Tech Whisperers: Inside the Playbooks of the Best Digital Leaders

Just as the CIO role itself is evolving and transforming alongside technology, so are the processes and the businesses that use them. To be successful in this ever-changing landscapes, leaders need to be adaptable, knowledgeable, and effective visionaries.  That’s why we are featuring Jim Chilton , EVP & CTO at the Cengage Group . As an experienced business and technology executive, Jim i...

One of the biggest realities facing CIOs is the fast-paced evolution of their role and the scope of their responsibilities, especially with new AI tools taking the world by storm throughout 2023. We’ve invited two top executive recruiters to help us navigate the seemingly murky waters of what it takes to be a CIO of a large enterprise today and what organizations are looking for in their recruitme...

Ghada Ijam serves as the CIO for the Federal Reserve System , one of the world’s most vital and complex organizations, affecting the economy on an international scale, providing stability to the financial services industry, and facilitating trillions of dollars of payments daily. In her role, Ghada oversees both the technology and cybersecurity arms of the organization, collaborating with both int...

Amir Kazmi is the Chief Information & Digital Officer at WestRock , a $20 billion Fortune 200 company that provides packaging solutions for countless industries. Working as a leader in such a large and established organization means that Amir is responsible for both developing and executing WestRock’s global information systems, technology, and cybersecurity strategy. As if that weren’t enough...

What exactly does it take to lead a 213-year-old company through a digital transformation initiative? How about an enterprise CIO whose career has spanned amazing companies like IBM, KeyCorp, and BMO. Someone who knows how to break out of comfort zones, make tough calls, and stay confident in the face of uncertainty. In this episode, we are featuring Deepa Soni, Enterprise CIO at The Hartford , a...

From 8 years in Big Four consulting, to 20 years across three global CPG companies, to now the COO of Latin America’s largest bank, Banco Itaú , Marina Bellini has developed a wide breadth of leadership expertise.  She has honed her skills to be intentional and laser-focused on the customer while effortlessly balancing fearlessness and courage with kindness, empathy, and gratitude.  In t...

The best leaders don’t only pay attention to how they engage with those on their teams, they also devote their attention to how they show up every day. These leaders recognize that leadership begins before there is even anyone else to lead. At Generac Power Systems , CIO Tim Dickson is a leader who knows how to consistently show up, which allows him to seize every opportunity that comes his way to...

When an organization is moving toward its goals, it’s common for teams to get distracted with tasks and projects that are related to the goals, but don’t actually accomplish them. That’s why it takes confident leadership that can keep the overall vision front and center, keeping their teams laser-focused on the goals and steering their team members in the right direction. Today’s guest, Cisco Sanc...

How do you identify and adopt the differentiators that enable the top CIOs to pull away from the rest of the pack? For Giant Eagle CIO & EVP Kirk Ball , these differentiators have become etched into his tech leadership playbook, allowing him to foster successful C-level tenures at organizations like Kroger.  We are unpacking Kirk’s playbook so that you can discover what it means to be a t...

Generative AI has taken the world by storm, opening up whole worlds of opportunity for technology leaders to simplify their processes and empower their teams to grow and innovate. But those opportunities do not come without some major concerns. With potentially serious issues like data privacy, response accuracy, and security, how can technology leaders successfully embrace this technology while m...

Many of our most inspiring leaders are people who know their values and stick to them, no matter the cost. For CIO legend Chris Hjelm, values-based leadership is his entire foundation.  Drawing from his experience at companies like FedEx, Orbitz, and Kroger, we are unpacking Hjelm’s tech leadership playbook to uncover the truth about the cost of values-based leadership, building and maintaini...

If you’ve heard an episode of Tech Whisperers before, you’ve heard of the TechLX leadership development program. At our most recent graduation for TechLX participants, Dan sat down with SelectQuote CIO Floyd May. In 2018, SelectQuote’s revenue was around 230 million, but since then they have grown to just shy of a billion dollars by leveraging new technology to streamline the insurance buying proc...

From entry-level employees all the way up to the boardroom, the journey to digital maturity impacts all aspects of organizations that pursue it. This, along with the high stakes that come naturally with organizational change and innovation, have driven increased demand for digitally savvy board members. So who better to talk about this than the CIO of the National Association of Corporate Director...

Companies are investing trillions of dollars into digital transformation initiatives, but research tells us that 70% of digital transformation initiatives fail. How can today’s digital leaders set their companies up for success and ensure that these major investments don’t go to waste? We’ve invited three powerhouse leaders to unpack their digital transformation research findings and share the mos...

What does it look like for a tech leader to be successful at innovating with products, services, digital, strategy, and employee engagement? Join us as Anupam Khare , SVP & CIO at Oshkosh Corporation , unpacks his leadership playbook, sharing insights from his experiences and the impact his organization has created for this Fortune 500 company that delivered $8.3 billion in revenue in 2022.&nb...

We’re thrilled to have a top-notch, Hall of Fame CSO as our first cybersecurity executive to join us on the podcast. Deneen DeFiore , VP & CISO at United Airlines , has figured out how to provide clarity in a sea of complexity while managing the multiple business priorities of her mission-critical role. Deneen sat down with Dan Roberts to unpack her leadership journey and philosophy and discus...

When we think of a top leader that is serious about creating future-ready leaders, cutting through the noise to identify the right issues, and who climbed the ladder through vision, goal-setting, and meticulous planning, we think of none other than Segra CEO, Kevin Hart . In this episode, Dan sits down with Kevin at Segra’s in-house studio in Charlotte, North Carolina, to unpack Kevin’s amazing ca...

As work culture has shifted to quicker employee turnover, people like Panera Bread CIO, John Meister are becoming a rare species: seven years at Accenture, 15 years at Mastercard, and now approaching his 10th year with Panera. In this episode, we are unpacking John’s leadership playbook and exploring how stability, intentionality, dedication, and hard work have helped John have successful tenures...

How does someone go from being a KGB spy and one of the most wanted men in America to becoming a fully-fledged American citizen and a top-notch CIO? Jack Barsky, author of Deep Undercover: My Secret Life and Tangled Allegiances as a KGB Spy in America , joins Dan to talk about his incredible journey and the best leadership principles he has picked up along the way We discuss: Jack’s experience as...

Wafaa Mamilli is the Chief Digital & Technology Officer at Zoetis , the world’s leading animal health company, a Fortune 500 company with more than $8 billion in annual revenue. Wafaa has also taken on P&L responsibilities as a Group President over China, Brazil, and Precision Animal Products. Join us as we discuss: How to balance multiple major leadership roles Why more tech leaders are b...

Today’s guest is Dwayne Allen , Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at Unisys . Dwayne’s professional history, which includes leading at companies like Marriott, Wachovia Bank, and Microsoft, has given him a wide breadth of industry knowledge and a passion for people and for continual growth. In February 2023, a week prior to our recording, Dwayne was also awarded the Florida CIO of...

From leading at great companies like Enterprise Rent-a-Car and Express Scripts to now leading as the CIO of Little Caesars , Anita Klopfenstein , has an incredible personal and leadership journey that we are excited to unpack for you. In addition to her career journey, Anita and her husband, Lynn, have 12 kids, total, between homegrown and adoption, but they’ve also fostered over 30 children, in w...

In this episode, we are unpacking the leadership playbook of Abhi Dhar . Ahbi has been the Chief Digital Officer for a Fortune-50 company, a tech startup co-founder, and now serves as the Chief Information and EVP of Global Technology for TransUnion . Yet, for someone who has managed organizations with budgets in excess of $1Bn, Abhi has maintained his quiet, calm, and genuinely humility through i...

In this episode of Tech Whisperers, we are unpacking the amazing journeys of two CxO giants and industry leaders: Kim Mackenroth and Chris Nardecchia . Kim is the Global CIO for Textron, a Fortune 500, multi-industry company with 33,000 employees worldwide. Chris is the SVP and Chief Digital & Information Officer for Rockwell Automation, the world’s largest pure-play industrial automation and...

As companies and workers continue to adjust to constantly changing workplace environments and cultures, there remain many questions about what it means to “return to work,” what the future holds for in-person, remote, and hybrid work, and how that will impact the way people relate to their work. In this episode, Bob Johansen , Joseph Press , and Christine Bullen join the show to talk about their b...