Leading by Influence in Open Source: Maria Bracho on Community and Culture (CTO, Red Hat)

What happens to leadership when you can’t simply write a roadmap and “hand it to engineering”? In open source, influence replaces authority, and outcomes depend on communities, collaboration, and trust.In this episode of Le Podcast on Emerging Leadership, I sit down with Maria Bracho, Chief Technology Officer for LATAM at Red Hat, to explore leadership through the lens of open source, global cultures, and building high-performing teams.Maria shares a memorable story from Japan (yes, ramen) to explain open source in a tangible way, then takes us inside what it means to lead across geographies, hire intentionally, and create momentum even when you don’t control all the variables.We also discuss Red Hat’s direction on AI, including RHEL AI and InstructLab, and what it means to approach AI the “Red Hat way” through openness and community.In this episode, we explore:A concrete, memorable explanation of open source (through the ramen industry)Why competitors collaborate on standards but still compete on differentiationLeading across cultures: US, Japan, LATAM (and how it shapes leadership)Taking on hard problems: persistence, learning, and influenceWhat product leadership looks like when communities choose what to buildMaria’s approach to recruitment and building cohesive teamsRed Hat’s AI direction: RHEL AI, InstructLab, and democratizing model tuningIf you lead in tech, build products with engineers, or want to understand open source as a leadership environment, this episode will give you practical shifts you can apply immediately.Find the transcript and the references in the companion blog post!