Catalyst

In this episode from the archives, Tammy is joined by Nimesh Mehta. Nimesh is the Chief Information and Strategy Officer at National Life Group and is passionate about creating human experiences with AI — music to our ears! Tammy and Nimesh discuss how to implement digital transformations with empathy and purpose. Nimesh also shares his thoughts on why psychological safety is so important at organ...

This week on Catalyst, Tammy is joined by Shelly Swanback, a transformation executive who spent her career helping global organizations navigate digital disruption and large-scale cultural change. Before retiring, Shelly co-founded and helped build Accenture Digital, then went on to lead Western Union and TTEC through major transformations, and she recently published a chapter in The AI Edge: How...

This week on Catalyst, Tammy is joined by Cal Thompson, designer, product advisor, artist and mindfulness teacher with over 15 years of experience in human-centered design. Cal most recently served as VP of Product Design and Research at Headspace, where they led both a design team and a scientific research team through the company's expansion from a meditation app into a full mental health platfo...

This week on Catalyst, Tammy is joined by Carolyn Lee, President of The Manufacturing Institute, the workforce development and education affiliate of the National Association of Manufacturers. Carolyn grew up in a manufacturing family on Long Island and spent years on Capitol Hill before taking the helm of the MI in 2017. Tammy and Carolyn dig into the widening gap between AI adoption at the execu...

This week on Catalyst, Tammy is joined by Sezin Palmer, AI Solutions Leader at NTT DATA in North America. Sezin traces her impressive and unconventional journey from CIA analyst and Navy submarine warfare programs to building the National Health Mission area at Johns Hopkins' Applied Physics Lab from scratch, then leading health AI and data at EY. Tammy and Sezin dig into the democratization of AI...

This week on Catalyst, Tammy is joined by Abhijit Sunil, Senior Analyst at Forrester Research, where he leads flagship research programs on IT sustainability, sustainability management, and climate risk. Abhijit traces his remarkable journey from designing robotics labs at IIT Bombay to consulting at Ericsson and McKinsey, before landing at Forrester where a flood of client questions about data ce...

This week, Tammy welcomes Will Townsend to the Catalyst podcast booth, recording live from NTT Research’s Upgrade event in Silicon Valley. Will is the Chief Analyst at LoneStar Advisory and Research, an independent firm he launched after nearly a decade at Moor Insights & Strategy. In this conversation, Will shares where he's seeing AI create genuine, measurable impact beyond the pilot stage....

This week on Catalyst, Caleb Knight joins Tammy in the Catalyst podcast booth, recording live from NTT Research’s Upgrade event. Caleb is the Director Of AI TechX, Industry Partnerships and Economic Development at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Together they explore the reality of AI in the workforce; reframing the conversation around job displacement into job creation and opportunities....

This week, Tammy welcomes Bob Pick to the Catalyst podcast booth, recording live from NTT Research’s Upgrade event. Bob is the EVP & CIO at Tokio Marine North America, a multinational insurance holding company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. In their conversation, Bob shares how his nontraditional background in the humanities—including research on the history of swimming pool design—has shaped...

This week on Catalyst, Tammy is recording live from Upgrade - NTT Research’s annual event that brings together the latest in research and innovation from NTT groups around the world. In this episode, Tammy is joined by Kathleen Zaski, Vice President of IT, Clinical Innovation and Technology Leader at Renown Health where she oversees the technology shaping how patients are cared for and how clinici...

This week on Catalyst, Tammy is joined by Bob Rosen, Chief Information Officer at Arcosa. Bob discusses his career journey, including his early experience in the Air Force working with electronics and even designing tech for F-14 fighter jets! He shares how those formative roles shaped the leadership principles he carries today—most notably, that the best idea wins and that bad news doesn’t improv...

This week on Catalyst, Tammy is joined by Jackie Talbot, Vice President of Product at Hilton. Jackie has a talent for turning frustrating experiences into moments of joy, and she’s bringing that mindset to her work at Hilton. There, she’s leading the use of AI-powered tools to improve both employee and customer experiences. Jackie explains the idea of “phygital,” which combines digital tools with...

This week on Catalyst, Tammy Soares sits down with Dr. Bratin Saha, CEO of NTT DATA AIVista and a true pioneer in the evolution of artificial intelligence. Drawing on his leadership experience at Intel, Nvidia, and AWS, where he built and scaled one of the fastest-growing businesses in the company’s history, Bratin shares insights from a career defined by innovation and impact. Together, Tammy and...

This week on Catalyst, Tammy is joined by Michael Mahar, SVP & Head of Commercial Technology, Loyalty & Digital Products at Wyndham Hotels and Resorts. Michael’s career started answering calls as a Support Technician at Wyndham and now, over 20 years later, he’s helping the company transform their global infrastructure and leverage AI and cloud technologies to enhance the customer experien...

This week on Catalyst, guest host Jod Kaftan is joined by Jim Kalbach, Chief Evangelist at MURAL, speaker, and author of Mapping Experiences and The Jobs To Be Done Playbook.  Jod and Jim Kalbach discuss the evolving landscape of design, particularly in the context of AI. They explore the double diamond framework, the Jobs To Be Done methodology, and the importance of understanding customer n...

This week on Catalyst, Tammy is joined by Tresa Gowland, Manufacturing and High Tech Industry Leader at Launch by NTT DATA. Tresa began her career on the factory floor and has since moved into a strategic role, helping organizations transform and modernize their manufacturing processes. Tammy and Tresa explore what it really takes to modernize manufacturing. They highlight the critical role of emp...

In this episode from the archives, Tammy is joined by Sarina Malik, a graduate from Columbia University, to discuss the role of AI in shaping the future workforce. They discuss the challenges faced by Gen Z in entering the job market, the importance of AI literacy, and the ethical implications of using AI in education. Serena also shares about her experience leveraging technology to create positiv...

This week on Catalyst, Tammy is joined by AI Empowerment Solutions Leader at NTT DATA Christen Bell. Christen’s work focuses on how intelligent systems affect humans in the workplace and, more recently, human’s fears of AI. Christen shares her fascinating findings with Tammy on how AI adoption differs between industries and regions and what makes people more or less trusting of AI. Christen and Ta...

This week on Catalyst, guest host Jod Kaftan sits down with designer and expert in human-centered AI, Shelley Evenson. Shelley shares her insights on how designers and teams can achieve human-AI flow and how to spot the warning signs that a team is drifting into the realm of AI slop. Jod and Shelley also discuss the need for change management in AI transformations and talk about who in an organiza...

This week on Catalyst, Tammy speaks with Nate Berent-Spillson, the SVP of Engineering at Launch by NTT DATA. Nate is the type of guy who is always using technology in new and inventive ways. This week Nate and Tammy discuss the evolution of AI tools and Nate introduces the power of command line interfaces. Nate shares how using AI in innovative new ways can reduce cognitive load and reimagine user...

This week on Catalyst, Tammy speaks with Graeme Cuthbertson, Director of IT Operations and End-User Systems at Neurocrine Biosciences. They explore Graeme’s career across industries, including banking and biotech, and what those experiences have taught him about building empathy into technology. Graeme also highlights the importance of meeting customers where they are, the role of family support i...

This week on Catalyst, Tammy is joined by Mark Curtis, the co-founder of Fjord and a pioneer in the design, strategy and thought leadership space. Tammy and Mark discuss his extensive career and delve into the evolution of design over the past 3 decades. They also look to the future and explore how AI is transforming design and why it still can’t beat the human brain in some applications. Mark als...

This week on Catalyst, Tammy Soares speaks with Prashant Hinge, Chief Information and Transformation Officer at MSIG USA. Prashant has been working in the insurance industry for 20 years and is an expert at building teams to create solutions that improve the user experience. Prashant discusses the importance of unlearning siloed ways of working in order to unlock collaborative and cross-functional...

This week on Catalyst, guest host Jod Kaftan sits down with automotive industry expert Clemens Conrad to discuss the evolution of mobility and the future of automotive design. Jod and Clemens discuss how car interiors are becoming more personalized and how OEMs are adapting to hyper-personalize the automotive experience. They also explore how cultural differences in transportation inform automotiv...

This week on Catalyst, Tammy chats with Jimit Arora, the CEO of Everest Group. Jimit is a leader who deeply understands the challenges that organizations face and how they can move forward with confidence. Jimit and Tammy discuss the importance of a growth mindset and how companies can meaningfully adopt AI. According to Jimit the key to meaningful adoption is for companies to be aware of PTSD - p...