The Tesoro AI Podcast

The Rise of AI in Cyber Defense Strategy | Harry Thomas, Frenos

In this episode of the Tesoro AI podcast, host Darius Gant interviews Harry, a former nurse turned cybersecurity expert and the founder of Frenos, an AI-native OT security posture management platform. Harry shares his unique career journey from the medical field to cybersecurity and AI, delving into his transition phases and the creation of Frenos. The discussion covers the implementation and benefits of AI in cybersecurity, the challenges of building AI models, and the differences between local and cloud-based large language models. Harry also provides insights into the future of AI technology and shares valuable advice for hiring AI talent. Tune in for an enlightening conversation on AI in cybersecurity and the evolving landscape of AI solutions. If your company is looking to scale its AI initiatives, head over to Tesoro AI (www.tesoroai.com). We are experts in AI strategy, staff augmentation, and AI product development. Founder Bio: With over a decade of deep-rooted experience in cybersecurity, Harry Thomas stands at the forefront of the industry as an expert offensive penetration tester with a specialized focus on the industrial and healthcare sectors. Renowned for his strategic approach to securing critical infrastructure, Harry has mastered the art of OT/ICS passive monitoring, designing solutions that not only detect but also thwart sophisticated cyber threats.Harry is currently the CTO of Frenos, where he continues to leverage his extensive expertise in cybersecurity to lead the company's strategic direction and innovation. Under his leadership, Frenos is setting new standards in the development and implementation of advanced cybersecurity solutions, focusing on protecting critical industrial and healthcare infrastructures from emerging cyber threats. Prior to his leadership at Frenos, Harry served as the Director of Product Research and Development at Dragos, where he led initiatives to integrate robust security practices into industrial control systems. He also played a pivotal role at AWS, leading the development of AI/ML-driven User Behavioral Analytics products that significantly enhanced security protocols across various platforms. Time Stamps: 00:35 Harry's Journey from Nursing to AI 04:35 Building the Frenos Platform 08:40 Proactive Cybersecurity with AI 12:18 Challenges and Solutions in AI Implementation 15:12 Local vs. Cloud-Based LLMs 22:40 Cloud vs. Local Models: Key Differences 24:09 Building vs. Buying: Challenges in AI Development 27:48 Talent and Skills for AI Projects 30:12 Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) Systems 32:16 Building a RAG as a Personal Project 35:49 Cost and Scalability in AI 39:22 Frenos Found Rising Journey 41:41 Future of AI Models 44:28 Conclusion and Final Thoughts Resources: Follow Darius Gant LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/m-darius-gant-cpa-44650aa/ Company Website - www.tesoroai.com Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4uDVNgsK3iNeu7yU4Inu2n Subscribe on Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/ae/podcast/the-darius-gant-show/id1527996104 Company website: http://frenos.io LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/frenos-inc/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/harry-j-thomas/

AI's Impact on Application Performance Testing and Strategy | Frank Cohen, Clever Moe

In this episode of the Tesoro AI podcast, we sit with Frank Cohen, a Silicon Valley expert specializing in performance architecture and extreme performance testing. Frank shares insights from his 35-year career, including his work with PepsiCo during the Super Bowl, and the development of performance testing software like Push to Test and App Vance. He discusses the growing role of AI in job markets and how it has transformed traditional processes, including how tools like ChatGPT can aid job seekers. The conversation also delves into how AI can enhance application testing and performance across various industries, and the importance of ethical practices and sustainability in AI development. Frank highlights his new venture, Clever Moe, focusing on consulting services and the future of AI-driven solutions. Founder Bio: Frank Cohen is an application performance and architecture expert and Silicon Valley inventor (3 patents, 2 pending), serial entrepreneur (2 exits), and software engineer. He started the Antivirus market with Symantec Norton Antivirus & Utils. He got Apple onto the Web. He got Sun into Web messaging and social media. He started the Open Source Testing movement (Founder at PushToTest, Appvance, $5M Series B in January 2019, and Selenium contributor) to 3 million downloads/650,000 users of his TestMaker/Appvance AIQ software test platform. He helped start the Agile movement, then the DevOps movement from his seminal books and speaking on Java, Testing, and Design. He advises PepsiCo, Best Buy, GM, Ford, US Navy, Air Force, and DISA on solving scalability and performance issues. He is author of Open Source competitive evaluation guides on serverless, microservices and integration development platforms, application performance management (APM), big data migration, and testing platforms. He is currently founder at Appvance Inc. (performance testing) and Clever Moe (AI for digital ad targeting). Time Stamps: 00:35 Frank's Journey into AI 02:52 Challenges and Benefits of AI 04:57 Frank's Career in Performance Testing 09:38 AI in Performance Testing 14:46 Scalability and Performance Metrics 20:37 Real-World Performance Testing Examples 24:53 Handling Unexpected Traffic Surges 25:39 Understanding Viral Marketing 27:04 Introduction to Clever Mode 28:51 Global Staffing Strategies 34:05 AI Talent and Market Trends 38:46 Leveraging AI Tools in Various Professions 46:12 Future of AI and Language Models 47:36 Conclusion and Contact Information Resources Follow Darius Gant LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/m-darius-gant-cpa-44650aa/ Company Website - www.tesoroai.com Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4uDVNgsK3iNeu7yU4Inu2n Subscribe on Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/ae/podcast/the-darius-gant-show/id1527996104 Company website: https://clevermoe https://appvance.ai/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/clevermoe/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/fcohen/ Twitter (X): https://x.com/clevermoes Email: fCohen@clevermo.com

Financial Modeling Meets AI: The Financial Analyst of the Future? | Albert Gozzi, Aleph

In this episode of the Tesoro AI podcast, we speak with Albert Gozzi, founder of Aleph, about transforming financial processes using AI. They discuss the evolution of Gozzi's career from management consulting at Bain & Company to becoming COO/CFO of an early-stage startup, and ultimately founding Aleph to solve core financial data issues. Gozzi elaborates on Aleph's capabilities in data cleaning, variance analysis, and version control, underlining the significance of AI in enhancing accuracy and accelerating workflows. They also touch upon future developments in AI for finance and how businesses can leverage these advancements for greater productivity and efficiency. If your company is looking to scale its AI initiatives, head over to Tesoro AI (www.tesoroai.com [http://www.tesoroai.com]). We are experts in AI strategy, staff augmentation, and AI product development. Founder Bio: Albert Gozzi is the cofounder and CEO of Aleph, a company's one source of truth for financial data. Aleph makes financial reporting, budgeting and planning 10x better. Before founding Aleph, he was the COO at OpenZeppelin and a management consultant at Bain. Originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina, Albert is currently based in NYC. He studied Industrial Engineering at Instituto Tecnológico de Buenos Aires and did an MBA at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Time Stamps: 00:24 Albert's Career Journey 02:55 Pain Point of Leveraging AI in Finance 05:51 AI's Role in Workflow Acceleration 09:01 Version Control in Financial Models 12:35 Data Ingestion and Analysis with Aleph 19:22 Adoption and Engagement with Aleph 23:32 AI's Impact on User Experience 26:38 Vendor Data Visualization and Traceability 29:08 AI in Variance Analysis 31:37 Accuracy and Trust in AI for Finance 36:50 Training AI with Finance Expertise 40:48 Implementing AI in Finance Teams 44:17 Future of AI in Finance and Announcements Resources Follow Darius Gant LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/m-darius-gant-cpa-44650aa/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/m-darius-gant-cpa-44650aa/] Company Website - www.tesoroai.com [http://www.tesoroai.com] Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4uDVNgsK3iNeu7yU4Inu2n Subscribe on Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/ae/podcast/the-darius-gant-show/id1527996104 [https://podcasts.apple.com/ae/podcast/the-darius-gant-show/id1527996104] Company website: https://www.getaleph.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/getaleph/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/getaleph/] https://www.linkedin.com/in/albertgozzi/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/albertgozzi/] Twitter (X): https://x.com/getaleph [https://x.com/getaleph]

From Ghosted to Engaged: The Rise of Two-Way AI Chats | Prem Kumar, Humanly.io

In this episode of the Tesoro AI Podcast, Darius Gant sits down with Prem Kumar, co-founder of Humanly, to explore how true two-way AI conversations are reshaping the candidate experience. Prem shares how a personal brush with being "ghosted" as an applicant inspired him to build a platform that engages every candidate—applicants and sourced prospects alike—across chat, email, SMS, and voice, all while embedding compliance guardrails like real-time pay-transparency for each locale. You'll learn how Humanly's skill-based matching engine infers hidden competencies from past hires, plugs invisibly into your ATS and HRIS workflows, and even offers candidates a voice-activated agent for interview prep and career guidance—long before they ever speak with a human recruiter. Plus, discover the auditing processes Humanly employs to surface and mitigate bias in real time, ensuring a fair and transparent process for all. If your company is looking to scale its AI initiatives, head over to Tesoro AI (www.tesoroai.com [http://www.tesoroai.com]). We are experts in AI strategy, staff augmentation, and AI product development. Founder Bio: Prem Kumar is currently CEO and co-founder of Humanly.io, a venture backed generative AI platform that empowers hiring teams to be more effective and equitable in the job candidate conversations that should remain Human-driven, while automating the ones that shouldn't. Previously, Prem led the product management and design teams at TINYpulse, an employee engagement company that empowers organizations to build world-class cultures with real-time people data. Prior to TINYpulse, Prem spent 10 years at Microsoft working in a variety of product capacities, in areas such as HR Technology, New Ventures, Dynamics 365, and Office 365. Prem has been recognized as Geekwire's "Startup CEO of the year - 2023", a PSBJ 40 under 40 honoree, Forbes NEXT 1000 honoree (Forbes) TAtech Top 100 leader (TAtech.org), Top 100 HR Influencer (HR Weekly) and to "The Most Inclusive HR Influencer List 2021" (social micole). Time Stamps: 00:32 Prem's Early Career & Pain Point 02:40 Humanly's Approach to Candidate Engagement 06:21 Multi-Channel AI Chat 09:04 Humanly's Candidate Pool and Outreach 12:04 Automating the Screening Process 15:52 AI's Role in Modern Recruitment 20:03 Challenges of Bias in AI Recruitment 24:02 Integrating AI with HR Systems 25:44 AI in Candidate Interviews 27:24 Analyzing Interview Data 31:03 Data Collection for AI Models 35:25 Future of AI-Powered Employees 39:59 Tools and Skills for AI Integration 41:42 Humanly's Future Plans Resources Follow Darius Gant LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/m-darius-gant-cpa-44650aa/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/m-darius-gant-cpa-44650aa/] Company Website - www.tesoroai.com [http://www.tesoroai.com] Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4uDVNgsK3iNeu7yU4Inu2n [https://open.spotify.com/show/4uDVNgsK3iNeu7yU4Inu2n] Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ae/podcast/the-darius-gant-show/id1527996104 [https://podcasts.apple.com/ae/podcast/the-darius-gant-show/id1527996104] Company website: https://humanly.io/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/humanlyhr/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/humanlyhr/] https://www.linkedin.com/in/premskumar [https://www.linkedin.com/in/premskumar] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/humanlyhr/ [https://www.instagram.com/humanlyhr/] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HumanlyHR [https://www.facebook.com/HumanlyHR]

The Future of QA: How AI Agents are Changing Software Testing | Daniel Loreto, Jetify

In this episode of the Tesoro AI podcast, host Darius Gant interviews Daniel, a seasoned technologist with experience at top tech companies like Google, Twitter, and Airbnb. They delve into Daniel's early career and the launch of his startup, Jetify, which aims to accelerate the software development lifecycle. The conversation explores the evolution of AI from its early days to the impact of large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT. Daniel introduces Jetify's flagship product, TestPilot, an AI agent designed to automate QA testing by simulating human interactions with web applications. He discusses the challenges of QA, the benefits of AI-driven automation, and the future potential of AI agents in various domains. The episode provides insights into the complexities and advantages of integrating AI in software development, emphasizing how specialized solutions like TestPilot can enhance efficiency and reliability. If your company is looking to scale its AI initiatives, head over to Tesoro AI (www.tesoroai.com [http://www.tesoroai.com]). We are experts in AI strategy, staff augmentation, and AI product development. Founder Bio: Daniel Loreto is an experienced technology leader and entrepreneur with a proven track record of driving innovation and growth within the software industry. As the Founder of Jetify, Daniel is responsible for setting the strategic vision and leading the execution of the company's ambitious growth plans. He oversees all aspects of the business, from product development and engineering to go-to-market strategy and operations. Under his leadership, Jetify has rapidly gained traction in the market, delivering cutting-edge technology that empowers its customers to thrive in the digital age. Prior to founding Jetify, Daniel served as the Founder of jetpack.io, a successful tech startup that specialized in cloud infrastructure solutions. Before that, he held senior engineering and leadership roles at prominent tech companies, including Vice President of Engineering at Virta Health and Head of Engineering, Airbnb Luxe at Airbnb. Throughout his career, Daniel has demonstrated a keen ability to identify market opportunities, assemble high-performing teams, and deliver innovative products that drive measurable business impact. Time Stamps: 00:35 Daniel's Impressive Tech Background 04:06 The Birth of Jetify: From Idea to Execution 07:24 AI-Powered QA Testing 11:12 Challenges and Future of AI in QA 16:12 Difference between traditional QA and Test Pilot 20:29 Building vs. Buying AI Solutions for QA 22:47 Challenges of Building Your Own Testing Infrastructure 23:51 The Potential of AI Agents in Testing 28:00 Ensuring AI Agents Perform Effectively 33:41 The Future of AI in Software Development 39:03 Thoughts on Test pilot in the market 40:58 TestPilot's Vision for 2025 and Beyond Resources Follow Darius Gant LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/m-darius-gant-cpa-44650aa/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/m-darius-gant-cpa-44650aa/] Company Website - www.tesoroai.com [http://www.tesoroai.com] Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4uDVNgsK3iNeu7yU4Inu2n Subscribe on Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/ae/podcast/the-darius-gant-show/id1527996104 [https://podcasts.apple.com/ae/podcast/the-darius-gant-show/id1527996104] Company website: https://www.jetify.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/jetify-com/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/jetify-com/] X : https://x.com/jetify_com [https://x.com/jetify_com]