Disruptive Innovators: Champions of Digital Business - CIO & IT Leader Interviews, Digital Transformation, Digital Innovation

Maria Sexton, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer of UT Medical, joins David Wright to explore leadership, AI adoption and the evolving role of IT in healthcare.



Maria shares her journey from help desk to CIO. She talks about the importance of simplifying both life and leadership and examines why technology is easy, but people leadership is hard. She also unveils why AI holds a unique promise in healthcare and how to avoid “AI for AI’s sake.” Arguing that IT must be fully embedded in the business rather than operating on the sidelines.

Key Takeaways:

00:00 Introduction.

03:00 UT Medical operates with dual missions: patient care and academic training.

04:00 “It’s not IT and the business. It’s only the business.”

07:00 Early career lessons in leadership and recognizing strengths shape long-term growth.

12:00 Simplification and removing clutter create clarity in leadership.

16:00 Vulnerability and learning from leadership mistakes build trust.

18:00 Technology is easy; leading people is the hard part.

36:00 AI holds enormous promise in healthcare because minutes matter in patient outcomes.

37:00 IT must reclaim its strategic role and prevent decentralized shadow IT.

50:00 AI initiatives must have clear use cases and measurable outcomes.

Resources Mentioned:

Maria Sexton

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariasexton/

UT Medical | LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/company/ut-medical/

UT Medical | Website

https://www.utmedicalcenter.org

“Dare to Lead" by Brené Brown

https://www.amazon.com/Dare-Lead-Brave-Conversations-Hearts/dp/1785042149

Historical Works by Alison Weir

https://alisonweir.org.uk/books/

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David Wright is joined by Maruf Haider, Interim Chief Medical Information  Officer for Digital and Virtual Health of Carilion Clinic, to discuss what it takes to lead digital health inside complex healthcare systems. Maruf shares how his background as a practicing physician shapes his leadership approach, why technology alone cannot fix systemic issues, and how trust, clarity, and adaptability determine whether digital initiatives succeed at scale.

Key Takeaways:

00:00 Introduction.

02:20 Leadership is where healthcare, technology, and people intersect.​

07:45 Hardest problems are often systemic, not purely clinical decisions.​

10:12 Clinical practice keeps innovation and leadership grounded in reality.​

11:09 Clarity on the problem builds trust and alignment.​

12:48 Authenticity and speaking up early strengthen leadership effectiveness.​

20:56 Transitions clarify identity, focus, and future direction.​

24:55 Parenting insights reframe behavior as communication in leadership.​

31:44 Vision centers on low-friction change and psychological safety.​

36:12 AI’s real differentiator will be trusted systems, not algorithms.

Resources Mentioned:

Maruf Haider

https://www.linkedin.com/in/xmarufhaiderx/

Carilion Clinic | LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/company/carilion-clinic/

Carilion Clinic | Website

https://www.carilionclinic.org

“Good Inside” by Dr. Becky Kennedy

https://www.amazon.com/Good-Inside-Guide-Becoming-Parent/dp/B09PGMSBBN/

“The Creativity Code” by Marcus du Sautoy

https://www.amazon.com/Creativity-Code-Art-Innovation-Age/dp/0674988132

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This week, David Wright is joined by Jason Oliver, Chief Technology Officer of Western University. They explore what it really takes to lead digital transformation in higher education, with a focus on people, culture, trust and authenticity. Jason shares lessons from his global career, his move from the UK to Canada and why effective change management matters more than any single technology decision.

Key Takeaways:

00:00 Introduction.

03:00 Listening more and speaking less becomes a critical leadership skill as organizations scale.

05:41 Technology leaders must read the room and pivot in real time to build alignment and consensus.

07:02 Jason shares his unconventional career path into technology leadership and higher education.

10:50 Taking risks and saying yes to opportunities shapes long-term leadership growth.

13:27 Digital investments must align with business and institutional outcomes rather than IT priorities.

15:40 Change management sits at the core of successful digital transformation efforts.

17:49 CIOs must act as business leaders first, with technology as their portfolio.

20:49 Trust is built through transparency, authenticity and open dialogue, especially when things go off track.

30:53 Empowering teams with digital skills and governance creates stronger collaboration and shared ownership.

Resources Mentioned:

Jason Oliver

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-oliver-5682172/

Western University | LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/school/westernuniversity/

Western University | Website

https://www.uwo.ca

Change Fluency by JQ Waller

https://www.changefluency.com

CIO Association of Canada

https://www.ciocan.ca

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This week, David Wright is joined by Ryan Olsen, Chief Administrative Officer of Hoag Health System, to discuss what it takes to lead large healthcare organizations through complexity, constraint and change. Ryan shares lessons from turnaround leadership, physician alignment and organizational politics, and explains why trust, incentives and discipline matter more than technology alone. The episode also explores the realistic role of AI in healthcare, the pressures facing health systems today and the personal leadership lessons Ryan learned the hard way.

Key Takeaways:

00:00 Introduction.

04:16 Trust is foundational to driving effective organizational change.

07:00 Listening more than talking dramatically improves negotiations and relationships.

10:32 Strong physician partnerships underpin successful growth and operations.

12:04 Using the Stockdale Paradox to lead through brutal turnaround realities.

14:44 Difficult conversations, done compassionately, unlock meaningful organizational change.

17:48 Humility and self-awareness are essential antidotes to executive ego.

25:56 Hoag’s disciplined OKRs drive quality, growth and accountability.

33:36 AI will support, not replace, high-skill clinicians and surgeons.

36:24 Prioritizing mental and physical health makes you a better leader.

Resources Mentioned:

Ryan Olsen

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryankolsen/

Hoag Health System | LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/company/hoaghealthsystem/

Hoag Health System | Website

http://www.hoag.org

“Good to Great” by Jim Collins

https://www.jimcollins.com/article_topics/articles/good-to-great.html

“The Hardest Job in the World” by John Dickerson

https://www.amazon.com/Hardest-Job-World-American-Presidency/dp/1984854518

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David Wright is joined by Siva Balu, Chief Information and Digital Officer of Quartz Health Solutions, for a conversation on authentic leadership, lessons learned from costly missteps and reimagining the healthcare technology landscape. Together, they explore pivotal career insights — from recognizing when technology distracts from real business challenges to the importance of grounding strategy in customer needs rather than pursuing innovation for its own sake.

Key Takeaways:

00:00 Introduction.

03:22 Prioritize curiosity and humility as foundational leadership qualities.

11:08 Relationships, authenticity and honest partnerships form the core of success.

14:05 Chasing technology without solving real problems consumes resources and energy.

21:12 Healthcare leaders must own experience standards across every detail.

31:09 Design internal systems to empower employees through mobile-first and flexible work approaches.

32:58 Customer experience differs from user experience and must resonate emotionally.

40:45 Future healthcare will be consumer-driven, requiring transparency, choice and comparative data.

44:20 Say yes to more opportunities to experience different paths and growth directions.

Resources Mentioned:

Siva Balu

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sivabalus/

Quartz Health Solutions

https://www.linkedin.com/company/quartz-health-solutions/

“Man's Search for Meaning” by Viktor E. Frankl

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0807014273

”Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity” by Dr. Peter Attia

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0593236599

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Lawrence Hamilton, Executive Vice President of Performance of The Permanente Medical Group, Inc., joins the show to discuss how healthcare systems can improve outcomes without losing the human element of care. 

He shares how Kaiser Permanente’s integrated model delivers longer life expectancy, lower mortality and high patient satisfaction at lower cost. He also explains why digitizing broken systems creates risk, how incentives shape outcomes and where technology helps or hurts clinicians. The conversation explores health equity as a core performance metric, the challenge of scaling personal care and why meaningful leadership requires taking on work where failure is possible.

Key Takeaways:

00:00 Introduction.

04:36 Purposeful work should feed both the heart and the mind.​

09:00 Patient stories are critical for reconnecting teams to impact.​

13:00 High-reliability systems must still enable personal, intimate care.​

19:00 A clear vocation in healthcare can emerge from lived experience.​

24:32 Career choices are strongest when aligned with family priorities.​

31:20 Walking away from misaligned roles is a real leadership agency.​

33:56 Leaders grow most by tackling problems where failure is possible.​

41:04 Reducing mortality and closing equity gaps defines future success.​

43:12 Technology and new models can improve affordability without tradeoffs.​

54:16 Fragmented innovation must be integrated to lift population health.

Resources Mentioned:

Lawrence Hamilton

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lawrence-hamilton-986b246a/

The Permanente Medical Group, Inc. | LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-permanente-medical-group-inc./

The Permanente Medical Group Inc. | Website

https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-permanente-medical-group-inc./

Moral Ambition: Stop Wasting Your Talent and Start Making a Difference by Rutger Bregman

https://www.amazon.com/-/es/Rutger-Bregman-ebook/dp/B0DK6MVPP8

Thanks for listening to the “Disruptive Innovators” podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, hit the subscribe button and never miss another insightful conversation. And be sure to leave a review to help get the word out about the Champions of Digital Business.

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David Wright is joined once more by Breno Gentil, Strategic Advisor of C.I.KNOW. In his second appearance on the podcast, Breno — a former CIO for Heineken and British American Tobacco — discusses his recent month-long journey racing across the Atlantic Ocean in the Clipper Race. He shares profound insights on leadership resilience, the psychological challenges of high-stakes environments and how the lessons learned at sea parallel the complexities of digital transformation. Breno offers a unique perspective on the future of the CIO role, arguing that as technology becomes the DNA of an organization, leadership must shift toward human change orchestration.

Key Takeaways:

00:00 Introduction.

04:12 Key leadership learnings in resilience from sailing adventures.

09:19 The Bay of Biscay presented the toughest sailing conditions.

11:51 Team won the first leg, arriving first in Spain.

15:13 Tropical rains became the only showering opportunity on the boat.

18:27 Sail damage led to self-doubt, requiring renewed confidence.

21:54 Many things in sailing remain outside of one’s control.

25:09 People, not technology, make the difference in transformation.

27:50 The CIO role is evolving into a change orchestrator role.

30:03 Technology roles may disappear as companies become digital.

Resources Mentioned:

Breno Gentil

https://www.linkedin.com/in/bg-digital/

C.I.KNOW | LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/company/ciknow/

C.I.KNOW | Website

https://www.ciknow.com/

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David Wright is joined by Frank Sweeney, Chief Information Officer and Assistant Director of Support Services of the Arizona Department of Child Safety, to discuss Frank’s journey from a history major to a technology leader, and the crucial role of innovation in public service. They discuss Frank’s mission to protect children and empower frontline workers through technology, the importance of culture over strategy in innovation, and the power of staying curious and patient in one's career.

Key Takeaways:

00:00 Introduction.

03:21 The most important thing is to stay curious and not close your mind to technology.

07:18 An internship with Arthur Anderson after college started the drift toward technology.

11:47 Failure is not bad; it's something you go through to get to something better.

15:32 Avoid hubris, verify and reverify, and get your team involved in decisions.

19:31 As a leader, spend time mentoring and helping each person grow.

22:02 Culture will always beat strategy, especially with a mixed-generation workforce.

26:50 Joy is a choice you determine for yourself every day, unlike conditional happiness.

31:11 Increasing frontline worker time with families directly correlates to better outcomes.

35:09 AI development code is often reusable, unlike old programming languages.

Resources Mentioned:

Frank Sweeney

https://www.linkedin.com/in/frank-sweeney-iot/

Arizona Department of Child Safety | LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/company/arizona-department-of-child-safety/

Arizona Department of Child Safety | Website

https://dcs.az.gov/

Thanks for listening to the “Disruptive Innovators” podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, hit the subscribe button and never miss another insightful conversation. And be sure to leave a review to help get the word out about the Champions of Digital Business.

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This week, David Wright is joined by Ahmed Abuelenein, Senior Manager of IT Technical Product Management, Healthcare Digital Innovation at a major academic health system. Ahmed discusses his journey from biomedical engineering to leading digital innovation in healthcare, emphasizing the importance of horizontal skill development, continuous improvement informed by the data and securing data access for researchers while protecting patient information.

Key Takeaways:

00:00 Introduction.

04:04 Growing horizontally across skill sets builds a stronger career foundation.

12:13 Cultural immersion reveals universal connections across all people.

15:24 Continuous improvement informed by data thrives in a culture of trust.

21:17 Multiple perspectives are essential for understanding complex problems effectively.

26:10 Researchers need policy-governed, secure access to appropriately scoped clinical data.

28:08 AI tools can unlock research potential with proper safeguards.

29:36 Data security and the right access are the biggest AI challenges.

Resources Mentioned:

Ahmed Abuelenein

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ahmed-fathi-abuelenein-8124243a/

“What Is History?” by Edward Hallett Carr

https://www.amazon.com/dp/039470391X

*Views are Ahmed’s own and do not represent any employer or affiliate. No confidential or patient information is discussed.

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This week, David Wright welcomes Manfred Boudreaux-Dehmer, Chief Information Officer and Single Point of Authority for Cybersecurity at NATO, to discuss the Alliance’s digital transformation, the rising sophistication of cyber threats and the role of people, processes and technology in securing global defense systems.



They explore the growing challenges of nation-state adversaries, multi-domain military operations, and the accelerating impact of AI on both offense and defense. Manfred also reflects on leadership lessons learned across his global career and why effective cybersecurity hinges on human behavior as much as technical capability.

Key Takeaways:

00:00 Introduction.

04:02 Cybersecurity is about people, processes and technology together.

07:37 Pivoting to leadership due to a lack of interaction in programming.

11:16 NATO’s focus is on providing security for one billion people, not generating profit.

15:29 Excel spreadsheets can’t replace conversations with actual people.

20:33 Start with the problem before choosing AI solutions.

24:12 Communicate effectively — don’t overwhelm people with information.

28:59 Cyberspace became NATO’s fifth military domain in 2016.

33:52 Adversary emulation is penetration testing on steroids.

37:37 Find mentors and observe their unique skills carefully.

Resources Mentioned:

Manfred Boudreaux-Dehmer

https://www.linkedin.com/in/manfred-boudreaux-dehmer/

NATO | LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/company/nato/

NATO | Website

https://www.nato.int/en

Thanks for listening to the “Disruptive Innovators” podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, hit the subscribe button and never miss another insightful conversation. And be sure to leave a review to help get the word out about the Champions of Digital Business.

#DisruptiveInnovation #DisruptiveTech #DigitalBusiness