Champions of Data and AI
25 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 year ago - ★★★★★ - 8 ratingsData leaders powering data-driven innovation. In each episode, we salute Champions of Data + AI, the change agents who are shaking up the status quo. These mavericks are rethinking how data and AI can enhance the human experience. We’ll dive into their challenges — and celebrate their successes — all while getting to know these leaders a little more personally.
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Episodes
Episode 25: The Impact of Analytics and AI on the Future of Insurance
February 06, 2023 19:00 - 29 minutes - 20.2 MBIn this episode, Dr. Michael Zimmer, Chief Data Officer at Zurich Insurance Germany, dives into how his team creates business value and gains trust from various constituents in a regulated environment. He shares his perspectives on AI use case prioritization and scaling as well as how customer empathy drives innovation in insurance.
Episode 23: How Data and AI Are Revolutionizing Telecoms
November 04, 2022 13:00 - 25 minutes - 17.3 MBIn this episode, Andy Markus, the CDO at AT&T, dives into how AT&T leverages analytics and AI to improve the customer experience, and he shares his perspectives on change management, business value realization and talent development. Andy also sheds light on AT&T’s AI use cases and governance frameworks as well as their experience using Databricks to drive innovation in a regulated industry.
Episode 22: Democratizing Data to the Front Lines
August 17, 2022 17:00 - 25 minutes - 17.4 MBIn this episode, Thom Kenney joins us to dive into how organizations and the U.S. Special Operations Command are democratizing data to the front lines by maintaining high standards for zero-trust security and data access while maximizing the last time to value of their data. Also, hear why Thom loves the lakehouse architecture as a foundation for scaling data and AI to meet the growing demands of data.
Episode 21: The Power of Data Fusion
August 16, 2022 17:00 - 29 minutes - 20.5 MBYanyan Wu joins the Champions of Data + AI podcast to dive into the importance of having large amounts of diverse, clean and high-quality data to drive new insights. She also discusses how modern cloud data architectures, like the Lakehouse, make it easier than ever to combine data sets, structured to unstructured, to execute algorithms in near real-time. We’ll also explore how the work she and her data team are doing is helping oil and gas companies run more efficiently and generate more en...
Episode 20: Cloud-Powered Innovation
March 02, 2022 22:00 - 29 minutes - 20.9 MBMore and more organizations are becoming technology-powered companies and are embracing data and AI to fuel innovation and introduce new products and services. In this episode, Mike shares his thoughts on Nasdaq’s transformation journey and highlights some of the coolest new AI-enabled use cases. We’ll also discuss why the cloud is an inevitable certainty for all parts of financial services inclusive of the exchanges themselves.
Episode 19: Data for the People
February 02, 2022 22:00 - 29 minutes - 20.8 MBIn this episode, we explore how Jack’s technical and product background is helping him lead and execute on the ADP data and AI strategy to bring more awareness to pay equity and build new services and products beyond payment processing. He will also share his views on creating a data strategy centered around defensive use cases first — in other words, how to protect your data and your brand before tackling the offense-based ones — the ones that make you more money and reduce cost.
Episode 18: AI in Retail
January 20, 2022 15:00 - 23 minutes - 16.5 MBA never-ending fixation on enhancing customer experiences is true for most industries but even more prevalent in retail — where consumer preferences for style and fit are critically important to get right. In this episode, Vimal talks about how AI is used across four different retail brands and the impact of a hub-and-spoke model when tackling common use cases for the various lines of business. Plus, we touch on the need to innovate quickly in order to stay competitive and how that’s balanc...
Episode 17: Solving Business Problems With Data
December 22, 2021 21:00 - 24 minutes - 17.1 MBData teams can sometimes get too focused on feature engineering and model performance without fully understanding the use case context and its business impact. In this episode, Sanjeeva Fernando, Senior Vice President at Optum, explores ways data and technology leaders can keep their data teams focused on delivering business value by working backward and deconstructing the use cases.
Episode 16: Data Veracity and Diversity
December 03, 2021 17:00 - 32 minutes - 22.3 MBTune in to hear Yao Morin, the Chief Data Officer at JLL, share insights on overcoming data quality challenges and learn about the approach she’s taking to up the game by using data to transform services and solutions in commercial real estate. Be sure to listen to the end for a friendly debate on how electrical engineering is the best major for data and AI. Or is it?
Episode 15: Wall Street to Hollywood and the Role of Data
November 10, 2021 18:00 - 17 minutes - 12.5 MBIn this episode, Duan joins us to discuss how data transcends industries. She shares how her experiences shape her approach to using data for AI in order to rethink consumer experiences for entertainment platforms like HBO Max.
Episode 14: Representation Matters in Data + AI
October 26, 2021 17:00 - 34 minutes - 24.1 MBOrganizations worldwide are focusing on greater diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) in the workplace. But what about ensuring DEI within data? In this episode, Jeffrey Reid from Regeneron joins us to explore the struggles facing the genetics and healthcare industry when it comes to representation in data and the adverse impact it can have on AI algorithms if left unaddressed. Jeff also dives into his experience as a member of the LGBTQ+ community and how it influences his approach to bei...
Episode 13: Making the Case for Digital Transformation
September 29, 2021 15:00 - 29 minutes - 20.3 MBDriving any type of change across a large enterprise is hard enough. Now imagine having to transform your organization to be data- and AI-driven so you can improve operational efficiency, accelerate innovation to gain new insights and implement best practices to build data products. John Irvin joins us to discuss this very transformation and the role data and AI play in helping Deloitte become carbon neutral in the global fight against climate change.
Episode 12: Scaling Data Marketplaces
September 14, 2021 21:00 - 31 minutes - 21.8 MBData is huge. But no matter how much data you have, it’s dwarfed by the data collected by your partners and third parties. That’s why data sharing is the next big thing. As organizations increase the use of third-party data to complement and supplement their existing data sets, the ability to securely share reliable, relevant and large quantities of data creates a whole new world of possibilities. Warren Breakstone joins us to share his thoughts on scaling data marketplaces.
Episode 11: Failing Fast With Data Science and ML
August 31, 2021 16:00 - 27 minutes - 19.1 MBDan shares his views on how persistence and a fail-fast approach to experimentation are helping a global brand like Shell transform its business across multiple industries — energy and commodities, retail, and commercial real estate — with new applications of data and AI.
Episode 10: Next-Gen Customer 360 With Data + AI
August 04, 2021 21:00 - 27 minutes - 19.1 MBEvery industry faces the challenge of identifying and understanding their customers. In this episode, Don shares how he tackles customer 360 and how his own personal experiences helped bring customer-centricity to a new level.
Episode 9: The Role of Data + AI in Healthcare Equity
July 20, 2021 21:00 - 32 minutes - 22.6 MBHealthcare is increasingly turning to data to improve the services it provides to its customers. Slawek shares his personal views on the role of data and AI in healthcare equity, particularly how data architectures like lakehouse can enable key insights while still protecting patient information. Finally, he’ll talk about how leadership coaching helps him and his teams achieve big goals on a personal level.
Episode 8: The Critical Job of Building a Data Culture
July 13, 2021 19:00 - 46 minutes - 32.3 MBCulture can make or break organizations. It also plays a vital role in an organization’s ability to become data-driven. In this episode, sit down with not just one but five data leaders in a panel discussion on building data cultures.
Season 2 Preview - Champions of Data+AI
July 06, 2021 16:00 - 2 minutes - 1.39 MBChampions of Data+AI series host Chris D'Agostino provides a recap of season 1 and introduces the series new co-host Alexandra Mysak. Alex provides a preview into season 2 and how listeners can engage and provide feedback.
Episode 7: Why AI Starts With Effective Data Management
May 10, 2021 21:00 - 25 minutes - 17.9 MBTo have an effective enterprise data and AI strategy, you need to take a methodical approach to data management. In this episode, Habsah Nordin, the Head of Enterprise Data in Group Digital at PETRONAS, discusses her approach to building a data-driven organization that starts with a strong data management layer. We’ll also get her perspective on her experience as the first woman PETRONAS hired in this role — and what advice she has for aspiring data and AI leaders.
Episode 6: The Role of the Data Platform in Transforming Business
May 07, 2021 16:00 - 28 minutes - 19.4 MBWhen people think of data-driven organizations, you hear the same names again and again: Google, Netflix, Facebook and Uber. Often overlooked are large data-driven organizations like Johnson & Johnson that have thrived for decades by using data to make business decisions. Join us to hear Pallaw Sharma from J&J talk about the importance of having a well-curated data layer for all data types — structured, semi-structured and unstructured — so you can tackle all data and AI use cases.
Episode 5: Ethical Use of Data for AI
April 16, 2021 18:00 - 29 minutes - 20.5 MBWhat happens when the data being used to improve customer experiences has unknown or inherent biases? JoAnn Stonier discusses the ethical use of data when implementing machine learning and AI use cases. She also shares her perspective on the steps that organizations can take to eliminate bias from showing up in the data.
Episode 4: How Education Rewrote the Book on Virtual Learning
March 09, 2021 16:00 - 28 minutes - 19.8 MBFrom the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, educational institutions had to quickly make the shift to teaching fully online. In this episode, Kate Carruthers, Chief Data and Insights Officer at the University of New South Wales Sydney, discusses how she’s helping transform the university into a data-driven organization. Kate and her team are delivering new insights to instructors and students, rapidly moving pilot applications to production, and creating innovative ways to combat new threats th...
Episode 3: Improving Human Experiences With Data
February 23, 2021 19:00 - 27 minutes - 19.4 MBChampion: Jon Francis, Chief Analytics Officer, Starbucks As data leaders design, develop and iterate on new data and AI products, it's critical to maintain the human connection — especially in consumer-focused businesses. Jon Francis, Chief Analytics Officer of Starbucks, joins us to share insights from his experience leading data teams across some of the most iconic brands, including Starbucks, Nike, Amazon and Microsoft. Tune in to hear Jon share the challenges and responsibilities data ...
Episode 2: The Evolving Data Leader
February 09, 2021 01:00 - 47 minutes - 32.6 MBChampion: Sol Rashidi, Chief Analytics Officer, Estée Lauder Data leaders are updating their playbook with an offense that focuses on increasing business value with data and AI. Take Sol Rashidi, Chief Analytics Officer of Estée Lauder. She holds seven patents and was recently recognized as one of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Tech. In this episode, Sol dives into how she’s taking charge of product development to add business value, all while overcoming organizational challenges and becomin...
Episode 1: Democratizing data starts at the top
January 21, 2021 21:00 - 44 minutes - 30.9 MBChampion: Stuart Hughes, Chief Information and Digital Officer, Roll-Royce Data democratization starts with disruptive leadership. When data leaders simplify the data architecture and empower data teams with the right tools and creative freedom to do their best work, they unleash data's true power. Join us to hear from our special guest, Stuart Huges, Chief Information Digital Officer at Rolls Royce, talk about his mission as a disruptive leader at this venerable company.