Every satisfying answer started with a question nobody wanted to ask.
You've sat in the room where a decision worth millions had to be made by end of day - and nobody had a playbook. The Qualified Answer is a podcast about that moment.
Every two weeks, I bring you a new episode. Sometimes I sit down with senior technology leaders who made the call - and we dissect how they framed it, what they traded off, and what broke. Other times, I go solo - unpacking the mental models, the cutting-edge thinking, and the meta of what's actually happening in our space right now.
Two formats, one focus: the thinking behind the decision.
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Who am I?
I'm Simon Elisha. I spent nearly 13 years at AWS - most recently as Director and Chief Technologist for ANZ Public Sector - and more than 35 years in enterprise technology. I hold multiple cloud technology patents, hosted the Official AWS Podcast for 700+ episodes and 25 million+ downloads, and sat across the table from CxOs, Ministers, and board members who needed answers they could act on. I built The Qualified Answer because the hardest part of technology leadership isn't the technology. It's the decision.
Two formats. One obsession.
- Decision Cases — Senior leaders dissect a real, high-stakes call. How they framed it, what they traded off, what broke, and what they'd do differently.
- Meta-Model Episodes — Solo deep dives into the mental models, frameworks, and cutting-edge thinking shaping our space right now.
- 25 minutes. Every 2 weeks. No fluff. No filler.
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