#82 Milena Nikolic, CTO at Trainline: Transforming Transportation Technology
At a time when we’re all looking for environmentally friendly yet efficient travel, the railway industry is booming with popularity and investment. Our tech leader this week, Milena Nikolic is at the forefront of this sector. As CTO at Trainline, she is leading the team at one of the largest companies operating in this area. Milena joins Gareth to discuss her journey towards becoming a tech leader; from competing in coding competitions in Serbia to securing an internship at tech giant Google. Despite never initially being drawn to a leadership position, after being a part of Google’s immense growth period, Milena noticed that any problems they were facing were due to people, not technology. This want to incite change in Google’s company culture led to her becoming an Engineering Manager before ultimately being promoted to Engineering Director within her 12 years at the tech giant. Now as the CTO of Trainline, Milena discusses her role in one of the largest sectors across the globe, ensuring that she drives her team through goal setting, trusting the process, and being able to take things one step at a time. Time stamps What does good leadership mean to Milena? (03:37) Climbing the ranks at Google (04:55) What Milena would change about her time at Google (08:37) Google’s innovation initiative (11:04) The key to successful delegation (12:55) Milena’s backstory (15:05) Transitioning to Trainline (17:40) Transforming Trainline with AI (26:00) What does a CTO do? (33:10) Preventing burnout (35:00) The progress of equality within the tech industry (36:35) Milena’s advice to her younger self (38:30) *Book recommendation: Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead, by Cheryl Sandberg Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead: Amazon.co.uk: Sandberg, Sheryl: 9780753541647: Books