James Shira | What Your CIO Wants to Tell You But Won't | Principal, Global CIO and Global CISO, PwC

A CMO Confidential Interview with James Shira, Principal, Global and US CIO and Global CISO at PwC. James details how  @PwC  is running an "AI marketplace" within the company which features a number of models, his focus on scale, security, and user experience, and the case for approaching AI with a "humility" mindset. Key topics include: how the CISO (Chief Information Security Officer) balances rapid enablement and security needs; why CMO's should have a working knowledge of the technology roadmap; and tips for aligning with your CIO. Tune in to hear how to "go rogue" if you must and a story about socks.

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Global CIO & CISO James Shira joins Mike to decode what your CIO wishes you knew—AI adoption, security trade-offs, model “marketplaces,” and how CMOs should really partner with IT. Concrete guidance on prioritization, tech stack decisions, legacy constraints, and when “going rogue” is justified. Practical, senior-level playbook for winning with AI without lighting money—or trust—on fire.

**Chapters**

00:00 – Welcome & setup: “What your CIO wants to tell you, but won’t”

01:15 – The AI era: pace, complexity, stakeholder pressure

03:24 – Humility first: why being late to AI isn’t OK

04:09 – Designing for scale, security, and real user adoption at PwC

06:00 – Building a model “marketplace” (40+ models) & minimum bars

07:27 – Guardrails: encryption, data governance, and safe experimentation

09:32 – Adoption reality: super-users, skeptics, and moving the middle

11:00 – What “leading” looks like: C-suite prioritization & high-value use cases

13:00 – CISO shift: from gatekeeper to enabler; managing Kobayashi-Maru choices

16:59 – How marketers help: anticipate CIO/CISO problems, simplify choices

19:00 – MarTech the smart way: align to architecture, reduce sprawl, bring options

22:00 – No IT dance partner? Work with COO/CFO; standardize and choose fit over “sexy”

24:33 – Legacy estates: outsource vs. “AI-ify” retained work; show ROI math

26:29 – When to go rogue—and how not to get fired doing it

31:00 – Free advice to agencies: do the work, bring substance, not spam

32:00 – Closing & funniest story (Zurich board-meeting socks)

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