Elizabeth Stone is the Chief Product and Technology Officer (CPTO) at Netflix, where she oversees Engineering, Product, and Design. Since her first appearance on the podcast two years ago—which remained my second-most-popular episode for more than a year—she has expanded her role to lead product, in addition to engineering. Before Netflix, Elizabeth was VP of Science at Lyft, Chief Operating Officer at Nuna, an economist at Analysis Group, and a trader at Merrill Lynch.

In our in-depth conversation, we discuss: 1. Why “systems thinking” is now the most important skill she looks for 2. How to manage the flood of AI-generated output without losing quality or signal 3. How Netflix thinks about AI fluency as a universal expectation rather than a level-specific skill 4. What “excellence as an operating system” means — Brought to you by: WorkOS—Make your app enterprise-ready, with SSO, SCIM, RBAC, and more: workos.com/lenny Mercury—Radically different banking, now with Command: mercury.com/command — Episode transcript: lennysnewsletter.com/p/netflix-… — Archive of all Lenny's Podcast transcripts: dropbox.com/scl/fo/yxi4s2w998p1… — Where to find Elizabeth Stone: • LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-stone… — Where to find Lenny: • Newsletter: lennysnewsletter.com • X: • LinkedIn: — In this episode, we cover: — Referenced: • How Netflix builds a culture of excellence | Elizabeth Stone (CTO): • Brian Chesky’s new playbook: • The design process is dead. Here’s what’s replacing it. | Jenny Wen (head of design at Claude): • Claude Code: • Claude Cowork: • Netflix’s “Keeper Test” and Why You Need It | Lorne Rubis: • Innovation for Filmmaking, By Filmmakers: Why InterPositive Is Joining Netflix: • InterPositive: • Netflix Prize: • Quarterback on Netflix: • The Bill Simmons Podcast on Netflix: • Spencer Pratt on Instagram: • Salman Rushdie’s Substack: • Remarkably Bright Creatures on Netflix: • Eight Sleep: • Tour de France: — Recommended books: • Thinking in Systems: • Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster: • Liar’s Poker: — Production and marketing by . For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com. — Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.