May 26, 2022 | 2 min read

Learning to be a Technologist and Executive with Fred Lee

By: Patrick Emmons

Learning to be a Technologist and Executive with Fred Lee

Fred Lee, Chief Technology Officer at Amount, is skeptical of “culture fit.” In leading technology teams of various sizes and goals, he has welcomed team members who approach things differently, who embrace their unique perspectives, and has witnessed their added value across organizations. In his cross-industry career, a fresh perspective has often served him well.

In this episode, Fred shares insight into the shifting experience of banking and the industry’s digital innovations. He reflects on how he has approached new roles and how getting close to the customer is essential to understanding a company’s successes and failures. Fred illuminates the array of approaches to process and communication, and the importance of following through.

  • (1:05) – Amount
  • (5:00) – Adapting to fit the customer
  • (6:52) – Experience across industries
  • (8:55) – Learning through customer proximity
  • (11:01) – Identifying the problems
  • (13:47) – Bringing in talent
  • (17:03) – More process vs. less process
  • (18:52) – Buy now, pay later (BNPL)
  • (20:10) – Building a world-class team
  • (25:51) – Managing a hybrid and remote workforce

About Our Guest

Fred Lee is an experienced engineer and technology executive, currently serving as Chief Technology Officer at Amount. Previously, he served as CTO at Cars.com, Gamut, and Belly, as well as VP of Digital Architecture at Grainger. Fred received a bachelor's degree from Purdue University and a law degree from Loyola University Chicago.

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About Patrick Emmons

If you can’t appreciate a good sports analogy, movie quote, or military reference, you may not want to work with him, but if you value honesty, integrity, and commitment to improvement, Patrick can certainly help take your business or your career to the next level. “Good enough,” is simply not in his vernacular. Pat’s passion is for relentlessly pushing himself and others to achieve full potential. Patrick Emmons is a graduate of St. Norbert College with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science and Mathematics. Patrick co-founded Adage Technologies in 2001 and in 2015, founded DragonSpears as a spin-off dedicated to developing custom applications that improve speed, compliance and scalability of clients’ internal and customer-facing workflow processes. When he is not learning about new technology, running a better business, or becoming a stronger leader, he can be found coaching his kids’ (FIVE of them) baseball and lacrosse teams and praising his ever-so-patient wife for all her support.

Recent Episodes

We interview leaders from early-stage start-ups to billion-dollar enterprises who distill their lessons from their victories and their failures. Learn how these high-performing leaders organize their teams, establish a growth-minded culture, and leverage new technologies such as DevOps and Cloud.