This podcast episode features Karim Galil, CEO of Mendel AI, discussing the future of domain-specific AI, especially in the healthcare sector. Galil elaborates on how Mendel AI utilizes domain-specific AI to sift through clinical data more accurately and efficiently, providing previously unattainable insights. The conversation touches on the challenges generalized AI models face, especially those developed by large tech companies, emphasizing the importance of domain specificity in areas like healthcare, where precision is crucial. Additionally, the podcast explores the concept of narrow AI and its potential integration into broader AI systems, highlighting the importance of talent over data or models in developing effective AI solutions. The discussion also addresses adoption challenges within the healthcare industry, suggesting a strategic approach to introducing AI technologies to stakeholders, from technical users to clinicians. Finally, Galil shares his perspective on the impact of AI on user experience and the importance of distinguishing between fluency and true intelligence in AI models.

Highlights:

01:51 Challenges of AI Models from Large Tech Firms

02:27 The Reality of AI Technology Today

03:08 The Problem with AI in Healthcare

04:00 Misconceptions about AI Fluency and Intelligence

05:31 The Future of AI: Narrow AI vs AGI

09:27 The Importance of Talent in AI Development

15:28 Adoption of AI in Healthcare

19:57 The Role of AI in Clinical Practice

Karim Galil, MD, is co-founder and CEO of Mendel AI. Mendel’s mission is to make medicine objective by enabling the world’s largest index of patient journeys, leveraging AI that understands medicine like a physician. Dr. Galil’s experience as a physician demonstrated that medicine does not advance at the same rate as technology. With Mendel, he aims to bridge this gap, facilitate clinical research at scale, and make medicine truly objective. 

Karim is an entrepreneur by spirit; his first company, Kryptonworx, led health tech in the MENA region with customers including Fortune 500 companies.

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Want to learn more about us? Head over at https://www.elevano.com
Have questions or want to cover specific topics with our future guests?Please message me at https://www.linkedin.com/in/amirbormand (Amir Bormand)

This episode features Loic Houssier, Senior VP of Engineering at Productboard, discussing the journey and challenges of transitioning from mid-level management to top-tier executive roles within an organization. It covers essential aspects such as the roles and responsibilities at different management levels, from manager to VP, and the crucial skills needed for advancement, including delegation, decision-making, and influencing across teams. Additionally, the talk delves into Productboard's mission and functionality, emphasizing its utility for product managers in streamlining customer feedback, prioritization, and integration with execution tools. The conversation also highlights personal growth strategies for managers aspiring to executive positions, the importance of external networking and mentorship, and recognizing the often overlooked emotional and strategic complexities of climbing the corporate ladder.

Highlights:

03:52 The Journey Up the Management Ladder: Challenges and Skills

05:41 Understanding the Roles: From Manager to Senior Manager

08:22 The Leap to Director: Managing Managers and Budgets

10:28 Ascending to VP: A Shift in Perspective and Responsibilities

14:36 Navigating the Transition: From IC to Manager and Beyond

20:10 The Importance of Delegation and Decision-Making in Leadership

28:49 Expanding Your Network: The Key to Navigating Management Isolation

As the Senior Vice President of Engineering at Productboard, Loic Houssier leads a global team of engineers building the leading product management platform for remote teams. He has over 18 years of experience in engineering leadership and executive management across various industries and regions.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/houssier/

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Thank you so much for checking out this episode of The Tech Trek. We would appreciate it if you would take a minute to rate and review us on your favorite podcast player.

Want to learn more about us? Head over at https://www.elevano.com

Have questions or want to cover specific topics with our future guests?Please message me at https://www.linkedin.com/in/amirbormand (Amir Bormand)

In this podcast episode, Jay Nanduri, CTO and Co-founder of Truveta, shares his journey from spending over 20 years at Microsoft to founding a healthcare data company. Jay discusses the personal reasons behind his shift to healthcare, motivated by his family's struggles with cancer and the difficulties of transferring medical records. He also touches on the challenges of leaving a well-established company like Microsoft, the differences in working in a startup versus a large corporation, and the importance of purpose, trust, risk management, and financial planning in building a new company. Jay's story highlights the value of leveraging one's network, reputation, and experience in entrepreneurial ventures.

Highlights:

00:10 The Genesis of Truveta: From Microsoft to Healthcare Innovation

03:22 Personal Motivations: A Family's Health Crisis Sparks a Vision

05:32 The Leap of Faith: Transitioning from Microsoft to Startup Life

10:42 The Startup Journey: Challenges, Insights, and the Drive for Purpose

20:47 Reflections and Advice: Navigating the Startup Ecosystem

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Thank you so much for checking out this episode of The Tech Trek. We would appreciate it if you would take a minute to rate and review us on your favorite podcast player.

Want to learn more about us? Head over at https://www.elevano.com

Have questions or want to cover specific topics with our future guests?
Please message me at https://www.linkedin.com/in/amirbormand (Amir Bormand)

In this podcast episode, Mo Villagran, Associate Director of Insights, Analytics, and Data at Cambrex and author of 'Data Insights Delivered', shares her insights on managing stakeholder expectations and delivering expected value in data analytics. She explains Cambrex's role as a global CDMO in the pharmaceutical industry and highlights the importance of customer service in technical fields. Mo asserts that the core of managing stakeholder expectations and delivering value lies in simple, effective communication and starting with manageable, scalable solutions. She emphasizes showing progress in real-time to stakeholders, the significance of qualitative feedback over quantitative KPIs, and the importance of prioritizing projects that directly impact the company's financial performance. The conversation also touches on the challenges of integrating new technologies and focusing on business outcomes over technological complexities.

Highlights:

02:12 The Essence of Stakeholder Expectation Management

02:22 The Importance of Customer Service in Data Analytics

03:32 Balancing Technology and Business Outcomes

05:00 Defining and Delivering Value to Stakeholders

08:39 The Art of Negotiation and Setting Expectations

10:53 Choosing Simplicity Over Complexity in Solutions

17:38 Demonstrating Progress and Value in Real-Time

21:47 Measuring Success Beyond Quantitative Metrics

Mo Villagran is a data concierge, an experienced business analytics veteran, is well-versed in data analytics and healthcare across sectors, including pharmaceutical manufacturing, fraud detection, insurance pricing, etc.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mo-villagran/

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Thank you so much for checking out this episode of The Tech Trek. We would appreciate it if you would take a minute to rate and review us on your favorite podcast player.

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Have questions or want to cover specific topics with our future guests?

Please message me at https://www.linkedin.com/in/amirbormand (Amir Bormand)

This podcast episode features Gregg Altschul, the Vice President of Technology at FanDuel. The discussion focuses on aligning personal, team, and company goals to reduce conflicts, enhance goal setting, and improve transparency across the board. Altschul shares insights on FanDuel's business operations, including its role as a leading online sportsbook and its iGaming division. He explains the top-down process of setting goals at FanDuel, highlighting the importance of ensuring that individual and team objectives support overarching company goals. Altschul discusses how he manages goal alignment within his organization, emphasizing the significance of transparency, understanding employees' personal growth goals, and the role of succession planning. He also touches on fostering a culture that supports employees' long-term career aspirations, even if those plans include leaving the company. The conversation delves into the importance of having a 'North Star'—a long-term goal or vision—to guide one's career development and the necessity of open communication between managers and their teams to achieve effective goal alignment.

Highlights

01:12 The Importance of Goal Alignment

02:18 The Process of Setting Goals

03:38 Translating Goals to Different Levels

04:55 Maintaining Transparency in Goal Setting

06:50 Balancing Personal and Company Goals

09:11 Creating a Safe Space for Open Discussions

09:27 The Role of Trust in Goal Setting

11:14 The Shift in Employee Retention Perspective

17:37 The Importance of Long-Term Growth Goals

20:23 The Role of North Star Goals in Career Development

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Thank you so much for checking out this episode of The Tech Trek. We would appreciate it if you would take a minute to rate and review us on your favorite podcast player.

Want to learn more about us? Head over at https://www.elevano.com

Have questions or want to cover specific topics with our future guests?

Please message me at https://www.linkedin.com/in/amirbormand (Amir Bormand)

In this podcast episode, Otkrist Gupta, VP of Research and Development at LendBuzz, talks about the process he utilizes to evaluate machine learning (ML) models and handle the ever-changing landscape of ML with his team. He also highlights the core role of ML in the creation of LendBuzz’s proprietary financial scoring model to assist individuals often underserved in the lending market and explains how continued innovation via in-house development of models has maintained the company's competitive advantage. Gupta provides insights into various projects his R&D team has worked on, from financial to computer vision models, and discusses the balance of research, development, and product delivery. He underscores the importance of having well-defined metrics, continuous model improvement, and keeping current with technology trends. Although not directly involved in measuring particular models' profit and loss impacts, Gupta notes that all team members indirectly contribute to the company’s overall performance.

Highlights:

01:50 Understanding the Lendbuzz Business Model

03:37 Exploring the Role of Research and Development in Fintech

07:35 The Intersection of Machine Learning and Product Development

13:35 The Process of Building and Evaluating ML Models

19:49 The Impact of Machine Learning on Competitive Advantage

23:20 The Relationship Between Machine Learning and Profit & Loss

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Thank you so much for checking out this episode of The Tech Trek. We would appreciate it if you would take a minute to rate and review us on your favorite podcast player.

Want to learn more about us? Head over at https://www.elevano.com

Have questions or want to cover specific topics with our future guests?

Please message me at https://www.linkedin.com/in/amirbormand (Amir Bormand)

In this podcast episode, Amir Bormand interviews Barb Wixom, a Principal Research Scientist at MIT Sloan's Center for IS Research. They discuss the concept of data monetization, touching on its various aspects, such as the three ways to monetize data, the capabilities needed, governance, and potential challenges with advanced technologies. Wixom emphasizes the importance of understanding an organization's data assets, focusing on quality rather than quantity, and the journey toward improving, wrapping, and selling data. She also talks about her recent book, which packages everything essential to know to succeed with data monetization.

Highlights

00:13 Understanding Data Monetization

01:05 The Role of Research in Data Monetization

01:55 The Evolution of Data Monetization

03:23 The Importance of Language in Data Monetization

05:49 The Three Ways to Monetize Data

06:23 The Challenges of Data Monetization

12:32 The Role of Data Assets in Monetization

16:51 The Journey of Data Monetization

31:57 The Future of Data Monetization

Guest:

Since 1994, Barbara Wixom’s research has explored how organizations generate business value from data assets. Her methods include large-scale surveys, meta-analyses, lab experiments and in-depth case studies; five of her cases have placed in the Society for Information Management Paper Awards competition. Wixom is a leading academic scholar, who regularly presents her work to academic and business audiences around the world.

Wixom joined MIT Sloan in June 2013 to serve as a Principal Research Scientist at the Center for Information Systems Research (CISR). She leads the MIT CISR Data Research Advisory Board, comprised of one hundred data and analytics executives from CISR organizations. Wixom authored her new book Data is Everybody’s Business (MIT Press, September 2023) to inspire workers across organizations to monetize data. She actively works to encourage women, young people, and underrepresented populations to learn about data and pursue data-related careers.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/barb-wixom-0976983/

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Thank you so much for checking out this episode of The Tech Trek. We would appreciate it if you would take a minute to rate and review us on your favorite podcast player.

Want to learn more about us? Head over at https://www.elevano.com

Have questions or want to cover specific topics with our future guests?

Please message me at https://www.linkedin.com/in/amirbormand (Amir Bormand)

In this podcast episode, Naomi Yudanin, the Director of Medical Data at Munich Re, discusses the relevance of domain-specific data science expertise. She shares her journey, starting in biochemistry and molecular biology, transitioning into systems immunology, and eventually ending up in medical data and EHR product management. She emphasizes the importance of understanding the objective of generating insights from data and how clear business objectives and proper questions drive successful data analysis in healthcare. Beyond the typical technical questions, Naomi encourages stakeholders to think about the stories they want to tell with their data. She links them to the business value to derive actionable insights. She also touches on the perception of data quality in the healthcare industry and how the interpretation of analytics can result in different business outcomes.

Highlights

01:42 Understanding the Role of Domain-Specific Knowledge in Data Science

03:33 The Value of Domain Expertise in Data Science

04:24 Challenges and Advantages of Having a Non-Technical Background

07:30 The Importance of Understanding the Data and its Relevance

10:14 The Gap between Business Outcomes and Technical Delivery

16:27 The Role of Data in Achieving Business Outcomes

19:29 The Importance of Telling the Right Story with Data

Dr. Naomi Yudanin is currently the Director of Medical Data at Munich Re, a leading global provider of reinsurance, primary insurance and insurance-related risk solutions. Throughout her career, Naomi has integrated healthcare domain expertise with machine learning approaches to derive clinically relevant insights and provide actionable guidance for health product development and care delivery. Prior to joining Munich Re, Dr. Yudanin led enterprise-wide AI/ML development in several health tech startups, most recently as the Chief Data Scientist at Nanowear. Naomi obtained a PhD in Systems Immunology at Columbia University, where she received the Parker Graduate Award for innovative research, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in computational genomics at Weill Cornell. The results of her research comprise multiple publications in high-impact journals, including Cell, Science, and Nature. Since transitioning to industry, Naomi has been awarded over $2 million in grants and co-authored two patents for AI/ML applications in healthcare. She continues to serve on the NIH study section for translational AI and as an advisor on several SBIR awards and regulatory committees focused on digital health.

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Thank you so much for checking out this episode of The Tech Trek. We would appreciate it if you would take a minute to rate and review us on your favorite podcast player.

Want to learn more about us? Head over at https://www.elevano.com

Have questions or want to cover specific topics with our future guests?

Please message me at https://www.linkedin.com/in/amirbormand (Amir Bormand)

The podcast features Suresh Martha, Head of Data-Driven Innovation and Analytics at EMD Serono, discussing extending technical impact, particularly in AI and Machine Learning. He gives insights into managing technological advances within a team, ensuring resources are utilized efficiently, and delivering capabilities to stakeholders. Martha also elaborates on the challenges of upskilling oneself to understand better and manage new technologies. Further, he explains strategies to evaluate new tools and technologies and ways to upscale resources and highlights the careful balance between exploration and delivery. Strategies to build roadmaps and adapt to emerging technologies and trends, such as generative AI, are also discussed alongside data security and privacy considerations.

Highlights

01:03 Challenges of Leadership in Tech

01:54 Suresh's Role and Responsibilities at EMD Serono

03:25 Approach to New Technologies and Upskilling

05:37 Hiring for New Skills and Roles

11:04 Balancing Technical Skills and Leadership

17:22 Building a Roadmap for Data-Driven Innovation

17:45 Exploring Generative AI and Future Plans

Guest: Suresh Martha is the Head of Data Driven Innovations & Analytics at EMD Serono (US), the healthcare business of Merck KGaA, in Darmstadt, Germany. He is a renowned information technology professional with over 18 years of experience in data warehousing and business intelligence (BI). He is a highly skilled, passionate professional with a proven track record of delivering sophisticated reporting and analytical solutions to stakeholders. He is a senior Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) member. He has participated as a judge for the Stevie Awards, the Globee Awards, the Smart India Hackathon 2022, and the Brandon Hall Excellence Awards. He is a co-mentor for small business owners at SCORE, acts as a Journal Peer Reviewer, and is a renowned speaker. 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/suresh-martha-85209629/

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Thank you so much for checking out this episode of The Tech Trek. We would appreciate it if you would take a minute to rate and review us on your favorite podcast player.

Want to learn more about us? Head over at https://www.elevano.comHave questions or want to cover specific topics with our future guests? Please message me at https://www.linkedin.com/in/amirbormand (Amir Bormand)

In this podcast episode, Amir interviews John O'Toole, the Senior Director of Data Analytics at Tendo, a software-first company specializing in improving patient care journey. They discuss how Tendo uses data and analytics to improve patient care, help hospitals improve their rankings, and decrease the burden on healthcare providers. Integrating AI as a tool of assistance rather than a replacement in the healthcare industry is emphasized. John also highlights how Tendo creates a centralized, standardized patient data system to ease patient and provider processes. He sees future developments where patient-centric services become increasingly integrated and efficient.

Highlights:

02:01 The Impact of Data on Patient Care

03:26 Innovative Approaches to Patient Care

04:26 The Challenges and Opportunities of Data in Healthcare

05:15 The Process of Evaluating and Utilizing Data

06:56 The Importance of Partnership in Data Analysis

16:28 The Future of AI in Healthcare

22:20 The Role of Tendo in Streamlining Patient Information

Guest:

John O'Toole is a healthcare industry expert with over 15 years of experience. Throughout his career, John has worked in various clinical areas, with the last eight years focused on Analytics. His data analysis, management skills, and expertise have led him to successfully manage enterprise analytics teams in the healthcare provider space. John holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Applied Psychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a Master of Arts degree in Health Systems Management from Rush University. In July 2023, John accepted a position as Senior Director of Analytics at Tendo, a health tech startup.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jotoole1/

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Thank you so much for checking out this episode of The Tech Trek, and we would appreciate it if you would take a minute to rate and review us on your favorite podcast player.

Want to learn more about us? Head over at https://www.elevano.comHave questions or want to cover specific topics with our future guests?
Please message me at https://www.linkedin.com/in/amirbormand (Amir Bormand)