576: In this interview, Dave gives his perspective on the similarities and differences between the CIO and CDO roles and the way they relate to driving business transformations. In this combined role, he explains the importance of cultivating great relationships with business partners, prioritizing high-value drivers, and learning to be agile in adapting to the rapidly changing technology landscape. Within Merck, Dave speaks to the insights arising from the company’s transition from a project-focused to product-focused model, the advantages from its investment in cloud technology, and the use of data analytics and AI/ML to make decisions and assess risks. Finally, we discuss the risk of companies losing focus and falling into “tech for tech’s sake”, learnings from the pandemic, and industry trends towards quantum computing.
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575: In this interview, Scott discusses Wyndham’s investments in the cloud and various platforms, how the company leverages them to meet the needs of various constituent groups, and how the insights his team draws from them help drive the broader business strategy. Scott also explains the technology implications behind Wyndham’s spin-off, the acquisition of La Quinta, the pandemic, and how the company managed and changed at such a rapid pace throughout these major points in his career. Finally, we discuss what the future looks like for the hospitality industry and some of the trends he sees coming out of the pandemic.
497: Cushman & Wakefield CIO & CDO Adam Stanley discusses
Among a variety of other topics.
460: Syngenta Group chief information and digital officer Greg Meyers asserts that we are now heading into the third wave of technology change, which he believes can help reverse some of the effects that we have seen with climate change. Agriculture is responsible for about one third of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, and it consumes about 70 percent of the world’s freshwater supply, which is 30 percent more than we can naturally replenish. This third wave entails bringing computer and data science to the farms to try to find these breakthroughs that allow farmers to continue to increase food production as the world population grows in a way that is more regenerative, keeps more carbon in the soils, and allows us to conserve more water. We also discuss the extreme difference between different market segments that the company operates in, the talent landscape in Switzerland, the evolution of IT going from trying to get IT on the agenda of management teams to extreme excitement around the function, among other topics.
451: Dow CIO and CDO Melanie Kalmar recaps the merger with DuPont, subsequent executive shuffle, and ultimately the spinoff that resulted in Dow and two other publicly traded companies, Corteva and Dupont. The new Dow is a material science company that heavily invests in research and development and collaborating with customers to drive innovation. She notes that mergers present an opportunity to invest in future capabilities, and that Dow invested heavily in its digital transformation. We also discuss the expansion of her role to include the CDO title, the three anchors of Dow’s digital and IT strategy, her interest in artificial intelligence and Dow’s artificial intelligence competency center, and a variety of other topics.
443: In this interview, Sanjeev discusses how AES is applying its digital vision and strategy across the core business, specifically technologies such as strategic data platforms, artificial intelligence, IoT, and robotics. Sanjeev also elaborates on AES’s three strategic dimensions and five specific themes in their plan for digital transformation. Additionally, Sanjeev shares how he developed the framework for growth when he arrived at AES Corp in October of 2018 and how far AES has come since then. We also discuss the importance of cultural transformation, the customer experience, Sanjeev’s experience as a board member, among other topics.
Previously: Listen to our interview with AES CEO Andres Gluski.
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.
407: Hunt Consolidated, Inc. CIO and CDO Diane Schwarz describes her methodology for transitioning into new executive roles using her arrival at Hunt to explain the 90-day process. Extensive planning, learning the business and stakeholders, meeting the company, and, lastly, focusing on suppliers develops the extensive knowledge of an organization needed to effectively lead it. Diane emphasizes the importance of understanding company culture to successfully rally support for changes to foundational pieces of IT, which she did at Hunt after careful investigation and planning. We also discuss the agile skills required for employees working in technology today, Diane’s journey to her leadership role as a woman in a male-dominated field, and the future of women in STEM.
Bask is the EVP Dell Digital and Chief Information and Digital Officer Dell and VMware. In those roles, he oversees the critical technology systems supporting some of the world’s largest global business and commerce operations. He is also responsible for driving Dell and VMware’s digital transformation to accelerate outcomes; deliver world-class experiences; and share the team’s best practices using technologies, services and solutions from both companies.
Prior to working at Dell and VMware, Bask was the Group Senior Vice President of Business Operations and the Chief Information Officer of Juniper Networks. Before Juniper Networks, Bask was the Group Chief Information Officer of Honeywell. Prior to Honeywell, Bask was a divisional Chief Information Officer of GlaxoSmithKline.
Bask received his Bachelors of Science in Engineering from Annamalai University as well as his Masters of Science in Computer Science from the Florida Institute of Technology.
Gurmeet is the Senior Vice President, Chief Digital Officer, and Chief Information Officer of 7-Eleven. As Chief Digital and Information Officer, Gurmeet leads 7-Eleven’s full stack digital and technology transformation, and is responsible for digital product management, big data, digital user experience, digital partnerships, digital marketing, digital technology, enterprise technology, and R&D.
Prior to 7-Eleven, Gurmeet was Head of Direct to Consumer Auto Finance at Capital One where he grew the digital consumer tripled the revenue of the business in less than two years. Before Capital One, Gurmeet led product marketing at Intuit as a Director. Before Intuit, Gurmeet was a Managing Director at FedEx. Gurmeet began his career as a consultant with McKinsey & Company.
Gurmeet received a Bachelor of Technology from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, his Masters of Science in Engineering from Texas A&M University, and his PhD in Engineering from Rice University.
