Technovation with Peter High (CIO, CTO, CDO, CXO Interviews)

994: Leading Through Change Requires Culture, Clarity, and Courage. In this episode of Technovation, Metis Strategy’s Andrew Krusell moderates a powerful panel with three accomplished CIOs: Richard Donaldson (CIO of Duke Energy), Neal Sample (CIO of Walgreens Boots Alliance), and Darlene Taylor (CIO of Superior Industries). Together, they share candid lessons and actionable strategies for leading large-scale transformation amid disruption. From building cultural permission for failure and branding your own leadership style to balancing customer needs with operational rigor and navigating AI-driven growth, these executives illustrate how technology leaders can drive meaningful, sustainable change in complex environments. Key topics include: Building cultural agility at legacy, risk-averse organizations Branding transformation through authentic leadership Balancing internal and external forces driving AI adoption Managing through market volatility and geopolitical uncertainty Avoiding pitfalls and cultivating resilience through networks and listening

Customer-first IT and innovation at scale. On this episode of Technovation, host Peter High speaks with Mike Trkay, Chief Information Officer at FICO, a $2B analytics software company. Mike leads not only internal IT but also the operations of FICO’s customer-facing SaaS and PaaS platforms making him a unique, customer-facing CIO. Mike shares insights from his 12-year tenure, during which FICO’s stock has risen 3,600%, and explains how his team drives customer trust, operational excellence, and innovation. Topics include his customer-centric approach to IT, leveraging AIOps and AI to scale operations, and the emergence of focused language models to reduce complexity and deliver business impact. Key topics include: Evolving the CIO role to include customer-facing operations Driving revenue retention through world-class SaaS delivery Scaling with innovation and a culture of experimentation Applying AI, AIOps, and focused language models at FICO

“Healthcare, first of all, unlike other industries, has to be held to a higher standard in terms of responsibility.” In this episode of Technovation, host Peter High speaks with Sandeep Dadlani, Executive Vice President and Chief Digital & Technology Officer of UnitedHealth Group, the Fortune 3 healthcare leader. Sandeep explains how his team’s technology and digital strategies are tightly aligned to UnitedHealth Group’s mission: helping people live healthier lives and making the health system work better for everyone. He shares how AI, cloud, and data-driven innovations improve care delivery, enhance provider and patient experiences, and reduce administrative burden while driving transformation at scale. Key topics include: Aligning digital-first strategies to UHG’s mission and patient outcomes Using AI to free clinicians and advocates to focus on care, not paperwork Empowering patients with seamless, portable, digital healthcare experiences Partnering responsibly with startups to accelerate mission-aligned innovation Embedding responsible AI governance to uphold trust and fairness

Rajeev Dham, Partner at Sapphire Ventures, specializes in investing in enterprise tech and champions founders who prioritize first-principles thinking. He discusses the evolution of venture capital in the AI era, emphasizing the need for authenticity in AI innovation. Rajeev delves into the transformative potential of agentic AI and its implications for SaaS and software development. He also provides insights for CIOs on identifying promising technologies and adapting organizational culture to embrace these advancements.

In this episode of Technovation, we feature a panel from the Metis Strategy Summit moderated by Ozlem Ulusoy, exploring how senior technology executives are preparing their talent for an AI-driven future. Joining the conversation are Kristie Grinnell, CIO of TD SYNNEX; Madhu Ramamurthy, CIO of Zurich North America; and Sesh Tirumala, CIO of Western Digital. Together, they share how they create safe spaces for experimentation, assess and reskill their workforce, and strike the balance between innovation and governance. The panelists discuss approaches to building transparent and explainable AI models, retaining subject matter expertise, and aligning people, process, and technology to unlock business value while managing risk. Topics include: Creating “playgrounds” for safe AI experimentation Building transparent, incremental AI in regulated industries Assessing and reskilling talent across IT architecture, data, and operations Balancing insourcing, outsourcing, and SME development Fostering a mindset of curiosity, business literacy, and innovation

How do you modernize a 160-year-old company feeding 500 million people? Jennifer Hartsock, Chief Information and Digital Officer of Cargill, joins Peter High to unpack one of the most ambitious IT transformations in food and agriculture. Cargill, the largest privately held company in the U.S., is streamlining tech operations, insourcing talent, and deploying AI to drive global impact. In this episode, Jen shares how she restructured Cargill’s tech teams to better align with business goals, reduced outsourcing from 80% to 60%, and embedded AI across R&D, sales, and operations. She also discusses her board service at Ingersoll Rand and reflects on ethical tech leadership at scale. Key topics include: Cargill’s 2030 digital strategy and purpose-driven IT Scaling AI for precision agriculture and customer insights Building global tech hubs in Atlanta and Bangalore Navigating ethical AI and autonomous agent adoption

In this episode of Technovation, we feature a panel from the Metis Strategy Summit moderated by Metis Strategy’s Co-Head of Executive Networks, Media, and Research Steven Norton, exploring how senior technology executives are aligning AI to their business strategy. Joining the conversation are Ryan Snyder, CIO of Thermo Fisher Scientific; Ramkumar Rayapureddy, CIO of Viatris; and Allen Fazio, CIO of Houlihan Lokey. Together, they share how their organizations are evolving from isolated AI pilots to holistic strategies grounded in business value, robust governance, and relentless data modernization. The panelists discuss the practical realities of establishing clear measurement frameworks, navigating the tension between centralized control and decentralized innovation, and leading cultural change as AI adoption accelerates across regulated and fast-moving industries. Topics include: Building measurement frameworks to align AI with core business objectives Defining guardrails and governance models for safe, scalable AI innovation Approaches to data consolidation and ownership in the age of AI Enabling decentralized creativity without losing strategic oversight Upskilling technology and business teams to meet new demands

Kelly Services is transforming the way enterprises approach staffing through AI-powered innovation, scalable tech, and smart acquisitions. In this episode of Technovation, Peter High speaks with Sean Perry, Chief Information Officer of Kelly Services, a $4.3B staffing and professional services company. Sean shares how he’s driving modernization across IT, integrating recent acquisitions like Motion Recruitment, and developing innovative AI tools to deliver enterprise-wide value. From launching a custom AI assistant (GRACE) to implementing a modern tech stack across legacy systems, Sean reveals how Kelly is reshaping its digital future while improving candidate and client experiences. He also draws lessons from his time at Amazon and Robert Half to rethink internal products with a customer-first mindset. Key themes include: Scalable AI deployment through internal platform GRACE Integrating acquired tech stacks post-M&A Applying Amazon-style product thinking to IT Future-ready strategies for AI in staffing tech

In today’s episode of Technovation, we feature a fireside chat from our Metis Strategy Summit, held on May 13, 2025, and moderated by Peter High. The guest is Justin Wexler, General Partner at WndrCo, a venture capital firm focused on scaling AI and enterprise innovation. In this candid conversation, Justin offers a behind-the-scenes look at how WndrCo identifies, mentors, and scales AI startups into enterprise-ready solutions. With deep involvement in companies like Writer and Netomi, he explores what separates proof-of-concept from production-grade success—and what enterprise CIOs can do to help startups land and expand. Topics include: Bridging the startup-enterprise gap through curated CIO ecosystems Designing AI pilots that deliver measurable ROI from day one Building internal champions to accelerate deployment Evaluating causal AI and agentic workflows in marketing and CX How WndrCo supports founders beyond capital—through storytelling, hiring, and scaling

How does a $48B tech distributor reinvent itself as a platform company? In this episode, Peter High speaks with Dham Pathervellai, Chief Technology Officer of Ingram Micro, a global distributor and technology platform connecting 2500+ vendors with 160,000 customers in 200+ countries. Dham unpacks the company’s evolution from a traditional distributor to a platform-first enterprise. Dham shares his perspective on building Ingram’s digital backbone, leading enterprise architecture, and scaling a global technology team. He also outlines how Ingram’s data mesh, intelligent data assistant, and “come as you are” integration strategy are helping to drive customer value, fuel innovation, and power AI transformation. Key insights include: The cultural shift needed for platform transformation How enterprise architecture became the “tip of the spear” Driving revenue with data-driven automation Preparing for an AI-enabled workforce