Technovation With Peter High

744: Ria Cheruvu, Artificial Intelligence Lead Architect at Intel, discusses the work she is leading at Intel on developing ethical artificial intelligence solutions with a focus on explainability, fairness, and trustworthiness. She discusses her perspective on what it will take to reach ethical AI solutions, the opportunities and hurdles that she faces, and the value proposition that ethical AI offers to companies and communities. Ria also talks about the skills that she hires for on her team, the collaboration she engages in with external and internal partners, and the medium-term outlook for AI given the rise of ChatGPT and other AI tools. Finally, she reflects on her early start in a career in technology and explains how her passion for poetry and writing has helped balance and anchor her during her more technical position at Intel.

743: Penelope Prett; Chief Information, Data and Analytics Officer at Accenture; covers the integration of the data and analytics officer role into her CIO role at Accenture as well as the importance of focusing on the basics when developing a data strategy at your company. She discusses the structure of her teams in her role, the shared services she leverages to strengthen the relationships across those teams, and how she contemplates the art of the possible when it comes to delivering new innovations to the rest of the business including how she co-innovates with business partners and clients. Penelope also talks about driving sustainability at Accenture, facilitating hybrid work, and using her experience across the company to inform her role as CIO. Finally, she looks ahead at trends being driven by the digital-native generation and reflects on the keys to her career success.

742: Guido Sacchi, SEVP & Chief Information Officer of Global Payments, joins Peter High on the broadcast to speak about the innovation he is driving at the company and what the future of decentralized finance looks like. Guido explains his expansive purview in his role, the structure of IT at the company, and the emerging technologies he is leveraging to enhance business capabilities. He talks about co-innovating with clients and business partners, rethinking the use cases for crypto and blockchain, and expanding the metaverse concept through the payments industry. Finally, Guido talks about trends in artificial intelligence, ChatGPT, and cloud as well as the keys to his career success.

741: Vish Narendra, CIO and SVP of Global Business Services at Graphic Packaging, discusses the incredible digital transformation that he is leading at the company, the thoughtful and methodical approach he has taken to drive it forward, and the long-term mindset he adopted from the get-go. As a part of this transformation, Vish talks about the cultural elements including the retention of talent, pushing forward a data strategy focused on visibility, and how his experience at GE has informed his view of talent development at Graphic Packaging. Finally, Vish looks ahead at trends in employee engagement and reflects on the difference makers to his own career.

740: Tom Siebel, chairman & CEO of C3.ai, discusses the progress he has seen in the artificial intelligence space and the evolution of the role of platform companies like C3.ai in a company’s overall strategy. He explains what he saw back in 2009 that prompted him to embark on his journey to found C3.ai, shares the common characteristics of companies that have successfully adopted AI solutions, and dives into the emerging trend of CEOs becoming more involved with driving AI at their companies. Finally, Tom reflects back on his career success, the key learnings he has brought with him, and what continues to keep him motivated.

739: Our broadcast today comes from our recent Metis Strategy Digital Symposium on the topic of mastering the human side of digital transformation. The panelists who spoke about this topic were Rob Mills; Chief Technology, Digital Commerce, and Strategy Officer of Tractor Supply Co.; and Jennifer Hartsock, Chief Information and Digital Officer of Cargill. The conversation was moderated by Metis Strategy Partner and Central Office Lead Michael Bertha. Rob addresses his role as a strategic facilitator within Tractor, speaks to influencing the prioritization of technology during M&A, and explains how he is building product management capabilities within the organization. Jen discusses the challenges of change management, the emphasis she places on her “platinum rule,” and driving change among her C-Suite level peer group.

738: Michael Wisler, Chief Information Officer of M&T Bank, discusses the cultural shift that was necessary at the company to drive forward its digital transformation. He covers the way technology is structured at the bank, how he has built his team, and where he focused his modernization efforts. As a part of this modernization, Mike talks about the talent part of the transition and moving towards an engineering culture with a build mindset. He also talks about his involvement with startup accelerator 43North, the experience he gained at Capital One, and the learnings he brought to M&T. Finally, he reflects on his career and the future ahead for technology.

737: Our broadcast today comes from our recent Metis Strategy Digital Symposium on the topic of Establishing the Foundation for a Modern Enterprise. The panelists who spoke about this topic were Boris Shulkin, Chief Digital and Information Officer of Magna International, and Michael Rodgers, Chief Technology Officer of Pilot Company and the conversation was moderated by Metis Strategy Co-Head of Executive Networks, Research, and Media; Steven Norton. Michael Rodgers begins the discussion with the role technology plays in the broad businesses under Pilot Company’s umbrella and speaks to the ways he and his team are developing a holistic experience for the business’s customers. Boris talks about the digital transformation of Magna Intl. and the components behind the company’s cloud strategy, data strategy, and more.

736: David Rubenstein, Carlyle co-founder and co-chairman, joins the broadcast to talk about his latest book How to Invest: Masters on the Craft and the common traits he found among the investors he profiled in the book. He shares anecdotes of his early investment misses, how they led to his future successes, and the reason he always chooses good work ethic over high IQ when hiring prospective employees. David contends that investors often think against the grain and explains why this acceptance of higher risk is critical to the success of these titans of finance. He also sees younger people as being key indicators of successful investments as they drive the technology of future generations. Finally, David reflects on his “patriotic philanthropy” and looks ahead at trends in politics, economics, and the future of cryptocurrency.

735: Our broadcast today comes from our recent Metis Strategy Digital Symposium on the topic of Optimizing Value Delivery through Digital and Technology Capabilities. The panelists who spoke about this topic were Anita Klopfenstein of Little Caesars and Kirk Ball of Giant Eagle and the conversation was moderated by Metis Strategy Partner and East Coast Lead Alex Kraus. Both executives talk about how they align business objectives to operational needs and leverage data & analytics capabilities to improve the employee experience and internal training. Anita shares thoughts on Little Caesar’s “Area 51” initiative to help pilot innovations and measure their success at select locations while Kirk discusses the philosophy behind the co-creation of strategy to build commitment within the team.

734: Katia Walsh, Chief Global Strategy and Artificial Intelligence Officer of Levi Strauss & Co., discusses her unique role combining digital, data, artificial intelligence, and strategy as well as how her role helps blur the dividing line between the business and IT. She describes how she organizes her team cutting across various verticals, drives the strategic roadmap for the business, and modernizes the footprint of a legacy company like Levi’s. Katia explains the impact artificial intelligence has on the customer experience, the consequences of widespread artificial intelligence usage, and the ecosystem of skills and partnerships that help build the AI solutions her team develops. Finally, Katia reflects on the keys to success across her career from her initial stint in journalism, her pivot to technology, and her subsequent pathway to board membership.

733: Chris Helsel, SVP Global Operations and Chief Technology Officer of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, discusses the innovations he has driven to create new mobility experiences focused on sustainability and efficiency. He discusses the 125-year-old company’s business, what falls under his purview, and why combining operations and technology was key to the company’s digital transformation. Chris also talks about the “Beyond Tires” side of Goodyear’s business, its place in the broader mobility ecosystem, and the open innovation model it uses to breathe life into the digital transformation at Goodyear. As a part of this transformation, Chris covers Goodyear Ventures, the investment arm of the company, and the investments in sustainable mobility solutions such as the non-pneumatic tire. Finally, Chris reflects on his career success and the trends in technology that will help transform the mobility industry. Since the recording of this episode, Goodyear unveiled at CES 2023 a 90% sustainable-material tire a

732: Patricia Kummrow; Corporate Vice President, General Manager of NEX Cloud Networking Group at Intel; discusses the infrastructure processing unit and foundational network that she leads at Intel and how it has enabled the company to build a software ecosystem for its customers. Having been at the company for nearly two decades, she gives her perspective on the advancements being made in data as a discipline and what have been the difference makers for companies that have successfully adopted better data practices. Patricia also talks about the skills that make up her team and the collaboration efforts both internally and externally. Finally, Patricia reflects on her experience as a board-level executive and the trends in artificial intelligence and data that are on her radar.

731: Pragati Mathur, Chief Digital & Information Officer of ConocoPhillips, joins Peter High on Technovation to speak about the digital transformation that she is driving at the company and how she is weaving ESG Excellence into the company’s key objectives. She explains her role, and the role of the CIO more generally, in driving ESG at a company and the way digital acts as an enabler for sustainability. Pragati also reflects on her career success, how she has educated herself on the intricacies of each industry she has worked in, and looks ahead at trends such as data and the metaverse that particularly excite her for the future.

730: Kristie Grinnell, SVP & CIO of DXC Technology, joins Peter High on the broadcast to speak about the “Digital DXC Strategy” that she is driving and how she organizes her team to do it. She brings a wealth of experience to the role and talks about continuing a close relationship with the former CIO of DXC, Chris Drumgoole, and the insight that she has gained from it. Having previously held the role of Chief Supply Chain Officer for General Dynamics IT, she speaks to the supply chain issues that companies are facing and how DXC is navigating them. Kristie also reflects on her career, how she got here, the path ahead for women in technology, and trends that she has on her radar for the future.

729: Nancy Avila, Chief Information and Technology Officer of McKesson, discusses the strategic importance of operations within the CIO role and how that part of her purview overlaps with technology. She also talks about the company’s data strategy, its criticality within operations, and using it to improve the customer experience. Nancy covers the way she organizes her team, creates a culture of innovation, and leverages technology to alleviate supply chain issues that companies across industries face. Finally, she reflects on her career success, describes her pathway to board membership, and looks ahead to trends in technology that she is excited about.

728: Lidia Fonseca, Chief Digital and Technology Officer of Pfizer, discusses the game-changing innovation that she is driving at the company and the key components that have helped move this forward. She talks about the company-wide initiative as a result of the pandemic to increase the speed of innovation and the role that her team, as well as technology more broadly speaking, has played in this initiative. Lidia talks about developing the careers of employees through a “zigzag” approach to growth, leveraging talent from other areas including the Digital Innovation Center in Greece, and how culture plays into the innovation process. Finally, she reflects on the keys to her own success and the trends that she has kept an eye on as we enter 2023.

727: Paul Heller and Kendall Kowalski, CTO/COO and CIO of Huntington Bancshares respectively, discuss their collaboration over their careers, the responsibilities that fall under each of their purviews at Huntington, and how they have organized their teams. They also speak about the core modernization effort that they are both driving at Huntington, the transformation office that they have set up to drive the digitization of the customer experience, and the key components behind the successful M&A integrations that they have led, among other topics.

726: Michael Rodgers, Chief Technology Officer of Pilot Company, discusses how he is driving new digital touchpoints for customers and implementing a frictionless experience for truck drivers and other business partners. He describes the structure of the conglomerate, the various verticals he leads, and how marketing and data fit within his purview. Michael covers his career prior to Pilot and what innovations and new trends in technology are on his and Pilot’s roadmap. Finally, he describes the relationship Pilot has with universities to bring in new talent and foster a culture of innovation, among other topics.

725: Marco Argenti, Chief Information Officer of Goldman Sachs, discusses his journey from one of the premier digital native organizations and applying his learnings from that experience to one of the older and more storied investment banks. He provides a thumbnail sketch of Goldman Sachs' long history and how the company’s scale is actually an advantage to its digital transformation. Marco also talks about coming from a background outside of financial services, building credibility within Goldman Sachs, and leveraging his time at AWS to build the B2C business within the organization. Finally, Marco dissects the necessary ingredients in becoming a more nimble enterprise, reflects on the keys to his career success, and talks about his passion for music.