In this episode of Make Yourself @ Work, Matt Tverberg sits down with Delia Midamba, Director of Physical Security at Saronic, an Austin-based defense technology company building autonomous vessels for the U.S. Navy. Before Saronic, Delia built and led security programs at Splunk, Cloudflare, and Cohesity, and started her career as a Foreign Affairs Officer at the U.S. State Department.

Delia shares what it's really like to build a security program from scratch at a company where the stakes are national defense. That means navigating trade compliance, multi-site consistency, and protecting technology that real lives may one day depend on.

She dives into how she manages visitor compliance workflows, keeps security consistent across multiple sites, and balances a frictionless employee experience with the requirements of a regulated environment. Some key lessons from the conversation include: security works best when it enables the business rather than blocks it, consistency across sites reduces risk and creates a better employee experience, and the biggest security variable is always human behavior.

This episode is a must-listen for physical security leaders, workplace and operations professionals in regulated or defense environments, and anyone building a security program at a fast-scaling company.

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Quotes

“The human factor adds an element of unpredictability that you always have to be able to pivot and account for. So the security teams always have to be reading people, assessing behavior, and then responding based on the signals they're getting.”

“ Framing the conversation and being flexible and understanding [that] your risk tolerance may not be their risk tolerance. And so coming to an agreement on where they want that risk tolerance to be, and then implementing based on that.”

“I think a lot of the time security is seen as a hindrance or a blocker… So if we can get to a stage where we're not seen that way, where people are comfortable coming to us for help… that's a win for me.”

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Timestamps

(00:25) Background on Delia and Saronic

(01:31) From the State Department to defense tech

(04:36) The US shipbuilding gap and Saronic's mission

(06:51) Saronic vessels used in a real Navy rescue mission

(09:03) Working with a Navy SEAL founder

(10:27) Communicating security value to leadership

(16:09) One badge, one process: the consistency principle

(19:32) Trade compliance and visitor workflows

(26:38) Incident readiness and tabletop exercises

(30:58) What keeps a defense security leader up at night

(33:09) How Delia defines success in her role

(36:17) How Delia Makes Herself @ Work

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Links

Connect with the guest and host on LinkedIn!

• Delia Midamba
• Matt Tverberg

Learn more about Envoy

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In this episode of Make Yourself @ Work, Matt Tverberg sits down with Caitlin Steininger, Director of Workplace Operations (Americas) at Samsara, a connected operations cloud platform. Caitlin brings more than 14 years of experience, including senior roles at Cohesity and SteelWave, and today leads workplace strategy, real estate operations, and employee experience across a growing global footprint.

Caitlin shares what it really means to own employee experience at scale. She manages 15 locations across multiple regions and explains why the biggest challenges aren't physical, they're operational.

She dives into how Samsara uses utilization data for meal forecasting and lease planning, the real cost of disconnected systems, and how AI is already changing how her team works. Some key lessons from the conversation include: your employees are your customers, always communicate the "why" behind new tools, and if you want people to come in, give them a reason worth the commute.

This episode provides a practical guide for workplace and facilities leaders, and anyone responsible for building employee experiences that scale.

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Quotes

“​​ We're more than just a facilities manager. We really are the chief operating officer of employee experience. When you step into a Samsara office, that employee experience, what you feel, what you see, what you engage with really is what workplace does.”

“ We spend more hours with the people that we work with than our families, and so it's really important that our office environment and creating that great employee experience is… a home away from home, where employees can be their most productive.”

“I really like to put myself in the employee's shoes and say, "Okay, an executive just came to me, or a VP just came to me, and they need me to set this up right now. What information do I need to give the workplace team so they can turn it around quickly?" And that's really where I focus.”

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Timestamps

(00:32) Background on Caitlin and Samsara

(03:01) Defining workplace operations

(06:48) Raising the bar after Samsara's TIME100 recognition

(11:10) What strains first when companies scale

(14:14) Cultural differences across global hubs

(16:14) Hybrid in practice: building the why for in-office work

(20:46) Data blind spots and the HRIS integration gap

(24:11) Using utilization data for forecasting and planning

(31:12) Building team culture and celebrating wins

(43:01) The 80% occupancy pinch point

(51:24) How Caitlin Makes Herself @ Work

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Links

Connect with the guest and host on LinkedIn!

• Caitlin Steininger
• Matt Tverberg

Learn more about Envoy

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode of Make Yourself @ Work, Matt Tverberg sits down with Julian Sera, Senior Manager of Facilities at Cytokinetics, a global biopharmaceutical company focused on muscle biology and heart disease innovation. With experience at large enterprises such as Tesla and Apple, Julian shares what it takes to scale workplace operations internationally while maintaining complex regulatory requirements.

From locking down conference rooms for regulatory response teams to collaborating on creative room naming conventions, Julian unpacks the operational details that are often overlooked when it comes to workplace management. He dives deep into how he leverages utilization data to design smarter offices, why small tweaks to airflow timing can have a massive impact on the bottom line, and why flexible design elements prevent wasted space in hybrid environments.

You’ll also hear practical lessons in change management and how the team at Cytokinetics balances standardization with personalization as they expand their global footprint. Some key lessons from the conversation include: don’t assume knowledge, always communicate the “why” behind new tech, and build trust by following through on even the smallest requests.

This episode is a must-listen for facilities leaders, workplace strategists, operations executives, and anyone responsible for scaling physical environments in fast-growing, regulated industries.

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Quotes

“No cookie-cutter approach is gonna actually work even within a company itself. Every department has different needs. And I think that kind of trend that we've seen a lot in the workplace design world is really creating different worlds, different environments for people rather than creating a cube farm.”

“If you say that you're gonna do it, just do it. Because if you don't, next time it's cold they might not reach out to you. Next time they have a bigger thing that's not just office temperature, they might not reach out to you. I think it's building off those seemingly meaningless little asks that can have a big impact.”

“If people aren’t asking us and we’re catching it ahead of time, awesome. That’s a good day. A lot of facilities, workplace, all of our operational aspects, we’re kind of like those ninjas in the background. And I think if you’re too noticed, that means you’re doing something wrong.”

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Timestamps

(00:32) Background on Julian and Cytokinetics

(01:47) Managing global offices and scale

(03:32) What brought Julian to the space

(05:04) Avoiding a cookie-cutter approach

(07:58) Operating in a highly regulated industry

(11:36) Underestimated aspects of facilities and operations

(13:45) The team logistics that follow global growth

(17:58) Strategic space planning leveraging data

(25:22) Empowering all types of roles across the organization

(29:27) The power of follow-through

(31:06) Looking toward the future

(36:28) How to prioritize new tools

(39:39) How Julian makes himself @ Work

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Links

Connect with the guest and host on LinkedIn!

• Julian Sera
• Matt Tverberg

Learn more about Envoy

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.