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When you’re managing $60 trillion in assets across dozens of products and 30 global jurisdictions, technical debt isn’t just an inconvenience—it’s an existential risk. Jason Adams, Interim CTO of Charles River, a State Street Company, leads 800 engineers building mission-critical trading platforms for the world’s largest asset managers. Joined by Sid Pardeshi, Co-Founder and CTO of Blitzy, he explains how State Street is using an AI-augmented SDLC to modernize decades-old systems, refactor legacy code, and dramatically increase developer productivity—without compromising the rigor required in financial services. Jason frames the strategy around three pillars:  AI for engineering (copilots and polyglot support),AI for operations (APM, observability, and proactive monitoring), andAI embedded in products (LLM-powered explainers).Using Blitzy’s agentic approach—iterative context building, dependency mapping, and targeted code generation—State Street compressed months of work into weeks while maintaining strict quality gates. About the Guests: Jason Adams Jason Adams is the Interim CTO of Charles River, a State Street Company. He brings deep expertise in modernizing legacy fintech infrastructure into scalable, cloud-native systems that support mission-critical financial services at global scale. Previously, Jason was Head of Platform Product and Strategy at Charles River Development and CTO of Mercatus (acquired by State Street and now part of Charles River for Private Markets). He has led high-impact initiatives across engineering, product, and cloud infrastructure, with extensive experience guiding end-to-end delivery teams. Today, Jason is driving a comprehensive SaaS transformation at CRD, focused on building resilient, future-ready architectures. From scaling global engineering organizations to delivering secure, high-performance platforms, he is committed to advancing innovation, agility, and long-term growth across Charles River, State Street Alpha, and State Street. Sid Pardeshi Sid Pardeshi is a technology leader and entrepreneur, currently Co-Founder and CTO of Blitzy. He holds a Harvard MS/MBA and previously served as a Software Architect at NVIDIA, where he built deep expertise at the intersection of AI, large-scale software systems, and product innovation. At NVIDIA, Sid was recognized as a Master Inventor, earning the Inventor’s Jacket for driving AI-powered product innovation, with more than 25 U.S. patents filed across gaming, augmented reality, and virtual reality. He is also a seasoned software engineer with a strong track record in application performance optimization, delivering native client load-time improvements of up to 90%. Beyond hands-on engineering, Sid has led and coordinated software design, framework requirements, and application architecture across global teams of 500+ engineers. Today, he applies this blend of innovation, technical depth, and organizational leadership to building autonomous software development platforms that help enterprises modernize at scale. Timestamps: 00:30 – Jason on Managing $60 Trillion in Assets 01:55 – Challenges and Strategies in Financial Services 07:00 – Embracing AI for Modernization 09:10 – AI in Software Development Lifecycle 15:55 – Ensuring Quality and Compliance with AI 23:55 – AI in Operations and Incident Response 26:00 – Proactive Workflow Monitoring 26:20 – AI in SDLC: Creation to Operations 30:00 – Challenges in AI Recommendations 33:20 – Iterative Context Building with AI 36:00 – Human Side of AI Transformation 42:30 – Adopting AI Tools in Financial Services Guest Highlights: "One of the things that excites me the most right now is the ability to use an AI-augmented SDLC to drive modernization. Otherwise, with this many systems, it's too hard." — Jason  "You have to invest in the non-attractive parts first. You have to build a foundation that's gonna support being able to bring on solutions and tools that could change your overall enterprise SDLC. That's a lot of work and that's a major investment." — Jason  "We are unlocking by adding these additional capabilities and additional assurance that improves quality exponentially more than we could have in the past. Now I can have an agent swarm check itself—multiple agents doing code review at a level of depth we just don't have time to get to." — Jason Get Connected: Jason Adams on LinkedInSid Pardeshi on LinkedInYousuf Kahn on LinkedInIan Faison on LinkedInHungry for more tech talk? Check out latest episodes at ciopod.com:  Ep 63 - How Autonomous AI is Solving the Enterprise Modernization ChallengeEp 62 - Running IT Like a Growth EngineEp 61 - What Manufacturing Can Teach You About Scaling Enterprise AILearn more about Caspian Studios: caspianstudios.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Most enterprises have roadmaps stretching 3-5 years out. What if you could compress that to 1-2 years?  Brian Elliot is the Co-Founder and CEO of Blitzy, an enterprise-focused autonomous software development platform tackling one of technology's toughest problems: how do you modernize 20-100 million lines of legacy code when the developers who wrote it retired 15 years ago? In this episode, Brian explores: Why orchestrated AI agents can handle 80% of transformation work autonomously (and why humans still matter for the other 20%)The realities of enterprise buying cycles and why embedded on-site teams accelerate change managementWhy documentation and test coverage are the unsexy first steps that make everything else possibleAbout the Guest:  Brian Elliott is CEO and Co-founder of Blitzy. A serial entrepreneur, former Infantry Officer with the 1st Ranger Battalion, and West Point graduate in Systems Engineering with a Harvard MBA, Brian brings a unique blend of military precision, engineering expertise, and entrepreneurial vision to transforming enterprise software development. As CEO, Brian leads Blitzy's mission to empower systematic AI adoption across enterprises, transforming traditional development lifecycles into AI-native workflows. Under his leadership, Blitzy has developed an agentic platform where thousands of specialized AI Agents cooperate at inference to autonomously deliver enterprise-scale code that is tested, validated, and compiled. Focused on operational deployment at scale, Brian architected the company's proven Agentic SDLC Accelerator—a structured methodology that systematically guides engineering organizations from technical validation to full-scale enterprise adoption. This framework unlocks autonomous capabilities across the complete software development lifecycle. Timestamps: 01:25 – Understanding Blitzy's AI Capabilities 03:25 – Challenges and Solutions in Enterprise Software 06:00 – The Genesis of Blitzy 07:30 – Insights from Nvidia and AI Development 11:00 – Implementing AI in Enterprise Systems 18:00 – Change Management and Customer Collaboration 20:30 – Understanding Enterprise Security Needs 25:10 – Improving Code Quality and Test Coverage 28:15 – Blitzy's Mission and Market Direction 30:10 – Challenges and Opportunities in Enterprise Software Guest Highlight: "Code is beautiful in that it's verifiable. We're following enterprise best practices—everything goes to a dev branch where a human can look at it, review it, go through a typical QA process. The first thing we're gonna do is document their code so they know what's going on, then add test cases, then develop software at scale that's highly verifiable." Get Connected: Brian Elliot on LinkedInYousuf Kahn on LinkedInIan Faison on LinkedInHungry for more tech talk? Check out past episodes at ciopod.com:  Ep 62 - Running IT Like a Growth EngineEp 61 - What Manufacturing Can Teach You About Scaling Enterprise AIEp 60 - Why the Smartest CIOs Are Becoming Business StrategistsLearn more about Caspian Studios: caspianstudios.com Our Sponsor:  This episode is brought to you by Blitzy, the Enterprise Autonomous Software Development Platform with Infinite Code Context. Blitzy uses thousands of specialized AI agents that think for hours to understand enterprise scale codebases with millions of lines of code. Enterprise Engineering leaders start every development sprint with the Blitzy platform, bringing in their development requirements. The Blitzy platform provides a plan, then generates and pre-compiles code for each task. Blitzy delivers 80%+ of the development work autonomously, while providing a guide for the final 20% of human development work required to complete the sprint. Public companies are achieving a 5x engineering velocity increase when incorporating Blitzy as their Pre-IDE development tool, pairing it with their coding co-pilot of choice to bring an AI-Native SDLC into their org. Visit Blitzy.com and press book demo to learn how Blitzy transforms your SDLC from AI Assisted to AI Native. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode, Chetna explains how new automation strategies are evolving not only productivity, but the role of the CIO. Chetna emphasizes the importance of data quality and security when scaling a fast-growing company, as well as transparency and partnership in vendor relationships.  About the Guest:  Chetna is an award winning CIO, board member, and VC advisor with over 25 years of experience working in the Fortune 100 and serving as a 3X CIO for hyper-growth SaaS businesses. Chetna currently serves as CIO of Webflow, a hyper-growth Website Experience Platform SaaS company. Previously, she served as CDIO at Amplitude and ZoomInfo. Chetna is an advisor to prominent VC firms including Sequoia Capital, Accel, Ridge Ventures, and Mayfield and serves on the Customer Advisory Board (CAB) at Veza and, Productiv and was formerly at Snowflake and Google Cloud Platform CAB. She served on the Tech Committee with Carlyle and Thoma Bravo, and on the Advisory Board of Ninja Focus and Women & AI. She was a finalist and nominee for the Bay Area ORBIE, CIO award, a finalist for “2019 Markie’s Cultivator Award for Best Lead Management Program,” a recipient of the Delta Dental Women in Business Stevie Award of Excellence in Healthcare Transformation, and a Boeing Spirit of Excellence Award recipient. Outside of work, she enjoys traveling, hiking, and skiing and has a passion for exploring different cultures. Timestamps: 01:41 - About Chetna 04:53 - Automation as a starting point 07:16 - Employee productivity and the CIO 11:25 - Discovering new AI tools 13:44 - Evolving revenue systems 22:47 - How will the CIO role evolve? 28:37 - Lightning round Guest Highlight: “ AI has really taken productivity at a whole different level now. It has really helped us drive the pace in productivity we couldn't have fathomed before the event of the content generation. It's not just content generation anymore. It's way beyond that. The velocity at which we are innovating on the product is huge.” Get Connected: Chetna Mahajan on LinkedInYousuf Kahn on LinkedInIan Faison on LinkedInHungry for more tech talk? Check out past episodes at ciopod.com:  Ep 62 - Running IT Like a Growth EngineEp 61 - What Manufacturing Can Teach You About Scaling Enterprise AIEp 60 - Why the Smartest CIOs Are Becoming Business StrategistsLearn more about Caspian Studios: caspianstudios.com Our Sponsor: This episode was brought to you by Blitzy, the Enterprise Autonomous Software Development Platform with Infinite Code Context. Blitzy uses thousands of specialized AI agents that think for hours to understand enterprise scale codebases with millions of lines of code. Enterprise Engineering leaders start every development sprint with the Blitzy platform, bringing in their development requirements. The Blitzy platform provides a plan, then generates and pre-compiles code for each task. Blitzy delivers 80%+ of the development work autonomously, while providing a guide for the final 20% of human development work required to complete the sprint. Public companies are achieving a 5x engineering velocity increase when incorporating Blitzy as their Pre-IDE development tool, pairing it with their coding co-pilot of choice to bring an AI-Native SDLC into their org. Visit Blitzy.com and press book demo to learn how Blitzy transforms your SDLC from AI Assisted to AI Native. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This episode features Chidi Alams, CIO of Just Born — the company behind candy classics like Peeps, Mike and Ike, and Hot Tamales. Chidi shares how his team is using AI, automation, and smarter data systems to modernize operations, strengthen supply chain resilience, and double the business impact of technology. It’s a conversation about what it really means to run IT like a growth engine — not just keeping the lights on, but driving strategy, efficiency, and innovation. Plus, much more: Chidi’s take on “physical AI” in manufacturingHow the CIO role is evolving into a more strategic leadership positionWhy a values-driven tech culture might be the secret to long-term successWhether you’re a CIO, IT leader, or simply curious about how AI and data are reshaping business, this episode delivers grounded, real-world insights.  About the Guest:  Chidi Alams, CIO at Just Born, Inc., is a transformation executive with a proven track record of leading strategic initiatives that drive operational excellence, organic growth, and digital innovation. His experience includes both Fortune 500 and private equity-backed companies. Timestamps: 02:10 Transitioning Between Industries 03:26 Role and Responsibilities of a CIO 06:05 Business Transformation and Strategy 08:12 Managing Peak Seasons and Supply Chain 14:26 Leveraging Data and AI 21:20 Talent Acquisition and Company Culture 27:51 Future of Technology and CIO Role Guest Highlights: “ A lot of how we ran the business, even during the peak season, was a tremendous amount of tribal knowledge. We can't scale based on tribal knowledge, right? So having data systems, particularly as we bring in new people into the organization, helps us to be more predictive and meet demand during peak season.” “ CIOs have to become more business centric.  When you look at what's happening in large enterprises, you're seeing a fragmentation of technology leadership.  I do believe that there will be a convergence at some point.” “ I'm extremely interested and have been tracking what I think is a very important trend, not just in CPG but in retail and any consumer space — even pharma — and that is how can we leverage large language models that are trained for CPG to help drive product innovation. It’s already happening.” Get Connected: Chidi Alams on LinkedInYousuf Kahn on LinkedInIan Faison on LinkedInHungry for more tech talk? Check out past episodes at ciopod.com:  Ep 61 - What Manufacturing Can Teach You About Scaling Enterprise AIEp 60 - Why the Smartest CIOs Are Becoming Business StrategistsEp 59 - CIO Leadership in AI Security and InnovationLearn more about Caspian Studios: caspianstudios.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

CIO Classified is back!  More CIO secrets. More battle-tested IT wisdom.  Straight from leading CIOs across a wide range of industries.  In this episode, host Ian Faison and co-host Yousuf Khan dive into the deep end of technology leadership in manufacturing. Ben Davis, Executive Vice President of IT at Cambria, joins the show to talk about his sweeping digital transformation at the quartz manufacturing leader, and shares how his startup past helped him turn IT from a reactive function to a trusted business advisor.  Plus much more: How Cambria is leveraging AI in demand forecastingHow to optimize supply chains and improve customer experience How to do it all while managing a legacy infrastructure and cybersecurityThis episode is a must-listen for the modern CIO looking to bridge the gap between traditional industries and modern technologies without sacrificing security or business continuity.  About the Guest:  Ben Davis, EVP  IT, Cambria, is a technical leader who is passionate about introducing new technology, improved processes and unexplored data sets to businesses in a manner that allows them to achieve scalable revenue growth. He does this by helping business-minded technologists use automation, prioritization and critical thinking to deliver technology, process improvement and data in a high-value, cost-effective way.  Timestamps: 02:30 – From startups to manufacturing: Applying entrepreneurial DNA 07:00 – Communicating tech value across the organization 09:30 – Why AI in manufacturing is a game-changer 15:00 – Cybersecurity training, scorekeeping, and zero-trust realities 17:30 – Modernizing legacy infrastructure in manufacturing 23:00 – AI adoption vs. business architecture readiness 26:00 – Staying close to the customer experience as CIO 28:00 – Building, retaining, and empowering high-impact IT teams 31:00 – Governance, shadow IT, and the rise of internal agents 35:00 – AI tooling, data gaps, and minimizing technical debt 38:00 – Manufacturing success, excitement, and the human side of tech Guest Highlights: “ I think everybody under spends on cybersecurity. If I had an unlimited budget, I’d put the money towards that. I would also spend the money on data scientists, data modeling, data governance, mass data management to ensure that our data was ready to really take advantage of AI.” Get Connected: Ben Davis on LinkedInYousuf Kahn on LinkedInIan Faison on LinkedInHungry for more tech talk? Check out past episodes at ciopod.com:  Ep 60 - Why the Smartest CIOs Are Becoming Business StrategistsEp 59 - CIO Leadership in AI Security and InnovationEp 58 - AI-Driven Workplace TransformationLearn more about Caspian Studios: caspianstudios.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Eric Johnson, CIO at PagerDuty, shares why today’s most impactful CIOs are evolving into strategic business leaders. He explains how AI is driving a fundamental shift in how IT organizations operate—moving from reactive support functions to proactive, value-creating business enablers. About the Guest:  Eric Johnson is the Chief Information Officer at PagerDuty, responsible for PagerDuty’s critical IT infrastructure, data management and enterprise systems. Prior to joining PagerDuty, he was the CIO at SurveyMonkey, DocuSign and Talend. Before that, Eric spent 12 years at Informatica driving the information technology vision and strategy as the company scaled to a modern SaaS architecture. He is an active advisor and board member to several early-stage companies and a regular contributor to IT thought leadership. Timestamps: *(05:20) -  Embrace shadow IT and AI tools *(18:40) -  Changing role of the CIO *(30:00) -  Security and cybersecurity awareness *(33:35) -   Future of automation and AI Guest Highlights: “In the CIO org, they need to be business experts as much as the partners that they work with… because AI and the use of it and finding those high value use cases, it's gonna take folks in the CIO org to be a lot more knowledgeable about how the company operates and processes.” “Obviously, certain roles are going to change much more than others, but I think across the board, roles are going to change.” “As these changes come, how do you reorient the organization—the humans in the organization—to be able to find that higher value work?” Get Connected: Eric Johnson on LinkedInIan Faison on LinkedInResources: Learn more about PagerDuty: www.pagerduty.comHungry for more tech talk? Check out these past episodes:Ep 59 - CIO Leadership in AI Security and InnovationEp 58 - AI-Driven Workplace TransformationEp 57 - The CIO Roadmap to Executive LeadershipLearn more about Caspian Studios: caspianstudios.comCan’t get enough AI? Check out The New Automation Mindset Podcast for more in-depth conversations about strategies leadership in AI, automation, and orchestration. Brought to you by the automation experts at Workato. Start Listening: www.workato.com/podcast

Siroui Mushegian, CIO at Barracuda, shares how she’s building a smart, secure foundation for AI—-from setting up an AI council, to governing agents, and creating employee guidelines that protect innovation. She also shares how AI is transforming IT operations and unlocking new levels of productivity across the enterprise. About the Guest:  Siroui Mushegian is the Chief Information Officer (CIO) at Barracuda. Siroui joined Barracuda most recently from BlackLine, where she was responsible for all aspects of BlackLine's internal corporate IT. Before BlackLine, she held executive IT leadership roles at PBS’s WNET New York Public Media, the NBA, Ralph Lauren, and Time, Inc. Bringing more than 20 years of executive and IT leadership experience, Siroui has successfully built strong operational environments that eliminate technology silos, elevated the maturity and impact of technology within her enterprises and delivered measurable and scalable business outcomes. Siroui holds a Master of Business Administration in Management and Strategy from Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business and a bachelor’s in mathematics and finance from University of Connecticut. Timestamps: *(04:10) -  Skills for Future CIOs *(07:00) -  Barracuda’s AI and Automation Projects *(08:50) -  Tips for AI Security  *(33:25) -   The Importance of Community and Collaboration Guest Highlights: “ A lot of people are worried they are going to work themselves right out of a job. It remains very important for us to keep our position as thought leaders to hold that mantle high.” “ Your partnerships with your colleagues and leaders across the enterprise will help you get more done than any AI agent will.” “ I love the concept of the education we're getting ready to roll out  in a curated way to people who are going to take these tools and come up with solutions that I could never in my life think of because I don't sit in their shoes every day.” Get Connected: Siroui Mushegian on LinkedInIan Faison on LinkedInResources: Learn more about Barracuda: barracuda.comHungry for more tech talk? Check out these past episodes:Ep 58 - AI-Driven Workplace TransformationEp 57 - The CIO Roadmap to Executive LeadershipEp 56 - Best Proactive Cybersecurity Strategies for CIOsLearn more about Caspian Studios: caspianstudios.comCan’t get enough AI? Check out The New Automation Mindset Podcast for more in-depth conversations about strategies leadership in AI, automation, and orchestration. Brought to you by the automation experts at Workato. Start Listening: www.workato.com/podcast

Saket Srivastava is the Chief Information Officer at work management platform Asana. Saket oversees Asana's IT organization, including optimizing technology systems and processes, connecting technology strategy to overarching business strategy, and ensuring that technology infrastructure supports organizational goals. Previously, Saket held executive positions at Square, Guidewire Software, and other leading technology companies. Saket holds a Master of Computer Applications (MCA) from the Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad, and an MBA from UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business. Timestamps: *(01:30) -  Asana's Impact and Internal Operation *(08:15) -  AI and Employee Experience *(13:25) -  Collaboration and Cross-Departmental Partnership *(19:05) -  Future Trends and Skills Guest Highlights: “When you add business understanding with technology understanding, that makes a deadly combination where you can serve and help move the needle for your business.” “The reality is we get sold all the time, every day. When you show up as a practitioner, as a peer, and you're ready to talk about the good, the bad, the ugly, there's a lot of power.” “ Good news is bad news being delivered early. It's so important to be able to create a healthy environment where you can talk about those risks.” Get Connected: Saket Srivastava on LinkedInIan Faison on LinkedInResources: Learn more about Asana: http://asana.com/Hungry for more tech talk? Check out these past episodes:Ep 57 - The CIO Roadmap to Executive LeadershipEp 56 - Best Proactive Cybersecurity Strategies for CIOsEp 55 - Engineering Leadership for Scale, Agility, and MomentumLearn more about Caspian Studios: caspianstudios.comCan’t get enough AI? Check out The New Automation Mindset Podcast for more in-depth conversations about strategies leadership in AI, automation, and orchestration. Brought to you by the automation experts at Workato. Start Listening: www.workato.com/podcast

Rich Horwath, CEO of Strategic Thinking Institute and best-selling author, shares strategies that help CIOs to elevate their strategic thinking—providing a roadmap for transitioning from technical leaders to visionary business executives. Drawing from his advisory work with top-tier technology leaders, Horwoth breaks down the critical skills needed to move beyond operational management and position themselves as strong CEO candidates. About the Guest:  Rich Horwath is the founder and CEO of the Strategic Thinking Institute where he facilitates strategy workshops to help executive leadership teams think, plan, and act strategically to set direction, create advantage, and maximize their leadership performance. He is a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of eight books on strategic thinking, including his new book: STRATEGIC: The Skill to Set Direction, Create Advantage, and Achieve Executive Excellence. He’s published two articles in the Harvard Business Review this past year and has helped more than one million leaders develop their strategic thinking and planning skills over the past two decades in pursuit of his vision to teach the world to be strategic. Timestamps: *(01:35) - The CIO to CEO Journey *(07:25) - Innovation and Competitive Strategy *(28:45) - Future State Thinking for CIOs *(44:05) - Transitioning from CIO to CEO Guest Highlights: “The great CIOs understand that it's not about copying. It's about creating and innovating by understanding the competition.” "If you're really being strategic, you're going to tick a lot of people off internally and externally." “What are we trying to achieve? And how are we going to do it? So planning can be too complex sometimes, but it boils down to those two questions.” Get Connected: Rich Horwath on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/richhorwathIan Faison on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ianfaisonResources: Learn more about the Strategic Thinking Institute: www.strategyskills.comHungry for more tech talk? Check out these past episodes:Ep 56 - Best Proactive Cybersecurity Strategies for CIOsEp 55 - Engineering Leadership for Scale, Agility, and MomentumEp 54 - AI Business Strategy for CIOsLearn more about Caspian Studios: www.caspianstudios.comCan’t get enough AI? Check out The New Automation Mindset Podcast for more in-depth conversations about strategies leadership in AI, automation, and orchestration. Brought to you by the automation experts at Workato. Start Listening: www.workato.com/podcast

Carl Froggett, CIO at Deep Instinct, breaks down the AI-driven disruptions reshaping the cybersecurity landscape. From navigating complex security architectures to busting big data myths, Carl offers strategic advice for CIOs and CISOs on staying one step ahead in a rapidly evolving tech world. About the Guest:  Carl Froggett, CIO of Deep Instinct, brings nearly 30 years of experience to the role. Previously, as Head of Global Infrastructure Defense and CISO Cybersecurity Services at Citi, he led risk reduction efforts across devices and networks in 100+ countries. Now, he oversees Deep Instinct’s infrastructure growth, internal systems, security, and processes to support global expansion and strategic partnerships. Timestamps: *(08:10) - The Impact of AI on Cybersecurity *(25:45) - Rising IT Spending and Persistent Breaches *(28:00) - Challenges and Strategies for Modern CIOs and CISOs *(32:10) - The Future of Cybersecurity and Deep Learning Guest Highlights: “It takes a level of leadership to say, ‘Hey, our investment over here has been great for the last 5, 6, 7, or 10 years, but that is no longer good enough. We need to replace, we need to reinvest, and we need to retrain.’” “We need to be more aggressive on the front-foot as the defenders. Just protecting your endpoint is not enough—your endpoint's the last resort. If your endpoint fails, game over.” “When opportunity knocks, you say, ‘Come on in.’ It doesn't matter if it’s a role that you were hired to do and it's outside of that role, say yes and get involved. More experience leads to you knowing more people.” Get Connected: Carl Froggett on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/carlfroggettIan Faison on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ianfaisonResources: Learn more about Deep Instinct: www.deepinstinct.comHungry for more tech talk? Check out these past episodes:Ep 55 - Engineering Leadership for Scale, Agility, and MomentumEp 54 - AI Business Strategy for CIOsEp 53 - Business-First IT in the AI EraLearn more about Caspian Studios: www.caspianstudios.comCan’t get enough AI? Check out The New Automation Mindset Podcast for more in-depth conversations about strategies leadership in AI, automation, and orchestration. Brought to you by the automation experts at Workato.  Start Listening: www.workato.com/podcast

Jason LaFollette, CTO at Yext, shares his product-driven approach to leading agile teams, maintaining tech debt, and using a “top-down, bottom-up” style to keep productivity and momentum high. About the Guest:  Jason LaFollette is Yext's Chief of Technology. Jason joined the company in 2014 and built out the enterprise consulting side of the business before moving over to product engineering and technology. Prior to joining Yext, Jason was CEO and co-founder of Citrrus, a professional services company specializing in mobile app development and wearable devices, which Yext acquired as the company's first acquisition.  Timestamps: *(02:30) - Understanding Yext's Business Model *(04:55) - Leadership and Team Management Strategies *(14:20) - Scaling and Technical Debt Management *(24:00) - Adopting New Technologies and AI Guest Highlights: “What I'm looking for is momentum with the teams, momentum with the people, momentum with the systems. If you get fixated on the tactical parts... It's a false sense that you're doing something great, but you’ll hit a ceiling quickly in terms of productivity.” “We only want process when it accelerates us… Once we've proven that we know how to do it manually by keeping smart and talented people in the loop and making good situational decisions is our secret sauce to scale with a lot less pain.” “If something is important to us, the company, or the management team and we aren't measuring and watching it, other people aren't going to value it either. I've come to adopt a mix of top-down and bottom-up leadership where we can't have all-of-one or all-of-the-other, or everything falls apart.” Get Connected: Jason LaFollette on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jasonlafolletteIan Faison on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ianfaisonResources: Learn more about Yext: www.yext.comHungry for more tech talk? Check out these past episodes:Ep 54 - AI Business Strategy for CIOsEp 53 - Business-First IT in the AI EraEp 52 - Empowering Citizen Developers and Reshaping Business with AILearn more about Caspian Studios: www.caspianstudios.comCan’t get enough AI? Check out The New Automation Mindset Podcast for more in-depth conversations about strategies leadership in AI, automation, and orchestration. Brought to you by the automation experts at Workato.  Start Listening: www.workato.com/podcast

Naveen Zutshi, CIO at Databricks, shares his strategies for successful AI implementation. This must-listen episode is perfect for tech leaders wanting to learn how to craft an effective AI strategy, bridge gaps in tech teams, and drive innovation in your organization. About the Guest:  Naveen Zutshi is the CIO at Databricks, previously CIO at Palo Alto Networks where he managed analytics, applications, and infrastructure. Before that, he was SVP of Infrastructures & Ops at Gap and held roles at a SaaS startup and Cisco. Timestamps: *(04:40) - Cybersecurity and Data Privacy *(20:00) - Ensuring Data Quality and AI Strategy *(28:45) - Future Trends and Innovations in Tech *(31:35) - Advice for CIOs  Guest Highlights: “There's a significant amount of pull from CEOs on the CIO to define the AI strategy for their company. As technology leaders… We have an opportunity to actually provide data and AI strategy, and then help influence that strategy towards ultimate business goals.” “Often, we want to move quickly into the AI world but then realize our data set is in bad shape… First and foremost, you need a clear data strategy and you need to execute on the strategy.” “Having business and users buy-in is key — making sure that you are solving for the right problem rather than looking for a problem because you now have a solution.” Get Connected: Naveen Zutshi on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/nzutshiIan Faison on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ianfaisonResources: Learn more about Databricks: www.databricks.comRead Naveen’s AI insights and more on Forbes: https://bit.ly/4frJ93tLearn more about Caspian Studios: www.caspianstudios.comCan’t get enough AI? Check out The New Automation Mindset Podcast for more in-depth conversations about strategies leadership in AI, automation, and orchestration. Brought to you by the automation experts at Workato.  Start Listening: www.workato.com/podcast

Cisco Sanchez, SVP and CIO at Qualcomm, shares his business-first philosophy to technology cultivated over 25 years of IT experience. Sanchez emphasizes the importance of IT professionals loving both technology and the business, creating roadmaps that align with business goals, and utilizing frameworks like Charlie Feld's approach.  About the Guest: Cisco Sanchez is Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer for Qualcomm Incorporated. As the leader of Qualcomm’s global IT organization, Cisco is responsible for leading the strategic direction for IT infrastructure, Information Security & Risk Management, Cyber Resiliency, Enterprise Applications, and End User Productivity solutions. Cisco is also responsible for driving large scale Pre-Silicon, Post Silicon and Enterprise-wide digital transformation initiatives improving Qualcomm’s agility, leverage, efficiency and security. He collaborates with the executive and business unit leadership and focuses on enabling forward-looking innovative technology solutions to achieve Qualcomm’s vision and deliver strategic value. Guest Highlight: "We love technology. I love technology. I'm a developer, but we should also love the business and understand it thoroughly. So when I first came in, my goal was to not make drastic changes, but understand the business to the best ability possible. I use a framework that looks at the models and try to understand, here's what the business does, here's how it does it, the technology underneath, here's how the enablement activity works. And I think by doing that, it gives you a different, deeper perspective of how the business is interacting and what they do.” Timestamps: *(03:30) - The Role of AI in Modern IT*(09:10) - Frameworks for Business-First IT*(17:50) - Selling the Vision*(18:50) - AI Innovations at Qualcomm*(23:30) - The Convergence of IoT and AILinks & Resources: Ian Faison on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ianfaisonCisco Sanchez on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ciscosanchezLearn more about Qualcomm: www.qualcomm.comHungry for more tech talk? Check out these past episodes:Ep 52 - Empowering Citizen Developers and Reshaping Business with AIEp 51 - Modernizing Legacy Systems with AIEp 50 - Powerful Partnerships That Push CIOs to the Next LevelLearn more about Caspian Studios: www.caspianstudios.comCan’t get enough AI? Check out The New Automation Mindset Podcast for more in-depth conversations about strategies leadership in AI, automation, and orchestration. Brought to you by the automation experts at Workato.  Start Listening: www.workato.com/podcast

Carter Busse, CIO at Workato, explores how AI is reshaping business decisions and empowering citizen developers. With over 20 years of IT leadership experience, Carter shares real-world automation examples and advice on navigating point solution vendors, and also discusses orchestrating data across systems, democratizing automation, and future trends that will revolutionize the industry.  About the Guest: Carter Busse, CIO at Workato, is one of the leading innovators in IT/Business partnerships in automation. An accomplished IT executive, Carter brings a rich history in technology, including leading IT during three IPOs—Excite@Home, Salesforce.com, and MobileIron. Carter was hired by Marc Benioff personally as employee #70 at Salesforce. Over the years, he has developed a specialty in constructing highly effective, collaborative teams (90+), executing business strategies, and driving revenue growth while reducing operating costs. Carter is a sought-after advisor of IT leaders around the country, a Bay Area Orbie CIO Award winner, and listed on the Forbes CIO Next list of the top 50 CIOs in the United States. Guest Highlight: “Architecture is key. Very key. So, you set up the right infrastructure in a secure place to let people iterate in a safe place—that takes a lot of architecture. You don't want stuff being put into production that these guys built and break. Who gets the first call? It's IT.  So, I really feel like our role is changing from doing more building and more enabling and more architecture.” Timestamps: *(00:00) - Impact of AI on business decisions*(04:15) - Empowering citizen developers*(07:20) - Real-world automation examples*(20:05) - Navigating point solution vendors*(23:35) - Democratizing automation with training and metrics*(31:15) - Future trends and CIO secretsLinks & Resources: Ian Faison on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ianfaisonCarter Busse on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/carterbusseLearn more about Workato: www.workato.comHungry for more tech talk? Check out these past episodes:Ep 51 - Modernizing Legacy Systems with AIEp 50 - Powerful Partnerships That Push CIOs to the Next LevelEp 49 - Investment Priorities for the Transformative CIOLearn more about Caspian Studios: www.caspianstudios.comCan’t get enough AI? Check out The New Automation Mindset Podcast for more in-depth conversations about strategies leadership in AI, automation, and orchestration. Brought to you by the automation experts at Workato.  Start Listening: www.workato.com/podcast

In this episode, Sheila Anderson, CIO at Aflac, discusses how the company is using AI to modernize while handling legacy systems. Sheila highlights key initiatives such as digital claims processing, establishing an AI center of excellence, and transforming internal operations. About the Guest: Shelia Anderson is an information technology executive with extensive Fortune 100 CIO, services, and consulting experience, particularly in Financial Services and Insurance. Partnering with C-level stakeholders, she drives business change and digitally enables organizations through multi-million dollar technology strategies, agile development, and support initiatives for applications and infrastructure. She is well-versed in a range of technologies, from legacy systems to cloud, AI, and LLMs, focusing on maturing organizations through cloud migration, agile transformation, and digital enablement. With a significant passion and proven results in mentoring and developing talent in STEM, supporting women in technology, and building exceptional teams, Shelia has demonstrated organizational leadership over 2000+ employees across multiple global locations and managed budgets exceeding $600 million. Guest Highlights: “[When it comes to AI] start with your business. Simple, really. Understand your business, your business challenges, and your business opportunities. Always start with ‘why’ and anything that you deliver from there, the closer you can tie the work that you're doing to the business value, the more successful both you and your company will be at the end of the day.” Timestamps: *(01:40) - Aflac’s AI Journey *(03:55) - AI at Scale: Transforming Aflac *(09:00) - Building Automation and Innovation into Culture  *(26:15) - Leadership Insights and Advice *(31:15) - Future Trends and Strategies Links & Resources: Ian Faison on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ianfaisonShelia Anderson on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/sheliaandersonLearn more about Aflac's services: www.aflac.comCheck out the My Special Aflac Duck®: myduck.sproutel.comHungry for more tech talk? Check out these past episodes:Ep 50 - Powerful Partnerships That Push CIOs to the Next LevelEp 49 - Investment Priorities for the Transformative CIOEp 48 - The Future of Employee ExperienceLearn more about Caspian Studios: www.caspianstudios.comCan’t get enough AI? Check out The New Automation Mindset Podcast for more in-depth conversations about strategies leadership in AI, automation, and orchestration. Brought to you by the automation experts at Workato.  Start Listening: www.workato.com/podcast