Enterprise AI Innovators

On the 13th episode of Enterprise Software Innovators, hosts Evan Reiser (Abnormal Security) and Saam Motamedi (Greylock Partners) talk with Bashir Agboola, Chief Technology Officer at Hospital for Special Surgery. HSS is one of the preeminent medical institutions in the world, specializing in orthopedics and providing care to patients from over 100 different countries. Today, Bashir shares his perspective on digital transformation, the exciting technologies HSS is deploying to improve patient outcomes, and insights into upcoming step changes in the healthcare industry. Quick hits from Bashir:On HSS utilizing 3D printing: “We have the first in-hospital 3D printing of joints. This was a project we did in collaboration with a European company to set up an FDA regulated facility at the hospital to print the joints for acute procedures. So for things like that of course you might think, ‘3D printing, is that digital?’ Of course…it's all along the line of digital transformation. The modern total knee replacement was developed at HSS close to 50 years ago. So being able to do 3D printing of implants for those acute situations is just in line with that tradition of groundbreaking innovation.”On HSS accelerating its digital transformation during COVID-19: “We went from an organization that as of 2019 probably had less than 1% of our workforce working remotely to within March of 2020, a third of the organization was working from home, so we had to enable that technology. For me and other infrastructure and operations leaders in healthcare it was ‘finally, yes. This is what we've been saying all along, we need to focus on digital workplace transformation…’[For perspective], in all of 2019 we had less than 1500 telehealth sessions. 12 months later, we had over 123,000 telehealth sessions.”On the future of healthcare delivery: “The future of healthcare has us consuming care virtually more and in ambulatory settings whether it's in-home or in a clinical setting. To put things in perspective, for the first 150 years of HSS, we did surgery at the hospital. In the last five years, we've opened a number of ambulatory surgical care centers where you go in, you get that meniscus tear repaired and you go back home. You don't have to stay in a hospital setting.”On blockchain’s use cases for healthcare: “People have also talked about tackling the problems of counterfeit therapeutics, which is a big problem, particularly in the developing world. There are counterfeit drugs in pharmacies all over Africa and other parts of the world. Leveraging the blockchain to track the provenance of that drug or any other thing for which you want to track the provenance, the decentralized nature of the blockchain can allow us to do that.”Recent Book Recommendation: The First 90 Days by Michael D. Watkins--Like what you hear? Leave us a review and subscribe to the show on Apple, Google, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts.Find more great lessons from tech leaders and enterprise software experts at enterprisesoftware.blog.Enterprise Software Innovators is produced by Josh Meer, Luke Reiser

On the 12th episode of Enterprise Software Innovators, hosts Evan Reiser (Abnormal Security) and Saam Motamedi (Greylock Partners) talk with Bijoy Sagar, Chief Information Technology and Digital Transformation Officer at Bayer. As one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, Bayer positively impacts billions of people through technology innovations across healthcare, agriculture, and biotech. Today, Bijoy shares how Bayer is deploying digital farming practices, his perspective on AI, and the best methodologies for partnering with startups. Quick hits from Bijoy:On Bayer deploying drones to optimize farming practices: “We have drones over 73 million acres where we're collecting data real time on the field. We have satellite data coming in. We actually acquired a company to get the data so you can actually predict how much soil moisture is there in one square meter of the land. And then you can actually use algorithms to predict how much seed you plant there and how much do you water? What kind of resources do you need there so that you can actually grow, get the best outcome for the farmers in the most sustainable way? This may not be the most critical digital topic somebody would think about until you think about the fact that this is the food you're eating every day.”On building mission-driven teams: “​​You have to have everybody be mission driven. We spend a lot of time purposefully looking at ‘how do we build the teams together, how do we actually get them to be mission focused?’ I don't start a single presentation without first referencing our mission and purpose, ‘Health for All, Hunger for None.’ I always remind them you are here every single day because there is a patient at the end of the journey, there's a farmer at the end of the journey…You cannot go solve problems of tomorrow with the tools of yesterday.”On the technology frontiers of the future: “The best is yet to come. And what do I mean by that? Some of the really complex pharmaceutical problems such as protein folding would require a 1000 qubit computer right now. We are playing with 40 qubit, so it's gonna be amazing but we're not there yet. So I don't want people to sort of feel like yeah, this is the pinnacle of digital; I don't believe that. I think we will look back six years from now and say my God, those were primitive days!On step changes coming to medicine: “With better models with stronger AI, [in the future, we will have] the ability to do protein folding and visualizations. We should be able to treat Parkinson's disease and cure it. I'm happy to predict and we'll see if I'm true or not in 10 years that Parkinson's will be a curable disease, not even necessarily a manageable disease.”On the framework for engaging with startups: “Look for non weaknesses in the way of solving a problem. I always tell people, if band aid and bailing wire is the cheapest, best, most reliable way to solve a problem, that's fine because there is a role for a band aid and bailing wire, otherwise we wouldn't be making those things, right? So I wouldn't look for a startup to invent a problem to solve. As you say, if you only have a hammer, then every problem looks like a nail.”Recent book recommendation: Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari--Like what you hear? Leave us a review and subscribe to the show on Apple, Google, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts.Find more great lessons from tech leaders and enterprise software experts at enterprisesoftware.blog.Enterprise Software Innovators is produced by Josh Meer and Luke Reiser

On the 11th episode of Enterprise Software Innovators, hosts Evan Reiser (Abnormal Security) and Saam Motamedi (Greylock Partners) talk with Mel Crocker, Chief Information Officer at Air Canada. As the largest airline in Canada, Air Canada is responsible for tens of millions of passengers every year, flying to destinations across the globe. In his nearly five years at the company, Mel has overseen a range of digital transformation initiatives. Today, he joins the show to share how technology deployment is enhancing the customer experience and his insights on AI, data, and the future of air travel. Quick hits from Mel:On AI helping optimize airplane maintenance processes: "Picture how are you going to track all of your inventory, watch what happens throughout a year, and then preposition the parts where they're probably most needed as time goes on, such that if you do have to cancel an aircraft, you can either fix it very rapidly or if you have to delay a flight, you can fix it very rapidly. or at the very least you've got another aircraft somewhat available. When you're running a complex network, you don't have planes all over the place. That becomes almost unsustainable. You've got to be incredibly thoughtful about maintenance and things like that. That's where we absolutely throw a lot of AI at to try and get very smart at this."On future forms of air travel: "There's no doubt you've seen eVTOL, these electric vehicles or electric vertical takeoff and landing technologies. On a small scale, I think that's quite real. I think people are going to be able to order a flight in the same way that they order an Uber, then go from point A to point B through the air versus on the ground. I don't think it's that far from reality now. There's a lot of companies pushing hard on this, I think it's real."On the complexity of air travel logistics: "We hold some love for rocket scientists, they got to figure this out. It's a one-time, you take off from here, you fly to the moon, you slingshot around, you come back. Well if you think about it, try and do that with 240 aircraft that are going to various destinations. You have to coordinate the passengers with their bags, ideally, then you've got to follow all the regulations from all the different countries to make sure you're not breaking any of those and then right in the middle of it, Russia attacks Ukraine and you have to change your network on the fly and make all this happen. Some days I wish I worked for NASA, it'd be a lot simpler."Recent book recommendation: Peak Mind by Amishi Jha --Like what you hear? Leave us a review and subscribe to the show on Apple, Google, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts.Find more great lessons from tech leaders and enterprise software experts at enterprisesoftware.blog.Enterprise Software Innovators is produced by Josh Meer and Luke Reiser

On the tenth episode of Enterprise Software Innovators, hosts Evan Reiser (Abnormal Security) and Saam Motamedi (Greylock Partners) talk with Scott Howitt, CDO at Ultimate Kronos Group. Scott has been a CIO, CTO, CISO, and CDO across several industries during his career, giving him a unique perspective into the world of deploying technological initiatives at large companies. Today, Scott joins the show to discuss how CIOs and CDOs can become ‘chief bridge builders’ within organizations to optimize business outcomes, create a culture of innovation, and evaluate startups to form great partnerships.Quick hits from Scott:On CIOs speaking multiple languages: “As techies, we're really good at not having much respect for people who don't understand all the techno jargon that we use, guess what? The CFO is thinking the same thing when you don't understand EBITDA and how revenue is recognized and what ARR is and what PEPM is. You need to be like a UN translator. You have to know multiple different languages to be a successful executive."On CIOs understanding the business: “Sometimes, you're way up above the business, doing a strategic plan, but occasionally, you’ve got to dive down and get exactly where the troops are and understand what they're doing. I think too often technologists are like, ‘Hey, I'm just a technologist. I don't need to understand the business.’ You have no purpose in life if it were not for the business, and too often, technologists forget that they're here to support the business, not the other way around.”On how CIOs and CDOs can evaluate startups to form great partnerships: "Look at who's on their board, who's investing in them. But then, go ahead and have a dialogue too. My thing with all the vendors is it needs to be the CEO, the CTO, or the Chief Product Officer. Otherwise, I don't want to talk to him because I want to get the heartbeat of where this company is going, what's your vision, what's your exit strategy, all those things. Because if it's a partnership, let's not worry about the price. It is the last thing I get to. It's how we would come together and work together if we formed a partnership. And it should be a partnership, not a vendor-consumer relationship.”Recent book recommendations: The Phoenix Project by Gene Kim, Kevin Behr, and George SpaffordHue 1968: A Turning Point of the American War in Vietnam by Mark Bowden--Like what you hear? Leave us a review and subscribe to the show on Apple, Google, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts.Find more great lessons from tech leaders and enterprise software experts at enterprisesoftware.blog.Enterprise Software Innovators is produced by Josh Meer and Luke Reiser.

On the ninth episode of Enterprise Software Innovators, hosts Evan Reiser (Abnormal Security) and Saam Motamedi (Greylock Partners) talk with Vish Narendra, CIO & SVP, Global Business Services of Graphic Packaging International. GPI is an integrated paper packaging company that services hundreds of the world’s most recognized brands. Vish shares insights on how he’s leading digital transformation at GPI, how to measure the success of digital transformation, how to find the right startups to work with, and the state of AR/VR for enterprise.Quick hits from Vish:On Graphic Packaging International’s digital transformation: “At a 50,000 foot level, we're putting in processes and systems that will be used by this company ten to fifteen years from now. Not in a static way but an agile and flexible way that can evolve and adapt to the changing needs of the economy, the business, and the industry.”On maintaining dynamism in a highly-volatile world: “Technology itself is not the biggest challenge. It is prioritization and adaptation for evolving needs. That is actually truly the biggest challenge...So, you have to adjust.”On how CIOs can become more innovative: “Find progressive CIOs that are active in the space. See if there are ways that you can get connected to them. See if there are ways that they will share their knowledge and their time.”On how to balance pre-existing best practices and innovation: “As humans, no matter who you are, you are a creature of habit. If you have developed a certain set of habits over a while, it takes a lot of effort to break those habits. And understanding how we can drive that change within that organization and understanding the appetite for change is critical to the success of all the work.”Recent book recommendation: Good Company by Arthur M Blank--Like what you hear? Leave us a review and subscribe to the show on Apple, Google, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts.Find more great lessons from tech leaders and enterprise software experts at enterprisesoftware.blog.Enterprise Software Innovators is produced by Josh Meer and Luke Reiser.

On the eighth episode of Enterprise Software Innovators, hosts Evan Reiser (Abnormal Security) and Saam Motamedi (Greylock Partners) talk with Gary Reiner, former CIO of General Electric and a current operating partner at General Atlantic, a global growth equity firm with over $79 billion of assets under management. While at GE, Gary was an executive leader for almost 20 years, and an early advocate for implementing SaaS applications during his 14 year tenure as CIO. Today, he sits on the board of several GA portfolio companies including Atera, Devo, Evisort, JumpCloud, Pymetrics, ThreatLocker, Vast Data, and Zoomin. In this conversation, Gary shares why he believes the best business process wins, his perspective on packaged solutions, and the meaning behind “lean before digitize”.Quick hits from Gary:On how technology and business processes need to work together: “Technology is there to support processes. We used to have a saying at GE, ‘lean before digitize.’ What that means is you need to do a ton of work improving the process before you roll out technology. We had actually looked at a lot of successes and failures within the work that we had done in IT at GE. And it was pretty much binary where if we had leaned processes first and then attached technology to it, it was successful. And if we had tried to just take the technology that was there and support an unimproved process, it was a failure all the time.”On building software in-house or using a partner: “During my 20 years at GE, if you took the most proprietary thing that we did, it was developing the inside of an aircraft engine. It was the single most sophisticated thing requiring incredibly high IQ people doing very, very sophisticated things. And yet when you looked for software that they needed, in order to develop those engine parts, there were at least three different software solutions they could use. Someone who was more NIH would say, "We need to build this, because it's strategic to us." That's not the strategic part of it. The tool was not the strategic part. The strategic part was the knowledge of the engineers that were designing it, not the tool itself.”Gary’s advice to startup SaaS founders: “If you're a startup building software to support processes, whether it's a selling process, manufacturing process, service process, make sure you understand what the best practices are in that case that you're supporting, so that when good customers are leaning their processes, they default to your solution.” Recent book recommendation: The Order of Time by Carlo Rovelli--Like what you hear? Leave us a review and subscribe to the show on Apple, Google, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts.Enterprise Software Innovators is a show where top tech executives share how they innovate at scale. Each episode covers unique insights and stories that will help you succeed as a technology leader. Find more great lessons from tech leaders and enterprise software experts at https://www.enterprisesoftware.blog/ Enterprise Software Innovators is produced by Luke Reiser, Josh Meer and Emily Shaw. 

On the seventh episode of Enterprise Software Innovators, hosts Evan Reiser (Abnormal Security) and Saam Motamedi (Greylock Partners) talk with Diana McKenzie, former CIO at Workday. Diana has been SVP and CIO of Workday in addition to CIO at Amgen. Today, she sits on the board of Vertex Pharmaceuticals, MetLife, Change Healthcare, and Paradox, among others. Evan and Saam speak with Diana about the importance of being a customer facing CIO, the technology-driven innovations she’s most excited about in the life sciences, and her experience being a board member after spending years on the other side of the table.Quick hits from Diana:On CIOs directionally oriented towards deploying new technology: “When we found a group of CIOs who were willing to embrace some of these newer concepts, you tend to cluster together and develop relationships. And then somebody in the group comes to the dinner and says, ‘oh my gosh, we're trying this, We're trying Snowflake, or we're trying that.’ And then everybody wants to jump on board because it's a cool thing to be engaged with, but never just for the technology, always because you're trying to derive an outcome that's better for the business.”On being customer focused as a CIO: “The entire time I was a CIO, I never ever called the people that I worked with inside the company my customers. My belief has always been that the person that we are selling our product or service to is the customer and that's the one we have to all be looking at in the same way. Inside the company, we all have to be working together to make sure we're achieving that end. And by keeping myself and my team focused on the end customer, I think we're better at sort of deciphering what we needed to do internally.”On technological breakthroughs in the life sciences space: “We are working in partnership with the CRISPR company to develop a product called CTX001 and right now it's showing enormous promise in clinical trials for patients suffering from sickle cell anemia. It is all about editing their DNA so that it will produce this fetal hemoglobin that ultimately becomes a mature adult hemoglobin in the amounts that are needed so that these patients no longer have sickle cell anemia. So we're talking about a cure [and] you simply don't get to that without the application of technology.” Recent book recommendation: Not a Good Day to Die: The Untold Story of Operation Anaconda by Sean Naylor--Like what you hear? Leave us a review and subscribe to the show on Apple, Google, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts.Enterprise Software Innovators is a show where top tech executives share how they innovate at scale. Each episode covers unique insights and stories that will help you succeed as a technology leader. Find more great lessons from tech leaders and enterprise software experts at https://www.enterprisesoftware.blog/ Enterprise Software Innovators is produced by Luke Reiser, Josh Meer and Emily Shaw. 

On the sixth episode of Enterprise Software Innovators, hosts Evan Reiser (Abnormal Security) and Saam Motamedi (Greylock Partners) talk with Ravi Malick, Global CIO at Box. Ravi’s career has taken him from investment banking and consulting to the energy industry, where he spent nearly 4 years as the SVP and CIO of Vistra Energy before landing at Box. Evan and Saam speak with Ravi about the most defining moments of his career, the operational differences of startups vs. Fortune 500 companies and how they can work together, the best ways larger companies can leverage startup-driven technology, and the roles of CIOs within executive teams. Quick hits from Ravi:On finding the balance of innovating while maintaining a solid foundation: “Your ability to change is determined by the business’s ability to absorb it and how much can you push the envelope a little bit without breaking things”On recognizing the correlation of company size and operational speed: “I went from being in a speed boat to a tanker”On prioritizing the importance of experimentation within organizations: "You have to constantly experiment. If every day you’re worrying about the current project, and the current issues, you're going to miss the opportunity...I always felt that if you use technology effectively, [the company could] jump four or five steps ahead."Recent book recommendation: Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt by Michael Lewis---Like what you hear? Leave us a review and subscribe to the show on Apple, Google, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts.Enterprise Software Innovators is a show where top tech executives share how they innovate at scale. Each episode covers unique insights and stories that will help you succeed as a technology leader. Find more great lessons from tech leaders and enterprise software experts at https://www.enterprisesoftware.blog/ Enterprise Software Innovators is produced by Luke Reiser, Josh Meer and Emily Shaw. 

On the fifth episode of Enterprise Software Innovators, hosts Evan Reiser (Abnormal Security) and Saam Motamedi (Greylock Partners) talk with Anuj Dhanda, CIO of Albertsons Companies. As the second largest supermarket chain in the United States, Albertsons is responsible for helping feed much of the country. Anuj discusses the challenges Albertsons faced in the wake of the pandemic, the various next-generation technologies being used to drive the future of grocery, and the thought process behind when Albertsons partners with startups. Quick hits from Anuj:On Albertsons deploying machine learning: “Every aspect of how we run our business has an implication [that] machine learning could improve. [Beyond] demand forecasting and replenishment, [how about] when we think about how we staff our stores, the slot management for e-commerce…How do we fulfill those slots? How do we better predict the specific needs of the customer and to be able to match the offers to them? We think there is a big opportunity as we mature both the machine learning as well as a higher level of base automation in the system.”On being more customer centric and agile: “From an e-commerce perspective, pre-COVID grocery was lagging other industries. And that has certainly increased at a very fast clip…Our view is that customers will decide what works best for them. Some people like to buy their produce in the store and love the theater of looking at the produce…Some people say, ‘hey, if someone can deliver it, that's great for me.’ Some will do different combinations. Our intent through all this is to be able to meet the customer when she's ready and in a way that she wants to shop…And what we find is that even customers who shop online, many of them go to the store, too. If you give the optionality to the customer, we can personalize this experience in a way that works for her, that would be the winning strategy for the customer and us.”On working with startups: “If you talked to me five years ago, I would have said we generally tend to work with industrial strength companies because we have big [scaling needs. And I have fundamentally changed that [perspective]...because with the cloud, scalability for a small company is not an issue…That has democratized how we access [and partner with] startups.”Recent book recommendation: Benjamin Franklin: An American Life by Walter Isaacson---Like what you hear? Leave us a review and subscribe to the show on Apple, Google, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts.Enterprise Software Innovators is a show where top tech executives share how they innovate at scale. Each episode covers unique insights and stories that will help you succeed as a technology leader. Find more great lessons from tech leaders and enterprise software experts at https://www.enterprisesoftware.blog/ Enterprise Software Innovators is produced by Luke Reiser, Josh Meer and Emily Shaw. 

On the fourth episode of Enterprise Software Innovators, hosts Evan Reiser (Abnormal Security) and Saam Motamedi (Greylock Partners) talk with Sreelakshmi Kolli, CDO of Align Technologies. Align Technologies’ most popular product, Invisalign is the product of 3D printing, a breakthrough technology that is completely upending manufacturing processes. In fact, Align Technologies is one of the biggest 3D printers in the world. In this episode, Sreelakshmi breaks down Align’s decentralized approach to data access and how it’s improved innovative capacity, the link between culture and technology evolution, and the factors that define Align’s successful partnerships with startups.Quick hits from Sree:On Align’s goals for data access within the organization: “Our goal is to make data so pervasive inside Align, so that it's not just for a data scientist or a small technology team to unlock the potential of it. It's been a cultural transformation as much as it's been a technology transformation.”On using AI to transform medical processes: “The selfie app that we use, we call it the smile view. That's an AI model that takes your selfie [in] real time and shows you what your smile could look like. That's a very individualized experience. We are using it in our treatment planning, you know, we understand what the doctor's treatment preferences are, how they would like to treat the patient. And so we are codifying that using AI to generate treatment plans that the doctors can then modify in real time.”On how Align benefits from startup philosophies: “For us, technology’s like the central nervous system of the company. And so, as a technology team, we stay on top of current technology trends and actively engage with the startup community…Experimentation is very much part of our culture, when we fail an experiment, we treat it more like learning experiences so that we can continuously iterate on the idea or, you know, we just decide to abandon it. The entrepreneurial culture is very much alive at Align.”Recent book recommendation: Ask Your Developer by Jeff Lawson---Like what you hear? Leave us a review and subscribe to the show on Apple, Google, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts.Enterprise Software Innovators is a show where top tech executives share how they innovate at scale. Each episode covers unique insights and stories that will help you succeed as a technology leader. Find more great lessons from tech leaders and enterprise software experts at https://www.enterprisesoftware.blog/ Enterprise Software Innovators is produced by Luke Reiser, Josh Meer and Emily Shaw.