674: In this interview, Paul Ballew, Chief Data and Analytics Officer of the NFL, discusses the role that data and analytics play in the most famous American sports, as well as the evolution of the disciplines associated with each from across his career. He reflects on the early stages of his journey in data and analytics, the limitations he faced throughout its evolution, and how it’s being used now for personalizing the customer experience across the NFL’s constituent groups. Paul also describes how the roles in data analytics have changed, why Chief Data Officer tenures tend to be shorter on average, and the way the teams and reporting relationships have changed throughout the years. Finally, Paul talks about how his background suits him well for a position on the board of Hyatt Hotels, trends in analytics that excite him, and the keys to success that he believes have led to his career ascension.
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673: In this interview, Thomas Kurian, Chief Executive Officer of Google Cloud, discusses the future ahead for cloud technology. He begins with an assessment of where we as a society are currently in the evolution of cloud computing and how Google’s Cloud Platform differs from the rest of the players in the space. Thomas then describes Google’s ambitious mission of training 40 million people on cloud technology, why it’s important, and how Google plans on achieving it. Finally, Thomas looks ahead at the future of work and the role technology and collaboration tools will play in managing a hybrid workforce.
672: In this interview, Nick shares the remarkable work Avery Dennison and IT more specifically, are doing relative to environmental, social, and governance or ESG goals, a topic of great consequence and interest to many technology and digital executives currently. Nick shares the three goals in ESG and how each connects to both doing good and good business practices. He talks about the impacts of this ESG strategy on recruiting, IT, and the CIO role more specifically. Finally, Nick looks ahead at trends in sustainability and the work that he hopes to achieve at Avery Dennison in the near future.
671: In this interview, Chris discusses some of the necessary ingredients that he and his team have put in place in order to bring about the company’s remarkable transformation. Chris talks about the broader strategy of the company, the power of the CIO role in driving unique value, and how the company’s strategy contains both an internal and external lens. He addresses some of the impediments to transformation in the industrial sector, describes the process of recruiting and retaining top talent, and upskilling talent within and outside the organization to deliver the art of the possible. Finally, Chris looks ahead at the trends in technology and talent he has on his radar and the keys to his career success.
670: In this interview, Willard discusses the topic of continuous modernization and innovation through co-creation. Will begins with an overview of The Hanover Insurance Group’s business model and the two sides of his purview. He shares his career journey through various roles in IT, operations, and other business lines; how they culminated in his current role in both IT and innovation; and how they have positioned him to better seize opportunities in innovation. Will also covers how his team is set up, its intersections across the rest of the business, and the role of IT in the agent, customer, and employee journeys. Finally, Will touches on the role of data and analytics at the company, his perspective on rising InsurTech players, future trends, and the keys to his career success.
669: In this interview, we cover the topic of value-driven development and creating tangible value through digital. Sanjib shares how he looks at internal processes and behaviors to model those of the customers and helps improve the external practices which Ingram Micro adopts. He discusses the vision at Ingram Micro, the internal cultural change that is necessary to achieve the vision, and how he recruits and retains top talent to drive that vision. Finally, he looks ahead at the tech trends he is excited about and talks about what he views as the key to his career success.
668: In this interview, Maya covers the company’s mission of “delivering value faster” to customers and leveraging technology to improve the customer experience. She begins by reflecting on the challenges American has faced during the COVID-19 Pandemic, the new sources of innovation that arose during the time, and how the next generation strategic initiatives that began at the company prior to the pandemic became a major source of resilience. Maya also discusses how technology is being leveraged to improve customer and employee experiences, how her experience as President of AAdvantage Loyalty Program influenced how she views the customer experience, and how her long tenure as CIO has opened up a world of opportunities. Finally, she talks about her personal and professional growth as a woman in technology, the trends she is excited to see in customer experience design, and the keys to her continued success.
667: In this interview, Dave covers the topic of how Upstart is leveraging artificial intelligence models to increase people’s access to credit. He provides an overview of the company’s business model, how it collects the data it uses across multiple constituents, and the learning process he went through during the development of the company. He then describes the way artificial intelligence fits into the model, why this approach is its differentiator, and what hurdles he faced along the way. Finally, Dave talks about the company’s IPO, why this was the right time to go public, and how his experience building out Google’s cloud business set him up for success with Upstart.
666: In this interview, Pres. Vicente Fox covers the topic of leadership and the key traits that determine a successful leader. He starts by giving a thumbnail sketch of the state of politics currently in Mexico and other Latin American countries and describes the evolution that Mexico has undergone to become a hub for technology and talent in the global economy. Pres. Fox also shares his perspective on the current war in Ukraine and why leadership needs to be both compassionate and purposeful in order for it to work. Finally, Pres. Fox talks about what makes him optimistic for the future and the work that he is doing now to make it a better place for everyone.
665: Prakash covers the topic of Autodesk’s transformation into a customer-centric organization with a focus on people and processes. Prakash provides an overview of Autodesk’s business, his purview as CIO, and what the migration towards customer-centricity has looked like. He describes the way his role as an IT leader and consumer of cloud services prepared him for the transformation at Autodesk as well as how his various roles at the company have given him a unique perspective in IT. Specifically, Prakash looks at the way IT has played a role in improving both the customer and employee experience, recruiting top talent, and providing growth opportunities for current talent at the company. Finally, Prakash looks at the trends in technology that his team is focusing on and what the keys to success were in his personal career path.
