Finance Guys In Tech
The opinions on this show are our own. The voices in our heads... still figuring that out. Charlie & Sid bring you some humanity, fun, and other useful stuff from the trenches of working in finance at Amazon. An interview show with our friends and colleagues at Amazon about how they ended up here, how they thrive, and most importantly…what are they doing this weekend. This show is all geared towards helping you perform better in your career, forming stronger teams, reducing stress & anxiety, and having plenty of laughs along the way. We’ll go micro on the day-to-day tactics and tips. We’ll go macro on creativity and mindset. We’ll give you all kinds of new ideas to play with about how to get into tech finance or what an optimal career might look like for you. We'll also bring you guests who you might not otherwise have access to. And since our number one objective is to bring you value we'll listen to you about the things you really want to hear. Sid joined Amazon in 2016 and AWS one year later. He's a value investor at heart so his presence on the show should be all you need to know about choosing to listen. Charlie (that’s me) has worked in finance at Amazon since 2014 and joined Amazon Web Services in 2015. He is also 1/2 of GoodBaby.band | Bass and songwriter for fornow.band | Recovering drummer | Author of the Art & Work weekly newsletter at charleskunken.com | Writer. Rider. New Yorker. Artist.
Episodes
26 episodes
Ep26 Staying Optimistic with Melissa Brown, Global FP&A, AWS
"See the silver lining, even in difficult situations." - Melissa Brown, Global FP&A, AWSHowdy friends, today we talked with our good friend and three year Amazon vet Melissa Brown! We discussed her lessons learned...
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26:50
Ep25 How to Win The Day with Keith Klein, AWS Real Estate, Managing Principal, Americas
"Win the day...but understand what your limitations are." - Keith Klein, AWS Real Estate, Managing Principal, AmericasHowdy friends. This a great episode with our pal and 9-year Amazon veteran, Keith Klein. We dive into some grea...
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27:47
Ep24 Finding Your Interests with Van Tran, Amazon Treasury, Capital Markets
“Ask yourself what makes you happy.” - Van Tran, Amazon Treasury, Capital MarketsHello folks. Today we bring you a show with our our good buddy Van Tran, Treasury Manager, Capital Markets here at Amazon and with it, our first look...
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41:13
Ep23 - The Finance MBA Internship Experience with Alex Solomon (Columbia), AWS Infrastructure
“All you ca do day-to-day is control the things that are within your power.” - Alex Solomon, MBA Intern, Columbia, AWS InfrastructureHappy new year!We’re kicking off the 2021 season with an interview we recorded...
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36:58
Ep22 Fifteen Years at AWS & The Early Days with Joe Minarik, Director, Data Center Supply
“It’s good to round yourself out but double down on your super powers.” - Joe Minarik, Director, AWS Data Center SupplyJoin The FG Podcast LinkedIn Group! https://ww...
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33:18
Ep021 Finding Meaning In The Process with Raj Uparkar, Sr. Mgr., DC Capacity, AWS
“Try to identify top goals, personally and professionally and work at them in a way that’s meaningful to you. Don’t drive towards output metrics…focus on what you can control and the other things will play out.” - Raj Uparkar, Sr. Manage...
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38:56
Ep20 - Keeping Perspective with Shruti Shah, Senior Finance Manager, AWS Real Estate
“Ask yourself what’s the worst case thing that could happen…it gives you perspective…don’t take things too seriously…be grateful” - Shruti Shah, Sr. Finance Manager, AWS Real EstateHello there peeps. Today we bring you an episode ...
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27:32
Ep19 – Appreciation and Being Happy with Mariana Emsenhuber, Finance Leadership Development Program, AWS
“Appreciate spending time with friends and family…make sure you like what you are doing…and be happy.” - Mariana Emsenhuber, Finance Leadership Program, AWSHey folks. In this episode we bring you our first virtual guest - our frie...
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30:48
Ep18 – The Finance Guys Are Back w.Charlie & Sid
“When the going gets tough, the tough get going…we’ll get over it…and we’ll be stronger” - Sid“There’s always an opportunity that comes out of change.” - CharlieThe Finance Guys are back!Whatsup our peeps. We’...
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21:14
*Special Episode*; TPOT1 – The Restaurant Biz During Corona with Phil Buttacavoli, Hospitality Industry, NYC
*Special Episode* The Plaza Of Truth (TPOT) Episode 1“It doesn’t matter who you are or how much money you make…maybe you’re driving a Ferrari home and I’m driving a Honda Accord but we’re at the same table, eating the same food…We’re all...
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19:35
Ep17 – Uncluttering The Mind with Ryion Pun, Finance Director of APAC Data Center Operations, AWS
“In a world that’s going so fast, if you can find the space in yourself that can truly slow down than everything else you’ll find is a lot clearer.”In this episode Sid and I got a rare chance to sit with our friend Ryion Pun while...
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43:48
Ep16 - Keeping It Simple with Dalmar Sheikh, APAC Leader For Data Center Expansion Strategy, AWS
“THE SECRET IS SIMPLE…DO THE STUFF EXACTLY HOW YOUR MAMA USED TO TELL YOU, DRESS CLEAN, BE HONEST, BE ON TIME, DO YOUR WORK, BE RESPECTFUL….IF YOU DO THAT EVERYTHING WILL FALL INTO PLACE”Today Sid and I got to sit down wit...
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42:56
Ep15 - Do It Anyway with Valery Gross, Head of Data Center Demand Planning, AWS
“Do stuff anyway, even if people tell you no…just keep going.” Today Sid and I got to talk with our friend Valery Gross, the inspirational Head of Data Center Demand Planning here in AWS Infrastructure and a 9 year veteran o...
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56:14
Ep 14 – Being Mindful Of Your Life with Brent Holley, Senior Finance Manager, Data Center Construction, AWS
“Be conscious of your tradeoffs…if you’re perpetually doing things not aligned with your priorities, that’s a recipe for unhappiness.”Today Sid and I got to sit down with our friend Brent Holley, Senior Finance Manager of Data Cen...
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43:00
Ep13 - On Healthy Lifestyle And Adventure with Lincoln Booth, Global Expansion Manager, AWS Infrastructure
“Life’s what happens when you’re planning other things.” John Lennon via Lincoln Booth Today Sid and I get a rare opportunity to sit down with one of our business partners, Lincoln Booth, a Global Expansion Manager for data ...
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41:16
Ep12 - The Only Rules Are The Ones You Set For Yourself with Charlie Kunken, Finance Manager, AWS
“THERE ARE NO RULES, ONLY THE ONES YOU SET FOR YOURSELF.”Today Sid and I sit down with…ourselves. Sid flipped the script and peppered me with a few of the typical questions we usually ask our guests.We chat leadership, hack...
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52:40
Ep11 – Bringing Your Whole Self with Bunmi Omotowa, Finance Manager; Insights, Planning, Analytics, And Technology, AWS
“ALWAYS BRING YOUR WHOLE SELF TO WHATEVER IT IS YOU’RE DOING.”Today Sid and I sit down with our old friend, Bunmi Omotowa, Finance Manager on the Insights, Planning, Analytics, & Technology finance team for AWS. Simply put, th...
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42:00
Ep10 - Make Progress Everyday With Oisin Hughes, Head Of Portfolio Management, AWS
“Make progress every day…even one small win can be enough.”Today Sid and I interview Oisin Hughes, Head of Global Data Center Portfolio Management here in AWS Infrastructure. Oisin has a really unique history. Long s...
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51:58
Ep9 - The Importance Of Lifelong Learning with Andrew Wilson, Senior Finance Manager, AWS
“Lifelong learning is important…go find something (with a plan!)...follow your passions.”Today Sid and I interview Sr. Finance Manager, Andrew Wilson here at AWS Infrastructure. Andrew also happens to be….our manager. Best behavio...
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53:18
Ep8 - Shaping A Career with Gretchen Stephenson - You Better Be Having Fun
“If you’re not having fun then you probably need to find something else.”Today Sid and I interview our very own Finance Director here in AWS Infrastructure, Gretchen Stephenson. Today Gretchen drops some sage advice a...
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52:38
Ep007 Real Estate (For Clouds) w.Jim Footh - Understanding People And Communicating
“THE WAY TO CONNECT WITH PEOPLE IS TO LISTEN AND UNDERSTAND WHERE THEY CAME FROM…AND THEIR PHILOSOPHY.”Today our guest is Jim Footh, a Real Estate Principal here in AWS Finance and another one of our business partners....
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50:48
Ep005 Two Decades of Finance Wisdom w.Mona Leung - Being Mindful & Relaxed On The Journey
“You walk in with your idea, people are going to engage with you. They’re going to get into your data, they’re going to get into your thought process and they’re going to challenge you, and they’ll also build on it. So you’re going to walk o...
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38:52
Ep004 Staying Close To The Business w.Karl Brenner Román
“For the first 90 days here I would try to sit as much as I can, or literally just move your desk to where your business partners are.”Today we have an interview with Karl Brenner Roman, Sid’s and my ‘cousin’ (by the org chart) he...
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33:03
Ep003 From India To AWS Finance w.Sid Dhodi
The opinions on this show are my own. The voices in my head...still figuring that out.Today we have an interview with Sid Dhodi, my homie and teammate here in AWS finance. Sid brings the funny, we'll definitely be hearing from him again...
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27:00
Ep002 (5) Tips for Starting in Finance At Amazon
(0:41) 1/Be Useful Quickly; (1:16) 2/Solve Problems, Don't Create Solutions; (2:15) 3/Start w.The Micro; (3:16) 4/1-on-1 Strategy; (4:32) 5/The 3 BucketsThis is the coffee chat I have with new analysts on Day 1 and I wanted to share wit...
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Episode 2
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