walls. With more than 30 years of e...
Getting Started with AI: What to Do First, What to Avoid, and How to Win Quick with Josh Einstein, ConRes
In this episode, Tonya sits down with Josh Einstein, Cloud Architect, Software Developer, and AI Engineer at ConRes IT Solutions. With over two decades of experience spanning the dot-com boom, telecommunications, and now artificia...
Cybersecurity Won’t Save You. Resilience Will with CTO Justin Young
In this episode, Tonya sits down with Justin Young—Chief Technology Officer at Commercial Tool Group. With more than 25 years in IT leadership, Justin has navigated both large enterprise environments and mid-size manufacturing—where the ...
Leadership vs. Management: What IT Leaders Must Master with Maxwell Leadership's Mike Lyles
In this episode, Tonya sites down with Mike Lyles—Head of IT at Maxwell Leadership, keynote speaker, certified coach, and author of The Drive-Thru Is Not Always Faster. With more than 30 years of experience leading Fortune 50 IT teams,...
Leading with Presence in the Age of AI with Leslie Ann Keeler
In this episode of Tonya sits down with leadership visionary Leslie Ann Keeler to explore what it means to lead in an era defined by rapid AI innovation and constant change.With nearly two decades of experience guiding founders, executiv...
Stop the Budget Bleed: How IT Leaders Can Unlock Hidden Dollars with Leslie Bonsett
Is your IT budget quietly bleeding while you’re too busy putting out fires to notice?In this episode, Tonya welcomes back Leslie Bonsett of Global Consulting Group for a deep dive into IT cost optimization. If you’ve ever said, “We d...