The Alldus Podcast - AI in Action

Today's guest is Sara Wyman, Founder & CEO at Stackpack. Founded in 2023, Stackpack is an AI-powered platform built for Finance, Operations and IT teams that streamlines spend, vendor and contract management. It delivers fast visibility into where money is going, automates contract renewals and approvals, centralizes vendor data and helps reduce waste - all without a heavy implementation burden. Their mission is to connect the world’s companies with the right partners, at the right time, on the right terms.Inspired by her experience at high-growth companies where vendor and contract chaos slowed teams down, Sara founded Stackpack to create a true system of record for third-party relationships. Under her leadership, Stackpack has raised significant funding, including a $6.3M seed round, to accelerate its growth. Before launching Stackpack, Sara served as Vice President of Strategic Partnerships and Enterprise Sales at Affirm, and held senior sales leadership roles at Etsy.In this episode, Sara talks about:0:00 Her journey from finance to tech, building marketplaces and founding Stackpack2:13 Stackpack’s AI-native platform turning vendor data into cost-saving insights4:06 Streamlining vendor discovery, management, contracts and renewals7:24 Delivering rapid cost savings, visibility and risk reduction10:14 Their small, remote-first team with big-company experience and culture12:19 Advancing their AI assistant by unifying UX and expanding vendor discovery14:59 Hiring in engineering, customer support and go-to-market roles

Today's guest is Matthew Smenos, Principal Programs Manager, Global Veterans Skillbridge at ServiceNow. Matthew focuses on program development and strategy, leading the design and implementation of the Global Veterans Skillbridge program to ensure it reaches diverse veteran communities worldwide. He develops strategies to scale the program globally, identify opportunities for innovation, and continuously enhance its effectiveness and impact.Collaboration is central to Matthew’s work. He partners with internal teams - including HR, Talent Acquisition, and Diversity & Inclusion - to align the program with ServiceNow’s broader workforce initiatives. He also cultivates relationships with external organizations such as veteran advocacy groups, government agencies and educational institutions to amplify the program’s reach and influence.In the episode, Matthew discusses:0:00 His background as military veteran, educator, consultant & program manager dedicated to service08:39 Building veteran career paths through ServiceNow's RiseUp program12:25 Their free 16-week ServiceNow training preparing veterans for tech careers15:02 Success measured by veteran job placement and certifications earned17:25 The story of Josh who became a certified ServiceNow architect23:44 Expanding SkillBridge with AI, scaling veteran training opportunities

Today's guest is Kyle Ryan, Senior Engineering Manager and Principal Engineer at Dune Security. Founded in 2023, Dune Security’s User Adaptive Risk Management solution automatically prevents insider threats in real time. With 90% of breaches starting from human error, traditional phishing simulations and compliance training often fail to reduce real-world risk. Dune addresses this with a unified platform that continuously monitors behavior, tailors interventions and adapts protections around high-risk users.Kyle is highly skilled in AI & Machine Learning research and development, with a specialization in building secure, robust and scalable systems for cutting-edge cybersecurity solutions. He is currently developing advanced technologies to prevent AI-powered social engineering attacks and enable real-time, dynamic risk profiling of employees. Kyle believes that as threat actors evolve, organizations must adapt using data-driven methods to reduce the attack surface and strengthen defenses.In this episode, Kyle talks about:0:00 His journey from early chatbot work to founding engineer at Dune2:19 How Dune Security simulates advanced phishing attacks to train users4:45 How his role evolved from generalist to AI R&D8:17 Delivering authentic threat simulations and risk visibility for organizations11:20 Why future threats will be hyper-personalised, cross-channel and AI-driven14:58 His key advice to stay on AI’s cutting edge and solve hard problemsTo find out more about all the great work happening at Dune Security, check out the website www.dune.security

Today's guest is Yogesh Ailawadi, Head of Products & Innovation - Identity, Safety and Security at Alert Enterprise. Founded in 2007, Alert Enterprise's mission is the seamless convergence of advanced physical access control, identity management and workspace automation. Their solutions are designed to empower businesses with secure, flexible and efficient work environments, catering to the dynamic needs of today’s workforce. They understand that in the digital era, the security of physical and digital assets is paramount.Yogesh leads Alert Enterprise’s global product management and solutions engineering teams and brings over 15 years of experience in information security, identity and access governance across IT, Physical and OT systems. He has led global deployments of PIAM/IAM solutions for Fortune 100/500 customers across various industries. Yogesh is well versed in industry regulatory standards with a deep understanding of engineering concepts and technologies, and their usage in the security domain.In the episode, Yogesh discusses:0:00 An insight into his 20-year career in security, product and innovation3:10 Pioneering physical security governance across critical industries at Alert Enterprise5:27 Expanding physical GRC by integrating with the ServiceNow platform8:04 Seeing a high-demand from large, regulated industries using ServiceNow workflows10:07 Product live on ServiceNow with focus on AI-driven access solutions11:39 Focusing on product innovation, scaling through global partners13:42 Bringing physical security workflows and AI use cases to ServiceNow

Today's guest is Daniel Stanovich, Regional General Manager, Americas Insurance, Life Business Process Services at DXC Technology. Founded in 2017, DXC is a leading global provider of information technology services. DXC's engineering, consulting and technology experts help clients simplify, optimize and modernize their systems and processes, manage their most critical workloads, integrate AI-powered intelligence into their operations, and put security and trust at the forefront.Daniel is a highly experienced, dynamic Outsourcing and Consulting executive business leader. He has a strong reputation for producing best in class results with Fortune 500 organizations by maximizing their investments and solving critical business challenges. He leveraged all aspects of DXC to develop a strategic account plan that brings value to clients through the innovation and ideology behind their technology stack, combined with an optimized delivery plan. In the episode, Daniel discusses:0:00 His career journey from tech-enabled HR outsourcing to insurance2:11 How DXC blends legacy tech, proprietary insurance software and BPS3:29 Why DXC chose ServiceNow to simplify, automate and transform insurance6:16 Assure BPM streamlines insurance ops, gains traction as SaaS and BPS9:06 Modernising insurance ops and embracing AI-driven transformation12:06 Growing the team in-house to meet demand and enhance AI capabilities14:30 Providing value to accelerate industry transformation as the rollout begins17:22 Leading global insurance tech by driving AI-powered industry transformationTo find out more about all the great work happening at DXC Technology, check out the website www.dxc.com

Today's guest is Matthew Farahmand, Co-Founder at Inspira Systems. Founded in 2025,Founded in 2025, Inspira Systems helps businesses evolve by building intelligent, scalable solutions on ServiceNow. From streamlining customer service to optimizing retail operations, they design and deliver workflows that drive efficiency, automation and results. With a customer-first approach, Inspira Systems partners with your team to create and continuously improve tailored ServiceNow solutions that solve real business challenges.Matt brings over 20 years of IT and digital transformation experience, with expertise in application development, systems architecture, enterprise service management and customer experience transformation. He has led initiatives across Customer Service Management (CSM), Strategic Portfolio Management (SPM), Public Sector Digital Services (PSDS) and Retail Service and Operations Management (RSOM). Matt has a proven track record of building scalable solutions that reduce friction, accelerate outcomes and empower people.In the episode, Matthew discusses:0:00 How Inspira helps retailers optimise operations with RSOM3:49 Why Retail needs unified platforms, not siloed task tools5:14 How RSOM cuts downtime, saves margins and boosts retail efficiency8:09 Streamlining retail tasks and reporting with an Omni-channel RSOM10:32 How delaying unified retail solutions drains profit and morale13:09 RSOM enables fast, consistent recall responses across retail

Today's guest is Anthony Miller, Partner and CEO at CGS Federal. Founded in 2017, Contact Government Services (CGS) simplifies and enhances government operations by optimizing human, technical and financial resources. They combine cutting-edge technology with world-class personnel to deliver sustainable, customized solutions that meet your specific needs. With an agile and empathetic approach, they work closely with you to solve complex challenges because they care as much about your agency’s success as you do.In this episode, Anthony talks about:0:00 His journey from GSA building tech to launching CGS Federal in 20172:27 From overcoming early setbacks to now thriving in the govtech industry3:57 Their three-prong approach - introduce, integrate, innovate5:46 Introducing AI to law enforcement as mission-enhancing tool6:56 Integrating AI through low/no-code tools to empower non-tech staff8:38 Innovating legal tech with AI to simplify government eDiscovery11:18 Focus on building talent, being authentic and truly serving the government13:46 Expanding AI with customers and guiding government with trusted tools17:03 Why CGS Federal is a great place to work

Today's guest is Ritesh Dalal, Founder and CEO at Intellective. Founded in 2016, Intellective are a global ServiceNow partner organization comprised of specialized, experienced and result-oriented professionals that have one common purpose: build delightful products that wow users. Using certified product offerings and deep expertise in Employee Experience, Service Portal and Custom Apps, they help you improve self service and realize more value from ServiceNow. It's their mission to "Consumerize the Enterprise."Ritesh's expertise in ServiceNow Mobile, Employee Experience and Integrations has enabled organizations to centralize their applications, providing clear visibility and improvement opportunities. His approach to agile development and project management ensures that Intellective delivers customized solutions that drive significant value for their customers. Under his leadership, the Intellective team has successfully developed innovative ServiceNow products that reduce development time and costs.In the episode, Ritesh discusses:0:00 His experience blending design and tech to enhance ServiceNow experience2:13 Transforming ServiceNow UX with unique, productized solutions at Intellective6:39 How Paramount unified global intranet using Intellective's ServiceNow tools9:29 An insight into their remote team blending UX, design and ServiceNow expertise11:56 Evolving from consulting to product, now a bold unified solution14:02 Building exciting impactful, large-scale ServiceNow solutions

Today's guest is Ari Kaplan, Head of Evangelism at Databricks. Founded in 2013, Databricks democratizes insights to everyone in an organization. Their Data Intelligence Platform provides a unified foundation for all data and governance, combined with AI models tuned to an organization’s unique characteristics. Now, anyone in an organization can benefit from automation and natural language to discover and use data like experts, and technical teams can easily build and deploy secure data and AI apps and products.Ari is a leading AI and data influencer and was named one of DataIQ’s Top 20 AI Influencers in America in 2024. He created and led the Chicago Cubs' analytics team, inspired Moneyball and held leadership roles at Databricks, IBM and Nielsen. A Caltech Alumni of the Decade, he’s authored five best-selling books and consulted for Fortune 500s. Ari also led the Raoul Wallenberg investigation and has been profiled by CNN, Time and the History Channel for his pioneering work in analytics and AI.In this episode, Ari talks about:0:00 His journey from sports fan to analytics pioneer transforming the industry5:54 How the Moneyball legacy fuels his ever-evolving tech innovation journey9:00 Being the Databricks evangelist to inspire global AI innovation11:45 How Databricks uses AI internally, inspires careful customer innovation15:38 Driving unstoppable global growth momentum through their passionate community19:10 His passion for using data science to free wrongly imprisoned, missing people22:01 His optimistic vision for AI’s rapidly transformative future25:31 How AI shifted from skepticism to an essential productivity tool rapidlyTo find out more about all the great work happening at Databricks, check out the website www.databricks.com 

Today's guest is Annemarie Sint Jago, ServiceNow ESX Lead Europe & Business Accelerator at Fujitsu. Founded in 1935, the Fujitsu Group has operations in different regions around the world and provides digital services globally. The company have built large-scale, cutting-edge systems that leverage their advanced technologies and extensive track record, garnering the number one market share in Japan and a top-class position worldwide in the IT services field.Annemarie has over nine years of experience delivering ServiceNow solutions to organisations of all sizes, from small firms to global enterprises. With a strong foundation as a Business Consultant and Solution Architect, she combines technical expertise with strategic vision to drive innovation and sustainable growth. As the Employee Service Transformation (ESx) Lead for Europe at Fujitsu, Annemarie leads with purpose; empowering teams, enhancing employee experiences and ensuring impactful, future-ready solutions.In the episode, Annemarie talks about:0:00 Her journey to ServiceNow expert, team leader and business accelerator2:26 How a MS diagnosis pivoted her career by merging tech with humanities6:03 Building and scaling employee workflows across Europe7:40 Why understanding individual motivations helps people grow and thrive11:56 Personal connection matters most, especially in remote leadership15:09 How Burnout prevention starts with boundaries and psychological safety17:45 Burnout is personal and painful, but support and understanding matter deeply19:17 How her Burnout hit suddenly as realization and recovery took time21:00 Recovery required rest, reflection and redefining personal energy23:30 A journey of reorientation, connection and growth through the Handtribe festival26:57 Advice to prioritize what truly matters to prevent burnout and stay balanced28:26Follow your passion and success in tech doesn’t require specific degrees