86: Why Communication Is Now a Core Skill for CTOs and Senior Engineering Leaders

Mar 10, 2026

Kathleen Lucente, founder and CEO of Red Fan Communications and former IBM Research PR lead, helps technical leaders become trusted public authorities. She talks about why CTOs must think like business leaders and learn finance language. Short takes cover building C-suite trust, monitoring competitor visibility, and creating a scalable bench of technical communicators.

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INSIGHT

CTOs Are Business Leaders First

CTOs must see themselves as business leaders who speak the language of finance to gain credibility in the boardroom.
Kathleen Lucente stresses building relationships with CFO, CMO, CEO and head of sales to translate technology value into financial terms.

ADVICE

Track Competitor Visibility Regularly

Monitor competitors' public visibility and opinions so you can highlight differentiated viewpoints strategically.
Kathleen recommends tracking competitors' media, speaking engagements and points of view to carve out thought leadership opportunities.

ANECDOTE

From EDN Journalist To Tech PR

Kathleen started as a high-tech journalist at EDN which taught her how to pull technical stories out of engineers.
That early experience led to PR work where she learned to craft messages engineers wanted journalists to write about.

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What if the most underused asset in your tech organization is your voice?

Build your own CTO Playbook at www.theCTOplaybook.com — the leadership platform built for the full CTO journey. Coaching, podcast, and community to help you lead with clarity, confidence, and strategic impact.

In this episode, I sit down with Kathleen Lucente, founder and CEO of Red Fan Communications, to explore why communication is now a core leadership capability for enterprise technology leaders.

Stepping into the role of business leader changes everything, and learning to speak the language of finance is essential inside the boardroom. The most effective CTOs build influence across the C-suite by understanding how the CFO, CMO, CEO, and head of sales each think about value.

Kathleen reflects on her career in high-tech PR, from journalism at EDN to shaping innovation narratives at IBM Research and advising companies through IPO moments. Her experience shows how authority is built long before a keynote or media interview.

If you’re focused on CTO leadership, executive communication, and increasing your influence in the enterprise, this conversation will challenge how you think about your role and your voice.

You’ll Learn:

[00:00] Introduction

[01:32] Seeing yourself as a business leader shifts your authority inside the enterprise

[02:18] Speaking finance earns real credibility in the boardroom

[03:07] Building trust across the C-suite meaningfully changes your impact

[04:12] Ignoring competitor visibility weakens your overall strategic presence

[10:24] Early work with engineers exposed deep communication gaps

[14:38] Turning complex tech into stories business leaders value

[21:17] Innovation stories must clearly connect to business priorities

[29:46] Thought leadership can significantly accelerate a CTO's career

[37:52] Strong communication systems build influence long before you take the stage

If you’re a CTO approaching a high-stakes transition, whether that’s an IPO, major funding round, acquisition, or significant market repositioning, click here and take our FREE brand positioning assessment to benchmark your company’s messaging and discover if there are gaps between your leadership, marketing, and sales teams that need attention.

You can connect with Kathleen on her LinkedIn.

Find more from Adam on LinkedIn and YouTube, and explore coaching, cohorts, and how you can stay up to date at theCTOplaybook.com, helping you build your own playbook for your path at your pace.