In this very human and often hilarious episode of When Shit Hits the Fan, Johan and Jeffrey welcome Eric Lajoie, AI specialist at SUSE, to unpack a career shaped by curiosity, failure, and a global perspective. From name mispronunciations to technical missteps, this conversation spans tech, identity, and the unexpected stuff that breaks — including intros, connections, and sometimes, a water pipe.
Eric reflects on his journey from the US to Germany, how his multicultural background shapes the way he works, and why making mistakes in public can be one of the best ways to grow.
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In this episode of When Shit Hits the Fan, we sit down with long-time ITQ technologist Sander Harrewijnen to talk about building better software, making bad assumptions, and breaking things that needed fixing anyway.
We cover everything from Sander’s accidental roast of a client’s legacy app (in front of the people funding it 😬) to his thoughts on vibecoding (letting AI write your code), and his approach to solving tech and people problems in complex environments.
Along the way, we discover his unusual hidden talent (spoiler: he’s your guy for photo wallpaper), his Maker side with lightsabers and Mandalorian helmets, and how his developer career evolved from .NET to cloud-native advocacy
Links & Mentions:
Sander’s blog: https://harre.dev
Find Sander on LinkedIn
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In this episode of the When Shit Hits the Fan podcast, Johan interviews Aaron Black, the director of product for Omnissa Workspace ONE Security.
Aaron shares his career journey, insights on product management, and the importance of security in technology. He recounts memorable moments from his career, including challenges faced and lessons learned, particularly in the context of IT and software development.
The conversation also touches on personal anecdotes and life lessons, providing a well-rounded view of Aaron's experiences in the tech industry.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Aaron Black and the Podcast
04:09 Rapid Fire Questions and Insights
08:03 Career Highlights and Experiences
14:03 The Importance of Security in Technology
15:09 When Shit Hits the Fan Moments
21:29 Life Lessons and Personal Anecdotes
In this episode of 'When Shit Hits the Fan', Spencer Pitts, Partner CTO at Omnisa, shares his career journey, insights on technology, and personal life lessons.
He discusses his experiences in the IT industry, the importance of preparation, and the value of being open to opportunities. He shares why he uses visuals of bridges in his presentations, how to break PXE boot sequences, and his love for a particular game.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Spencer Pitts
10:29 Career Highlights and Journey
22:43 When Shit Hits the Fan Moment
27:01 Life Lessons and Reflections
In this episode of 'When Shit Hits the Fan', Johan and Jeffrey welcome Frank Denneman, a distinguished engineer for AI at VMware/Broadcom.
The conversation covers Frank's experiences, interests, and career journey, including his insights on technology, movies, and the importance of effective communication in engineering.
The episode features rapid-fire questions, discussions about favorite films, and a deep dive into Frank's professional background. The conversation explores his journey from building Microsoft Exchange across multiple countries to his experiences with virtualization, working at VMware, and the challenges of startup life. It highlights his time at PernixData and the lessons learned from mistakes made throughout his career, including the importance of sharing knowledge and overcoming fears in public speaking.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Guest Introduction
02:40 Frank's Background and Interests
06:41 Binaries and Quickfire Questions
11:01 Frank's Career Journey and Early Experiences
13:15 Building Microsoft Exchange Across Borders
16:45 The Virtualization Journey Begins
17:35 Transitioning to VMware and the Startup Experience
20:00 The Challenges of Startup Life
23:25 Innovations at Pernix Data
25:59 Lessons Learned from Mistakes
30:04 First Time on Stage: Overcoming Fear
31:27 The Thrill of Live Performance
34:17 Key Takeaways for First-Time Speakers
39:43 Lessons from Experience and Listening
41:54 The Importance of Preparation
42:53 Learning from Presentation Skills and Shark Tank
Links:
Frank Simrig account on instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/roadtoimmersion/
In this episode of 'When Shit Hits the Fan', Johan and Jeffrey welcome Duncan Epping, Chief Technologist at Broadcom/VMware (and former co-host of this podcast).
The conversation explores Duncan's journey from a consultant to a Chief Technologist, his passion for running, and his involvement in the tech community.
They discuss Duncan's career highlights, including the development of EvoRail/VxRail and the organization of the VMworld Fun Run, showcasing his dedication to both technology and fitness.
In this episode, Duncan shares his experiences in organizing community events, the challenges faced during his career in technology, and the valuable life lessons learned along the way.
He emphasizes the importance of communication, the unpredictability of outcomes in both work and personal endeavors, and the significance of enjoying the journey rather than solely focusing on the end goals.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to the Podcast and Guest
02:19 Duncan's Background and Interests
09:10 Duncan's Career Journey at VMware/Broadcom
13:18 Rapid Fire Questions with Duncan
15:37 Duncan's Passion for Running and Blogging
19:14 Career Highlights and Achievements
24:45 Organizing the VMworld Fun Run
29:11 When Shit Hits the Fan: Personal Experiences
41:46 Life Lessons and the Importance of Communication
In this episode of 'When Shit Hits the Fan', hosts Johan and Jeffrey welcome Dashaun Carter, a Spring Advocate at VMware. The conversation covers Dashaun's journey from professional cheerleading to tech, the importance of upgrading software, and insights into the Spring framework.
They also discuss Raspberry Pi projects, lessons learned from mistakes, and the significance of automation in software development.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Setup
02:57 Guest Introduction: Deshawn Carter
06:08 Rapid Fire Questions
08:59 Deshawn's Career Journey
12:06 The Importance of Upgrading Software
15:08 Understanding Spring Framework
18:08 Raspberry Pi Projects and Efficiency
21:09 Lessons from Mistakes and Automation
24:00 Final Thoughts and Advice
In this episode of 'When Shit Hits the Fan', hosts Johan and Jeffrey interview Coté, a developer advocate at Broadcom. The conversation explores Coté's background, his insights on DevOps and platform engineering, the challenges of changing corporate culture, and the importance of building relationships in a remote work environment.
Coté shares his career journey, highlighting key transitions and the lessons learned along the way.
In this episode, Coté shares insights on his unique name, lessons learned from mistakes in tech, the importance of work-life balance, and how to maintain objectivity as an analyst.
He reflects on his career transitions and the challenges of pushing oneself to grow while managing personal well-being.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Coté and the Podcast
05:04 Rapid Fire Questions and Insights
11:00 Coté's Career Journey
17:00 Navigating Corporate Transitions
20:10 Building Relationships in Remote Work
20:51 The Origin of Coté's Name
22:46 Learning from Mistakes in Tech
27:55 Work-Life Balance and Personal Reflections
30:22 Lessons from Career Transitions
35:38 Maintaining Objectivity as an Analyst
In this episode, Johan and Jeffrey sit down with industry legend and long-time community contributor Chris Wahl to explore a career journey that spans from VI admin to independent content creator and platform engineer. Chris shares his unique take on working symbiotically with developers, learning from failures (including a UCS upgrade gone nuclear), and the importance of showing what good looks like rather than just telling.
⏱️ Highlights:
00:37 – Meet Chris Wahl: Blogger, technologist, gamer, legend
03:00 – The IKEA Wheel and unwinding with brutal dungeon games
05:00 – Rapid fire: Terraform, PowerShell, Kubernetes vs vSphere
08:30 – Career evolution: From vSphere to Kubernetes and AWS
12:30 – Drinking from the firehose: Adapting to cloud-native
18:00 – Developers vs IT: Building a real Dev+Platform culture
22:00 – When Shit Hit the Fan: How a UCS upgrade took down a 5,000-person org
30:00 – Chris’s Life Lesson: “Don’t tell people what good looks like—show them.”
👤 Guest:
Chris Wahl
🎮 Bonus: Discover which brutal RPG Chris uses to unwind—and why his kid might be better at Mario Kart than Johan.
📩 Feedback?
Email us at: podcast@itq.eu
In this episode of 'When Shit Hits the Fan', hosts Johan and Jeffrey welcome Katarina Brookfield, a staff technical marketing architect at Broadcom/VMware.
Katarina shares her journey in IT, overcoming gender biases, and her transition from VDI to Kubernetes. She discusses her passion for public speaking and community engagement, as well as her love for cooking and fine dining. The conversation highlights her daring experiences and insights into effective presentations.
In this conversation, Katarina Brookfield shares her experiences in IT, focusing on the importance of engaging presentations, learning from mistakes, and fostering a supportive team culture. She emphasizes the need for transparency when errors occur and the value of continuous learning in both personal and professional development.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to the Podcast and Guest
03:00 Getting to Know Katharina Brookfield
05:58 The Journey into IT and Overcoming Challenges
09:12 Career Highlights and Daring Experiences
11:59 Transitioning from VDI to Kubernetes
14:56 Public Speaking and Community Engagement
18:01 Secrets to Effective Presentations
21:11 The Art of Engaging Presentations
23:56 Learning from Mistakes in IT
32:49 Embracing Failure as a Learning Opportunity
38:03 The Importance of Team Culture in Handling Mistakes
41:13 The Lifelong Journey of Learning and Improvement
In this episode of 'When Shit Hits the Fan', hosts Johan and Jeffrey welcome Filip Verloy, field CTO for Rubrik in EMEA and APJ.
Philip shares his career journey, insights on data protection and cybersecurity, and a memorable moment when he had to make a tough decision during a crisis.
He emphasizes the importance of saying yes to new opportunities and learning from experiences, both good and bad. The conversation also touches on the balance between innovation and regulation in the tech industry.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to the Podcast and Guest
03:52 Getting to Know Philip Velloy
10:48 Career Highlights and Journey
19:47 When Shit Hits the Fan Moment
25:37 Life Lessons and Advice
In this episode of 'When Shit Hits the Fan', we get to know Jan Saan, the ex-CTO of CM.com.
Why is he wearing a Whoop? Is AI taking over the world? And is OpenAI better than Gemini? Answers to these questions, his career journey, his "When Shit Hits the Fan" story, and the lessons learned from those experiences is what we will cover in this episode
Furthermore, Jan emphasizes the importance of teamwork, resilience, and maintaining health and relationships throughout one's career. Jan reflects on the unpredictable nature of technology failures and the necessity of being prepared for unexpected challenges.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Jan Saan and the Podcast
06:55 Jan's Career Journey and Highlights
11:06 When Shit Hits the Fan: Major Outages
19:04 Lessons Learned from Failures
20:59 Life Lessons and Reflections
In this episode, Johan and Jeffrey introduce the revamped podcast, now titled 'When Shit Hits the Fan,' highlighting its transition to English and the inclusion of international guests. They share their backgrounds, discuss memorable 'shit hits the fan' stories, and explain the podcast's format, which includes rapid-fire questions and personal anecdotes. The episode sets the stage for future discussions and invites listeners to engage with the show
takeaways