787: Ramesh discusses the modernization efforts at the company and the AI journey he has led. He has driven a remarkable transformation and instilled a positive, driven mindset across the organization. In this insightful conversation, we explore the company’s thriving AI journey, its participation in the surrounding community, and the cultural shifts that accompanied its modernization efforts. Discover Ramesh’s keys to success and the tech trends that are shaping the future of the industry.
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773: May talks about the remarkable modernization and transformation journey she has led within the company. With May based in Singapore, May leads a truly global team with tech centers worldwide and shares her insights into managing this diverse and distributed workforce. She describes the process and benefits of modernization, how digitalization leads to better organization throughout IT, and how her team tests new technologies for potential implementation. May describes the advantages of having a long tenure as CIO, the latest tech trends shaping the industry, and the keys to her career success.
763: Tony discusses the remarkable transformation he led at the company focused on rethinking the digital customer experience and fostering an agile culture with a digital mindset. We explore Signify’s five-frontier strategy and how digital plays in each frontier. We also delve into how the company is digitalizing offers, co-innovating with business partners, and refiguring the business from the perspective of the customer. Tony shares his reflections on his career experience and the tech trends on his radar that are shaping the future of lighting.
750: We celebrate 750 episodes of Technovation with a discussion featuring Arthur Hu, Lenovo’s Global Chief Information Officer, and Chief Technology and Delivery officer of its Services and Solutions Group (SSG). Peter High discusses with Art the development of SSG, his expanded role within Lenovo, and how this group bridges the gap between IT and the new business group. We also touch on how he divides his time and team across his CIO, CTO, and Chief Delivery Officer roles. Art shares insights on the upstream impacts of new models within SSG and how Lenovo helps organizations navigate the complexities of global business. We also talk about learnings pre- and post-pandemic on managing global teams effectively, the technology that has helped keep him in touch with his team, and the necessity of being physically together in the workplace to build trust. Finally, Art gives his perspective on emerging technology trends and reflects on the secrets to his career success.
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.
734: Katia 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 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 and announced plans to sell a tire with up to 70% sustainable-material content in 2023.
699: Vinod and Susan cover the topic of Data & Analytics as a Source of Resilience and Growth. Susan explains the role data & analytics play in delivering predictability and stability as a part of Boeing’s overall strategy, how she trains her team in the skills needed to achieve that, and why data is integral to a company’s culture and telling its story. Vinod describes how data & analytics impact the customer experience at Sam’s Club, how he is making Sam’s Club into an AI-enabled digital enterprise, and how he is democratizing that data across his business.
Boris Shulkin was recently named Executive Vice President and Chief Digital and Information Officer of Magna International 1 $36.2 billion revenue Canadian auto parts manufacturer with 161,000 employees, 340 manufacturing locations, 89 product development locations and operates in 28 countries. Boris is based in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and he will work out of the company’s Troy, Michigan offices.
In his newly elevated role, he is responsible for all information technology and digitization. He leads a global team of roughly 500 employees focused on the shift to digital processes across the entire enterprise and within all relevant workstreams by incorporating usage of technologies, cloud and analytics to create business value using data.
“The acceleration of digital transformation is about bringing efficiencies across the entire enterprise through effortless data access and extracting business insights,” said Shulkin, referring to his new role. “I’m excited to lead a dynamic team and help grow a long-lasting technology-based moat in a company that’s advancing mobility for everyone and everything.”
In roughly 19 years with the company, Shulkin has held a number of roles of growing responsibility. Most recently, he was Magna’s executive vice president of Technology and Investment helping drive overall technology strategy in the rapidly evolving mobility landscape. He has also been senior vice president of Research & Development, leading the incubation of new radar chip development while playing a key role in identifying potential new partners to engage to bring new technologies to market.
Shulkin began his career in the auto industry in 1995 as an engineer and joined Magna in 2003. Shulkin holds doctoral degree in applied statistics, and he holds multiple patents spanning manufacturing, process design, product and controls.
Peter High is President of Metis Strategy, a business and IT advisory firm. He has written two bestselling books, and his third, Getting to Nimble, was recently released. He also moderates the Technovation podcast series and speaks at conferences around the world. Follow him on Twitter @PeterAHigh.
689: Earl discusses the company’s strategic pivot to focus on agility, resiliency, and business capability management. Earl begins with an overview of the company’s business and his role as CIO. As CIO, he covers the areas of importance on his priority list, the new business engagement model he has driven at the company, and the change management that arose as a result. Earl also speaks on bringing diversity into the workplace and the work he and others are doing to increase diverse talent in the workplace through the TechPACT organization. Earl also talks about the company’s increased focus on cybersecurity and how he is training his employees to be “CyberSMART”. Finally, Earl shares the trends in technology that he is looking forward to and gives advice on how others can reach the same level of success as he has had throughout his career.
