Top 21 Tech Leadership Speakers to Book in 2026
The right tech leadership speakers can shift how your team thinks, leads, and adapts. Whether you're planning a tech conference or an internal summit, the speaker you book sets the tone. I've pulled together the best voices in tech leadership—people with real experience driving digital transformation, building resilient teams, and navigating constant change. Use this list to find the speaker who'll actually move your audience.
Top 21 Tech Leadership Speakers
Below are the profiles of the top tech leadership speakers, covering who they are and the impact they've made in this space.
Gene Kim
Gene Kim is the founder of IT Revolution and a technology executive, researcher, and author whose books include The Phoenix Project, The DevOps Handbook, and Wiring the Winning Organization.
…
Gene Kim is the founder of IT Revolution and a technology executive, researcher, and author whose books include The Phoenix Project, The DevOps Handbook, and Wiring the Winning Organization.
Kim studies how technology teams can work faster, build reliable systems, and keep improving. His books, research, and conference work help leaders build better teams and manage complex projects.
Charity Majors
Charity Majors is co-founder and CTO of Honeycomb, an engineer and author whose career spans large distributed systems at Parse, Facebook, and Linden Lab, where she worked on Second Life.
Majors helped…
Charity Majors is co-founder and CTO of Honeycomb, an engineer and author whose career spans large distributed systems at Parse, Facebook, and Linden Lab, where she worked on Second Life.
Majors helped push observability into mainstream engineering practice and co-authored Observability Engineering and Database Reliability Engineering. Her writing and talks explores production systems, engineering culture, management, and how AI is changing software development.
Werner Vogels
Werner Vogels is vice president and CTO of Amazon, where he drives its technology vision. A former distributed-systems researcher, he has helped shape Amazon’s approach to cloud computing.
Vogels writes and speaks…
Werner Vogels is vice president and CTO of Amazon, where he drives its technology vision. A former distributed-systems researcher, he has helped shape Amazon’s approach to cloud computing.
Vogels writes and speaks extensively about distributed architectures, cloud infrastructure, resilience, AI, and technology trends. He turns lessons from leading global operations into useful advice for people building and managing large technology companies.
Patrick Kua
Patrick Kua founded Tech Lead Academy after holding senior roles at N26 and Thoughtworks, including CTO and chief scientist.
Through coaching, training, books, talks, and the Managing Managers podcast, Kua helps technology…
Patrick Kua founded Tech Lead Academy after holding senior roles at N26 and Thoughtworks, including CTO and chief scientist.
Through coaching, training, books, talks, and the Managing Managers podcast, Kua helps technology leaders improve communication, design better organizations, and move into management. He turns his experience as a technology executive into practical leadership advice.
Camille Fournier
Camille Fournier is an experienced engineering executive and the author of The Manager’s Path. Her leadership career has included senior technology roles at Rent the Runway and Two Sigma.
Now VP…
Camille Fournier is an experienced engineering executive and the author of The Manager’s Path. Her leadership career has included senior technology roles at Rent the Runway and Two Sigma.
Now VP of Engineering at CoreWeave, Fournier draws on years of experience in technology and management to help engineering teams grow. Her writing and talks cover leadership, software systems, technology planning, and how AI agents are changing software development.
Nicole Forsgren
Nicole Forsgren is a researcher known for co-founding DORA (acquired by Google) and co-authoring Accelerate, a landmark study of software delivery performance.
Forsgren gives evidence-based ways to think about software delivery,…
Nicole Forsgren is a researcher known for co-founding DORA (acquired by Google) and co-authoring Accelerate, a landmark study of software delivery performance.
Forsgren gives evidence-based ways to think about software delivery, developer experience, and productivity. Her research includes DORA and the SPACE framework, connecting organizational conditions and engineering practices with stronger technology outcomes.
Lara Hogan
Lara Hogan is the founder of Wherewithall, a leadership coach, and an author. She previously led engineering teams at Kickstarter and Etsy, where she helped new leaders grow.
Through her workshops and…
Lara Hogan is the founder of Wherewithall, a leadership coach, and an author. She previously led engineering teams at Kickstarter and Etsy, where she helped new leaders grow.
Through her workshops and coaching, Hogan teaches leaders how to give feedback, set clear expectations, mentor others, and guide teams through change. Her experience gives technology leaders practical tools for managing people as companies grow.
Rebecca Parsons
Rebecca Parsons is a technologist, author, and former CTO of Thoughtworks, where she helped shape the firm’s technology strategy and public thinking.
Parsons spent 16 years as Thoughtworks CTO and co-authored Building…
Rebecca Parsons is a technologist, author, and former CTO of Thoughtworks, where she helped shape the firm’s technology strategy and public thinking.
Parsons spent 16 years as Thoughtworks CTO and co-authored Building Evolutionary Architectures and Domain-Specific Languages. Her work spans architecture, emerging technology, software delivery, and the organizational choices leaders make as technology evolves.
Raji Arasu
Raji Arasu is executive vice president and chief technology officer at Autodesk, where she leads technology strategy, research, AI, data, platform capabilities, security, and data ethics.
Arasu connects new technology with the…
Raji Arasu is executive vice president and chief technology officer at Autodesk, where she leads technology strategy, research, AI, data, platform capabilities, security, and data ethics.
Arasu connects new technology with the systems behind Autodesk’s products and developer tools. Her work in AI, APIs, system connections, security, and research shows how leaders can turn new ideas into strong, lasting platforms.
Kelsey Hightower
Kelsey Hightower is a software engineer, developer advocate, and speaker. He’s known for making cloud-native technologies accessible through live demos, teaching, and work across Kubernetes and open source.
Before retiring from Google,…
Kelsey Hightower is a software engineer, developer advocate, and speaker. He’s known for making cloud-native technologies accessible through live demos, teaching, and work across Kubernetes and open source.
Before retiring from Google, Hightower was a Distinguished Engineer working on Google Cloud. His talks became known for making infrastructure concepts understandable without losing their technical depth, pairing hands-on expertise with lessons about careers, community, and leadership.
Fiona Tan
Fiona Tan is chief technology officer at Wayfair, leading its global technology organization. Earlier, she held senior engineering leadership roles at Walmart, Ariba, and TIBCO Software.
Tan oversees technology behind Wayfair’s e-commerce…
Fiona Tan is chief technology officer at Wayfair, leading its global technology organization. Earlier, she held senior engineering leadership roles at Walmart, Ariba, and TIBCO Software.
Tan oversees technology behind Wayfair’s e-commerce experiences and brings leadership experience spanning consumer, supplier, associate, and commerce platforms. Her career shows how senior technology leaders connect engineering execution, platform strategy, and customer experience at scale.
Bryan Cantrill
Bryan Cantrill is co-founder and CTO of Oxide Computer Company. He is also a systems engineer and longtime technology leader known for work on DTrace, operating systems, infrastructure, and developer tooling.
Cantrill…
Bryan Cantrill is co-founder and CTO of Oxide Computer Company. He is also a systems engineer and longtime technology leader known for work on DTrace, operating systems, infrastructure, and developer tooling.
Cantrill has spent his career building core technology systems, from DTrace at Sun to infrastructure at Joyent and Oxide. In his talks, he explains complex engineering ideas while also discussing workplace culture, system design, and how teams build reliable technology.
Michelle Brush
Michelle Brush is an Engineering Director for Site Reliability Engineering at Google. She leads global SRE teams responsible for the reliability of Compute Engine and Persistent Disk services.
With experience spanning embedded…
Michelle Brush is an Engineering Director for Site Reliability Engineering at Google. She leads global SRE teams responsible for the reliability of Compute Engine and Persistent Disk services.
With experience spanning embedded software, distributed systems, data platforms, and consumer devices, Brush brings a broad engineering perspective to reliability leadership. Her talks and writing explore SRE practice, complex systems, risk, and the challenges of keeping critical infrastructure dependable.
Anjuan Simmons
Anjuan Simmons is a technology leader, author, and speaker whose work include engineering leadership, agile management, burnout, psychological safety, and inclusion in technical organizations.
Simmons uses technology talks to examine the human…
Anjuan Simmons is a technology leader, author, and speaker whose work include engineering leadership, agile management, burnout, psychological safety, and inclusion in technical organizations.
Simmons uses technology talks to examine the human side of engineering, including distributed-team management, burnout, privilege, and leadership lessons drawn from history and agile practice. That range makes his speaking especially relevant to leaders balancing technical delivery with healthy organizations.
Elizabeth Stone
Elizabeth Stone is chief product and technology officer at Netflix. She joined the company in 2020 after leadership roles in data, science, engineering, and operations at Lyft and Nuna.
Stone’s path from…
Elizabeth Stone is chief product and technology officer at Netflix. She joined the company in 2020 after leadership roles in data, science, engineering, and operations at Lyft and Nuna.
Stone’s path from economist and trader to data and technology executive gives her an unusually broad operating perspective. At Netflix, her work now combines product and technology leadership, connecting engineering, data, and product decisions inside a global consumer platform.
Julia Austin
Julia Austin is an executive coach, board member, startup advisor, and founder of Good for Her. A former DigitalOcean CTO, she has also taught entrepreneurship and startup operations at Harvard.
Austin draws…
Julia Austin is an executive coach, board member, startup advisor, and founder of Good for Her. A former DigitalOcean CTO, she has also taught entrepreneurship and startup operations at Harvard.
Austin draws on operating roles at DigitalOcean, VMware, and Akamai to coach founders and advise startups. Her teaching and speaking address scaling organizations, startup operations, product and engineering leadership, giving technology executives a practical view of the challenges that appear as companies grow.
Gergely Orosz
Gergely Orosz writes and publishes The Pragmatic Engineer and authored The Software Engineer’s Guidebook. He previously worked in engineering roles at Uber, Skype, Microsoft, and Skyscanner.
Orosz reports and writes about…
Gergely Orosz writes and publishes The Pragmatic Engineer and authored The Software Engineer’s Guidebook. He previously worked in engineering roles at Uber, Skype, Microsoft, and Skyscanner.
Orosz reports and writes about how software organizations actually operate, drawing on industry sources and his own engineering experience. His work covers management, careers, Big Tech practices, startups, compensation, and AI’s impact on software development, giving leaders a practitioner-focused industry view.
Susie Wee
Susie Wee is co-founder and CEO of DevAI, an enterprise AI startup. She previously spent years at Cisco, where she founded DevNet and held senior technology leadership roles including CTO.
Wee built…
Susie Wee is co-founder and CEO of DevAI, an enterprise AI startup. She previously spent years at Cisco, where she founded DevNet and held senior technology leadership roles including CTO.
Wee built Cisco DevNet into a major developer program before moving into entrepreneurship. Her work includes developer ecosystems, APIs, enterprise platforms, AI, and digital transformation, pairing hands-on innovation programs with experience leading technology communities inside a global enterprise.
Christian McCarrick
Christian McCarrick is an engineering leader, mentor, and host of the Simple Leadership Podcast. His career includes technology leadership roles and coaching engineering managers and founders.
McCarrick’s leadership work centers on…
Christian McCarrick is an engineering leader, mentor, and host of the Simple Leadership Podcast. His career includes technology leadership roles and coaching engineering managers and founders.
McCarrick’s leadership work centers on the challenges engineering managers face as teams and organizations grow. Through mentoring and long-form conversations with technology leaders, he explores management craft, career development, organizational health, and the transition from engineer to leader.
Jessica McKellar
Jessica McKellar is co-founder and CEO of Pilot, a software-powered accounting company. A computer scientist and repeat founder, she previously co-founded Ksplice and Zulip, both acquired.
McKellar combines startup technology leadership with…
Jessica McKellar is co-founder and CEO of Pilot, a software-powered accounting company. A computer scientist and repeat founder, she previously co-founded Ksplice and Zulip, both acquired.
McKellar combines startup technology leadership with deep software engineering roots. Her experience building multiple companies, leading engineering after acquisitions, and contributing to developer communities gives her a practical perspective on technical entrepreneurship, teams, and scaling software businesses.
John Allspaw
John Allspaw is a principal at Adaptive Capacity Labs, former CTO of Etsy, author, and researcher. His work connects software operations with resilience engineering, incidents, and human factors.
Allspaw helped shape early…
John Allspaw is a principal at Adaptive Capacity Labs, former CTO of Etsy, author, and researcher. His work connects software operations with resilience engineering, incidents, and human factors.
Allspaw helped shape early DevOps thinking and now studies how people understand and respond to failures in complex systems. His research, workshops, and talks challenge simplistic incident models and give technology leaders richer ways to learn from outages, strengthen resilience, and evaluate automation.
Selection Methodology
I selected the leaders on this list based on their relevance, demonstrated expertise and impact, professional credibility, and ongoing contributions to the field.
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I look for evidence such as leading meaningful initiatives or delivering notable results within their organizations, developing influential ideas or practices, publishing research or educational resources, speaking or teaching, and other contributions that demonstrate impact within their work or the broader field.
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