As we celebrate our 300th episode, we looked back at two very different conferences that revealed the same technology trend. First was the Bitcoin conference in Las Vegas, where the conversation was no longer about whether Bitcoin would survive. Instead, attendees focused on institutional adoption, corporate treasury strategies, regulation, and how Bitcoin fits into the future of global finance. Laura also spent time meeting with industry leaders including BitFuFu, XCE, and Soapbox Technologies, gaining additional insight into where the industry is heading. The technology has matured beyond its early skepticism and is now being discussed as part of the mainstream financial system.

A few weeks later at CLOC 2026 in Chicago, we saw a similar evolution in the legal technology world. AI dominated the agenda, but the discussion wasn’t about what AI might do someday. Legal operations leaders were focused on governance, implementation, ROI, risk management, and how to successfully deploy AI within their organizations. The excitement remains, but the conversations have become much more practical.

What stood out was how closely these industries mirrored one another. At Bitcoin, the question was how to govern and integrate digital assets. At CLOC, the question was how to govern and operationalize AI. In both cases, the technology itself was no longer the story. Execution was.

After 300 episodes covering everything from cybersecurity and privacy to AI, legal tech, crypto, space technology, and everything in between, one lesson continues to emerge: the future isn’t built on bold predictions. It’s built on organizations that can turn innovation into measurable business value.

Most importantly, thank you to everyone who has listened, subscribed, shared episodes, joined us as guests, and supported That Tech Pod over the last five years. What started as a simple idea has grown into 300 conversations with incredible leaders, innovators, and experts across countless industries. We appreciate every listener who has been part of this journey. Here’s to the first 300 episodes, and to the next 300!

What does it take to modernize the systems that keep water flowing, wastewater moving, and nine million New Yorkers served every day?

In this episode, we sit down with Robert "Max" Maxfield, Chief Systems Architect at AITHERAS and the architect behind New York City's SCADA modernization efforts for the Bureau of Wastewater Treatment. Max takes us inside the world of critical infrastructure, where downtime isn't an inconvenience, it's a public risk. From managing decades-old industrial systems and balancing modernization against reliability, to defending essential services against cyber threats, Max shares what it really takes to operate technology that most people never think about until it fails.

We also explore the realities of AI in critical infrastructure, the cybersecurity challenges facing utilities, the surprising longevity of legacy systems, and how Max's passion for motorcycles, racing, and building machines shapes his approach to engineering. It's a conversation about technology, risk, resilience, and why sometimes the most important systems are the ones nobody notices.

Robert “Max” Maxfield is the Chief Systems Architect at AITHERAS, leading the SCADA Modernization Program for NYC’s Bureau of Wastewater Treatment. In this role, Max designs and deploys the systems that keep critical water infrastructure operating for nine million New Yorkers. With 20+ years in industrial controls, 27 platform certifications, and prior architect roles on national operations centers and the Doyon Utilities Alaska modernization, Max specializes in the messy intersection of legacy industrial systems, modern SCADA, cybersecurity, and, increasingly, AI. He's been published in Forbes on industrial technology, runs his own GPU lab for local model fine-tuning, and spends his off-hours on custom motorcycles, off-road racing, and drag racing. Equal parts engineer, builder, and pragmatist, Max brings a field-tested perspective on what actually works when the stakes are critical infrastructure.

In this episode of That Tech Pod, we sit down with Greg Upah for a conversation that goes far beyond scripts, software, and sales tactics. With a career path spanning academia, advertising, Wall Street, and sales education, Greg brings a rare perspective on what actually influences decision-making and why human behavior still sits at the center of great selling.

We explore what stays constant across industries, whether modern sales technology has changed the game or simply changed the packaging, and why the fundamentals of buyer psychology still matter. Greg also shares lessons from mentoring the next generation of sellers at Texas A&M, discusses the ideas behind his book Sales Talks: The Why, What, and How of Selling, and reflects on the hard-earned lessons that shaped his own career. Whether you're leading a sales team, building technology, or trying to understand how people make decisions, this episode is a look at the timeless principles behind meaningful conversations and lasting results.

To get a copy of the book, Sales Talks: The Why, What, and How of Selling, Greg asks readers to email him directly at GregUpah@gmail.com.

Greg Upah has built a career that spans academia, advertising, finance, and sales education. He began as a marketing professor at Virginia Tech and later at NYU Stern School of Business, before moving into industry as an associate research director and new business team member at Young & Rubicam in New York. He then spent 15 years at Merrill Lynch in senior sales and marketing roles within its Asset Management Group. For more than a decade, he has mentored students in the Professional Sales Program at Texas A&M University. A graduate of University of Notre Dame with a Ph.D. in Marketing from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, he has published in leading journals including the Journal of Marketing and is the author of Sales Talks.