423: AES’ President and CEO Andrés Gluski discusses how AES is transitioning into cleaner energy. While the company’s coal technology was among the best in the world, AES realized that was not a sustainable driver of growth. Under Andrés’ leadership, the company has reduced its generation capacity from 60 percent coal to 30 percent, it has become a big builder of renewables, and it is looking to reduce its carbon footprint by 50 percent by 2022. We also discuss the advantages Andrés has enjoyed being from a multicultural family, AES’ work in China and India, the value Andrés gained from his education, among other topics.
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422: General Electric CIO Chris Drumgoole discusses the changes GE has made through a period of great change for the company. While the company led the way in outsourcing technology, Chris points out that that is not aligned with the digital world. Because of this, the company has decided to invest in IT talent and grow that capability within the company. Also, in an effort to modernize IT, the company has spent a great deal of time transforming end-user technology. We also discuss GE’s two-fold approach to attracting talent, how Chris looks to ride the fine line between standardization across business unit IT versus investing in solutions specific to one BU versus another. We also cover the cultural change afoot in the company and how the company is in the process of shifting from being a deep domain expert instead of a generalist, and a variety of other topics.
421: Steven Rogelberg, the author of “The Suprise Science of Meetings,” exposes the main reasons why meetings are inefficient and shares his tips on how organizations can improve the effectiveness of meetings. Steven points out that there are roughly 55 million meetings per day, and most of them are ineffective or at least suboptimal. He notes that part of the reason is that 20 percent of leaders ever receive any training on how to run a meeting, the training they do receive is not meaningful, organizations have no type of accountability on how their meetings are going, and no one in the organization is owning meetings. To improve meetings, Steven suggests that organizations consider shortening the meeting times, structuring meeting agendas around questions to be answered, banning the mute button for remote meetings, and limiting attendance at meetings to those who must be there. We also discuss the importance of being intentional in meetings, how Steven got the inspiration to write a book on meetings, how a positive mindset from the leader is the best predictor of the mood of the entire team, among other topics.
420: Blue Shield California CIO Michael Mathiasl discusses the company’s mission to move healthcare into the digital age, which is at the front and center of its agenda. Michael claims that as customer service is evolving, it is doing so around the digital experience, and since customers want to interact with the company in that way, that is what the company is driving towards. We also discuss how the CIO role has evolved to working more closely with the business, Michael’s take on artificial intelligence, Blue Shield of California’s enterprise architecture approach, among other topics.
419: Arity President Gary Hallgren highlights the three main issues in the transportation industry. Most importantly, driving is extremely inefficient as the average car is used for four percent of the day. Further, 40,000 people die on the roads each year, and driving is extremely expensive, both in time and money. To make a difference in these areas, Arity is working with shared mobility companies, insurance companies, and automobile companies to solve these issues. We also discuss why Gary believes fully autonomous vehicles are further away than many think, how the company mixes the stability, strength, and resources of a Fortune 80 company with the entrepreneurial spirit of a startup, how Arity attracts talent, among other topics.
418: GSK’s Chief Digital and Technology Officer Karenann Terrell discusses GSK’s 40, 50, 10 framework for thinking about technology and digital’s impact. The company spends 40 percent of its efforts on digital as usual, which involves its ability to change its landscape of looking cross-enterprise for strikes in value. It spends 50 percent on digital through a reinvention window of its existing business, and it spends 10 percent on the true disruption, which entails the high-end innovation of how digital is disrupting the business that the company works in. We also discuss the benefits Karenann gains from board membership, why GSK’s CEO added the CDO role as a remit to the technology organization, rather than separately, how GSK has looked to mix an infusion of talent externally with skilling the folks in a transformative way internally, among other topics.
417: C3.ai CEO Tom Seibel discusses how AI is going to impact commercial, industrial, and government systems. Tom believes that the global information technology market will jump from 3.5 trillion to 8.5 trillion in the next five years, mostly because of AI. This will be achieved by lowering the cost of production and delivering products and services with greater safety, greater cybersecurity, and lower environmental impact. That said, Tom recognizes the consequences of AI. He warns companies that if they do not adapt to new technologies, they will cease to be competitive, and he believes the U.S. will be in trouble if they do not win what he describes as a non-kinetic war over AI with China. We also Tom’s belief that large organizations have the advantage in the new generation of 21st-century technology, how Tom stays motivated after a long career of success, Tom’s view on the global rush at the boardroom and the CEO’s office to digitally transform their company, among other topics.
416: Aaron’s CIO John Trainor discusses the benefits of operating in a product mindset, rather than a project mindset. John’s team avoids the “throw it over the wall” approach to IT. Instead, the company strives to deploy working software into production as soon as possible. John argues that this product mindset leads to more cohesive teams and eliminates separate interests within the organization. We also discuss the tech landscape in Atlanta, John’s take on blockchain, the importance of having a fail-safe environment, among other topics.
415: Axon CEO Rick Smith shares his entrepreneurship journey and details how Axon has pursued its mission to protect life without taking life. The company began by selling TASERS to consumers as a way to incapacitate a threat without hurting them. However, when that failed to gain traction, the company began selling the weapon to police officers, which was a huge success. Later, the company pivoted to selling body-worn cameras backed by the cloud as a way to protect police officers and increase transparency between law enforcement and the public. We also discuss the future of facial recognition and AI in law enforcement, the Policing Technology Ethics Board the company has developed, Rick’s new book The End of Killing: How Our Newest Technologies Can Solve Humanity’s Oldest Problem, among other topics.
414: Comcast CIO Rick Rioboli details Comcast’s heavy focus on the customer experience and the unique focus of Comcast’s digital transformation. In addition to digital sales and e-commerce, the main emphasis of Comcast’s digital transformation is on self-service from a service and support standpoint, which involves enabling digital interactions and providing customers with a frictionless experience. We also discuss Comcast’s use of artificial intelligence, how the IT team partners with the rest of the business, an overview of the new Comcast Technology Center, among other topics.
