The View from the Middle - People First Leadership for the Age of AI

business, management, technology · EN

Two cousins. Two decades in tech. Two completely different paths — and one shared conviction: the middle isn't where you're stuck. It's where the real work happens. Ann Samuel (Senior Director of Customer Engineering) and Preethi Thomas (Director of Engineering) started their careers together in India, diverged into different corners of the tech world, and somehow keep landing in the same conversations: about leading teams through one of the most disruptive moments in the industry's history. This is the podcast for mid-career professionals in tech who are done with the ten-step frameworks and the hustle culture messaging. For the directors and senior managers who are the invisible glue holding their organizations together. For anyone navigating AI disruption, layoffs, ageism, and leadership without a roadmap. No executive platitudes. No toxic positivity. Just two cousins telling the truth about what it actually looks like to lead from the middle — and why the view