Ken Ringdahl, CTO at Emburse, joins The Tech Trek to share what it really looks like to grow from engineer to CTO without losing your love for building. He talks about staying close to the code while leading a three hundred person org, how he learned the business side on the job instead of through an MBA, and why curiosity is still his strongest tool. If you are an engineer who cares about leadership, AI, and long term impact, this one will hit close to home.
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Key takeaways
The best engineering leaders stay technical for as long as they can, then pick their spots to lean in where the business needs them most.
You can learn the business side on the job by raising your hand for cross functional work and building real relationships with sales, finance, and product leaders.
Curiosity is a career advantage, both in technology and in leadership, because the quality of your questions shapes the quality of your decisions.
A practical AI strategy comes from listening to customers, partners, and internal experts, then translating that into focused product bets instead of chasing shiny tools.
Do not rush into management just for the title, a deep foundation as an engineer will make every future leadership decision stronger.
Timestamped highlights
00:38 Ken explains what Emburse does and how modern spend management lives at the intersection of software, data, and finance.
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01:30 How he balances being an engineer at heart with the reality of leading many teams and products as CTO.
03:41 Ken reflects on missing his coding days, what he still tinkers with, and why he chose the bridge role between tech and business.
08:32 Learning leadership without an MBA, creating your own opportunities, and attaching yourself to people you can learn from across the company.
14:58 How he stays smart on AI through office hours, internal experts, cloud partners, customers, and investor networks.
21:22 His biggest advice for engineers who want to move into leadership and why he actually went back to a more hands on role before moving up again.
One line that stayed with me
“Even if you want to be a leader, do not rush it. Do not go so fast that you do not get that foundation.”
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Practical moves for your own career
Stay technical as long as you can, then choose a few focus areas such as architecture, AI strategy, or cloud patterns where you can still go deep.
Use curiosity as your main tool, ask simple but sharp questions of finance, sales, and customers so you see how technology really creates value.
Look for chances to run cross functional projects early in your career so that by the time you step into leadership, you already understand how the wider business works.
Treat partners, customers, and internal experts as an extended brain trust, especially when you are trying to shape an AI and platform strategy.
Listen and stay connected
If this episode helped you think differently about your own path from engineer to leader, follow The Tech Trek, leave a rating on your favorite podcast app, and share it with one person on your team. To keep the conversation going, connect with Ken on LinkedIn and find me there as well for more stories from leaders who are building real impact with technology.