Tech Whisperers: Inside the Playbooks of the Best Digital Leaders

We are back for part 2 of our two-part episode with Ralph Loura, recorded onsite at The CIO 100 Awards held at the Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA.Ralph is the SVP CIO at Lumentum and has worked at companies like HP, Cisco Systems, and Clorox, and he serves as an advisory board member for several more. In part 1, we unpacked how Ralph approaches truth-telling and storytelling for effective communication. In part 2 we’re exploring Ralph’s career journey more closely and digging in to the importance of mindset, getting out of your comfort zone, and Ralph’s path toward more sustainable tech standards and processes.While you can listen to Part 2 without having heard Part 1, we highly encourage you to listen to both parts.Join us in part 2 as we discuss:Why leaders need to have a steadfast mindset and a preparedness strategy to confront and overcome volatility and uncertainty with calm confidenceHow to move out of your comfort zone without losing trust or confidence from your teamWhy Ralph joined LumentumHow to prioritize sustainability as a tech leader and influence positive change More information about Ralph and today’s topics:LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ralphloura/Company Website: https://www.lumentum.comOther Relevant Links: https://sustainableit.org, https://genesysworks.org/

While most companies share some standard ways of operating, it’s that unique sliver in approach that truly differentiate the great companies from the mediocre ones. At Discover Financial Services, CIO and Executive VP Amir Arooni is spearheading those differentiators.Amir is a strong believer in the importance of empowering people to do great work and developing them to be the kind of innovative anticipators who will continually create greater and more differentiated value for customers. He leads with a philosophy that we can deliver powerful business results through a combination of process agility, technology, and talented people. In this episode, we unpack Amir’s playbook to learn: How to win internal stakeholder support for the vision How to build a true appreciation for the current state organization as a new CIO How to keep the customer at the heart of all company operations How Amir’s Drive for Small workforce strategy led to a 6x increase in productivity More information about Amir and today’s topics: LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amirarooni/ Company Website: https://www.discover.com/

The best leaders across all industries are leading their people with HEART: humility, empathy, adaptability, resiliency, and transparency. They are balancing organizational goals with the needs of their teams, delivering consistent results along the way. For a tech leader like Kristie Grinnell, it’s a work of art to not only develop those qualities, but also balance them with the often rigorous demands of the tech world – Kristie has always been up to the challenge. Kristie is the SVP and CIO at DXC Technology and is an award-winning executive with over 20 years of experience driving change in public and privately held professional services companies. Through our conversation, Kristie opens up her playbook to share how she leads her teams with HEART. Join us as we discuss: How Kristie embodies each part of the HEART acronym in her leadership approach The importance of accountability and the need to have the hard conversations How Kristie inspires a culture of collaboration within her team How to build a strong and agile team with a great culture Why building trust needs to precede transparency More information about Kristie and today’s topics: LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristiegrinnell/  Company Website: https://dxc.com/us/en 

Larry Quinlan is a Hall of Fame CIO who is widely regarded as one the most successful and impactful leaders to ever take on the role. As the Global Chief Information Officer at Deloitte, one of the world’s largest professional services firms, Larry oversaw over 10,000 IT professionals across 175 countries for over 11 years and drove impressive revenue for some of Deloitte’s larger clientele. He now provides technology professionals and C-suite executives the benefit of his leadership experience and wisdom as a mentor, a strategic advisor to private equity, and a member of 13 boards of directors. How do you unpack the playbook and multiple superpowers of someone like Larry? You bring in the reinforcements! We invited a number of individuals whose lives Larry has impacted, both personally and professionally, to contribute to this interview. As each guest poses a thoughtful question, we gain more insight into what makes Larry Quinlan so special and how current technology leaders can apply the experience he has gained to make a real difference in the organizations they lead. Join us as we discuss: How to effectively lead an organization through economic turmoil and uncertainty Why tension can be good for organizations How to guide constructive dialogue to help your team discover the right answers Why a passion for people is the foundation for successful leadership What SCUBA diving and technology leadership have in common How to maintain balance between your professional and personal lives as a technology leader  More information about Larry and today’s topics: LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larryquinlan/

We are back for part 2 of our 2-part series with Charlie Feld, an industry legend who helped to shape the modern CIO role before it even existed! Charlie Feld is the founder and CEO of The Feld Group Institute and currently works with 80 companies on executive leadership development. He has been instrumental in transforming the narrative about technology throughout his 55-year career journey and is credited with not just transforming companies, but entire industries, as well. While you can listen to Part 2 without having heard Part 1, we highly encourage you to listen to both parts. You won’t want to miss all the amazing insights Charlie shared! Join us in part 2 as we discuss: How evolving technology introduces new problems that must be solved The importance of implementing strategies that can adapt to ongoing changes in the world Agility-based frameworks, and stories from companies that are using agility effectively in their strategy The pattern-seeking secrets of successful modern digital leaders More information about Charlie Feld and today’s topics: LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlie-feld-a7790aa0/ Company Website: https://feldgroupinstitute.com/

As someone who has helped to shape the modern CIO role before it even existed, Charlie Feld is an industry legend who has been instrumental in moving the narrative about technology forward. He’s credited with transforming not just companies, but entire industries as well. This giant among giants has so much leadership wisdom to share that we couldn’t fit it all into one episode! In this special two-part episode, Charlie shares learnings from 55 years of transformation, leadership experiences, and battle scars, as well as his views on the challenges today’s digital leaders are confronting. Join us for part 1 as we discuss: The evolution of leadership in technology-driven transformation over the last 50 years Navigating complexity and the need for leaders to focus on multiple outcomes — business, architectural and productivity The blind spots between business leaders and IT leaders Model frameworks for getting buy-in and support from executive leadership More information about Charlie Feld and today’s topics: LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlie-feld-a7790aa0/ Company Website: https://feldgroupinstitute.com/

Few people truly appreciate the complexity, effort, and vision required to establish and maintain global leadership in any industry, let alone luxury beauty products. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. is the global leader in prestige beauty and a Fortune 500 company with over 25 brands spanning across 150 countries.This week, we take a look inside the playbook of the company’s CIO, Michael Smith, who is spearheading innovation through technology in exciting new ways. Prior to joining The Estée Lauder Companies, Michael spent 22 years in IT leadership roles at Nike and 4 years leading technology and digital innovation at Mylan. Michael also sits in board advisory positions at multiple companies. He is the founder and Chair of The TechPACT, a coalition of tech leaders and CIOs that is leading the charge for diversity, inclusion, and equity in the technology industry. He also founded Tech Day of Pink to unite technologists and IT professionals worldwide around breast cancer awareness, education, and fundraising.Join us as we discuss:Michael’s leadership philosophy of joy, and how it helps him bring out the best in peopleThe value of “patient persistence” and “confident calm” in a constantly changing environmentHow Estée Lauder is using technology to anticipate customer needs and deliver innovative, superior productsHow The TechPACT is working for increased representation and equity in the technology spaceMore information about Michael and today’s topics:LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mwshome/Company Website: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-estee-lauder-companies-inc/Other Relevant Links:https://techpact.org/https://www.techdayofpink.com/

In this episode, you’ll have the chance to hear from not one but three remarkable CIOs: Julie Cullivan, Wayne Shurts, and Carol Zierhoffer. In addition to being accomplished digital leaders and executives with impressive track records across a multitude of companies and industries, they currently serve on a dozen public and private boards of directors combined. Julie, Wayne, and Carol have generously agreed to share their journeys from the C-suite to the board room, their advice on how to get there, and what you can do to be a differentiator once you’re there.You’ll also learn why you should consider pursuing a board seat even if you’re not ready to retire, especially if you’re ready to expand your influence, gain new perspectives, and take your leadership to the next level.For more information about each guest:Julie Cullivan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliecullivan/Wayne Shurts: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wayneshurts/Carol Zierhoffer: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carol-zierhoffer/

As CIO for Consumer & Community Banking (CCB) at JPMorgan Chase, Gill Haus plays a major role in the firm’s business and its success, leading more than 12,000 technologists globally and overseeing an annual technology budget of $4 billion — a third of ​​the firm’s overall annual investment in technology. He is also a member of the CCB Leadership Team and the firm’s Global Technology Leadership Team (GTL).Gill’s passion for technology has taken him on a career journey that has spanned such organizations as PayPal, AOL and Capital One, and each of these diverse experiences has played a part in informing his leadership philosophy today. As he will tell you, delivering a world-class experience to JPMorgan Chase’s 60 million active digital customers requires more than just great technology, systems and processes; it also requires a team of forward-thinking engineers, technologists and problem-solvers who understand and are driven by the opportunity to make a difference in their customers’ lives.Join us as we unpack Gill’s playbook and explore:His vision and intention around reimagining software delivery practicesHow he’s using agile principles to improve the employee and customer experiencesHow to strategically apply the lessons of startups and large corporations to lead a successful technology organizationTechnology’s role in creating a frictionless customer experience — and why the technology you can’t see is just as important as the end designMore information about Gill and today’s topics:LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/orongillhaus/  Company Website: https://www.jpmorganchase.com/

In the healthcare industry, advances in technology and innovative digital services are not only transforming the patient and employee experience, they’re transforming lives. It takes bold leadership, a clear vision and an engaged and supported team to deliver on those big promises.In addition to serving as EVP and Chief Transformation & Digital Officer at Novant Health, a not-for-profit healthcare system serving communities in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, Angela Yochem has taken on significant P&L responsibilities as COO and General Manager of its spinoff, Novant Health Enterprises, with ancillary ambulatory locations spanning 13 states.Join us as we discuss:Angela’s journey of building Novant Health EnterprisesHow to engage talent and technology to build a disruption-proof organizationBest practices for building a culture that values openness, curiosity and learningMore information about Angela and today’s topics:LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ayochem/ Company Website: https://www.novanthealth.org/