As Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Fluke Reliability, Aaron Merkin oversees the development and execution of the company’s strategy delivering maintenance and reliability solutions for industrial customers. Aaron is an experienced technology executive with deep experience in technology and product strategy, solution architecture, M&A, and organizational transformation. Holding executive leadership positions at a number of enterprise solution companies, Aaron has led the successful transformation of a number of product organizations from traditional on-premise business models to full SaaS solutions. In his more than two decades of experience Aaron has worked in both private equity and publicly traded blue chip companies across multiple industries. Merkin holds a master’s degree in computer science and a bachelor’s degree in mathematics.
Recently, in an exclusive interview with CIO Magazine, Aaron opened up about his journey into tech, highlighting the key qualities that define a successful CTO, his passions outside of work, future plans, words of wisdom and much more. The following excerpts are taken from the interview.
How did you first become interested in technology and what propelled you into it?
I’ve been interested in technology for as long as I can remember. Growing up, my father worked for IBM as an engineer and manager, so I was exposed to technology and had computers around the house. I started experimenting with coding when I was 10 years old and ultimately fell in love with both the creative side of building products and the analytical aspect of designing and debugging code. What drives my passion is the sense of victory I feel when I finally find the root cause of a problem and solve it, a challenging bug continues to inspire me to this day!
What do you love the most about your current role?
Our customers and the solutions we build keep our customers’ production operations running in industries all over the world. Take for example the power generation industry, where our solutions support improved reliability of the electric grid. Another example is the life sciences industry, where we help support the production of critical medical equipment. It’s the tangible impact our solutions have on improving people’s lives that I most enjoy.
What do you believe are the most important qualities or characteristics for a CTO to possess?
The three most important qualities for a CTO to possess are humility, passion for continuous improvement, and empathy. To be a member of a high-performing executive team at a technology organization, you need to be willing to surround oneself with people who are smarter and more knowledgeable than you—people who excel in their chosen field. It takes humility to accept that you are not the most knowledgeable on every topic and can lean into learning from others. The pace of innovation seems to accelerate every day. In our collective efforts to stay ahead of it, a CTO must embrace continuous improvement and continuous learning. There’s no doubt that we are in challenging times, and many of those challenges heavily involve product and technology teams and the future of their business strategies. So, it’s important to remain empathetic as a leader and support your team through change, this also true of building great products, be empathetic and pursue a deep understanding of the challenges facing your end users.
How do you stay current with the latest developments in technology and product development?
Mostly, I listen to podcasts and follow thought leaders in the industry on social media. For example, to keep up with overall technology trends I listen to the “Dwarkesh Podcast,” “a16z,” and “Hard Fork.” “The Industrial Talk Podcast” is a great resource for trends specific to my industry. While shows like “HanselMinutes,” “.NET Rocks,” and “The AWS Developers Podcast” are great for hands-on knowledge. Marty Cagan remains an influential voice in product management for me. Then Daniel Pink on business trends, personal development, and finally, Dario Amodei for Generative AI and topics around alignment. I’ve always got one eye on the future, and one ear listening to the best in the industry.
Is there a particular person you are grateful for who helped get you to where you are?
When I first started working at IBM fresh out of college, I was fortunate to be placed on a project supporting a Senior Technical Staff Member named Tom Brey. Tom taught me the fundamentals of hardware and software product development including systems thinking, analytical rigor, and how to navigate technical debates with more senior staff members. His mentorship was key to getting established in the industry. When I transitioned to Dell, I found myself working for Laurie Tolson, who provided the coaching I needed to transition from an individual contributor into an executive role. She hired me for my first Chief Technology Officer role at ABB Enterprise Software.
What are some of your passions outside of work? What do you like to do in your time off?
Family is my priority, and I value the time I spend with my wife and daughters. They are competitive swimmers, so they really embody continuous improvement, resilience and focus everyday. Outside of that, I enjoy cooking, reading, and have a long-standing interest in classic strategy board games such as Go.
What is your favorite quote?
A quote that comes to mind is one from Jim McKelvey, who cofounded the company Square. With the ubiquity of mobile payment platforms today, it’s easy to forget that when Square started, small businesses didn’t have a practical way to accept credit card payments. He and Jack Dorsey had zero experience with payment processing, no relationship with Apple, or any of the major payment platforms. However, they had a passion to solve this access issue for small businesses and artisans.
In his book, The Innovation Stack, Jim says, “by definition, no one is qualified to do something that has never been done.” This quote filters down the idea that one should not let others decide what one is capable of doing—the people best placed to disrupt an industry often come from outside of it, as they are not constrained by what is thought to be possible.
Which technology are you investing in now to prepare for the future?
Like many people, I am leaning heavily into the adoption of generative AI-based productivity tools to accelerate day to day tasks, both in my personal and professional life. Moving forward, my team and I are going all-in on the adoption of AI-assisted development with the goal of transitioning our product development process to be “human on the loop.” I expect this inversion of control in the product development process to unleash similar productivity gains, just as the introduction of process control systems, monitored by human operators, has done for manufacturers.
What is your biggest goal? Where do you see yourself in 5 years from now?
Professionally, I am driven by our mission of enabling industrial companies to thrive through the conflicting trends of a greying workforce and navigating challenging economic headwinds. At Fluke Reliability, we simplify connected reliability solutions for businesses that keep the world up and running. We have learned that while the industry often speaks of using AI to fill skills gaps, the best application of technology is really to fill a knowledge gap, this partnership enables us to make the skilled trades an attractive profession for the next generation of workers. By making the trades attractive to work in and using AI to lower the barriers to productivity, we can empower our customers to face ongoing maintenance, reliability, and operational challenges.
I have two teenage daughters that are just beginning their college careers. Like most parents, my biggest goal is helping them get started successfully in their own careers. While neither is currently pursuing a career in my industry, both are planning careers where they are hands-on in the service of fellow human beings.
What advice would you give to product leaders looking to drive innovation and growth in their organizations?
There are two key pieces of advice that I would give—the first is to encourage customer intimacy and empathy at all levels of your organization. Most people who work in engineering organizations are inherently creative and like to solve problems—they don’t need to be told how to build great products; they just need the inspiration of real-world customer problems.
The second is to be intentional about creating time and space for experimentation. At Fluke Reliability, we explicitly budget innovation and experimentation time into our development schedules as well as host more formal cross-organizational events such as “hackathons.” For example, we recently held a one-week “hackathon” event focused on accelerating the delivery of mobile solutions for maintenance technicians. This event combined our product team’s recognition of the need for fast delivery with our engineering team’s desire to apply cutting-edge technology/practices to our product development. The team set themselves a goal of tripling development velocity—I challenged them to 5X. We set aside the time for the team to run their event and while I can’t share specifics, for competitive reasons, I can say that I should have set the bar higher!