696: Rima speaks about the evolution of the telecom industry and how Verizon has pivoted its strategy along the way. She explains her purview as Chief Strategy Officer, how she engages different areas of the business to develop Verizon’s strategy and dives deeper into what the company’s 2022 strategic imperatives include. Rima also discusses the importance of Verizon’s partnerships with strategic partners and “hyperscalers”, highlighting the way her team invests in ecosystems and a few general principles that define a successful acquisition. Finally, Rima reflects on the trends in the telecom industry, the keys to her success in the industry, and the trends on Verizon’s horizon.
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695: Mike speaks about how the IT organization has stayed ahead of the company’s growth both organically and through acquisition. He describes the role that technology plays at a company as tactile as Crocs and how that technology has facilitated agility and scalability. Mike also covers how relationships with vendors have allowed the company to grow internationally at an impressive rate. He also discusses the processes of integrating the HEYDUDE acquisition, leveraging the perspective of a consumer to enhance the customer experience within IT, and maturing the data strategy behind Crocs. Finally, Mike looks ahead at the trends in automation and gives advice on the keys to his continued career success.
694: Kevin discusses the digital transformation of the quick-service restaurant industry and how the pandemic has impacted customer behaviors. He details the tech landscape he found at Wendy’s when he joined and the innovation he has driven to digitize the customer experience further. Kevin explains the recently announced “Next Gen Restaurant Design” of Wendy’s locations, the technology being implemented, and how it all comes together to improve and personalize the customer experience. He also describes the relationship he has with franchisees, how they help pilot innovative technology solutions, and how all business units work together to improve the mobile app experience. Finally, Kevin looks ahead at the trends in technology on his radar and reflects on the keys to his career success.
693: Frank discusses the role digital plays in Chevron’s overall strategy. As the first to occupy the role of CDO, Frank describes the responsibilities that fall under his new purview and how he has built his team drawing on talent from both inside and outside the company. He also covers how digital fits into the company’s three key strategic imperatives, customer and employee experiences, and efforts in providing clean reliable energy. Frank also touches on how he leverages ecosystems with startups to develop innovations and speaks to lessons he learned during the pandemic on how digital helps foster resilience at Chevron. Finally, he looks ahead at the trends in technology that excite him and reflects on the keys to his career success.
692: Jay discusses the way he collaborates and engages with his ecosystems, both internally and externally. He gives an overview of Clario’s business, the two sides of his purview, and his role’s impact on the company’s R&D efforts. Jay explains how he engages with the four constituent groups Clairo serves; clinical trial sites, sponsor organizations, patients, & internal customers; how he removes the internal barriers to collaboration, and how he retains company culture in a hybrid working environment. Finally, he weighs in on the benefits he has seen from his substantial social media presence, the trends that he is actively following, and the keys to his career success.
691: Huma discusses the creative ways artificial intelligence is being applied and the path ahead for combatting unconscious biases in AI models. She describes her purview at Intel and explains to Peter High the key differences between typical software and artificial intelligence software. Huma dives deep into the intersection of AI and creativity and shares the remarkable progress being made in the creation of things like art, podcasts, and more. Finally, Huma reiterates the importance of diversity when building AI models to eliminate biases and shares how companies, both AI and non-AI-focused, can improve the opportunities granted to diverse talent in the workplace.
690: Shanthi discusses the company’s immense growth and the transformation that arose as a result. Shanthi begins with what brought her to the company and what her purview entails as the company’s CIO. As a part of her role, she drives the employee experience and looks to improve it across areas like process automation and a consolidated and three-layered data strategy. Shanthi also reflects on her time at Cisco, the lessons she has brought with her to DocuSign, and how the role of the CIO has evolved over the years. Finally, she covers the state of women in technology, trends that excite her as she looks ahead, and the keys to her continued success in the field.
689: Earl discusses the company’s strategic pivot to focus on agility, resiliency, and business capability management. Earl begins with an overview of the company’s business and his role as CIO. As CIO, he covers the areas of importance on his priority list, the new business engagement model he has driven at the company, and the change management that arose as a result. Earl also speaks on bringing diversity into the workplace and the work he and others are doing to increase diverse talent in the workplace through the TechPACT organization. Earl also talks about the company’s increased focus on cybersecurity and how he is training his employees to be “CyberSMART”. Finally, Earl shares the trends in technology that he is looking forward to and gives advice on how others can reach the same level of success as he has had throughout his career.
688: Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and General Manager of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, shares his perspective on changing customer expectations and their impact on the future of work. He shares the hallmarks of great customer experience in the digital age, highlights shifting customer priorities, and articulates the ways in which companies are responding to these changes. He also discusses how hyper-automation is changing collaboration tools and shares his thoughts on what the future might hold. Finally, Thimaya looks ahead at other trends in technology on his radar, including the expansion of 5G and continued prevalence of data analytics.
687: In this interview, Keith discusses his remarkably diverse set of career experiences. Keith reflects on the evolution and adoption of robotics and the internet and the genesis behind Ariba. He also talks about the importance of trust in technology and how that paved the way for DocuSign. We then discuss his time in policy as Under Secretary of State and developing the Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue. Finally, Keith shares his perspective on current geopolitical topics including US-China relations, China’s relationship with Taiwan, and the future of tech diplomacy.
