Kathryn Guarini (ex-IBM CIO) on Org Design, AI Leadership, and Enterprise Transformation

Kathryn Guarini spent over two decades at IBM leading transformations across product, engineering, and IT, eventually becoming CIO.

In this episode, we dive into:

The real bottlenecks in digital transformation

What AI readiness looks like in the enterprise

Building high-trust orgs that can handle change

Operating models that scale across 300,000+ employees

Her personal leadership lessons from the boardroom to the trenches

🎙 Hosted by Middleware – the software delivery intelligence platform that helps you make engineering workflows visible, measurable, and better.

When companies fail at digital transformation, it’s rarely because of bad tools.

It’s because change feels like chaos. In this episode of the Change Story Podcast, Jennifer Arndt — a seasoned transformation leader in academic publishing — shares how she rebuilt her company’s approach to change from the ground up.

From mindset shifts to team dynamics, from Agile to ADKAR, Jennifer offers a candid blueprint for leading change with clarity and integrity.

🎙 What you’ll learn:

• Why timing matters more than tactics
• How to build an “A-Team” of change agents
• What ADKAR looks like in the real world
• The role of kindness, rewards, and cultural mindset in lasting transformation

Most companies build for the problems they can see.

But the leaders who win? They build for the opportunities they can’t yet imagine.

In this episode of The Change Story by Middleware, Boomi’s Stephen Fishman and Matt McLarty dive deep into how resilient, adaptive organizations engineer their success — by investing in optionality, seizing opportunity, and optimizing with intention.

We explore:

🔹 Why the most successful companies act before the opportunity is obvious

🔹 How APIs and composability create business resilience

🔹 The real reason AI readiness starts with integration and modularity

🔹 Lessons from companies that thrived (and those that struggled) in the age of AI

Whether you’re a CTO, Head of Platform, engineering leader, or digital strategist — this conversation will reshape how you think about planning, building, and scaling in 2025 and beyond.

📚 Based on insights from Stephen and Matt’s book Unbundling the Enterprise.

Everyone wants to “do transformation.” Few understand the invisible work it takes to get there.In this episode, Kasia Zaniewska unpacks the real reasons teams struggle with change — and what to do about it.

From her days in UX research at Klarna to leading cross-functional alignment work, she’s seen how clarity, not speed, drives real progress.Join us as we talk about:

• The dangers of starting with assumptions
• The mindset shift from outputs to outcomes
• Why adoption starts with shared understanding
• How design principles apply to teams, not just products

This is an episode for leaders who want to build systems that work, not just products that ship.

Get ready for another episode of the Change Story Podcast!

What separates high-performing engineering teams from those constantly battling bottlenecks and inefficiencies?

In this episode of The Change Story Podcast, Steve Pereira, renowned Flow Engineering expert, breaks down the three pillars of high-performing teams—Value, Clarity, and Flow—and how they directly impact software delivery, DevOps efficiency, and business outcomes.

We dive into:

✅ Why most teams focus on productivity but overlook flow—and why that’s a mistake.

✅ How value stream mapping can uncover hidden inefficiencies.

✅ How AI and automation fit into the future of engineering workflows.

✅ Real-world examples of how optimizing flow can cut lead times and improve software delivery.

If you’re a CTO, TPM, Engineering Lead, or DevOps Manager looking to scale without adding more complexity, this episode is for you.

In this episode ofThe Change Story, we sit down withCidoni Brind, Director of DevOps & Process Re-Engineering atTrundl Inc, to uncover thetruth about digital transformation.

👉 Why domost digital transformations fail?

👉 Are Agile & DevOpsreally delivering value or just buzzwords?

👉 Whoactually owns digital transformation in an organization?

Cidoni shares real-world insights fromleading enterprise transformations, why companies blindlyadopt frameworks like SAFe or LeSS, and how organizations should shift from aProject Management Office (PMO) to a Value Management Office (VMO) to drive real business outcomes.

🎧Tune in to learn:

🔹 The biggestmistakes companies make in Agile & DevOps adoption

🔹 How to createpsychological safety for change & innovation

🔹 Whydata-driven decision-making is the key to transformation success

🔹 The role ofleaders, engineers & teams in driving change

💡 Whether you’re aTPM, CTO, Director of Engineering, or a digital transformation leader, this episode is packed with actionable takeaways tohelp you navigate change and drive meaningful transformation in your organization.

📢Listen now and join the conversation!

The Change Story is Powered by Middleware, the best engineering intelligence insights platform for engineering and technical project management leaders.

🚀 The Change Story is where digital transformation leaders, tech innovators, and change-makers come together to share real-world insights on driving meaningful transformation.

Hosted by Dhruv Agarwal, this podcast goes beyond the buzzwords - unpacking the challenges, wins, and lessons learned from Agile, DevOps, AI, and beyond.

Each episode features candid conversations with transformation leaders who are reshaping the future of work. Whether you’re leading a transformation, adapting to new technologies, or just trying to survive the chaos - this podcast is for you.

🎙 Tune in, get inspired, and lead the change!