646: Mark discusses the thesis behind his book, The Cloud Revolution, and how his previous book, Digital Cathedrals, acts as a predicate. Mark covers the rhyming political, social, and technological dynamics between the 1918-1920 Pandemic and the present and how the three spheres of technology; information, materials, and machines; have intersected over the years to bring about revolutions. Finally, Mark looks ahead at how technology is changing employment, the necessary retraining that arises, and what will define the winners in the Roaring 2020s.

645: Stanley covers his latest book, Risk: A User’s Guide, and discusses the way people should be assessing, calculating, and acting on risks an organization faces. He begins by defining what risk is, ten risk control factors used to evaluate risk, and why humans are naturally poor at calculating risk. Stanley discusses the necessity of having a narrative that aligns with the values set forth by the organization and ties this into the U.S.’s foreign policy. Finally, Stanley gives his perspective on the current war in Ukraine, the risk each party faces, and what constitutes a good decision. This broadcast was recorded in front of a live audience.

644: Carman discusses the restructuring of IT’s vision to provide a better customer experience for Dollar General. Carman shares what this vision for IT looks like and how he has used it to develop scale at the company. He also goes over Dollar General’s digital strategy and app-based technologies to serve its customers. Finally, Carman gives his perspective on how modernization and advancements in technology have provided him a better toolkit for finding efficiencies, how his legal background has informed his view as CIO, and what tech trends are on his radar for the future.

643: Lama discusses how her team is driving the future of artificial intelligence and its collaboration with people. Lama explains the mission of Intel’s Intelligence Systems Research Lab and describes the types of skills necessary to research the groundbreaking collaboration between humans and AI. She also provides a look at what the next frontier of artificial intelligence is in human augmentation including aiding in education, accessibility for adults with disabilities, and manufacturing. Finally, Lama gives her perspective on developing responsible AI and how further developments could prove to create a more sustainable future.

642: In this interview, Seemantini discusses how she is driving innovation at the company and using technology to be a differentiator among competing retailers. Seemantini describes her expansive purview overseeing various functions at the company and how those functions ultimately fit together. She also explains the evolution of data products at Lowe’s, pre-pandemic efforts to foster resilience, as well the idea of “spatial commerce” and the innovations that come along with it to meet changing customer needs.

641: Casey discusses how her team is driving customer experience and how it is rooted in the employee experience at the company. Casey begins with how she views her role as a technologist within a tech-centric organization like Asurion as well as how Asurion oftentimes lives its customer journey as customer zero. She covers the role technology plays in Asurion’s omnichannel approach, her experience onboarding remotely, and what the future of work looks like. Additionally, Casey gives her perspective on retaining talent during hybrid work, how she draws upon past experiences in her current role, and what the future holds for women in technology.

_____________________________________

This episode is sponsored by Zoho.

640: Bharat discusses the digitization of the defense industry and digital innovation in the industry. Bharat provides an overview of Huntington Ingalls Industries and his purview as Chief Information Officer. He describes how his team is structured and what areas under his purview are managed on a global level versus what are managed on a divisional level. Bharat details his framework for gauging the effectiveness of cybersecurity at the company and what digital innovation looks like. Finally, Bharat talks about how he curates an ecosystem of technology partners to expand the advanced technologies used to protect, connect, and integrate the armed forces as well as the trends in technology that are on his radar which will further transform the defense industry.

639: In this interview, Jim discusses the beginnings of his career and how his early experiences inspired the genesis of Square. He shares a couple of key strategies that he pursued to compete with large players like Amazon and how this led to the concept of his book, The Innovation Stack: Building an Unbeatable Business One Crazy Idea at a Time. Finally, Jim gives an overview of Invisibly’s business, gives his perspective on the problems with the business model of existing platforms, and looks ahead at what the future holds for the company.

638: In this interview, Santhosh Keshavan, EVP and Chief Information Officer of Voya Financial, focuses on growth through innovation and simplification to create efficiencies to deliver a better experience for Voya’s customers. Santhosh discusses the role digital plays in interactions with customers and how it has evolved over the last few years. He also talks about efforts at the company to simplify tech and digital as a source of growth and shifting the mindset at Voya to focus on both simplification and innovation. Santhosh goes over the role of data at Voya, other areas of innovation that his team is looking at, and creative ways he has identified and recruited talent during a time of high attrition. Finally, Santhosh gives a couple of tech trends that have been on his radar as he continues to grow the company.

637: Vlad covers the athlete and teammate-centered strategy at the company. Vlad begins with an explanation of his purview as CTO of the sports retailer and provides background on the company’s strategy focusing on the distinction between the inward and outward-facing aspects. He describes the ways his experience as a professional athlete has shaped his perspective in his role, weaved the teammate mentality into the DNA of the organization, and influenced the way he focuses on the customer and employee experience. Finally, Vlad talks about how he curates his unique ecosystem of experts to improve the athlete experience and the trends in technology that will continue to evolve the sports industry.