Montreal Marketeers Episode 30 – Matt Sakaguchi on Building High-Performing Teams

On Episode 30 of the Montreal Marketeers Podcast, we explore what it takes to create and sustain high-performing teams with Matt Sakaguchi, site reliability manager at Google.

Matt brings a fascinating perspective to team leadership, drawing from his diverse experiences in the SWAT unit, Sony, Walmart, and now at Google, where he runs Site Reliability Engineering teams for Android and Google Play. In this episode, he shares stories about resilience, learning from setbacks, and the value of having a clear mission. Matt emphasizes that building successful teams is about more than technical skills: it’s about trust, communication, and knowing how to get back up when life knocks you down.

Listeners will also hear how Matt’s unconventional career path taught him the importance of adaptability, learning from every experience and the power of making your own luck. If you aspire to lead or contribute to outstanding teams, this conversation offers actionable insights and plenty of inspiration.

Show Highlights and Topics

• Duration: 66 minutes

• How experience in a SWAT team shaped his team philosophy

• Lessons from Sony, Walmart, Google, and more

• Resilience: getting back up after setbacks

• The importance of learning, not just failing

• Making your own luck in business and life

• The value of having a single, clear mission for teams