Smruti Patel is the SVP of Engineering at Apollo GraphQL, where she leads the charge in building highly performant APIs at scale. With more than two decades of experience, she previously transformed Stripe's Data Platform organization, scaling the team from 30 people to nearly 180 while bringing dozens of discrete products under its umbrella. Her journey includes 11 years at VMware building enterprise disaster recovery solutions and pioneering cloud-based data protection initiatives. Known for her "shift left" engineering philosophy and systems thinking approach, Smruti has mastered the art of building critical infrastructure that ensures security, reliability, and efficiency for global businesses.
Follow and subscribe to Executive Runtime:
Follow your host, Johnny!
Chapters
- (00:00:00) - Introduction and Guest Welcome
- (00:01:10) - Smruti's Role at Apollo GraphQL
- (00:02:22) - Smruti's Origin Story and Early Career
- (00:04:47) - Navigating Career Challenges and Growth
- (00:08:19) - Building a Network and Personal Brand
- (00:18:13) - Evolving Engineering Leadership
- (00:25:46) - Measuring Engineering Success
- (00:27:10) - The Role of AI in Engineering
- (00:32:35) - AI's Impact on Junior Engineers
- (00:36:27) - Transitioning to Senior Leadership
- (00:41:48) - The Importance of Mentorship and Sponsorship
- (00:44:06) - Balancing Leadership and Personal Life
- (00:47:32) - Final Thoughts and Advice
Popular Podcasts
Betrayal Weekly
Betrayal Weekly is back for a new season. Every Thursday, Betrayal Weekly shares first-hand accounts of broken trust, shocking deceptions, and the trail of destruction they leave behind. Hosted by Andrea Gunning, this weekly ongoing series digs into real-life stories of betrayal and the aftermath. From stories of double lives to dark discoveries, these are cautionary tales and accounts of resilience against all odds. From the producers of the critically acclaimed Betrayal series, Betrayal Weekly drops new episodes every Thursday. If you would like to share your story, you can reach out to the Betrayal Team by emailing them at betrayalpod@gmail.com and follow us on Instagram at @betrayalpod and @glasspodcasts. Please join our Substack for additional exclusive content, curated book recommendations, and community discussions. Sign up FREE by clicking this link Beyond Betrayal Substack. Join our community dedicated to truth, resilience, and healing. Your voice matters! Be a part of our Betrayal journey on Substack.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com