Meet an Enrich Member: Steve Evans
Today we’re kicking off a new series, highlighting some of the amazing leaders who are members of Enrich. First up, is Steve Evans, SVP of Engineering at Chegg.
Can you share a quick bio to kick us off?
I'm the SVP of Engineering at Chegg, an edtech for college students. I used to be based in the Bay Area but my wife and I moved back to Seattle after our kids finished school. We now live here in the Pacific Northwest with our three dogs and our pickleball rackets.
What was your first job? What did you learn there?
My first job in high school was doing bookkeeping at a construction company. I learned how to use Quickbooks, balance a checkbook, reconcile credit card statements, and more.
My first job in tech was working at the Helpdesk in a department at SDSU. That grew into a full time job after I stopped going to class so I could work more… and then I got kicked out of school. They gave me way too much responsibility early on, but that launched my career.
From there I started doing system level work. At my next job, my boss took on a second team and needed a team lead — I looked around and didn’t want anyone else to be the team lead, so I raised my hand. Not the most noble reason to start, but that’s how I started on the management track.
What’s something interesting you’ve used AI for recently?
I’ve taken a bunch of pictures of my backyard and have asked it how to make improvements to the landscaping. I used ChatGPT — I’m on the $20/month plan. The suggestions ChatGPT came back with were honestly just OK. It struggled a bit with stitching together the entire context of the backyard. I tried to do a video but it still struggled a bit. I’m going to take another pass with specific areas to figure out which plants to pull out and put in.
What’s something you’ve changed your mind about recently? (Finish this sentence: I used to think X. But now I know Y)
I used to think that OpenAI wasn’t interested in being a consumer company, and only wanted to provide models and be the plumbing for GenAI for the internet. But now I know that they want to be the everything company.
What’s something you want to get better at this year?
Besides pickleball?
I started playing in October. I play in a ladder league — you play every week and depending on how well you do you move up or down the ladder. You rotate partners. As the weeks go on you are playing with people of similar skillsets. I’ve been in first place two weeks in a row, which is really exciting. It’s fun to be a beginner and then get better.
On the work side of things: As a tech leader going through a massive evolution (AI), ironically I think the human connection is going to become even more important. Connecting with our people, grounding them in the company purpose, understanding their purpose, etc, is going to become more and more critical. AI tools are going to help us do this eventually, but being really intentional and thoughtful about how to lead through this transition is something I spend a lot of time thinking about and focusing on.
What books are on your bedside table or Kindle?
For fiction; I almost exclusively read from the Reese Witherspoon book club list. I'm really bad at picking books so I just let her do it for me. I don't do favorites; that’s like picking a favorite kid!
For non-fiction; I recently read Inspired and Empowered by Marty Cagan and really enjoyed them. I'm a big fan of anything by Michael Lewis.
The book I recommend the most is Getting Things Done by David Allen.
Who is your dream Enrich member? Who would you like to be in a peer group with and/or sit next to at dinner?
I think this question is antithetical to Enrich. The great thing about Enrich is the best idea can come from anybody. Nobody is special. So my dream Enrich member is a random person who has the right insight on the right day.
Where can we find you outside of the Enrich network? (link to social/LinkedIn etc)
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/loudsteve/
