CIO Mind, The Gartner CIO Podcast

“Guardian agents will be indispensable. … There are not enough humans to oversee everything that AI is doing.” — Daryl Plummer, Distinguished VP Analyst and Gartner FellowBy 2026, a staggering five billion machines will be making autonomous decisions that shape our world. But as we stand on the brink of this technological era, a critical question emerges: who — or what — will ensure these machines align with our human values and interests?Join us on this edition of CIO Mind as Distinguished VP Analyst and Gartner Fellow, Daryl Plummer, introduces us to the concept of “guardian agents” — AI systems that oversee other AI and ensure that human oversight and values are preserved and enhanced.Episode highlights:What is a guardian agent? (1:05)Who oversees the guardian agents? (3:50)How will guardians become essential in the future? ( 5:26)How much will guardian agents cost? (7:31)When should a CIO consider buying a guardian agent? (8:31)Why will behavioral scientists be important for deploying guardian agents? (10:07)Will humans or guardian agents be accountable for AI decision making? (12:18)What other options can perform the same actions? (16:32)As an emerging market, when will the guardian agent market reach maturity? (21:00)About the GuestDaryl Plummer is a distinguished VP analyst and Gartner fellow. His research focuses on the strategic issues of cloud computing, digital disruption and the unfolding of the future through predictions, trends and evolving digital business cycles. He is a chief of research in the technology and service providers organization, where he helps oversee research across the four roles of general manager, product managers, product marketers and tech CEOs. In this role, he is responsible for the advancement of research and the promotion of the same to solve the critical problems of, and answer the key questions for, tech providers from engineers all the way up to and including the CEO and board of directors. Daryl is also chief of research for cloud computing and a primary analyst covering multiple strategic cloud topics. He focuses his research on the broad cloud service market, including market trends, forecasts, the cloud vendor landscape and cloud sourcing scenarios. He tracks different cloud usage cases, including public cloud, private cloud and hybrid cloud scenarios and is the originator of the topic of distributed cloud computing. Covering cloud strategy and evolution requires one to see how end user scenarios are evolving in the context of technology and service provider strategies that are producing cloud innovations at an ever-increasing speed. Daryl Plummer provides a perspective on the key phenomena which will drive the largest segments of change.

According to our research, executive turnover is high across the C-Suite, which means that your role as CIO will transition one way or another. Whether you’re transitioning or you’re working with a leader in transition, you’ll need to be prepared to adapt to change quickly.In this episode of the CIO Mind Podcast, we interview Gartner Senior Executive Partner Tom Fuller to discuss how executives can successfully balance making quick impact while still learning the landscape.For non Gartner clients, see more with 4 Secrets to Success for Executives Starting a New Role.For Gartner clients, see our Executive FastStart Experience. About the GuestTom Fuller is a senior executive partner at Gartner and specializes in CIO executive transitions, IT operating models, IT strategy and organizational effectiveness. He has worked in multiple sectors both in the U.K. and internationally, including retail, financial services, manufacturing and government. Prior to joining Gartner, he held senior leadership roles within the John Lewis Partnership’s IT organization and prior to that was a senior member of Deloitte’s IT Effectiveness team.

In this engaging discussion, Tom Fuller, Senior Executive Partner at Gartner with vast experience across sectors, shares crucial insights for CIOs navigating new roles. He emphasizes the importance of thorough preparation, offering a pre-flight checklist that includes understanding stakeholder dynamics and personal branding. Fuller highlights the unique challenges of CIO transitions, advocating for a proactive mindset and extending the adjustment period beyond 90 days. These strategies can significantly enhance a CIO's chances of success in their new position.

Alicia Mullery, a vice president analyst specializing in helping CIOs, dives into the challenges and strategies for fostering AI learning cultures within organizations. She discusses why traditional training often fails to change behaviors and outlines the three essential components for continuous AI education. Mullery emphasizes the importance of senior leadership and innovative incentives to drive engagement. She also highlights the crucial relationship between CIOs and HR leaders in shaping a workforce ready for the AI revolution.

Being a good CIO doesn’t have to come at the price of being good to yourself. In fact, these two elements can work together to help CIOs achieve their new year’s resolutions, from managing cyber attacks to finding moments for peace and quiet. Join Gartner analysts Mary Mesaglio, Shanna Grafeld and Brandon Germer as they discuss how CIOs can meet their objectives this year with our research, 2025 CIO New Year’s Resolutions — How to Be Good (Enough).Episode highlights:What is a professional resolution? (1:03)Why is being "good enough" important for CIOs? (2:26)Resolutions discussed:Leading through movement (4:32)Listening to silence (8:00)Interviewing a hacked person (12:42)Why is setting resolutions useful for CIOs? (11:14)How can CIOs keep their resolutions throughout the year? (14:38)How does setting measurable goals make you unhappy? (17:59)What are the podcast guests' favorite resolutions for CIOs? (21:25)“One of the perennial pieces of advice we give to anyone who's reading the research is: Don't do all the resolutions.” — Mary Mesaglio, Gartner Distinguished VP Analyst (3:14 in this podcast)About the GuestsMary Mesaglio is a distinguished vice president analyst at Gartner. Her research focuses on how to help global enterprises execute transformations in the real world, with all the human behavioural messiness that real-world change implies. Mary works with enterprises on how to create clear principles, how to scale change messages, how to be rigorous about the behavioural side of transformation and how to make change real.Shanna Grafeld is a senior principal analyst in Gartner’s global enterprise executive research practice and focuses on leadership and sustainability. Her leadership coverage includes psychological safety, multigenerational and multicultural leadership, conflict and change management. Her sustainability expertise includes setting and communicating sustainability strategy, organizational structures for sustainability and sustainable technology.Brandon Germer is a senior director analyst in Gartner’s Office of the CIO Research. Brandon advises senior and executive business leaders on strategy, execution, product management and operating models through written research, conferences, workshops and one-to-one interaction.

Alicia Mullery, a Gartner VP, specializes in helping CIOs with practical lessons from corporate successes and failures. Joining her is Daryl Plummer, a distinguished analyst focused on cloud computing and digital disruption. They dive into the nuances of the AI outcomes race, distinguishing between an AI steady pace and an AI accelerated pace. The discussion highlights essential outcome types for success, the vital role of CIOs in AI integration, and the importance of change management during adoption. They provide actionable strategies for navigating the challenges and facilitators in the journey to harness AI effectively.

Gene Alvarez, a Gartner Distinguished VP Analyst with over 40 years in technology innovation, shares insights on 2025's Top Strategic Technology Trends. He highlights the promise of hybrid computing while cautioning against the perils of disinformation security. Neuro-enhancement takes the spotlight as a groundbreaking 'Wow!' trend, with ethical questions surrounding its application. Alvarez emphasizes the need for CIOs to proactively adapt strategies, akin to forecasting, ensuring they are prepared for the disruptive changes ahead.

Tori Paulman, a Gartner VP analyst focused on digital employee experience and workplace strategies, shares insights on optimizing productivity through tech investments. She unpacks why organizations struggle to realize gains despite advanced tools. Tori discusses the myth-busting required around productivity beliefs and the vital role of CIOs in navigating digital transformation. She highlights how customized tech and AI could empower workers, yet warns that many businesses remain unprepared to leverage these innovations effectively.

The worldwide disruptions caused by a faulty CrowdStrike update in July 2024 highlighted the unpredictable nature of today’s digital threats, and reminded CIOs that such crises could affect any vendor. In this episode of CIO Mind, host Ed Gabrys is joined by Leigh McMullen to discuss the critical importance of proactive resilience strategies and the evolving relationship between CIOs and CISOs. Leigh offers invaluable insights on avoiding self-inflicted-harm during these incidents, the need for better basics like timely patching, and effective communication with the board about cybersecurity.Leigh C. McMullen is a Distinguished Vice President, Analyst, and Gartner Fellow in security and risk management at Gartner. Leigh provides CISOs with insights on navigating the C-suite and making impactful decisions. He specializes in future operating models, cybersecurity strategy, business engagement, and leadership development.

“The competition in the market is so fierce, we can’t hire ourselves out of those talent shortage problems. We have to look inside and re-skill and upskill our talent faster.” — Lily Mok, VP, Gartner IT Strategy, Execution and Organization teamDespite waves of layoffs, hiring skilled IT talent remains a critical challenge — especially as 79% of organizations plan to increase IT staff levels in 2024. Listen now as Gartner IT Strategy expert Lily Mok explains how to effectively respond to the talent shortage and other key trends impacting CIOs’ strategies. Episode Highlights: AI and the future of work (1:29)The top trends affecting CIOs’ current and future strategies (4:29)The cost-of-work crisisCareer growth opportunitiesThe global skills shortageEmployee engagement in the future of workHow to address these trends and reduce talent shortage risks (8:29)How CIOs should develop talent (11:27)3 crucial CIO insights for the future of work (21:29)Lily Mok is a Gartner Vice President, Team Manager, working on the IT Strategy, Execution and Organization team. Lily focuses her research on helping CIOs and HR leaders develop strategies and programs to build a future-ready workforce. Lily has extensive experience in global HR and compensation consulting, and is a Certified Compensation Professional specialized in designing and developing employee reward strategy and programs.