Series 2 Episode #1: Scaling E-commerce Technology - Mike Leonard on Replatforming, AI and Teams

About this episode

Mike Leonard discusses scaling e-commerce technology and managing technical debt.

What better way to kick off 2026 than getting back in the studio, Series 2 of the Leadership Roadmap starts with Mike Leonard, VP of Engineering & Data at Pet Circle. Mike shares practical insights on managing technical debt, the reality of "build vs. buy" decisions, and how to scale technical teams using AI as a force multiplier. We got into: 02:14 The Journey of Replatforming a 13 Year Old Monolith → modern stack14:57 Vendor selection + integrating an agency team for the long haul32:31 ...

People in this episode

Guest: Mike Leonard

Topics covered

• E-commerce
• Technology
• AI
• Technical Debt
• Team Management

Keywords

• Replatforming
• Build vs. Buy
• Vendor Selection
• Agency Integration

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Pet Circle

Books & works: Scaling E-commerce Technology, the Leadership Roadmap, The Journey of Replatforming a 13 Year Old Monolith

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