Tech Whisperers: Inside the Playbooks of the Best Digital Leaders

Ensuring a smooth transition between an outgoing and incoming CxO is one of the most complex projects for any organization to take on, but Owens Corning CIO, Steve Zerby, is taking a different approach.

Steve has more than doubled the average CIO tenure during his time at Owens Corning, with the key to his success being his dedication to investing in his team members to ensure that as Owens Corning finds success, so do his people.

Annie Baymiller is one of those people, currently serving as a VP of IT and a Market-Facing Digital Leader for Owens Corning. After a legendary 36-year career as CIO at Owens Corning, Steve is preparing to hand the reins to Annie, so we’ve invited both of them to talk about what it really means to craft a high-quality succession plan and how strong mentorship can make or break any leadership transition.

In this episode, we discuss:

• What it means to consider succession as the end of a journey, rather than the beginning of a new one
• How to build a great organizational culture as a data leader to become a great place to work
• The importance of matching the actual employee experience to the promised “brochure” experience.
• Why the greatest technology leaders focus far more on their people than their technology

What kind of career experience, confidence, and leadership capability does it take to have a company’s CTO, CIO, and CDO all report directly to you? As Teladoc’s Chief Innovation Officer, Claus T. Jensen is the answer. He holds a PhD in Computer Science, he has 17 patents to his name, and has published six books, including the most recent, Digital Transformation for Dummies.

Throughout his career, which includes experience in all the roles that now report to him, Jensen has become expert at leading multi-year transformations. He brings his unique talents and skills to the table to help companies get to the next level.

Join us as we discuss:

• Creating a healthcare experience that is more personalized, connected, and meaningful
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• Why leaders need to deal with the “pink elephant” in the room
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• Recruiting the right multidisciplinary talent
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• Successful learning programs for developing talent
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• The importance of living out one’s values as a leader 
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More information about Claus T. Jensen and today’s topics:

• LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/claustorpjensen/ 
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• Company Website: https://www.teladoc.com/ 
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Leadership accomplishments are always significant, but when put in the grander context of a leader’s journey, that significance can increase dramatically. How does someone find the inspiration and motivation to become a global leader in digital and transformational leadership having come from a small town in India, where he was raised by his mother?

Sanjib Sahoo, Executive Vice President and Global Chief Digital Officer at Ingram Micro, joins our show to share insights from his career journey, how he took hold of his life to build a successful career, and how his team’s work at Ingram Micro is transforming the way people engage with technology.

In this episode, we discuss:

• How experience-driven organizations should think about digitization and personalization

More information about Sanjib and today’s topics:

• LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sanjibsahoodigital/

The military is often regarded as the best leadership development organization in the world, and for good reason. Discipline, focus, accountability, execution, planning, vision, and more are vital components of any successful military member, and they translate into civilian life in profound ways.

Digital leaders need to simultaneously understand the grand vision and what their team is seeing from their boots-on-the-ground perspective. Like military leaders, they also need to be able to support their teams, execute under pressure, and make the tough calls when necessary.

In honor of Veteran’s Day, we bring together three powerhouse CIOs and military veterans:

Mike Goodwin, CIO of PetSmart and former Army officer

Woody Groton, CIO of Draper and Brigade Commander for the Army National Guard

DiAnna Thimjon, CxO mentor, four-time CTO/CIO, and former Army officer

In this episode, these IT leaders share how their military experience has shaped their careers and discuss the skills tomorrow’s digital leaders need in order to get ahead.

Join us as we explore:

• How military leadership experience can inform civilian leadership

What does it mean to be a trailblazing CIO in one of the biggest and most celebrated sports organizations in America, the National Football League (NFL)? How can a digital leader leave their mark in such a complex organization with countless moving parts to manage every day?

Michelle McKenna, Founder & CEO of the Michelle McKenna Collaborative, served as the first-ever CIO for the NFL and its first female C-suite executive. She went on to achieve a number of other “firsts” during 10 seasons with the organization before she stepped away in April of 2022.

In addition to driving digital transformation and launching new businesses, Michelle led the league through the 2020 virtual draft and the 2020 season during a global pandemic. She spearheaded the implementation of new technologies and processes that have led to better experiences for players, coaches, refs and fans alike. Michelle knows what it takes to think differently about the possibilities of technology and how to create a powerful legacy of digital leadership.

Join us as we discuss:

• How Michelle laid out a 10-year plan during her interview process

More information about Michelle and today’s topics:

• LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-mckenna-194472a/

As businesses embrace more digital technology and tools to drive revenue and transform their operations, CEOs are expecting their tech leaders to step up to a new role: transformation leader. This elevation in the organization requires not just a technology leadership mindset but also a business leadership mindset.

To make that transition successfully, it takes a true visionary, someone who is dialed in to what the business needs and proactively anticipates and guides innovation rather than waiting around for marching orders. It takes the ability to lead with grace, empathy, and confidence even while under extreme pressure to perform. Rich Gilbert, Aflac’s Chief Transformation Officer, is the embodiment of this kind of executive.

While Rich’s career journey has spanned technology leadership roles at a number of major companies, he’s now not only responsible for the digital services organization at Aflac but also its largest P&L. In this episode, recorded at the CIO 100 Symposium & Awards, he draws on his experience to share how to break through glass walls, create business value as a digital executive, and lead through an inspiring vision.

Join us as we discuss:

• How to develop and cast a grand vision and inspire your team to embrace it
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• The importance of iteration and starting from the right place when tackling goals
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• Rich’s secret sauce for leading with grace even while under extreme pressure
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• The story behind Aflac’s famous mascot, the Aflac Duck 
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More information about Rich and today’s topics:

• LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richlgilbert/
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• Company Website: https://www.aflac.com/
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The best digital leaders know how to build loyalty within their teams by extending trust, leading with intentionality, and always seeking constructive feedback so they can grow. Without these elements, leaders risk a major disconnect between how they lead their teams and how their teams operate — which can damage productivity and, ultimately, business outcomes.

Our guest this week is Sabina Ewing, Global CIO and VP of Business & Technology for Abbott, a Fortune 86 company and a global leader in the healthcare industry. Sabina is acutely aware of the fact that when you’re responsible for leading such a massive organization, intentionality is a prerequisite. It’s how she artfully juggles the seemingly unmanageable demands placed upon a global CIO while nurturing and balancing high EQ and IQ.

Join us as we discuss:

• The importance of managing your personal brand by continuously soliciting feedback, leading with intentionality, creating impact, and refining your execution
• Why you should honor the legacy of your organization and how to carry it on through your leadership
• How V.I.C. Initiatives can help aspiring tech leaders advance in their careers
• The need for creating loyalty and building trust within your team

More information about Sabina and today’s topics:

• LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sabina-ewing/ 
• Company Website: https://www.abbott.com/ 

We are back for part 2 of our two-part episode with Ralph Loura, recorded onsite at The CIO 100 Awards held at the Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA.

Ralph is the SVP CIO at Lumentum and has worked at companies like HP, Cisco Systems, and Clorox, and he serves as an advisory board member for several more. In part 1, we unpacked how Ralph approaches truth-telling and storytelling for effective communication. In part 2 we’re exploring Ralph’s career journey more closely and digging in to the importance of mindset, getting out of your comfort zone, and Ralph’s path toward more sustainable tech standards and processes.

While you can listen to Part 2 without having heard Part 1, we highly encourage you to listen to both parts.

Join us in part 2 as we discuss:

• Why leaders need to have a steadfast mindset and a preparedness strategy to confront and overcome volatility and uncertainty with calm confidence
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• How to move out of your comfort zone without losing trust or confidence from your team
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• Why Ralph joined Lumentum
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• How to prioritize sustainability as a tech leader and influence positive change 
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More information about Ralph and today’s topics:

• LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ralphloura/
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• Company Website: https://www.lumentum.com
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• Other Relevant Links: https://sustainableit.org, https://genesysworks.org/
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We had an incredible opportunity to sit down in person with Ralph Loura, the SVP CIO at Lumentum, for a special two-part conversation at The CIO 100 Awards in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA. Ralph’s leadership journey encompasses some of the most well-known technology and consumer products companies around. Along the way, he’s been recognized time and again as an inspiring, transformational CIO whose innovative approaches create real business value.

But that’s not all there is to Ralph Loura. He also plays a few other vital “roles” for his team: the Chief Truth Telling Officer, Chief Storytelling Officer, Chief Motivation Officer, and the Chief Sustainability Officer. In part one, we open up Ralph’s playbook to unpack his superpowers of truth-telling and storytelling, and how he cuts through the noise to communicate effectively and with clarity. In part two, we explore how Ralph motivates his teams as well as his work to improve sustainability in the tech industry.

Join us for part 1 as we discuss:

• How to earn a “seat at the table” in significant conversations and meetings

More information about Ralph Loura and today’s topics:

• LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ralphloura/

While most companies share some standard ways of operating, it’s that unique sliver in approach that truly differentiate the great companies from the mediocre ones. At Discover Financial Services, CIO and Executive VP Amir Arooni is spearheading those differentiators.Amir is a strong believer in the importance of empowering people to do great work and developing them to be the kind of innovative anticipators who will continually create greater and more differentiated value for customers. He leads with a philosophy that we can deliver powerful business results through a combination of process agility, technology, and talented people.

In this episode, we unpack Amir’s playbook to learn:

• How to win internal stakeholder support for the vision

More information about Amir and today’s topics:

• LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amirarooni/