Alanna Laforet: Developing a Hacker Mentality to Take Control of Your Career Journey

Alanna Laforet: Developing a Hacker Mentality to Take Control of Your Career Journey

What if the best way to future-proof your career isn't learning another AI tool—but learning to think like a hacker? In this episode of Signal & Noise, Executive Voice Krish Raja sits down with Alanna Laforet—technology executive, former Chief Revenue Officer, startup operator, blockchain pioneer, and advisor—to explore what it really takes to reinvent yourself in an era where AI is transforming every industry. Alanna's career has never followed a traditional path. From starting as a Unix systems administrator and QA engineer at DoubleClick to helping shape advertising standards at the IAB Tech Lab, leading blockchain ventures, launching crypto media companies, advising AI startups, and building a portfolio career across multiple industries, she's consistently embraced curiosity over comfort. Together, Krish and Alanna unpack why the people who thrive in the AI era won't necessarily be those with the best technical skills—but those willing to continually learn, experiment, and reinvent themselves. They discuss: * Why adopting a "hacker mentality" creates career resilience * How curiosity—not job titles—has guided Alanna's professional journey * The hidden lessons learned from startup failures, crypto winters, and industry disruption * Why AI makes understanding technology more important, not less * How to overcome fear and imposter syndrome when changing careers * Why treating yourself as your own company changes how you think about work * The rise of portfolio careers, fractional leadership, and multiple revenue streams * Building a personal thesis that guides career decisions * Why networking, community, and simply "leaving your house" may be the most underrated career advice today * Practical advice for professionals navigating layoffs, AI disruption, and career transitions This isn't just a conversation about AI. It's a conversation about ownership, adaptability, and designing a career that's resilient no matter how technology changes. If you're wondering how to stay relevant in the age of AI—or considering your own next chapter—this episode offers a thoughtful roadmap from someone who's reinvented herself time and time again.  Guest: Alanna Laforet Technology Executive | Startup Advisor | Fractional Executive | Blockchain & AI Strategist Hosted by: Krish Raja Executive Voice, Signal & Noise Subscribe to Signal & Noise for conversations with the executives, founders, researchers, and innovators shaping the future of AI, advertising, marketing, media, and technology. #AI #Careers #Leadership #FutureOfWork #CareerGrowth #ArtificialIntelligence #AdTech #MarTech #FractionalLeadership #Entrepreneurship #Blockchain #Innovation #SignalAndNoise #KrishRaja #AlannaLaforet

Building the Al-Powered City: Suma Nallapati on Public Service, Smart Cities, and the Future of Government

Artificial intelligence is transforming every industry—but what happens when it transforms an entire city? In this episode of Signal & Noise, hosts Rio Longacre and Brett House sit down with Suma Nallapati, Chief AI & Information Officer for the City and County of Denver, to explore one of the most important—and often overlooked—applications of AI: improving the lives of citizens. Rio and Suma first met during Mayor Mike Johnston's transition team, and this conversation brings together years of shared interest in technology, public service, and civic innovation. Rather than focusing on AI's impact on marketing or enterprise productivity, this discussion asks a bigger question: How can AI make society better? Suma shares how Denver has become one of America's leading AI-enabled cities, why she left the private sector to return to public service, and how city governments can embrace AI responsibly while maintaining public trust. From AI-powered citizen services and smart cities to responsible governance and the future of work, this is a thoughtful conversation about technology's role in creating stronger communities—not just more efficient businesses.  * Why Suma chose to leave executive leadership in the private sector to serve the people of Denver * How Denver became one of the first cities in the U.S. to appoint a Chief AI Officer * The story behind Sunny, Denver's multilingual AI assistant that helps residents access city services 24/7 * How AI is improving government operations while keeping humans firmly in the loop * Why "transformational work should belong to humans, transactional work to bots" * The importance of responsible AI, governance, and cross-functional oversight * How Denver balances innovation with public trust and citizen privacy * What "smart cities" really mean—and why they're about people, not technology * Lessons government leaders can learn from the private sector—and vice versa * Why AI adoption is becoming more about organizational change than technology itself * How cities can prepare for an AI-native workforce * The evolving debate around AI regulation, data centers, and public policy * Why curiosity—not fear—is the most important leadership trait in the AI era * Suma's vision for how AI can help create a more compassionate and resilient society  Whether you're a CIO, public sector leader, technologist, policymaker, entrepreneur, or simply curious about how AI will shape everyday life, this episode offers a refreshing perspective on technology's highest purpose: serving people. Guest: Suma Nallapati Chief AI & Information Officer City and County of Denver If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe to Signal & Noise on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. #ArtificialIntelligence #AI #PublicSector #Government #SmartCities #DigitalTransformation #ResponsibleAI #Innovation #Leadership #CIO #ChiefAIOfficer #Denver #Technology #FutureOfWork #SignalAndNoise

Beyond the Pixel: Jer Tippets on AI, Customer Data, Privacy, and the Future of Digital Measurement

Every AI breakthrough begins with something far less glamorous: clean, trustworthy data. In this episode of Signal & Noise, Brett House and Rio Longacre sit down with Jer Tippets, Director of Digital Tagging & Implementation at Hyatt Hotels, to explore the invisible infrastructure that powers modern digital marketing. While everyone is talking about generative AI, personalization, and autonomous agents, Jer argues that none of it works without a solid data foundation—and after spending more than 15 years building customer data systems for global brands, he's uniquely qualified to explain why.  Rio first met Jer when they were both speakers at Tealium's Digital Velocity Conference, where Hyatt shared its customer data strategy and philosophy of treating customers like humans. Hyatt has long been a Tealium customer, and Tealium—one of Signal & Noise's valued sponsors—has played an important role in helping leading enterprises modernize their customer data infrastructure. That shared connection made this conversation a natural fit and one we've wanted to have ever since. Together, they dive into why poor data quality quietly kills AI initiatives, why organizations continue to collect mountains of unusable information, and why "collect everything" has become one of the biggest mistakes in modern marketing. Jer explains why first-party data is now one of the most valuable strategic assets a company can own—and why governance, identity resolution, and privacy have become board-level business issues rather than back-office technical concerns.  The conversation also pulls back the curtain on Hyatt's approach to digital experience, exploring how one of the world's largest hospitality brands balances personalization with consumer trust across millions of guest interactions. From persistent customer identities and consent management to CDPs, synthetic audiences, and the promise—and reality—of AI-driven personalization, Jer offers a refreshingly practical perspective shaped by years of real-world implementation. Rather than chasing hype, he focuses on what actually delivers better customer experiences.  Jer also shares why AI should be viewed as an amplifier—not a replacement—for human expertise, why data governance is becoming one of the most important competitive advantages organizations can build, and what the next generation of digital measurement will look like as AI agents increasingly become both the producers and consumers of marketing data. If you've ever wondered why some brands consistently deliver seamless, personalized experiences while others struggle with fragmented customer journeys, this episode explains what happens behind the scenes—and why the future of AI may ultimately depend less on better models and more on better data. * Why AI is only as good as the data beneath it * How Hyatt approaches customer identity and digital experience * Why first-party data has become a strategic business asset * The hidden costs of poor data quality * Privacy, consent management, and earning customer trust * Why "collect everything" is the wrong data strategy * The realities of CDPs, synthetic audiences, and identity resolution * How AI is changing digital implementation and analytics * Why governance is becoming a competitive advantage * What marketers should do today to prepare for an AI-first future Whether you're a CMO, MarTech leader, data engineer, product owner, analytics professional, or simply fascinated by the future of AI and customer experience, this conversation offers an inside look at the systems powering every click, every recommendation, and every personalized interaction. Guest: Jer Tippets Director of Digital Tagging & Implementation Hyatt Hotels

The Race to the Bottom: Media Quality, Attention, and Why Cheap Reach Is Costing Brands More Than They Think

For nearly two decades, digital advertising has optimized around one primary objective: finding the cheapest possible way to reach the right person. Programmatic buying, identity signals, attribution, and performance marketing have created extraordinary efficiency—but they may also have trained the industry to systematically undervalue one of the most important variables in advertising effectiveness: the quality of the media itself. In this episode of Signal & Noise, Rio Longacre and Brett House welcome back friend of the podcast Erez Levin for his third appearance and his second full-length conversation. Erez is one of the industry's most respected voices on media quality, attention, and advertising effectiveness. A former Google executive and now Founder of Emet Advisory Advisory, he recently co-authored CIMM's landmark report, Quality Matters: Navigating Quality in Media Buying and Measurement, an effort to establish a common industry framework for evaluating media quality. The conversation explores a simple but powerful premise: Not all impressions are created equal. While the industry has become exceptionally good at optimizing for identity, CPMs, and short-term outcomes, it has largely ignored the environments where advertising actually appears. As deterministic identity signals become less reliable and privacy regulations reshape digital advertising, Erez argues that marketers must begin treating media quality as a first-class buying signal—not merely a brand safety filter. Topics include: * Why optimizing exclusively for ROAS and CPMs can quietly destroy long-term brand growth * How the industry's obsession with attribution created a "race to the bottom" in media buying * Why attention alone is an incomplete measurement framework * The difference between audience quality, media quality, and creative quality—and why all three matter * Why premium inventory isn't binary, but exists on a spectrum of value * The hidden problems with averaging performance across wildly different media environments * Why CTV has an opportunity to avoid repeating the mistakes of display advertising * How marketers should rethink media planning as identity signals continue to weaken * Why procurement incentives often work against advertising effectiveness * Practical ways brands can begin incorporating media quality into buying decisions today * The future of AI-driven media buying and whether automation will improve—or worsen—advertising quality * Why marketers—not platforms or agencies—must ultimately lead this shift The discussion also expands into broader industry questions, including the future of the open web, the role of private marketplaces, the economics of connected television, media governance, AI-generated advertising, and whether today's measurement systems are rewarding the wrong behaviors. Throughout the conversation, Erez makes the case that quality is not a "nice to have." It is a pricing signal. One that may become increasingly important as AI, automation, and privacy reshape the advertising ecosystem. If you've ever wondered why digital advertising often feels more optimized than effective—or why brands continue chasing cheaper impressions while premium publishers struggle to monetize quality—this conversation explains why. Whether you're a CMO, agency executive, media planner, AdTech leader, publisher, or simply interested in where digital advertising is headed next, this is an essential discussion about one of the industry's most important strategic shifts. Guest: Erez Levin, Founder, Emmett Advisory; former Google executive; co-author of CIMM's Quality Matters report. Connect with Erez: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erezlevin/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/erezlevin/]

Signal Break: Agentic Trading Is Here

This week, the future of digital advertising arrived. Following Boostr and Vox Media’s landmark announcement of one of the industry’s first public agentic media buys using AdCP, Signal & Noise sits down for an exclusive conversation with Patrick O’Leary, Founder & CEO of Boostr, to unpack exactly what happened—and why it matters. For months, we’ve argued that agentic trading wasn’t a distant vision. It was already beginning. This announcement is one of the clearest signals yet that AI agents are moving beyond copilots and into autonomous negotiation, with buyer and seller agents working directly together to execute media transactions. This isn’t another AI hype discussion. Patrick walks us through the transaction in detail: how the agents negotiated, what humans still controlled, how long the process took, what the pilot revealed, and why this could fundamentally reshape the economics of digital advertising. We also tackle the bigger questions: * Does agentic trading replace programmatic or evolve alongside it? * What happens to DSPs, SSPs, and today’s ad tech ecosystem? * How do identity, fraud prevention, brand safety, and measurement work in an agent-driven world? * Which companies stand to benefit—and which business models are suddenly at risk? At Signal & Noise, we don’t do hot takes. We bring together the people who are actually building the future and give them the time to explain what they’re doing, why they’re doing it, and what it means for the rest of the industry. If you’ve been wondering whether agentic trading is real, this is the conversation you’ve been waiting for. Guest: Patrick O’Leary, Founder & CEO, Boostr If you enjoy conversations that go beyond the headlines, subscribe to Signal & Noise on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or visit SignalAndNoise.ai [http://SignalAndNoise.ai] for more executive interviews, analysis, and original research.