#418 CTO & Chief Data Officer at The Zebra - Meetesh Karia
Today we’re talking to Meetesh Karia, CTO and CDO at The Zebra. And we discuss the benefits and practicality of having a full-blown data function in an organization. How Meetesh has utilized Andela to build internationally distributed engineering teams, and why it’s important to create a culture where nobody gets in trouble for an honest mistake.
All of this, right here, right now, on the Modern CTO Podcast!
To learn more about The Zebra, check them out at https://www.thezebra.com
To learn more about Andela, check them out at https://andela.com/
Check out Meetesh's podcast, Tesh on Tap!
About Meetesh Karia:
The tech career of Meetesh Karia started early, as his father was an electrical engineer bringing home a TRS80 with a tape drive. Computers just clicked, as he dialed into BBS systems, built computers installed with Slackware & Linux. Early on, he also dabbled in AI (is that even a thing?), building neural networks to predict weather patterns.
He has played competitive sports for years – in fact, he has won a national championship in the masters division of ultimate frisbee (and met his wife playing the sport as well). He bases a lot of his leadership philosophy in tech around what he has learned from sports. Self proclaimed – he’s one of those people that can’t just sit still.
In January 2013, he was approached to create and own the technology and team around a product that allowed people to compare insurance providers – from scratch. Meetesh made the decision to onboard and started the journey to build the Zebra.
About The Zebra:
The Zebra is the nation’s leading car and home insurance comparison website. Since 2012, The Zebra has led the charge to bring transparency to the auto and home insurance industry – to make insurance black and white.
The Zebra’s unique and powerful technology provides real-time rates and educational resources to inform consumers and help them find the coverage, service level, and pricing to suit their unique needs, while simultaneously helping insurance companies connect with the consumers they best serve in today’s digital world.
Insurance in black & white.® Compare quotes from top insurance companies in seconds.