Palantir CIO Jim Siders on Leading a Hyper-Efficient IT Organization

March 20, 2025

More Ways to Listen

LISTEN TO PODCAST

Subscribe on Your Favorite Platform

Other Platforms

About the Guest

Jim Siders

Chief Information Officer of Palantir

Jim Siders is the Chief Information Officer of Palantir, overseeing IT, cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, compliance, and internal business systems. He has been with the company for over 12 years, serving as CIO for the past three. Jim’s leadership has been instrumental in transitioning Palantir’s IT organization into a hyper-efficient, federated model. Uniquely, Jim did not start in technology—his early career was in music, with a master’s degree from Carnegie Mellon before pivoting into IT. His unconventional background has fueled a fresh approach to IT leadership, focusing on agility, resilience, and AI-powered transformation.

Episode Overview

How does Palantir, a $3.7 billion data analytics powerhouse, run its own IT operations? In this episode of Technovation, host Peter High sits down with Jim Siders, Chief Information Officer of Palantir, to explore his unique journey from a career in music to leading one of the most efficient IT teams in the industry.

Jim discusses Palantir’s Customer Zero strategy, the company’s federated IT model, and how it has streamlined operations from 200+ IT staff to under 80 while continuing to scale. He also shares his views on AI’s role in IT, the elimination of traditional Centers of Excellence, and why breaking legacy IT structures is key to innovation.

Key Takeaways:

Why Palantir’s IT team is “Customer Zero” and how it shapes the company’s products
The radical efficiency model that reduced IT headcount while increasing impact
How AI, cloud, and automation are redefining enterprise IT strategy
Lessons from Jim’s unconventional career shift from classical music to CIO

Podcast: Play in new window | Download