Anyone who has experimented with synchronizing tech lingo with corporate goals is aware that the gears can grind. Developers in code, executives in market share, and project managers translating both are among the speakers you have scheduled. Alex Pollock glides in right here. He is the kind of individual who understands both software designs and profit and loss reports; he knows how to make them click together like puzzle pieces rather than only understanding one.

Alex began his career amid the hustle of a startup rather than in a plush tech cluster. Imagine this: He is the man remaining late fixing server problems then turning around in the morning to present a product to investors. He took up SQL and Python as well as the language of business requirements.

One particularly notable instance: Alex did not only toss technology at a growing retailer’s new CRM deployment. He listened, then strolled around the warehouse under shadow of salespeople. He then returned and created a system that actually cut hours off every person’s weekly schedule.

He is also really strong in statistics. Not only gathering it—a monkey with a spreadsheet can accomplish—but also delving into the weeds and asking “So what?,” following every figure. Here is where tech ability meets commercial savvy. Alex has led various initiatives whereby clever analytics turned messy data into useful insights, therefore influencing strategy. He oversaw a supply chain revamp, for instance, organizing supplier data into clear displays so that executives could find bottlenecks before pallets began to line the ports.

Still another of his strengths is communication. Ever listened in on a software planning conference and heard “scalability,” “latency,” or “API endpoints” flung about like confetti? Alex is the link turning those words into commercial value. From “Our API latency needs improvement,” he says, “Customers are experiencing delays that hurt satisfaction scores.” From the CEO to customer service, everyone suddenly finds agreement.