The AI with Maribel Lopez (AI with ML)

Enterprises have agents. Most can't run them at scale. IBM's Suzanne Livingston explains what changes when you have hundreds — not two. Full Show Notes Scaling agentic AI is not the same problem as building it. At IBM Think 2026 in Boston, I sat down with Suzanne Livingston, VP of Product for IBM watsonx Orchestrate, to talk about where enterprise organizations actually are on this journ...

Dell's CTO built a 4-category agent framework from real production deployments. Most enterprises are ignoring two of the categories that matter most. Full Show Notes Enterprise leaders are mapping AI agents to org charts — building digital employees, agentic teams, AI workers — and then wondering why the results fall short. Dell's Global CTO John Roese has been running agents in producti...

Picking a use case, proving value, and expanding has been the standard starting point for enterprise AI. For organizations early in their AI journey, that advice still holds. But for large enterprises that are past the pilot stage and trying to scale across business units, geographies, and brands, it isn't enough. At NVIDIA GTC, Cameron Davies, Chief Data Officer of Yum Brands, shared how his...

Not every AI problem is a language problem. I talk with Vinci CEO Hardik Kabaria about what changes when AI has to reason about the physical world. Full show notes Most of the AI conversation in enterprise circles is about large language models — text, code, maybe images. This episode is about something different: what happens when AI has to reason about physical systems where the laws of physics...

NVIDIA’s NemoClaw adds enterprise security to OpenClaw. What it does, what it doesn’t, and what CIOs should do before deploying. FULL SHOW NOTES OpenClaw became the fastest-growing open-source project in history. Enterprise buyers watched from the sidelines — not because the technology wasn’t useful, but because an autonomous agent with access to corporate file systems, credentials, and external c...

Most enterprises are layering AI tools on top of broken processes and wondering why ROI never materializes. In this solo episode, Maribel breaks down Cisco’s systematic approach to workflow redesign, why visibility into how work actually gets done is the missing first step, and what enterprise leaders need to change about their leadership culture and talent systems before AI adoption will deliver...

Episode Summary: The "SaaS is dead" narrative is generating real confusion for enterprise buyers trying to make procurement decisions right now. In this solo episode, Maribel Lopez breaks down the two legitimate arguments driving the disruption narrative — AI coding tools and agentic AI — separates what's real from what's overstated, and gives enterprise technology leaders the...

Keywords AI, agentic AI, Work Fusion, RPA, intelligent automation, compliance, machine learning, LLMs, automation, enterprise technology Episode Summary Agentic AI dominated industry conversation in 2025. But in 2026, enterprise leaders are asking a harder question: How do we deploy AI agents safely, accurately, and in production environments? In this episode, Maribel Lopez speaks with Peter Cousi...

The National Retail Federation Show highlighted that Agentic Commerce is the new buzzword for 2026. But before you rewrite your roadmap, let's talk reality. Julie Ask and Maribel Lopez are discussing: What actually has to happen before agents can buy things for consumers Why 85% of retail is still offline (and what that means for AI commerce) The payments protocol wars: Google/Shopify vs. Ope...

Agentic AI is emerging as the next evolution of artificial intelligence in customer experience (CX), moving beyond chatbots to systems that can take real action on behalf of customers. In this episode of AI with Maribel Lopez, Maribel Lopez speaks with Jarrod Johnson, Chief Customer Officer at TaskUs, about how enterprises are actually deploying AI in customer experience today. The conversation co...

CES 2026 Quick Take: Physical AI, Ambient AI, and the Reality of Adoption In this episode, Maribel Lopez , founder and principal analyst at Lopez Research, is joined by Julie Ask , founder of Ask Advisory, for a candid, unscripted conversation on what CES 2026 actually revealed about the state of AI. Rather than focusing on flashy demos or speculative promises, Maribel and Julie examine where AI i...

Maribel Lopez reports live from AWS re:Invent 2025 in Las Vegas, unpacking why the AI experimentation phase is officially over. With statistics that say 95% of AI projects are failing and enterprise budgets tightening, 2026 demands production-quality AI—not more proof-of-concepts. This episode explores the critical shift from building agents to deploying them safely at scale. Key Themes The Realit...

In this episode of AI with Maribel Lopez , Maribel sits down with Ian Bramson , Vice President of Global Industrial Cybersecurity at Black & Veatch , to explore the growing intersection between artificial intelligence and operational technology (OT) security . From power grids and oil refineries to manufacturing plants, critical infrastructure systems are becoming increasingly connected—and th...

About This Episode Daniel Ziv, Global VP of AI and Analytics at Verint, reveals why experienced executives are making their worst decisions in decades—and how AI analytics is rewriting the rules of business intelligence. Learn the two critical frameworks that separate AI winners from losers, and why the biggest risk isn't picking the wrong technology—it's doing nothing at all. Guest Bio...

Episode Overview Host Maribel Lopez sits down with Kerrie Jordan, the newly appointed Chief Marketing Officer at Epicor, to discuss the evolution of ERP systems and the transformative power of cognitive ERP in manufacturing, distribution, and supply chain industries. Guest Bio and social links Kerrie Jordan - Chief Marketing Officer, Epicor Kerrie Jordan, Chief Marketing Officer at Epicor, leads t...

Overview Maribel Lopez interviews Kathleen Peters, Experian's Chief Innovation Officer, about AI's evolution in fraud detection, the shift to generative and agentic AI, and balancing innovation with security in financial services. Key Topics AI Evolution at Experian 15-year AI journey : Using machine learning for fraud detection long before generative AI Democratization shift : Public LL...

Episode Summary Kevin Dunbar joins Maribel Lopez to discuss how AI is revolutionizing commercial fleet management through Ford Pro Intelligence. With nearly two decades of experience at companies like Cisco and Palo Alto Networks, Kevin shares insights on how Ford's commercial division is processing over a billion data points daily to help fleet operators optimize operations, reduce costs, an...

Episode Overview In this episode, Maribel Lopez sits down with David Singer, Global Vice President and Go-To-Market Strategy at Verint, to explore the rapid evolution from generative AI to agentic AI and how organizations can successfully implement AI solutions that deliver real business outcomes. Key Topics Discussed The Evolution from Generative to Agentic AI Generative AI : Excellent at answeri...

In this episode from Cisco Live, Maribel Lopez sits down with two Cisco executives, Vijoy Pandey, SVP of Outshift at Cisco and Nathan Jokel, SVP of Corporate Strategy and Alliances at Cisco, to discuss how AI is fundamentally changing enterprise infrastructure over the next year. The conversation explores the evolution from deterministic to probabilistic computing, the emergence of agentic workflo...

Description: In this episode from Google Cloud Next 2025, we dive deep into Best Buy's AI transformation with Ashley Daniels, VP of Product Management. Discover how one of America's largest retailers approached AI implementation strategically, moving from 93 contact center applications to a unified solution. Ashley shares the real story behind Best Buy's AI journey - the quick wins,...

Guest Profile Liz Centoni brings over 25 years of experience at Cisco where she currently leads a team of 20,000+ people dedicated to helping customers maximize the value of their technology investments. She also serves on the boards of Mercedes-Benz and Workday. Episode Highlights Cisco's Unique Position in the AI Landscape Liz outlines Cisco's three-pillar approach to AI: Investment in...

Summary In this conversation, Maribel Lopez and Jeetu Patel discuss the transformative potential of AI in business, the challenges organizations face in adopting AI, and the importance of security in AI applications. They explore the need for visibility, validation, and guardrails in securing AI, the rise of specialized AI models, and the future of AI agents in automating workflows. Patel emphasiz...

In this episode, Maribel speaks with  Shub Bhowmick, the CEO and Co-founder of Tredence on how its using AI internally and externally. Bhowmick also provides advice on what's important for enterprise buyers looking to leverage AI.  Takeaways The shift from proof of concept to proof of value is crucial for businesses. AI is enabling organizations to achieve more with fewer resources. Agentic s...

Summary In this conversation, Maribel Lopez speaks with Markus Nispel about the integration of AI in networking solutions, particularly at Extreme Networks. They discuss the evolution of AI capabilities, the importance of data governance, and the role of AI in enhancing operational efficiency and security. Markus emphasizes the need for trust in AI systems and the potential of agentic AI to transf...

In the category of better late than never, we found the missing recording file with Vijay. Enjoy! Show Notes: In this episode of "AI with Maribel Lopez," host Maribel Lopez sits down with Vijay Sundaram, Chief Strategy Officer at Zoho, at Zoho Day 25 in Austin, Texas. They discuss Zoho's strategic evolution and approach to AI. Key Highlights: Zoho's Market Evolution : Vijay exp...