Ayna Insights

In this episode of the Titanium Economy Podcast, Mohit Jaju, President and Head of Operations Excellence at Ayna, speaks with Riaz Raihan, Chief Digital Officer of Trane Technologies, about how AI and digital innovation are transforming industrial manufacturing and sustainable buildings. Riaz shares how Trane Technologies is using AI, IoT, and predictive analytics to optimize HVAC systems, reduce...

In this episode of the Titanium Economy Podcast, Chris Bergey, EVP of the Edge AI Business Unit at Arm, talks to Akshay Sethi, President & Head of Commercial Excellence at Ayna. Chris breaks down how Arm became foundational to modern computing, from smartphones to hyperscale AI infrastructure, and shares insights on Arm's AI strategy, the rise of inference workloads, the transition to Arm v9,...

In this episode of the Titanium Economy podcast, Gaurav Batra, CEO of Ayna, sits down with Greif CFO Larry Hilsheimer to unpack how a 150-year-old industrial packaging company has reinvented itself through disciplined capital allocation, portfolio transformation, and customer-centric strategy. Larry shares how Greif improved margins by prioritizing value over volume, exited non-core businesses, an...

Digital twins can already predict the failure of a million-dollar industrial asset with 99% accuracy — so why are engineers on the ground still resisting adopting them, and who has to move first to break that deadlock? In this episode of the Titanium Economy podcast, host Vineet Gupta sits down with Prith Banerjee, Senior Vice President of Innovation at Synopsys, to explore the convergent forces r...

In this episode of the Titanium Economy Podcast, host Vineet Gupta speaks with Luca Savi, President and CEO of ITT. Luca shares how ITT wins through execution, innovation, and deep customer intimacy and how the company is deliberately shifting its portfolio away from cyclical markets through disciplined M&A focused on value creation. The conversation covers leadership, culture, and what it tak...

In this episode of the Titanium Economy Podcast, Akshay Sethi, President and Head of Commercial Excellence at Ayna, talks with Anand Sanghi, President, Americas at Vertiv about how AI is driving changes in infrastructure, innovation, and business growth. They discuss Vertiv’s approach to scaling global operations, staying close to customers, and using R&D to stay ahead in a fast-changing tech...

In this episode , Akshay Sethi sits down with Olivier Biebuyck, President of Fabrication Technology at ESAB, to discuss how industrial companies can unlock growth through commercial excellence. Olivier shares lessons from ESAB’s acquisition journey and explains why pricing, sales effectiveness, and data have become critical levers for growth. The conversation explores how commercial integration dr...

Steve Blanco, President and CEO of MSA Safety, joins the Titanium Economy Podcast to discuss leading a safety technology company through innovation, global growth, and digital transformation. In his wide-ranging conversation with Gaurav Batra, CEO of Ayna, Steve shares how mission driven leadership, customer intimacy, and technology shape MSA’s strategy and long-term performance. In this episode: ...

In this episode of the Ayna Insights, , host Vivek Sharma speaks with Brish Bhan Vaidya, Global Procurement Executive at Uber, on how procurement is evolving from a cost function to a strategic growth enabler. Brish highlights the shift toward multi-tier supplier diversification, AI-driven intelligence, ESG integration, and proactive scenario planning to build resilient, agile sourcing models alig...

Ayna’s Mohit Jaju interviews Ed Dowling, CEO of Compass Minerals, on how 2025 tariff regimes are reshaping industrial supply chains. Ed notes that while Compass achieved USMCA compliance exemptions, secondary effects disrupted inbound supply chains, prompting a shift from sole- to multi-source strategies. He highlights market differentiation—high-value industrial products allowed tariff pass-throu...

In this episode of AYNA Insights, host Dinesh Chopra, President of AYNA, speaks with Bob Merrill, a veteran building products executive with over three decades of leadership experience. Merrill shares his outlook on the industry, noting that housing starts remain below replacement levels despite signs of recovery. He discusses the impact of tariffs on pricing, especially for hardware and capital e...

In this episode of the Titanium Economy Podcast, host Vineet Gupta speaks with Mike Slessor, President and CEO of FormFactor, about the transformation of semiconductor testing and innovation at the frontier of AI, photonics, and advanced packaging. Mike shares how FormFactor’s deep customer integration—where over a third of employees work directly with partners like Samsung, TSMC, Intel, and NVIDI...

In this episode, host Vineet Gupta speaks with Gerald Kafer, Solutions Manager and Technical Fellow at Siemens, on the practical realities of scaling AI in industrial operations. Kafer stresses the importance of pairing quick proof-of-value projects with enterprise-level infrastructure investments. He highlights that successful AI deployment hinges on strong OT-IT integration, continuous model man...

In this episode of Ayna Insights, host Dinesh Chopra, President of Ayna, speaks with Joe Peilert, President and CEO of Veka Inc., on the challenges and opportunities shaping the building products sector. Peilert shares how interest rates, tariffs, and labor costs are impacting the industry, and highlights the need for long-term strategy, customer alignment, and operational agility. The conversatio...

"Contrary to a lot of people's beliefs, I do believe that financial gain and strategic benefits - they go hand in hand." - Dong-Su Kim Host Vineet Gupta sits down with Dong-Su Kim, CEO of LG Technology Ventures, to discuss corporate venture capital and emerging tech investments. Kim stresses that corporate VCs must deliver financial returns as well as strategic value, pushing back against the view...

In this episode, Vineet Gupta, President and Head of Semiconductor at Ayna, speaks with Wahid Nawabi, Chairman, President & CEO of AeroVironment, on how the company is redefining defense tech through innovation and customer focus. Wahid highlights AeroVironment’s portfolio of unmanned systems, the Blue Halo acquisition, and advances in AI-driven autonomy. The conversation also touches on leade...

"I would urge folks to at least look at what parts of their business could benefit from some form of automation." - Pablo Palafox   In this episode, Parthesh Shastri speaks with Pablo Palafox, Co-founder and CEO of Happy Robot, about how AI agents are transforming industrial operations — from automated supplier coordination to self-correcting autonomous workflows. Pablo shares his journey from com...

"A digital champion isn’t someone who knows how AI works. It’s someone who knows where to apply it.." - Anu Khare In this episode of our Titanium Economy series, Parthesh Shastri sits down with Anu Khare, CIO of Oshkosh Corporation, to unpack how industrial manufacturers can win with digital. Anu shares Oshkosh’s human-centered approach to transformation—grounded in co-creation, phased implementat...

"Technology isn't the barrier - adoption is the key challenge facing industrial leaders today." - Nalin Jain   In this episode, Ayna’s Parthesh Shastri speaks with Nalin Jain, Group President of Digital Intelligence at Wabtec Corporation, about the digital transformation sweeping the rail and mining industries. Nalin details how Wabtec, a 150-year-old industrial leader, is leveraging AI, machine l...

“Data is not just a reporting tool; it's now a strategic asset. It's the key to everything.” - Jeff DeSandre In this episode of our Titanium Economy series, host Parthesh Shastri speaks with Jeff DeSandre, former CIO at Harrington Process Solutions and America Royal, about digital transformation in industrial settings. DeSandre emphasizes the importance of starting with clear business outcomes and...

"There is a need for starting automation - robotics is a space that we can't postpone for too long. We want to make sure that you start adopting it." - Rishabh Agarwal   In this episode, host Parthesh Shastri speaks with Rishabh Agarwal, CEO and co-founder of Peer Robotics, about rethinking automation for small and mid-sized manufacturers. Drawing from his experience at Kuka, Siemens, and a family...

"Experience tells you where you've been, character tells you where you're going." - George Randle What can manufacturing leaders learn from military leadership? In this episode of the Titanium Economy podcast, George Randle—Army veteran, talent strategist, and co-author of The Talent War—joins host Nidhi Arora of AYNA.AI to explore why character consistently outperforms credentials. Drawing on les...

"By applying advanced analytics and AI at scale, we were able to see significant increases in fuel economy, productivity, as well as avoidance of major downtime events." - Erik Udstuen On this episode, Parthesh Shastri talks with Erik Udstuen, CEO of TwinThread, about the future of industrial AI and digital twins. Udstuen shares his journey from GE’s energy division to founding TwinThread, highlig...

How are clean technologies reshaping industrial sustainability strategies? In this episode, Ayna’s Mohit Jaju speaks with Bryan Siow, VP of Corporate & Business Development at Elessent Clean Technologies, on the realities of clean tech adoption. With 22 years of experience across ExxonMobil, McKinsey, and Halliburton, Siow shares how regional regulations and economic incentives shape implement...

How can manufacturers establish digital authority without disrupting traditional distribution? In this episode, Nidhi Arora, Vice President, Ayna, talks with Paul Miller, former head of global e-commerce at Grainger, who helped turn it into a digital powerhouse. From CD-ROM catalogs to advanced e-commerce platforms, Miller shares how Grainger embraced digital tools to enhance customer engagement....