906: The combination of predictive AI and generative AI allows companies to not only anticipate customer behavior, but also deliver a more personalized experience. In this episode of Technovation, Peter High speaks with Shankar Arumugavelu, Executive Vice President and President of Verizon Global Services. Shankar shares his journey from Chief Information Officer to his new expanded role, overseeing not only IT and data but also supply chain, real estate, and shared services. The conversation delves into Verizon’s innovative use of AI, including generative AI’s role in customer service, predictive AI for churn management, and the company’s commitment to scaling these technologies across all functions. Shankar discusses the challenges and opportunities involved in industrializing AI at Verizon and offers insights into the future of technology, particularly the convergence of AI, edge computing, and 5G. Tune in to learn how Verizon is leveraging cutting-edge technologies to stay ahead in a rapidly evolving industry.
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883: Innovation can be transformative for companies in terms of internal productivity and efficiency, but there is often even greater potential in advancing that innovation to productize it for external use. In this episode of Technovation, Peter High interviews Prasanna Gopalakrishnan, Group Chief Technology Officer at Sky Group, about her perspective on the innovation cycle within the company, from value-driven use cases to potential monetization and productization strategies. Prasanna discusses her role, managing technology across multiple markets, and leading an innovation engineering team focused on future-state technology. She highlights the use of AI and data analytics to enhance customer experiences and operational efficiency and considers the potential impact of quantum computing on Sky’s industry. Prasanna also explores the opportunities and challenges of generative AI, particularly in creating personalized sports highlights and addressing IP concerns. Additionally, she emphasizes the importance of hyper-personalization in customer engagement and shares insights into Sky’s strategies for monetizing technological developments. Prasanna also reflects on her global career journey and experiences serving on the board of Tesco Bank, drawing lessons from her extensive background in financial services.
873: As demographics shift and alter people’s news and media consumption habits, companies such as the Washington Post are implementing significant changes in how they engage with their readers, adopting new technologies internally to stay abreast of new trends. In this episode of Technovation, Peter High is joined in conversation by Vineet Khosla, CTO of The Washington Post, and they explore the transformative changes in technology and innovation at this iconic news organization. Vineet shares insights into his role, the integration of AI throughout the company, and the omnichannel approach to delivering news. Vineet also discusses how his team leverages data, analytics, and AI to enhance the reader experience and adapt to the changing media landscape. He also details his journey from roles at Uber and Apple to leading The Post’s tech team, his views on the future of news, and the exciting potential of quantum computing.
837: The media and publishing industry has undergone a massive evolution over the years as more and more readers prefer a digital experience. To talk about this shift in customer expectations towards digital, Sanjay Bhakta, Chief Product & Technology Officer at Condé Nast, joins Peter High on the broadcast and speaks about the company’s digital-first strategy. He begins with an overview of his role that combines product and technology and explains the rationale behind having a single executive focused on both. He shares his insights on centralizing the IT function across his global team, building offshore capabilities like the Condé Nast Technology Lab in India, and his transition from traditional IT to broader engineering responsibilities. Finally, Sanjay talks about the trends on his radar for the coming years, the ethics behind generative AI in media, and his reflections from across his career.
831: Once executives implement the much-talked-about AI and GenAI tools into their company’s operating models, the next step in their AI journey is scaling those tools. In a panel from our December Metis Strategy Digital Symposium, Yasir Anwar, CTO/CDO of Williams-Sonoma, and Cisco Sanchez, CIO of Qualcomm, join Metis Strategy Partner and West Coast Lead Chris Davis in a discussion about how they’ve scaled their respective AI-first operating models and the impact they’ve seen on AI tools on their business. Yasir talks about beginning the journey with a moonshot idea and tracking the evolution of AI within the company’s operating model. Cisco shares details about Qualcomm’s Imagine platform used to explore the art of the possible with GenAI and the impact it has had on the overall AI journey. Finally, both executives discuss challenges, risks, and future ambitions when it comes to implementing AI into more of their business models.
827: For the past three decades, WIRED co-founder Kevin Kelly has published multiple pieces of work ranging from tool reviews to long-form books. In his latest book, Excellent Advice for Living, Kevin takes his learnings from his life and shares the advice he wished he had learned when he was younger. In this interview, Kevin discusses some of these insights from his book including his recommendation of “being the only,” the concept of prototyping your life, and the importance of time and experiences. He discusses his source of ‘radical optimism’, the lesson that the best things happen slowly, and the ‘better delusion’ which he calls ‘pronoia’. Finally, Kevin turns the conversation towards his view of technology, specifically on the future of artificial intelligence, its impact on humans, and why it will become more of a partnership between AI and humans than a total replacement.
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.
809: Lakshman Nathan joins our host Peter High in a conversation about the catalyzing factors behind the company’s cloud transformation and the strategic alignment he aims to achieve between the IT organization and the rest of the business. Laksh explains his expanded purview as he has moved into a global role within the company, the evolving team composition as a result, and the changing skillsets needed along with the process of upskilling the talent on his team. He also goes into the M&A integration process, how it has helped push forward the cloud-first adoption, and how collaboration has been impacted by the move toward a more remote workplace environment. Finally, Laksh talks about the trends in generative AI, the experimentation with the new technology on the horizon, and the secrets to his career success.
803: Moti joins our host Peter High in a conversation about creating a world-class supply chain and developing a digital customer and employee experience at the company. He explains how his global team is organized and the ways he collaborates with the broadly distributed executive team. Moti talks about the transformation of the 150-year-old company, the responsibility he holds in supply chain management, and his perspective on the future of work and its impact on real estate. Finally, Moti looks ahead at the trends in 6G and other technologies on the horizon and reflects on the secrets to his career success.
709: Rich reflects on his career at the periodical and the insights he has gained on culture, politics, and the world of business. He talks about the recent Forbes Global CEO Conference in Singapore and debriefs Peter on the high-level takeaways about the foreign perspectives of the global economy, the trajectory of the U.S. economy, and anticipation of the Fed’s response. Rich also looks at his experiences in technology and how he has viewed the generational gap between understanding consumer technology and enterprise technology. Finally, Rich describes his view on entrepreneurship, the keys to his career success, and how he stays knowledgeable on a variety of topics.
