My Journey and What This Newsletter Is All About
Hi, I'm Stephane 👋
I'm a London-based Leader in Tech.
Senior Engineering Manager with over a decade of experience in strategic leadership, technical excellence, and driving innovative engineering solutions.
My journey
I skipped uni to chase my dream in London - and it was the best decision I ever made.
Here’s what happened:
2016
Dropped out of university in Greece.
Moved to London with no degree, no connections, but a dream - to work as a software engineer.
Got my first software engineering job within 1 month.
2019
Landed an Engineering Manager role at a leading Cyber Security company.
Led a team that developed solutions protecting millions of users from cyber threats.
2022
Moved to a Senior EM / Head of Engineering role at a high growth startup.
Managing 4 global teams (20+ engineers) and 25 open-source libraries.
2024 & Beyond
Managing a talented team to build a highly confidential 🤐 (and super cool) GenAI tool at Zopa Bank (Fintech unicorn 🦄)
Started this newsletter
Coaching engineers to confidently transition into leadership roles.
I’ve coached 100+ engineers, helping them land leadership positions and increase their impact.
While doing that I have created 50 Notion templates for current and aspiring managers.
If you really want to work with me one-on-one, I offer the following services:
→ Grow your skills, get seen by more recruiters & hiring managers and ace your next interview with 1:1 Coaching, CV & LinkedIn Optimization, and Mock Interviews.
→ Transform into a leader in just 12 weeks: My Leadership Accelerator Program is unlike anything you’ve seen before.
In this newsletter
My goal is to support:
Engineers ready to level up in their careers.
First-time Engineering Managers.
Seasoned leaders aiming to stay on top of leadership best practices.
Founders looking to build high-performing, scalable engineering teams.
Anyone eager to learn more about engineering leadership topics.
As a free subscriber, you’ll get:
✉️ 1 post per week
🧑🎓 Access to the Engineering Manager Masterclass
As a paid subscriber, you’ll get:
🔒 1 chapter each week from the book I am writing “The Engineering Manager’s Playbook”
🔒 50 Engineering Manager templates and playbooks (worth $79)
🔒 The complete archive
A bit about me
Born in France, raised in Greece, now living in beautiful London for the past 10 years.
I was a professional basketball player in a previous life.
When I’m not working, you’ll find me spending time with my girlfriend or my doggy, reading, or exploring the outdoors.
Let’s connect on Linkedin – see you around! 👋
If you wish to make a request on a particular topic you would like to read, you can send me an email to stephane@em-tools.io.
Useful links
👨💻 Become a better Software Engineer with CodeCrafters (use my partner link to get 40% off and build your own Redis, Git, Kafka and more from scratch).
🎯 Book a mock interview with me (System design or Behavioural & Leadership) to smash your next real interview!
👋 Let’s connect on LinkedIn!