CDO Magazine Podcast Series

In Part 1 of this three-part series, the Chief Data Officer for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts discusses the foundations of public-sector data leadership. The interview explores how the role is structured, the similarities and differences between public and private sector data leadership, and the importance of storytelling in driving alignment and trust. In conversation with Adita Karkera, Chie...

Scaling data and AI is not just a technical challenge. It is a series of decisions that shape how fast you move, how much control you retain, and whether your strategy holds up over time. In this episode, Katrin Botzen, Corporate Director, Global Data and Analytics at Henkel, breaks down what the company got wrong in its early data and AI journey, and how those lessons now guide its approach. The...

Most organizations are still stuck in AI pilots. A few are scaling. What’s the difference? In this episode, Truist’s Sanjay Sankolli breaks down the operating model shifts required to move from isolated AI success to enterprise-wide impact. You’ll hear: 🔷Why governance should act as a guardrail, not a gate 🔷How decision latency quietly slows innovation 🔷What it means to move from AI tools to AI...

How to Scale Oncology AI Safely: AI Governance Lessons from Hope LLM As AI adoption accelerates in healthcare, the real challenge is no longer proving value. It’s scaling responsibly. In this episode, Nasim Eftekhari, Chief AI and Analytics Officer at City of Hope, joins Erik Pupo of Guidehouse to unpack how Hope LLM is transforming oncology workflows across care, clinical trials, and research. Ke...

AI adoption isn’t just about building models — it’s about building confidence across the enterprise. In Part 3 of this four-part series, Truist’s Sanjay Sankolli joins NayaOne CEO Karan Jain to explore how organizations can move faster on AI without compromising governance or risk. This episode covers: 🔷Why governance should act as a guardrail, not a bottleneck 🔷How to focus AI efforts using val...

In this episode, Katrin Botzen, Corporate Director, Global Data and Analytics at Henkel, breaks down how data products are being operationalized inside a global enterprise. As analytics moves closer to where data is created, organizations must rethink ownership, governance, and alignment across distributed teams. Botzen shares practical insights on: 🔷Building data products aligned to domains 🔷Em...

In this episode, Sanjay Sankolli, Chief Architect for AI and Data at Truist Financial Corporation, explains where AI is delivering real, measurable impact today inside a large, regulated enterprise. Moving beyond the hype around autonomous AI, Sankolli highlights how organizations are seeing gains through decision augmentation, workflow acceleration, and improved developer productivity. Key topics...

AI in oncology is often discussed in terms of breakthroughs. But inside leading cancer centers, the focus is much more practical: what works, for whom, and how do you measure success? In this first episode of a four-part series, Nasim Eftekhari, Chief AI and Analytics Officer at City of Hope, joins Erik Pupo of Guidehouse to examine how oncology AI is evaluated in real-world settings. Eftekhari ou...

In the final part of this three-part series, Edgar Gallo, Chief Data Officer at Daimler Truck North America, shifts the conversation from AI use cases to what it actually takes to scale AI inside an enterprise. The discussion explores the human and operational realities of AI adoption, including how leaders build trust, design ownership into the process, and create safe environments for responsibl...

In this episode, Katrin Botzen, Corporate Director of Global Data and Analytics at Henkel, shares how the company applies AI across R&D, supply chain, and finance to solve real business problems. The discussion explores: 🔷Why starting with business problems is critical for AI success 🔷How fragmented data limits decision-making 🔷The role of data architecture and governance in scaling AI 🔷Re...

In this episode, Sanjay Sankolli, Chief Architect for AI and Data at Truist, joins Karan Jain, Founder and CEO of NayaOne, to explore why enterprise AI often stalls before delivering real value. The conversation focuses on the structural challenges behind AI adoption, including weak data foundations, misaligned operating models, and the complexity of scaling in regulated environments. You’ll hear:...

AI might be the headline, but execution is the story. In the final part of this three-part series, Philippe Rambach gets practical about what it takes to make AI work inside a large enterprise. This episode explores: 🔸Why most of AI transformation is really change management 🔸What goes wrong when AI is introduced as a new tool 🔸How embedding AI into existing workflows drives adoption 🔸Why trai...

In this episode, Edgar Gallo, Chief Data Officer at Daimler Truck North America, shares how agentic AI is being applied to real-world supply chain challenges. The discussion with Susan Wilson of Alation, focuses on how AI agents can reduce repetitive work, support planners, and improve responsiveness in complex manufacturing environments. Gallo explains how breaking work into decision-making and e...

As organizations invest heavily in data, analytics, and AI, one challenge continues to hold many initiatives back: adoption. In this episode, Mars’ Ujjwal Sehgal, Global Head of People Analytics, and Rachel Belino, HR Data Officer, discuss how the company is tackling this issue across its global workforce analytics initiatives. Speaking with Shachin Prabhat of Tiger Analytics, they explore the bar...

In the final episode of this three-part series, Apurva Wadodkar, Senior Director and Head of Data and AI at TI Automotive, discusses how organizations can drive real adoption of data products across the enterprise. In conversation with Merav Yuravlivker, Chief Learning Officer at Data Society, Wadodkar introduces the “Data Buffet” framework, which organizes data products by business domain and bri...

As AI agents begin to enter enterprise workflows, organizations must rethink how trust, governance, and context are built into data systems. In this episode, Edgar Gallo, Chief Data Officer at Daimler Truck North America, joins Susan Wilson of Alation, to discuss how metadata, data catalogs, and organizational culture are enabling AI transformation inside one of the most complex manufacturing envi...

In this episode of the CDO Magazine podcast, Philippe Rambach, Chief AI Officer at Schneider Electric, explains why the company avoids treating AI as a simple innovation initiative. Instead, Schneider Electric approaches AI as enterprise transformation that requires clear governance, operating models, and shared technology platforms. In conversation with Dr. Julian Schirmer of OAO and HEC Paris, R...

In Part 2 of this series, Mars data leaders Ujjwal Sehgal and Rachel Belino explain how the organization moved from siloed analytics to reusable, cross-domain data. The conversation explores why a common data model became essential, how Mars balances fast delivery with long-term data investment, and how these foundations are preparing the enterprise for agentic AI. In conversation with Shachin Pra...

As enterprises invest aggressively in generative and agentic AI, many leaders face a critical challenge: defining what success actually looks like. In this episode, Fortune 500 data governance and responsible AI leader Patrick McQuillan joins Peter Geovanes of Juris Tech to discuss how executives should approach AI investments with discipline and long-term thinking. McQuillan explains why organiza...

As enterprises accelerate AI adoption, governance is becoming one of the most important challenges facing data leaders. In this episode, Apurva Wadodkar, Senior Director and Head of Data and AI at TI Automotive, joins Merav Yuravlivker, Chief Learning Officer at Data Society, to discuss how organizations can build governance structures that support both oversight and innovation. Wadodkar outlines...

Healthcare is entering a new phase where AI is becoming foundational infrastructure rather than isolated pilots. In this episode, Parminder Bhatia, Chief AI Officer at GE HealthCare, joins Cindi Howson of ThoughtSpot to discuss how leaders should think about AI architecture, the rise of hybrid edge and cloud systems, and the real-world impact AI is already delivering in hospitals. They also explor...

What does it take to move AI from experimentation to enterprise impact? In this episode, Philippe Rambach, Chief AI Officer at Schneider Electric, explains how the company is embedding AI across its global energy technology portfolio. The discussion covers energy optimization, grid balancing, employee productivity, and preserving institutional knowledge. In conversation with Dr. Julian Schirmer, C...

AI governance is no longer just about compliance. It is becoming an EBITDA conversation. In Part 2 of this three-part series, Patrick McQuillan explains why data lineage, lifecycle management, and governance are critical to reducing AI failure rates, controlling costs, and improving ROI. In conversation with Peter Geovanes. Listen now to learn why the path to successful enterprise AI starts with t...

Organizations have more data than ever, yet leaders still struggle to act with confidence. In this episode, Mars leaders Ujjwal Sehgal and Rachel Belino join Shachin Prabhat of Tiger Analytics to explore why the gap between data and decision-making persists. They discuss: 🔷The hidden causes of the data-to-insight gap 🔷Early lessons from scaling people analytics at Mars 🔷Why reusable data is bec...

In Part 1 of this three-part series, Apurva Wadodkar, Senior Director and Head of Data and AI at TI Automotive, shares a practical starter kit for building an AI practice from the ground up. She discusses the Five-E framework, the importance of education and prioritization, and why a unified chatbot strategy can accelerate productivity and adoption across the enterprise. In conversation with Merav...