Consumer Packaged Goods Archives

877: Kellogg’s has become a household name in cereals and snack foods. When the company spun off its snack food business as Kellanova in 2023, extensive IT efforts were made to preserve the company’s culture and brand identity. In this episode of Technovation, Lesley Salmon, SVP and Chief Digital and Information Officer of Kellanova, joins Peter High to share insights from her 11-year tenure, detail the challenges and innovations involved in the spin-off of Kellanova from Kellogg’s, and provide a deeper look at the strategic priorities of the new company. She emphasizes the importance of a unified IT team, leveraging cloud strategy for seamless transitions, the creation of dual IT functions, and the integration of AI and machine learning to drive business value. Lesley also discusses fostering a culture of curiosity and innovation, balancing risk with compliance, and maintaining strong global collaboration despite geographical boundaries. She also talks about the unique talent development program YODA that drives this culture of curiosity and how it embraces new ways of working in a global setting. Finally, Lesley looks ahead at the future trends in digital twins and reflects on the keys to her career success.

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876: Despite extensive regulations and public health efforts, 1 billion people still smoke today, prompting companies like Philip Morris International (PMI) to develop better alternatives to continued smoking. In this episode of Technovation, Michael Voegele, the Chief Digital and Information Officer of PMI, joins Peter High to discuss the company’s ambitious journey towards creating a smoke-free future and the innovative role of AI and data in this endeavor. Michael talks about PMI’s transformation from a traditional tobacco company to a leader in smoke-free products, driven by significant technological and digital innovations. He shares insights into the role of technology in evolving business models, the importance of data governance in leveraging AI tools, and the people-first approach to fostering a fast-learning organizational culture. Michael also reflects on lessons from his previous experience as Group CIO of Adidas, offers advice on career growth in tech leadership, and looks ahead at trends in AR, VR, and generative AI.

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832: As AI tools become more prevalent across companies, executives are putting more emphasis on refining processes and implementing new technology to compete in a future defined by data. In a panel from our most recent Metis Strategy Digital Symposium, Vish Narendra, CIO & SVP of Global Business Services at Graphic Packaging, and Filippo Catalano, CIDO at Reckitt, join Metis Strategy’s Alex Kraus on the virtual stage to discuss how they are leading the transformation in preparation for the data-driven future and the key ingredients necessary to ensure success. Throughout the discussion, both executives explain the importance of data hygiene and proper data governance as a part of a company’s data strategy and what it looks like to operationalize these new AI tools available to them. Vish and Filippo also touch on the impact AI will have on business including the value they hope to see from the use cases they’ve explored, the implications the technology will have on talent strategy, and generally what the art of the possible looks like. Finally, each panelist shares their perspective on the challenges they are facing when it comes to AI and their strategies for hedging their bets.

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818: Lakshman and Shubham join us on a panel at our most recent Metis Strategy Digital Symposium to discuss the topic of talent strategy in the age of artificial intelligence. Both executives give their perspectives on the general evolution of the talent landscape, the impacts that AI is having on the skills they are hiring for, and use cases for generative AI on internal learning. Each shares his view on the financial component of talent and AI strategies, in-house solutions on cost control, and other opportunities and challenges that AI poses on a company’s talent management strategy.

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This episode is sponsored by Cisco’s Panoptica.

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810: Filippo discusses the foundational elements of a resilient and intentional IT and digital strategy. He explains his vision behind rebranding IT internally to include digital and what impacts that has had on the make-up of his team. Filippo also touches on the elements of a sound data strategy, what the future of data and AI looks like at Reckitt, and how AAA Architecture is the key to a successful IT strategy. He talks about fostering resilience during COVID, collaborating with startup founders and venture-backed companies, and trends in technology that he is staying educated on for the future. Finally, Filippo reflects on his career and gives advice for others to follow in his footsteps.

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798: Shubham discusses how he is developing a digital, technology, and associate strategy based on a modular architecture approach that is focused on microservices, API-driven, Cloud-native, and Headless. Discover how Shubham builds an ecosystem of talent internally and externally, applies data and AI to differentiate the business, and embraces design thinking and collaboration across the firm all with the aim of developing a digital customer experience to enhance the traditional tactile experience. Shubham also talks more broadly about how he pushes his team to learn from experiences regardless of their success and approach challenges with what notes as a comp[any-wide collective confidence. This translates more specifically to how his team is experimenting with generative AI and the other technology trends that are on his radar. Finally, Shubham describes the mental models he has applied in his role and recommends a few critical readings that he has found helpful in his career.

Recommended Readings:

Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman

What Got You Here Won’t Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith

Build by Tony Fadell

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758: Our latest episode comes from our February Metis Strategy Digital Symposium on the topic of becoming an AI company with Katia Walsh, Chief Global Strategy and Artificial Intelligence Officer of Levi Strauss & Co., and George Brady, Chief Information Officer of loanDepot. Katia describes the strategies she used to introduce the mindset of artificial intelligence at Levi’s and how she deployed the technology at the company. George similarly describes how he deployed AI at his organization, the use cases he sees for ChatGPT, and how he reskilled talent at Capital One to accommodate AI initiatives.

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741: Vish 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.

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This episode is sponsored by Adyen.

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739: Our broadcast today comes from our recent Metis Strategy Digital Symposium on the topic of mastering the human side of digital transformation. 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.

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This episode is sponsored by Adyen.

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724: Jen discusses her philosophies in leadership and how she has used those lessons to realize the art of the possible at Cargill. She explains her preference for the term ‘digital’ over ‘IT’, describes the value both federated and centralized solutions have within her team, and shares anecdotes about how technology has improved the customer experience at the company. When it comes to leadership, Jen shares her “Four Ls of Leadership,” the “platinum rule” she lives by, and how these frameworks have pushed her to be a strategic driver in the CIO role. Finally, Jen reflects on the keys to her continued success, the progress we still have to bring more women into STEM fields, and the trends in technology that are on her roadmap.