#9 - Irena Xhurxhi: From Albania to AI at Amazon

From Albania to Amazon, Irena's story is incredible: • 2013: Left Albania to chase a dream in the US • 2015: Juggled a full-time job, PhD studies, and raising two kids • 2021: Applied to ONE tech job - and got into Amazon • 2025: Leading Amazon’s AI revolution and inspiring change She shares her hard-earned lessons on resilience, embracing uniqueness, and her vision of the future with AI. Chapters 0:00 Introduction and Personal Reflections 3:35 Academic and Professional Challenges 8:14 Balancing Family and Career 14:48 Leadership and Mentorship 21:39 Embracing AI at Amazon 29:20 Testing AI's Strategic Thinking 30:29 AI in Education: Pros and Cons 31:55 Incorporating AI in Academic Courses 38:30 Ethical Use of AI in Universities 44:12 Navigating Career Transitions 48:55 Future Skills and AI Integration 56:36 Final Thoughts and Advice Episode Links: Irena's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ipxhurxhi/ Podcast Links:Substack: https://thinkingthomas.substack.com/⁠ X/Twitter: https://x.com/fortoulthomas⁠ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4nUcKzoV5nHhwFqZrIit9w Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thinking-tech/id1797833313 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-fortoul/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2ONyHJ7p13KQrYyOH1WPAh