CXO Secrets by EDS

Technology transformation isn't just about replacing outdated systems or adopting the latest innovations. It's about building the right foundations, connecting technology to business priorities and making sure every investment delivers real value.

In this episode of CXO Secrets, David McClelland sits down with Serge Lengagne, Group CIO & Director of Technology, Data & AI at KRYS GROUP, to explore how he is transforming the technology foundations of one of France's leading optical retail groups. With close to 2,000 points of sale, its own lens manufacturing capabilities and a complex operation spanning retail, manufacturing and supply chain, Serge shares how he is aligning technology and data with the group's wider business ambitions.

Serge discusses why transformation must go beyond updating legacy systems, how a strong ERP foundation supports everything from inventory management to customer experience, and why organisations should focus on building the capabilities that differentiate their business rather than reinventing existing technology. He also explores the practical application of AI, explaining why organisations should start with business problems, make the most of capabilities already available in their technology platforms and avoid confusing impressive demonstrations with scalable transformation. Throughout the conversation, Serge reflects on the importance of communication, engineering discipline and breaking complex challenges into manageable steps.

Topics include:

• Transforming technology from a support function into a driver of business performance
• Modernising legacy ERP systems and building stronger technology foundations
• Aligning technology and data strategy with business ambitions
• Managing complexity across retail, manufacturing and supply chain operations
• Using ERP to improve inventory visibility, procurement and operational efficiency
• Building a transformation roadmap around business capabilities rather than a shopping list of technologies
• Why sequencing matters when delivering long-term transformation programmes
• Communicating transformation priorities and progress across the organisation
• Deciding what to build internally and what to buy from established technology providers
• Focusing internal development on the capabilities that differentiate the business
• Applying AI to real business problems rather than pursuing innovation for its own sake
• Making the most of AI capabilities already built into existing enterprise platforms
• Why a successful AI demonstration doesn't necessarily translate into scalable transformation
• Improving prescription recognition accuracy through AI
• Using data intelligently to improve business operations and customer experience
• Breaking complex problems into smaller, manageable steps
• Why simplifying, challenging and benchmarking solutions helps raise the bar
• Applying engineering discipline and structured thinking to technology leadership

As AI becomes embedded in everyday business operations, technology leaders face a growing security challenge. Attackers can use AI to scale their operations, identify vulnerabilities and launch more attacks, while employees are using it to write code, build applications and automate tasks without always understanding the risks. For CIOs, CTOs and CISOs, the challenge is knowing how to embrace AI without giving it access to information, systems and networks it shouldn't reach.

In this episode of CXO Secrets, David McClelland sits down with Michael Jenkins, Chief Technology Officer at ThreatLocker, to explore how AI is changing the cybersecurity landscape and why zero trust is becoming increasingly important. Drawing on his experience in email security, IT and ransomware prevention, Michael shares how the threats facing organisations have evolved and why preventing attacks is more effective than repeatedly recovering from them.

Michael explains why the biggest risk with AI isn't necessarily its intelligence, but the level of access organisations give it. He discusses how employees can unintentionally introduce vulnerabilities by using AI-generated code, why banning AI can drive people towards unapproved tools, and how businesses can establish the right controls to support adoption safely. He also explores the importance of least privilege, the practical challenges of implementing zero trust, and why security needs to be embedded across an organisation rather than applied selectively.

Throughout the conversation, Michael shares his perspective on the future of AI-powered attacks, the importance of educating employees and why building a strong security culture requires consistency, collaboration and a willingness to challenge established ways of working.

Topics include:

• How AI is increasing the scale and volume of cyberattacks
• Why attackers can exploit AI-generated code even when it isn't perfect
• The security risks of employees building applications with AI
• Shadow AI and the dangers of using unapproved tools
• Why banning AI can create greater risks for data protection
• Why the real AI security problem is access, not intelligence
• Applying zero trust principles to AI agents, applications and employees
• Using least privilege to limit access to sensitive data and systems
• How organisations can enable AI adoption without compromising security
• Why AI-generated code still requires human review
• Moving from ransomware recovery to proactive attack prevention
• Lessons from investigating organisations repeatedly hit by ransomware
• Implementing zero trust without unnecessarily disrupting employees
• Why security education and clear communication are essential to successful change
• Preparing for an increase in AI-powered attacks and less predictable threat actors
• Why effective technology leaders encourage their teams to challenge established practices

As organisations grow through acquisitions and AI becomes part of everyday work, technology leaders face a difficult balancing act: enabling innovation while keeping risk under control. For businesses operating across hundreds of locations, maintaining consistency, protecting sensitive information and giving teams the right tools can quickly become complex.
In this episode of CXO Secrets, David McClelland sits down with Brent Forrest, CISO at Crash Champions, to explore how security leadership evolves in a rapidly growing, decentralised business. With Crash Champions expanding from around 40 locations in 2020 to more than 650 across 38 states, Brent shares how he approaches security at scale, manages third-party risk and helps the organisation navigate the opportunities and challenges of AI.
Brent discusses why sharing security documentation with third parties can create unnecessary exposure, how to approach security across physical repair environments, and why AI governance needs to keep pace with adoption. He also explores the rise of shadow AI, the importance of using enterprise-approved tools, and why AI should enhance human capabilities rather than replace them. Throughout the conversation, Brent reflects on the role of curiosity, practical risk management and people development in building a stronger security function.
Topics include:- Scaling cybersecurity across a business that has grown from 40 to more than 650 locations- Maintaining security consistency across a decentralised organisation- Managing cybersecurity risks during acquisitions and rapid expansion
- Rethinking third-party risk assessments and security questionnaires- Why sharing network diagrams and internal security policies can create additional risk- Finding safer ways to demonstrate security controls to third parties- Addressing operational technology security in collision repair environments- Establishing AI governance as adoption accelerates across the business- Understanding the risks of shadow AI and unapproved tools- Why enterprise-approved AI tools matter for data protection- Balancing AI innovation with security, privacy and governance- Using AI to review policies and identify opportunities for improvement- Why AI should enhance human capabilities rather than replace people- Keeping security controls practical as technology and business needs evolve- Developing teams and helping people grow within cybersecurity- Balancing business enablement with responsible risk management

AI has changed the threat landscape for email security. Attackers can now use generative AI to create highly personalised, convincing messages that are designed to look completely normal - making traditional approaches based on rules, reputation and abnormal patterns increasingly difficult to rely on.

In this episode of CXO Secrets, David McClelland sits down with Alan LeFort, CEO and Co-Founder of StrongestLayer, to explore how email threats have evolved from simple phishing templates to sophisticated AI-powered attacks, and what organisations need to do differently to keep up.

Alan explains why AI-powered attacks are becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish from legitimate communications, how attackers are using personalisation and trusted infrastructure to evade existing defences, and why understanding intent and context is becoming critical to detecting threats that have never been seen before.

The conversation also explores the role of humans in cybersecurity. Rather than treating people as the weakest link, Alan argues that organisations should give employees the right protection and use their business knowledge and context as part of the security process.

Topics include:

• How email threats have evolved across three generations of attacks
• Why traditional rules and reputation-based security are becoming less effective
• How generative AI is enabling highly personalised and convincing attacks
• The rise of "perfect doppelgangers" that can make malicious and legitimate emails almost indistinguishable
• Why attackers are using trusted brands and infrastructure to bypass security controls
• Understanding intent, context and personalisation when analysing email threats
• The rise of AI-powered and agentic approaches to email security
• Adversary-in-the-middle phishing and why it is difficult for traditional technologies to detect
• How attackers continuously evolve their techniques to bypass security controls
• Why humans should not be treated as the weakest link in cybersecurity
• Using employees' business knowledge and context as part of the security layer
• The balance between security awareness and protecting people from threats they cannot reasonably be expected to spot
• Reducing false positives while improving threat detection
• The importance of feedback loops in building effective AI security systems
• How AI is changing the way security teams need to think about risk
• Designing organisations around AI, not just deploying AI tools
• Why leaders need to think differently about organisational structure in an AI-powered workplace
• The importance of becoming more of a generalist and developing strong mental models in the age of AI
• Alan's leadership lessons from across cybersecurity, email security and AI

Technology transformation is moving beyond screens and software. In industries built around physical products, it is creating new ways to design, build and deliver - from robotics and prefabrication to AI-powered decision-making and more connected operations.

In this episode of CXO Secrets, David McClelland sits down with Michon Williams, Chief Technology and Information Officer at Mattamy Homes, to explore how technology is helping reshape one of the world's most physical industries. Drawing on her experience across banking, retail and homebuilding, Michon shares how she is bringing lessons from previous waves of digital transformation into a new era of innovation at Mattamy.

Michon discusses the move towards prefabricated and modular homebuilding, the role of robotics in creating greater speed and affordability, and how AI is being used to identify opportunities, support operations and bring together knowledge across a highly decentralised business. She also explores the challenge of balancing local autonomy with consistency, why organisations need to understand what they know and what they don't know before deploying AI, and why curiosity has remained one of her most important leadership traits.

Topics include:

• Bringing technology transformation into the physical world of homebuilding

• Using robotics and prefabrication to improve speed and affordability

• What homebuilding can learn from banking and retail transformation

• The role of AI in land buying, scheduling, trades and operations

• Balancing local autonomy with central technology consistency

• Creating the data and process foundations needed for effective AI

• Turning tacit organisational knowledge into usable insights

• Building Mattamy's AI-powered "alignment engine"

• Using AI to connect people, processes and knowledge across the organisation

• Understanding what you know - and what you don't know - before deploying AI

• Why technology transformation is ultimately a business transformation

• The changing role of technology in physical products and spaces

• Managing the opportunities and economics of AI

• Staying curious through successive waves of technology

• Building trust around AI and the future of work

• Why the next generation of technology leadership will require both technical understanding and business context

AI transformation is not just about deploying new tools or introducing agents into the business. To create real value, organisations first need to understand how they actually work - from the processes people follow to the data, applications and systems that underpin them.

In this episode of CXO Secrets, David McClelland sits down with Dee Houchen, Chief Marketing Officer at SAP for SAP Signavio and LeanIX, to explore the gap between how organisations think they operate and the reality of how work gets done.

Dee shares why shadow processes and workarounds are often hiding in plain sight, and why simply layering AI onto inefficient processes can create more problems rather than solve them. She explores the importance of visibility, standardisation and adoption, alongside the four key layers organisations need to consider when driving transformation: people, processes, data and applications.

The conversation also explores how AI is changing process management, the role of digital twins in helping organisations simulate change before deploying it, and why measuring outcomes is essential to understanding whether transformation is actually delivering value.

Topics include:

• The gap between documented processes and how organisations actually work
• Why shadow processes and workarounds emerge across the enterprise
• The risks of deploying AI on top of inefficient processes
• Why visibility and process understanding are critical for AI transformation
• The four layers of successful transformation: people, process, data and applications
• How AI is changing the way organisations map and understand their processes
• The importance of clean, governed data in the age of AI
• Using AI to identify opportunities for process improvement
• The role of SAP Signavio, LeanIX and WalkMe in transformation
• Moving from manual process mapping to AI-enabled process intelligence
• Digital twins and simulating the impact of organisational change
• Building guardrails around AI agents and managing risk
• Measuring end-to-end outcomes and turning transformation into real business value
• Why understanding people's motivations is central to effective leadership
• The importance of putting your hand up and stepping outside your comfort zone
• Building diverse teams that challenge thinking and fill leadership gaps

Technology leadership is no longer just about protecting systems. In an AI-driven world, it’s about enabling the organisation to move faster, bringing teams together, and building the trust needed to innovate securely.

In this episode of CXO Secrets, David McClelland sits down with Radhika Bajpai, Chief Information Security Officer at Russell Investments, to explore how the CISO role is evolving in an era where everyone across the organisation is becoming a creator. Radhika shares how she approaches cybersecurity through three lenses - protect, enable and empower - and why security needs to become part of everyday business rather than something that is simply bolted on.

Radhika explains how AI has removed many traditional technology barriers, changed who CISOs work with day to day, and made security a truly cross-functional responsibility. She also discusses why security teams should be brought into projects from the ideation stage, how to turn friction into opportunity, and why compliance, legal, risk and procurement should become key allies rather than obstacles.

Looking ahead, Radhika shares her vision for the next generation of CISOs - not as the “no” department, but as orchestrators who bring business, technology, risk and security leaders together to create the trust that enables innovation. She also reflects on her global career journey, the importance of curiosity, and how leaders can help the next generation navigate a rapidly changing technology landscape.

Topics include:

• The evolution of the CISO from technical leader to organisational orchestrator
• Protecting, enabling and empowering the organisation through cybersecurity
• How AI is removing traditional barriers to technology and innovation
• Why everyone in an organisation is becoming a creator
• How AI is changing the CISO’s day-to-day role and relationships
• Bringing security into projects from the ideation and architecture stages
• Turning security friction into an opportunity for better collaboration
• Building strong partnerships with compliance, legal, risk and procurement
• Communicating security innovation in a way that builds customer trust
• The importance of trust in enabling secure business innovation
• How global experience can shape leadership and diversity of thought
• The changing role of women and broader participation in technology
• Why curiosity and asking questions are essential leadership qualities
• Empowering the next generation of technology leaders
• The role of security leaders in building trust at the speed of AI
• Why the future CISO needs to orchestrate across the entire organisation

Technology transformation is not just about replacing old systems. For legacy brands, it's about modernising the customer experience, removing friction from operations, and creating the foundations for sustainable growth - without losing what made the brand successful in the first place.

In this episode of CXO Secrets, David McClelland sits down with Tim Newton, Chief Technology Officer and Head of Brand Operations at Long John Silver's, to explore what it takes to modernise a 56-year-old brand in a rapidly changing market. With responsibility spanning technology, operations and the franchise community, Tim shares how he is helping the organisation evolve its technology while keeping customers, restaurant teams and franchisees at the centre of transformation.

Tim explains why technology should only be built when it creates a genuine competitive advantage, how digital channels and modern drive-through experiences are changing the customer journey, and why reducing friction is at the heart of effective technology leadership. He also discusses the challenges of managing change across a large franchise network, the rise of Shadow AI, and why technology leaders need to know when to step out of the weeds - and when to get right back into them.

Topics include:

• Modernising a legacy brand without losing its identity and customer loyalty
• Using technology to remove friction for restaurant teams and customers
• Why technology increasingly forms part of the brand experience
• Transforming digital channels, kiosks and drive-through experiences
• Building an integrated technology ecosystem across the enterprise
• Why CTOs should build only where technology creates genuine differentiation
• Balancing business demands with practical buy-versus-build decisions
• Managing transformation across corporate and franchise-owned locations
• Communicating change effectively across a distributed workforce
• Using "Why Wednesdays" to build understanding and strengthen culture
• The rise of Shadow AI and empowering teams to experiment responsibly
• How AI is changing the way non-technical teams build business solutions
• Turning executive vision into practical technology and operational change
• Why technology leaders need to know when to "get into the weeds"
• The leadership discipline that keeps Tim focused and effective

Cybersecurity has always been about managing risk. Today, that risk extends far beyond technology. As organisations operate across multiple countries, navigate evolving regulations, and respond to an increasingly unpredictable geopolitical landscape, today's CISOs must think like business leaders as much as security experts.

In this episode of CXO Secrets, David McClelland sits down with Reza Salari, Chief Information Security Officer at Pacific Life Re, to explore what it takes to lead cybersecurity across a truly global organisation. Responsible for protecting operations spanning multiple regions, Reza shares how his team balances complex regulatory requirements, adapts security strategies to different cultures, and helps the business navigate emerging geopolitical risks.

Reza explains why effective cybersecurity awareness goes beyond mandatory training, how tailoring security programmes to local cultures creates stronger engagement, and why every employee should be seen as part of an organisation's "human sensor grid". He also discusses the growing role of AI in developing future talent, why global awareness is becoming an essential leadership skill for technology executives, and how embracing honest feedback has shaped his own leadership journey.

Topics include:

• Leading cybersecurity across global teams, cultures and regulatory environments
• Navigating evolving data privacy and compliance requirements worldwide
• Why security awareness must be tailored to different cultures and markets
• Building a "human sensor grid" that strengthens organisational resilience
• How geopolitical events are reshaping cyber risk and business strategy
• The growing role of CISOs in advising boards beyond technology
• Why AI should empower employees rather than replace them
• Developing the next generation of cybersecurity talent in the age of AI
• Building strong partnerships across legal, privacy and risk teams
• Why embracing honest feedback is one of the most valuable leadership skills

Technology is transforming every industry - including fitness. But in a business built around people, creating great digital experiences isn't just about adopting the latest AI tools. It's about using technology to remove friction, empower employees, and help customers achieve better outcomes.

In this episode of CXO Secrets, David McClelland sits down with Aaron Gette, Chief Information Officer at EOS Fitness, to explore how one of the fastest-growing fitness brands in the United States is using technology to scale without compromising customer experience. As EOS approaches 200 locations and nearly three million members, Aaron shares how cloud technology, AI, and connected fitness platforms are supporting rapid growth while keeping people at the centre of every decision.

Aaron explains why measuring the ROI of AI has become one of the biggest challenges facing technology leaders today, how EOS is embracing agentic AI to improve both member and employee experiences, and why service leadership and mentorship remain critical in building high-performing technology teams. From scaling digital infrastructure to creating connected fitness journeys, he offers practical insights into leading innovation in a fast-moving, customer-focused business.

Topics include:

• Scaling technology to support one of America's fastest-growing fitness brands

• Why customer experience should drive every technology decision

• Measuring the ROI of AI beyond the hype

• Using agentic AI to enhance member engagement and operational efficiency

• Building connected digital and in-person fitness experiences

• Supporting rapid business growth with cloud-first technology

• How CIOs can balance innovation with practical business outcomes

• Why service leadership creates stronger technology teams

• The importance of mentorship in developing the next generation of leaders

• Creating technology strategies that enable people, not replace them