In this episode of the Ardan Labs Podcast, Bill Kennedy talks with Catherine Johnson, VP of Global Solutions Engineering at Hydrolix, about her career journey through data management, scalability, and innovation. With a background spanning leadership roles at Hydrolix, Grafana Labs, and Oracle, Catherine shares insights into balancing engineering, entrepreneurship, and mentorship. She discusses the evolution of real-time data systems, the economics of storage, and the importance of data-driven decision-making. Catherine also opens up about taking a break from tech to teach dance, and how her passion for innovation and continuous learning fuels her leadership today.

00:00 Introduction

03:03 Data Management and Scalability

05:58 Explosion of Data and Storage Needs

09:01 Real-Time Data in Business

14:49 Economics of Data Storage

20:41 Education and Early Career

31:09 Career Transitions and Growth

46:10 Teaching Dance and Finding Balance

53:16 Returning to Tech at Oracle

01:08:10 Joining Elastic and Facing Burnout

01:15:45 Leadership and Innovation at Hydrolix

01:27:07 AI in Tech and Its Limitations

Connect with Catherine:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/catjopdx/

Mentioned in this Episode:

Hydrolix: https://hydrolix.io/

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