710: Neal Sample, former CIO of Northwestern Mutual, discusses his seasoned career as a technology executive across a variety of companies and how the role has evolved over the years. He explains both the enticing and challenging aspects of the CIO role and how it can translate into a broader set of responsibilities at a company. Neal also talks about his board-level experience and why companies, regardless of industry, should look to have a technologist on the board of directors. He looks ahead at his future career prospects, reflects on his pursuit of his Ph.D., provides advice for aspiring CIOs, and speaks to the trends in artificial intelligence and automation that he believes will become prominent in the years to come.
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709: Rich reflects on his career at the periodical and the insights he has gained on culture, politics, and the world of business. He talks about the recent Forbes Global CEO Conference in Singapore and debriefs Peter on the high-level takeaways about the foreign perspectives of the global economy, the trajectory of the U.S. economy, and anticipation of the Fed’s response. Rich also looks at his experiences in technology and how he has viewed the generational gap between understanding consumer technology and enterprise technology. Finally, Rich describes his view on entrepreneurship, the keys to his career success, and how he stays knowledgeable on a variety of topics.
708: Justin Mennen, Chief Digital and Technology Officer of Rite Aid, discusses the digital transformation of Rite Aid and how it is leveraging the symbiotic relationship between traditional and digital commerce. He details the hallmarks of a great digital experience, the way his team is structured, and how he has recruited and trained talent to be able to deliver the experience to the company’s customers. Justin describes how he determines when the company invests in shared services across the business versus when a dedicated solution is necessary as well as how the digital platforms increase traffic to the in-store experience. Finally, Justin reflects on the keys to his successful career and how trends in artificial intelligence and data will drive a new level of personalized experiences.
707: Michelle discusses the complexities of Cardinal Health’s business, the power of collaboration, and the company’s internal talent strategy. She gives an overview of how her teams are organized and a deeper look into the company’s technology commercialization engine Fuse and how it contrasts with the company’s digital office. Michelle also discusses how she works together within her executive time and focuses on implementing a culture of collaboration with her colleagues. She covers the recruiting and retraining strategy for employees relating to continuous improvement and diversity of thought and experience. Finally, Michelle talks about the keys to her career success and looks ahead at the trends in automation that are on her radar for the future.
706: Frank and Bhavani speak with Metis Strategy’s Chris Davis about creating innovative sustainable business models. Both executives share what sustainability means for their respective businesses and how technology unlocks new revenue streams. Frank gives insight into the use of industrial IoT at Chevron and looks at driving an ESG strategy through a global lens while Bhavani provides advice for executives operating outside the energy sector on how to build an effective ESG strategy at their companies.
705: Ash and Anil speak with Metis Strategy’s Mike Bertha about transforming a global IT operating model. Anil speaks to the company’s transition to a customer-centric operating model and the role that culture plays in bringing about this transformation. Ash discusses how the complex environment Dentons operates in is accommodated in the company’s operating model and how he is creating buy-in for a unified IT model from the non-technical executive team.
704: Marykay and Carman speak with Metis Strategy’s Steven Norton about driving strategic IT modernization efforts at their respective companies. Marykay gives insight into Pearson’s use of data and technology to engage with consumers and the metrics she looks at to gauge the progress being made in the company’s digital transformation. Carman shares how he is applying digital to the in-person experience at Dollar General’s stores and how consumer insights have driven the evolution of the company’s mobile app. Finally, both executives talk about the methods they’ve followed to future-proof their organizations and foster resilience.
703: Dak discusses the two sides of his purview and how data and technology help maximize value coming from the business. He gives his perspectives on data strategy, NRG’s emphasis on consumer products and services, and the role data and technology play in the company’s overall goals in sustainability, digital engagement, and product development. Dak talks about the universality of his experience in data, but how the unique value comes from how that experience is applied to the specific company and industry. Finally, he looks ahead at trends in the decarbonization of our economy and reflects on the keys to his career success.
702: In our conversation, we spoke about the future of work. Chandra discusses how the landscape is evolving as we come out of the pandemic and how companies are thinking about balancing in-person collaboration and workplace flexibility. She provides advice on how managers can be intentional about bringing employees back to the office and leverage data-driven insights to make the right decisions for their companies. Finally, Chandra reflects on her journey from CIO to CEO and why she believes the CIO role is a great training ground for future CEOs.
701: In a conversation from our Metis Strategy Digital Symposium in September, Kevin discusses the evolution of the cybersecurity landscape and the frameworks being adopted to manage this risk. Kevin talks specifically about the NIST Cybersecurity Framework, the new update the organization rolled out recently, and why global alignment is important to help US businesses remain competitive in global markets. Finally, he also talks about the future of cybersecurity, how companies are implementing better risk-management measurement capabilities, and why the introduction of quantum computing can pose a real threat to organizations.
