
#106 - Meritocracy, Backend and Engineer-led Sales feat. Shyam Sankar // CTO @ Palantir Technologies
alphalist.CTO Podcast - For CTOs and Technical LeadersShow Notes
Discover new ways to do things with Shyam Sankar, CTO of Palantir, who is working to deprecate backend development using their experience with 150 independent dev teams running a collection of 5,000 microservices. Yet this podcast is more than that (although I was blown away by the demo)—expect great nuggets of wisdom on meritocracy, data, and of course, backend. Think of this podcast as a series of back-to-back nuggets of wisdom that not only help you make sense of what you've observed but also open your mind to emerging trends.
Listen to find out 👨🍳 How French Restaurants Inspired Engineer-led Sales ⚖️ Finding Success in Contradicting Ideas 🧑💻 The Two Types of Engineers: Artists 🎨 vs. Hackers 🔧 🏗️ How he is working on deprecating backend development 📊 Why data is only as good as the decisions it guides and actualizes 📚 The Power of Ontologies 🧩 Inductive vs. Deductive Reasoning 🌈 Diversity in meritocracy through acts of rebellion 💥 ℹ️ Why you need to reduce information asymmetry +🤖 Like Analog to Digital: How LLMs will change things
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Sponsored by Blocks: Save at least 20% on your AWS costs with AI-powered optimization and enterprise discounts. Get your free Cloud Check at https://blocks.cloud/alphalist?utm_source=alphalist&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=blocks-podcast-2026