626: Ather discusses the strategic changes at the company and how the three verticals he leads work together. Ather describes his purview in each of the verticals he leads; Strategy, Digital Platforms, and Innovation; and reflects on how the digital- and mobile-first strategy has evolved in the financial services industry. He talks about the ecosystems he’s built at the company, how they help knit together the three verticals, and what degree of coopetition exists in the space. Ather shares how good corporate strategy has changed in a time of digital disruption and what he believes successful innovation looks like. He shares how Wells Fargo’s Innovation Team operates and how it evaluates the true value-add innovations that will change the needle at the company. Finally, Ather looks ahead at increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion at the company, what the future of work looks like, and trends in technology.
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This episode is sponsored by Transmit Security.
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625: Ralph discusses the role of IT in the company’s strategic roadmap. Ralph talks about the areas of emphasis in Lumentum’s current strategy for IT including developing a data strategy, navigating cybersecurity, and improving technological footprint on the factory floor. Additionally, he discusses the changing dynamics in the war for talent and how the relationship between employee and employer has shifted during the pandemic. Finally, Ralph covers the similarities across industries he’s been in, how he built his ecosystem, and how he leverages learnings from the VC community to move on the trends coming out of it.
624: Warren discusses the transformation of Turner Construction and the expansion of his CIO responsibilities. Warren begins with his purview as CIO, gives details around the expanded responsibilities in his role surrounding marketing and communications, and how the impact of IT inside and outside of the company creates a rationale for the combined responsibilities. He also discusses the change management in standardizing tech within an industry that is a traditionally late-stage adopter of IT. Warren tells how this standardization builds a better foundation for data strategy at the company and how leveraging that technology and data can have positive impacts on large-scale projects like the company’s joint project constructing the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. Finally, Warren shares lessons from the partial return-to-office, how his unique perspective has driven the expansion of the CIO role, and trends in technology that he is focused on for the future.
623: Scot discusses the origination of Arc XP and broadening the technology’s applications beyond The Washington Post and the media/publishing industry. Scot tells the story of how Arc XP began within The Washington Post and compares its genesis to that of AWS at Amazon. He then describes the broader possibilities and applications of Arc XP beyond media and how he balances the competitive advantage of the technology and the controversial nature of sharing it with competitors. Scot shares how he leverages his past experiences outside of media to help with these broader applications, how he builds the skill set of his team, and how his vision for expansion is driven by where the talent is located. Finally, Scot talks about the growth opportunities at Arc XP and the advantages of having regular access to someone like Jeff Bezos.
622: Kevin Eamigh discusses the two sides of his responsibilities in his role and why it was a logical step for him to take on the Global Business Services responsibilities. He also talks about his role in developing connected products for the company and his team’s work on providing customers with self-service options. Finally, Kevin spends some time reflecting on his tenure as CIO, the evolution of the role throughout his career, and trends in technology that he and his team are following.
621: Michael discusses the development and implementation of Next Generation Technology at Citizens Financial. Michael begins with his purview as Chief Information Officer and describes the Next Gen Tech Transformation Program at the company. He talks briefly about the broader impact of IT, enhancing engineering talent through leveraging partners and in-house academy programs, and building up the momentum for using APIs at the company. Finally, Michael provides an example of the Next Gen Tech in action at the company, what the process of modernizing a 200-year-old company looks like, and trends in technology that he sees as being important in the years ahead.
620: Mike Davies discusses the relevance and impact of neuromorphic computing on Intel as a company and the world more generally. Mike gives a bird’s-eye view of what neuromorphic computing aims to achieve and the relationship it has to traditional forms of artificial intelligence and deep learning. He breaks down the near-, medium-, and long-term implications the technology could have on how we think about computing capabilities and the technology and cost challenges that his team is working to overcome. A key component of commercializing this technology is the collaboration with partners, and Mike spends a moment discussing how he looks to curate an ecosystem of academics and corporations to help deliver this technology as well as how he collaborates internally with other groups within Intel Labs.
619: Mike, Diane, and Vijay of Johnson Controls discuss how the three executive roles fit together and how digital and technological innovation are shaping the 136-year-old company. Each explains their purview within their respective roles and how these roles share governance and collaborate with one another. Vijay expands on how his team was built by centralizing various disparate capabilities across the company as a means to create value and discusses the learnings from Johnson Control’s Open Blue platform. Mike shares the strategic nature of technology at Johnson Controls and what the future of work looks like coming out of the pandemic. Diane then talks about enabling the employee experience at the company and expands on the company’s view of the hybrid work strategy. Finally, the executives provide a look ahead at future opportunities to leverage technology and digital at the company.
This episode is sponsored by Transmit Security and Zoho.
618: Tom discusses the strategic plan for Sysco’s digital transformation and the impact on the B2B customer interaction. Tom provides his purview as both the CIO and CDO and gives his perspective on the five strategic pillars for the company’s Recipe for Growth. He talks about bringing a B2C sensibility to the B2B transactions, focusing on customer engagements and customer journeys, and fostering resilience at the company during the pandemic. Tom also shares how he is not only looking at new solutions for the customer but also how to better position his team for innovation through diversity and inclusion. Finally, Tom discusses tech trends and areas within the company that he looks to focus on in the future.
617: Jonathan and Wouleta share their perspectives on the digital transformation of the fast-casual restaurant. Jonathan provides his vision for optimizing the restaurant business through innovation and digitization, how he sees the pandemic’s impact on digital customer interaction, and why now is the perfect time to fill the role of the Chief Technology Officer for the company. Wouleta then shares why Sweetgreen was the next best move in her career, what her purview entails as CTO, and how she plans to drive value at the company through technology and leveraging her experience from prior CTO roles. Finally, Jonathan discusses the company’s strategy in balancing geographic expansion and expansion through digitization and innovation.
