When Shit Hits the Fan

In this very human and often hilarious episode of When Shit Hits the Fan, Johan and Jeffrey welcome Eric Lajoie, AI specialist at SUSE, to unpack a career shaped by curiosity, failure, and a global perspective. From name mispronunciations to technical missteps, this conversation spans tech, identity, and the unexpected stuff that breaks — including intros, connections, and sometimes, a water pipe.

Eric reflects on his journey from the US to Germany, how his multicultural background shapes the way he works, and why making mistakes in public can be one of the best ways to grow.

🔗 Links & Mentions:

In this episode of When Shit Hits the Fan, we sit down with long-time ITQ technologist Sander Harrewijnen to talk about building better software, making bad assumptions, and breaking things that needed fixing anyway.

We cover everything from Sander’s accidental roast of a client’s legacy app (in front of the people funding it 😬) to his thoughts on vibecoding (letting AI write your code), and his approach to solving tech and people problems in complex environments.

Along the way, we discover his unusual hidden talent (spoiler: he’s your guy for photo wallpaper), his Maker side with lightsabers and Mandalorian helmets, and how his developer career evolved from .NET to cloud-native advocacy

Links & Mentions:

In this episode of 'When Shit Hits the Fan', Johan and Jeffrey welcome Frank Denneman, a distinguished engineer for AI at VMware/Broadcom.

The conversation covers Frank's experiences, interests, and career journey, including his insights on technology, movies, and the importance of effective communication in engineering.

The episode features rapid-fire questions, discussions about favorite films, and a deep dive into Frank's professional background. The conversation explores his journey from building Microsoft Exchange across multiple countries to his experiences with virtualization, working at VMware, and the challenges of startup life. It highlights his time at PernixData and the lessons learned from mistakes made throughout his career, including the importance of sharing knowledge and overcoming fears in public speaking.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Guest Introduction

02:40 Frank's Background and Interests

06:41 Binaries and Quickfire Questions

11:01 Frank's Career Journey and Early Experiences

13:15 Building Microsoft Exchange Across Borders

16:45 The Virtualization Journey Begins

17:35 Transitioning to VMware and the Startup Experience

20:00 The Challenges of Startup Life

23:25 Innovations at Pernix Data

25:59 Lessons Learned from Mistakes

30:04 First Time on Stage: Overcoming Fear

31:27 The Thrill of Live Performance

34:17 Key Takeaways for First-Time Speakers

39:43 Lessons from Experience and Listening

41:54 The Importance of Preparation

42:53 Learning from Presentation Skills and Shark Tank

Links:

Frank Simrig account on instagram: