865: CEOs of major companies serve as both the public face of the organization and pivotal leaders responsible for shaping its strategy and upholding internal values through their actions. In this episode of Technovation, Jim Kavanaugh, co-founder and CEO of World Wide Technology, joins Peter High in a conversation regarding his 34-year leadership tenure at the company and the career path that culminated in his current position. Jim shares his early career journey, playing professional soccer and representing the United States in the 1984 Summer Olympics, and what led him to pivot into technology and co-found WWT in 1990. He reflects on the transition from athlete to entrepreneur, the influence of his upbringing, and the foundational values that have guided his leadership and WWT’s culture. Jim also gives his assessment of the evolution of technology since starting WWT, the strategic pivots the company has made to stay ahead in the industry, and the importance of culture, teamwork, and continuous learning in driving success. Given the rise and current significance of generative AI as a transformative technology, Jim talks about the role this technology plays at the company and how WWT’s Advanced Technology Center explores future tech advancements. Finally, he recounts the lessons he has learned from his remarkable career and offers valuable advice for individuals seeking to level up their leadership within their organizations.
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740: Tom 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.
722: Rob discusses his career journey going from CIO to COO and ultimately to co-CEO. He gives a brief thumbnail sketch of Cenlar’s business and describes his purview in his new post alongside Jim Daras. Rob also talks about the advantages of being a technologist in his role, the importance of developing a solid relationship with the company’s board of directors, and the benefit of having a close relationship with his CIO successor. Finally, Rob covers the trends in technology that are on his personal radar and reflects on what he attributes to his career success.
719: Bill discusses his latest book True North: Leading Authentically in Today’s Workplace and why authentic leadership is crucial for success. Bill reflects on his upbringing, his time at Honeywell, and why he felt that joining Medtronic was the perfect move for him. He then talks about insights from his book including the importance of building strong relationships based on trust as a leader, why EQ is as important if not more than IQ, and the COACH framework he developed on organizing people. Bill then talks about the men’s group he has been a part of, how it helped orient and support him through his life, and why everyone should find an equally supportive group. Finally, Bill looks ahead at the future of hybrid work, gives advice for young leaders as we face major economic headwinds, and shares what have been the major keys to his career success.
717: Mario discusses his journey from CIO to CEO and his vision for the future of the business. He begins with his initial reflections on his transition to the CEO role and explains what helped him rise to the position. He gives an overview of how XPO was founded and the different verticals and spin-offs that have been a part of the company’s history, including the Less-Than-Truckload vertical he served as President for before his promotion. Mario describes the skillsets on his team, lessons from the company’s many successful M&A integrations, and how he fosters a culture of innovation. Finally, Mario speaks about the tech trends in data that are on his radar for the future of XPO and looks back at the keys to his career success.
667: In this interview, Dave covers the topic of how Upstart is leveraging artificial intelligence models to increase people’s access to credit. He provides an overview of the company’s business model, how it collects the data it uses across multiple constituents, and the learning process he went through during the development of the company. He then describes the way artificial intelligence fits into the model, why this approach is its differentiator, and what hurdles he faced along the way. Finally, Dave talks about the company’s IPO, why this was the right time to go public, and how his experience building out Google’s cloud business set him up for success with Upstart.
588: Ed Jennings, Chief Executive Officer of Quickbase, dials into the concept of citizen developers. Ed describes the nature of Quickbase’s business and how he defines citizen automation. He provides insight into how companies can train and empower citizen developers, how the pandemic acted as a catalyst for citizen automation with a renewed focus on resilience, and how citizen automation can unlock the full potential of systems, people, and teams. Finally, Ed also describes where citizen automation typically begins in enterprises, how citizen automation both competes and collaborates with traditional IT organizations and ecosystems, and how companies can begin their citizen development journey.
578: In this interview, James Sills provides an overview of M&F Bank, how the pandemic has affected the digital customer experience and digitization of banking, and how M&F Bank has managed the differences in digital adoption across consumer age demographics. Additionally, he gives his perspective on that state of racial injustice and social inequity in America, the importance of engaging with minority populations within and outside the company, and how businesses can leverage partnerships with minority-owned businesses and minority-focused organizations to support the push for social justice. Finally, James discusses his career evolution including his experiences as CIO of the state of Delaware and how his current position is taking advantage of ecosystems to foster innovation and keep pace with some of the tech trends he and his team are excited about.
572: In this interview, Barbara Lavernos, Deputy Chief Executive Officer in charge of Research, Innovation, and Technology at L’Oréal, discusses the intersection of technology and cosmetics and the evolution of what Barbara calls “Beauty Tech.” We cover how L’Oréal aims to develop personalized and innovative beauty products, services, and devices at scale through the use of artificial intelligence, data, and virtual reality. Barbara shares how the pandemic was a catalyst for digital transformation, e-commerce, and virtual customer experiences, and why business leaders are becoming more tech- and data-savvy. Finally, we discuss the importance of diversity and inclusion in leadership positions.
570: In this interview, Ashok Reddy, CEO of Digital.ai discusses the intersection of digital and AI, why only 8-10 percent of companies are truly transforming digitally. We also cover why IT teams who are successful in truly transforming work jointly with the broader business to define value. Further, we discuss why IT should work with the rest of the business to run agile, why value streams are best derived by collaboration across the typical silos of the enterprise, how Ashok believes innovation is done best, and a variety of other topics.
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