Technovation with Peter High (CIO, CTO, CDO, CXO Interviews)
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Twice-weekly conversations with top executives and thought leaders at the intersection of business, technology, and innovation. Each episode of Technovation explores the technology trends that are transforming business, and the leaders driving digital change inside their organizations. Produced by Metis Strategy and hosted by firm President Peter High, Technovation is the premier podcast for IT and technology professionals with the largest collection of interviews with elite CIOs, CTOs, and CDOs.
911 Episodes
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AI is quickly evolving from a productivity tool into a growth engine, and the organizations that can operationalize enterprise intelligence at scale will define the next era of competition.
In this summit panel episode of Technovation, Peter High and Andrew Krusell speak with Steve Bronson, CIO of Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits, and John Gigerich, SVP & CIO of Keurig Dr Pepper, about how leading enterprises are transforming data, AI, and machine learning into measurable revenue growth.
Key topics include:
Using AI-driven sales enablement to improve retail execution
Building trusted enterprise data foundations for scalable AI
Leveraging predictive intelligence to optimize ordering and inventory
Aligning business and technology teams around growth outcomes
Navigating acquisitions, organizational change, and AI governance at scale
AI productivity gains alone are no longer enough. The organizations creating real enterprise value are redesigning their operating models around data, decision advantage, and differentiated capability.
In this episode of Technovation, we feature a panel from our most recent Metis Strategy Summit where Peter High moderated a conversation with Alexandra Guenther, SVP & CIO at Leidos, and Kelly Fletcher, CIO of the U.S. Department of State, about how enterprise leaders are rethinking AI strategy, cybersecurity, and organizational transformation during an era of continuous disruption.
Key discussion points include:
Why AI value must extend beyond productivity metrics
How the State Department securely enables AI experimentation at scale
The role of enterprise data foundations in successful AI adoption
Using AI to improve cybersecurity visibility and decision advantage
Leading organizations through the psychology of transformation
As AI reshapes enterprise operating models, the profile of the modern technology leader is changing just as quickly.
In this special Technovation Summit May 2026 panel, Metis Strategy’s Steven Norton sits down with executive search leaders Tarun Inuganti of Korn Ferry, Ryan Bulkoski of Heidrick & Struggles, and Mike Doonan of SPMB Executive Search to discuss how AI is redefining executive hiring, leadership expectations, and boardroom dynamics.
The conversation explores why nonlinear career paths are becoming more valuable, how organizations are approaching Chief AI Officer roles, and why storytelling, influence, and change leadership are now essential executive capabilities.
Key topics include:
Why cross-industry experience is becoming a competitive advantage
The rise of AI-fluent boards and executive teams
How Chief AI Officer roles are evolving
Why leadership influence now matters more than technical expertise alone
What recruiters look for in next-generation CIOs and technology leaders
What separates founders who successfully scale companies from those who struggle to evolve beyond the startup phase?
In this episode of Technoventure, Peter High speaks with Enrique Salem, Partner at Bain Capital Ventures and former CEO of Symantec, about leadership, cybersecurity, enterprise software, and the evolving role of AI in both business growth and cyber threats. Enrique shares lessons from building and leading organizations at global scale, advising founders, and investing in next-generation technology platforms.
Key topics include:
Building mission-driven organizations that scale
Why trust and accountability accelerate execution
How AI is reshaping cybersecurity threats and defenses
Reducing customer friction in enterprise software adoption
What great founders understand about self-awareness and leadership
As telecom infrastructure becomes increasingly software-defined, technology leaders must rethink everything from engineering talent to AI operations and customer experience.
In this episode of Technovation, Peter High speaks with Jake Perlman, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology and Information Officer at Charter Communications, about how one of the nation’s largest connectivity providers is transforming its network into a software-driven platform. Jake shares how Charter is integrating AI, telemetry, predictive analytics, and edge infrastructure to improve operations at scale while enabling faster innovation across the business.
Key highlights include:
Why modern telecom networks increasingly resemble software platforms
How AI is improving technician workflows and predictive operations
Charter’s approach to agile organizational design and engineering culture
The strategic role of edge computing and distributed infrastructure
Why continuous learning has become essential for technology leadership
AI isn’t just a capability, it’s an operating model shift.
In this episode of Technovation, Peter High speaks with Ramana Thumu, CTO of Expedia Group, about how one of the world’s largest travel platforms is embedding AI into the core of how it operates. From AI squads integrated into business units to enterprise-wide AI literacy, Ramana shares how Expedia is aligning culture, processes, and technology to scale AI impact.
They also explore how Expedia is reinventing engineering through AI agents, building a data foundation to power personalization, and reimagining the traveler experience through agentic AI.
Key highlights include:
Embedding AI into business workflows through AI squads
Driving 3–5x productivity gains with AI-native engineering
Building trusted data assets to scale AI innovation
Creating agentic experiences across the travel journey
Managing rapid AI evolution with flexible platform architecture
Retail is no longer about transactions, it’s about designing experiences that create joy.
In this episode of Technovation, Peter High speaks with Prat Vemana, Chief Information and Product Officer at Target, about how one of the world’s largest retailers is redefining customer experience across digital and physical channels.
Prat shares how Target is embedding design into every layer of the organization, leveraging AI to power conversational commerce, and building a unified, multi-channel journey that blends convenience with inspiration.
Key highlights include:
Why Target views itself as “in the business of joy”
How UX is evolving into an enterprise-wide capability
The shift from search and browse to conversational discovery
Building AI-ready data through semantic and contextual layers
Deploying agentic AI to accelerate decision-making at scale
What does it take to turn a portfolio of legacy retail brands into a scalable technology platform?
In this episode of Technovation, Kumar “Kartik” Kartikeya, SVP and Chief Digital and Technology Officer at Catalyst Brands, shares how he is building a shared operating model across data, AI, and customer experience to unlock enterprise value at scale.
Leading technology for a $9B multi-brand retail ecosystem, Kartikeya explains how selective centralization enables faster innovation while preserving brand identity.
Key insights include:
How shared data and AI capabilities drive cross-brand scale
Why “one plus one must equal three” in platform strategy
The role of Consumer 360 in personalization and growth
How AI is improving both employee productivity and customer experience
Why CSAT is the most important KPI
Most enterprises struggle to see beyond their immediate priorities. Toyota built a system to solve that.
In this episode of Technoventure, Ro Gupta, Managing Director of Woven Capital, explains how Toyota uses a “speedboat” venture strategy to identify and act on emerging technologies before they become obvious. Drawing on his experience as both a founder and investor, Ro shares how corporate venture capital can unlock not just financial returns, but strategic foresight.
Key topics include:
The “speedboat” model for enterprise innovation
Inside-out vs. outside-in investment strategy
How Toyota partners with startups at global scale
The future of mobility across AI, energy, and space
Lessons from operating at both startup and enterprise levels
AI disruption is no longer a future scenario, it’s already reshaping the workforce. In this episode of Technovation, Andrew Yang, Founder & CEO of Noble Mobile, author of Hey Yang, Where’s My Thousand Bucks? shares why job displacement is accelerating faster than leaders and policymakers can respond.
A former presidential candidate and founder of the Forward Party, Yang has been warning about automation’s impact for years. Now, he explains why those predictions are becoming reality, and what must change.
Key highlights include:
Why AI is already eliminating white-collar jobs
The case for taxing AI instead of human labor
How universal basic income could stabilize the economy
Why policymakers continue to lag behind innovation
Lessons from launching Noble Mobile to challenge incumbents
AI is becoming the missing layer that transforms agriculture from a physical practice into a data-driven system.
In this episode of Technovation, Feroz Sheikh, Chief Information and Digital Officer of Syngenta, shares how AI, data, and digital platforms are reshaping how farmers make decisions and how innovation scales across global agriculture.
Key highlights include:
How AI completes the evolution of agriculture’s “jigsaw puzzle”
The role of interdisciplinary teams in driving innovation
Real-world AI applications across R&D, supply chain, and farming
Democratizing advanced science for farmers worldwide
Using data at scale to predict and prevent crop disease
What does it take to modernize a 120-year-old real estate powerhouse without losing its entrepreneurial edge?
In this episode of Technovation, Kamini Rangappan Lane, President and CEO of Coldwell Banker Realty, shares how she is transforming one of the largest residential real estate networks in the U.S. by standardizing the back end while preserving the human, local nature of the business.
She discusses how AI and automation are reshaping agent workflows, enabling faster deal processing, and unlocking productivity across a network of 45,000 entrepreneurs.
Key highlights include:
Transitioning from 50 operating companies to a unified platform model
Applying AI to reduce listing creation time from hours to minutes
Balancing efficiency with personalization in a highly local business
Driving technology adoption through customer obsession
Redefining leadership through clarity, transparency, and authenticity
AI transformation doesn’t fail because of technology, it fails because of culture.
In this episode of Technovation, Peter High speaks with Trevor Schulze, CIO, and Eva Majercsik, Chief People Officer, of Genesys, about how they are jointly leading a human-centric AI transformation across a 6,000-person global organization. Together, they unpack why AI must be treated as a cultural shift and how organizations can drive adoption at scale.
Key insights include:
Why AI literacy is the foundation of enterprise adoption
How CIOs and CPOs must co-own transformation
The shift from automation to augmentation in the agentic era
How experimentation unlocks innovation across the workforce
Why change management is now a core leadership capability
Most career advice gets one thing wrong: it always tells you to follow your passion.
In this episode of Technoventure, Bill Gurley, recent Author of Runnin’ Down a Dream, General Partner at Benchmark and investor in companies like Uber and Zillow shares a more actionable framework: follow your fascination. Drawing from decades in venture capital and insights from his new book, Gurley explains how curiosity, not convention, drives long-term success.
Key insights include:
Why fascination is a stronger signal than passion
How over-structured career paths lead to disengagement
The role of peer networks in accelerating growth
Why non-linear careers produce better outcomes
How AI is reshaping opportunity and speculation cycles
What if claims processing could be 10x faster without sacrificing accuracy?
In this episode of Technovation, Pravina Ladva, Group Chief Digital and Technology Officer at Swiss Re, shares how one of the world’s leading reinsurers is using AI to transform claims processing, unlock insights, and redefine how work gets done across the enterprise.
Key highlights include:
How AI is reducing claims processing time from ~40 days to 4–5 days
Why data ingestion is the biggest unlock for AI in insurance
The importance of building “AI-ready” data foundations
How Swiss Re achieved ~60% enterprise AI adoption
Why AI transformation is more about people and process than technology
Apple’s greatest successes were built on failure.
In this episode of Technovation, Peter High speaks with David Pogue, an Emmy-winning journalist, former New York Times technology columnist, CBS News correspondent and author of Apple: The First 50 Years, about how Apple transformed early product missteps into category-defining innovation.
Drawing on 150 interviews and decades of coverage, Pogue unpacks the hidden lessons behind Apple’s most famous failures—and how they shaped the company’s future.
Key insights include:
Why the Apple III and Lisa failed—and what they enabled
How constraints in the early Mac informed later breakthroughs
The role of leadership in reframing failure as progress
Apple’s near-collapse and improbable turnaround
What today’s executives can learn from Apple’s innovation model
The modern workplace wasn’t designed for today’s leaders, and it’s starting to break under the pressure.
In this episode of Technovation, board director, author and former CIO Lisa Davis joins Peter High to examine why the workplace system, built decades ago, no longer supports the realities of modern careers. Drawing from her leadership experience across government, academia, and the private sector, Davis outlines what must change, and what leaders must do now.
Key insights include:
Why the current workplace model is structurally outdated
How power dynamics shape leadership advancement
The hidden cost of talent loss and system misalignment
Why AI leadership lacks critical representation
What executives must do to redesign work for the future
China is competing on control. In this episode, Ram Charan explains the “90% Model,” a strategy designed to dominate global manufacturing through scale, pricing power, and long-term positioning.
Drawing on decades advising CEOs and global leaders, Charan breaks down how this model is reshaping industries—and what it means for business leaders navigating a fragmented, multi-polar world.
Key insights include:
Why China is willing to lose money to gain global dominance
How “asset-light” strategies weakened Western manufacturing
What CEOs must do to redesign supply chains for resilience
Why AI should be treated as a tool—not a strategy
How leadership must evolve in an era of unprecedented scale and speed
What does it really take to scale a company 10X in just a few years? Jon McNeill argues it’s not genius, it’s a system.
In this episode of Technoventure, Jon McNeill, former President of Tesla and CEO of DVx Ventures, breaks down “The Algorithm,” a five-step framework that powered Tesla’s rise from $2B to $20B in revenue. He shares how questioning assumptions, eliminating friction, and accelerating execution can unlock exponential growth.
Key insights include:
Why hypergrowth is a repeatable operating system—not a one-time event
How Tesla reduced complexity to increase speed and conversion
The role of first-principles thinking in breakthrough innovation
Why cycle time is the ultimate performance metric
How leaders can build cultures that embrace feedback and urgency
Why do most AI initiatives fail to deliver real value? Because they automate broken processes instead of fixing them.
In this episode of Technovation, Peter High speaks with Shobhit Varshney, Global Head of Artificial Intelligence at Citi, about how one of the world’s largest banks is rethinking AI from the ground up. With experience spanning Citi and IBM, Shobhit shares how a value-first, platform-driven approach is enabling AI at scale, while maintaining strong governance and control.
Key highlights include:
Why re-engineering workflows is essential before applying AI
How Citi prioritizes high-value use cases with clear ROI accountability
The role of centralized AI platforms in scaling capabilities
Embedding responsible AI across the enterprise
Building an AI-first culture through training and champions
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