CDO Magazine Podcast Series

Nan Li, data leader and former Nationwide VP, AI/ML and Statistical Practice, speaks with Gavroshe Founder Derek Strauss, about the role of human-centric AI, the importance of aligning models with business objectives, addressing data quality challenges, promoting AI literacy, making trade-off decisions in model development, and the need for collaboration to drive meaningful solutions.

Doctors spend nearly 19 hours per week on administrative tasks — AI can help change that. Dr. Dominik Nowak, President of the Ontario Medical Association, joins Ben Blanquera of FAIR/Rackspace Technology to discuss how AI tools like AI scribes and centralized referrals are transforming healthcare. Learn how AI is reducing paperwork, improving patient care, and streamlining referrals, allowing doct...

In this follow-up conversation with Informatica’s Amy McNee, Anusha Dandapani, Chief Data & AI Services Officer at UNICC, speaks about how AI governance can drive business buy-in, the evolving role of Chief Data Officers (CDOs), and the importance of a well-defined AI strategy.

In this insightful conversation, Lori Sherer, Partner at Bain & Company, and Merav Yuravlivker, Co-founder of Data Society, discuss Bain’s AI strategy, the evolving talent landscape, and how GenAI is reshaping the workforce. From upskilling teams to fostering AI literacy, they explore what it takes to stay ahead in this rapidly evolving space.

Kyle Pudenz, SVP, Enterprise Analytics at Cencora, speaks with David Zhao, Managing Director of Coda Strategy, about the role of data speed in business decision-making, addressing supply chain challenges, and balancing real-time insights with long-term strategic planning.

Nick Ritter, CISO at Worldpay, speaks with Todd Foley, Chief Digital Officer and CISO at Lydonia, about a CISO’s approach to building cybersecurity culture, the evolution and future of the CISO role, and advice for next-gen CISOs.

With a legacy dating back to American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, BNY Mellon has spent 240 years at the center of the financial world. As the largest custodian bank, overseeing $52 trillion in assets with a 50,000-strong workforce, it operates at an unparalleled scale. But in an era defined by AI, cloud modernization, and data-driven decision-making, legacy alone isn’t enough. Chief Data O...

Naveed Afzal, Head of Data Science at Takeda Pharmaceutical Company, speaks with Dominic Sartorio, VP of Product Marketing, Denodo, about the processes for aligning the data strategy with AI strategy, the root causes of AI project failures, how to succeed with AI, and advice for data science and AI professionals.

Jacob Lorz, VP, Information Technology and CISO at Cintas, speaks with Todd Foley, Lydonia Chief Digital Officer and CISO, about the challenge of keeping teams relevant, the need for security team culture in an organization, and the role of AI in cybersecurity.

Jean-François Guilmard, Accor’s Chief Data Officer, a tech-savvy strategist with nearly 20 years in consulting. From rolling up his sleeves in startups to mastering data architecture and AI-driven innovation, he’s now on a mission to transform the hospitality experience. In this exclusive conversation with Julian Schirmer, Co-founder of OAO, Guilmard reveals how data and AI are reshaping the guest...

Karima Zahrir, Director of Data, Analytics, and AI at Louisiana Pacific Corporation, speaks with Todd Foley, Chief Digital Officer and CISO at Lydonia, about her perspectives on data governance, business engagement, security, and leadership lessons for Chief Data Officers (CDOs).

Neeraj Koul, Chief Data Officer (CDO) at the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), speaks with Ranyah Salous, Director of Digital Solutions, Data and AI at Guidehouse, about best practices for federal CDOs aiming to enhance their organizations’ data capabilities.

Lori Sherer, Partner at Bain & Company and Chairwoman of Women in Data Science (WiDS) Worldwide, has spent over three decades at the forefront of data science and analytics. From pioneering marketing research to driving AI-driven business transformations, her career reflects a deep passion for innovation and impact.

Dr. Dominik Nowak, President at Ontario Medical Association, speaks with Ben Blanquera, VP, Technology and Sustainability at FAIR/Rackspace Technology, about the challenges in healthcare, the administrative burden on doctors, leveraging AI to tackle the persistent challenges, and how the association is advocating the use of the latest technologies while ensuring the best outcome for patients and d...

Nick Ritter, CISO at Worldpay, speaks with Todd Foley, Chief Digital Officer and CISO at Lydonia, about the techniques to manage transformation challenges, new focus areas to address risks, and his approach towards developing or adopting new technologies.

Kyle Pudenz, SVP, Enterprise Analytics at Cencora, speaks with David Zhao, Managing Director of Coda Strategy, about the organizational data and analytic priorities, challenges the company is addressing, promoting data literacy, taking a probabilistic approach and its impact on business strategy, and the need for collaboration and understanding problems for developing solutions.

Jeremy Forman, VP of R&D AI, Data & Analytics at Pfizer, dives into the evolving role of AI in pharma with Kevin Barboza, Partner at EY.

In a discussion with Informatica’s Amy McNee, UNICC’s Chief Data & AI Services Officer, Anusha Dandapani, breaks down what responsible AI truly means. She explains how UNICC crafts purpose-driven AI strategies, builds strong governance frameworks, and aligns AI initiatives with real-world needs.

Jacob Lorz, VP, Information Technology and CISO at Cintas, speaks with Todd Foley, Lydonia Chief Digital Officer and CISO, about his role, how cybersecurity leadership has evolved, key incidents that shaped his approach, the importance of a verification and validation team, and the critical mindset shift toward a security-first strategy.

In this second part of the interview Fabian Winter, Group Chief Data and AI Officer at Munich Re, discusses key lessons learned from failed data and AI initiatives. Speaking with Julian Schirmer, Co-founder of OAO, Winter reflects on the challenges of building a data-driven organization, the importance of setting realistic expectations for AI, and the value of upskilling internal talent.

Karima Zahrir, former Director of Data, Analytics, and AI at Louisiana Pacific Corporation, speaks about the benefit of agile and phased implementation, quantifying business value, and the role of tech-savvy Gen Z in the workplace.

Nick Ritter, CISO at Worldpay, speaks with Todd Foley, Chief Digital Officer and CISO at Lydonia, about his role, the impact of AI in cybersecurity, the use of AI, protection against AI attacks, and persistent challenges that require acing the basics.

Neeraj Koul, Chief Data Officer at the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), speaks with Ranyah Salous, Director of Digital Solutions, Data and AI at Guidehouse, in a video interview about the major challenges in enhancing FRA’s data capabilities, hurdles in accessing data and how to resolve that, and the potential of data and technology in transforming rail safety.

Naveed Afzal, Head of Data Science at Takeda Pharmaceutical Company, speaks with Dominic Sartorio, VP, Product Marketing, Denodo, about his professional trajectory, role, and responsibilities at Takeda, creating value using data and AI, having the right data strategy, and establishing qualitative and quantitative methods to evaluate the strategy’s impact.

Shruti Sharma, Data Delivery Team Leader, Analytics, Insights, and Automation at Philips, speaks with Todd Foley, Chief Digital Officer and CISO at Lydonia, about enabling self-service analytics with AI, the approach to data access, and advice for professionals considering getting into the data space.