The CTO Podcast · Insights & Strategies for Chief Technology Officers Navigating the C-Suite while Balancing Technical Strategy, Team Management, & Innovation

Ryan Kari, CTO of MagCanica: Revolutionizing Motorsports with Torque Sensors and the Art of CTO Leadership

·48 min·3 clips

Ryan says he spends about 40% of his time shining a flashlight on problems instead of micromanaging.

1. The CTO Podcast episode centers on Ryan Kari and Mechanica's torque-sensor work in Formula One and motorsport. 2. Etienne de Bruin interviews Ryan Kari, CTO of Mechanica, and Ryan matters because he leads a company whose sensors sit inside racing drivetrains. 3. The episode asks how Mechanica's torque sensors support racing performance, regulation, and CTO leadership. 4. Ryan says Mechanica's history starts in 2001 and traces back to Ivan Garchelis, who brought snake-needle elastic torque-sensing technology to Ford's Formula One team. 5. Ryan defines torque as rotational force, compares it to twisting a door handle, and ties torque times speed directly to power. 6. He explains that Formula One cars, hybrid units, and gearbox states create multiple places where torque measurement matters. 7. Ryan says the sensors are small cylinders placed over shafts, with magnetic field sensors, signal conditioning, and a DSP or microcontroller. 8. He describes measuring at engine outputs and half shafts, including the differential, to understand power flow to the wheels. 9. Ryan says the system streams data in real time and also stores full data at the end of the race through the ECU and CAN bus. 10. He notes that Mechanica sends not only torque but also temperature and peak-torque data captured at 20 kilohertz. 11. Ryan says Mechanica prefers to stay below the radar because more media coverage mostly means more spam. 12. He says the company is featured in Autosport and other motorsport publications, but the customers and future markets already know the product. 13. Ryan explains that LM GT3 and LMH use the sensor output for balance of performance, including a 500-kilowatt wheel-output limit. 14. He says the governing body can penalize cars that exceed those limits, which keeps racing close. 15. Ryan says Formula One bans control of the cars and traction control, because the point is to keep the driver in charge. 16. He uses ground effects and cornering speed to show how much skill Formula One drivers need compared with normal road driving. 17. Ryan describes Mechanica as a San Diego company with about 30 to 35 full-time staff. 18. He says the team includes mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, firmware and infrastructure people, technicians, and calibration staff. 19. Ryan describes his CTO style as asking questions, avoiding micromanagement, and spending about 40% of his time exploring problems before backing away. 20. He says delegation works best as autonomy plus guidance, while "delegate invention" is difficult when the team and resource size are limited.

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