Technovation with Peter High (CIO, CTO, CDO, CXO Interviews)

In this conversation, Marina Levinson, an experienced former CIO and now a venture investor with Benamu Global Ventures, shares her fascinating journey across tech and investment realms. She discusses the importance of building bridges between enterprise executives and startups and emphasizes CIOs' role in innovation. Marina highlights BGV's focus on vertical AI investments and shares valuable lessons learned from companies like AiDASH. Additionally, she offers insights on product-market fit, board leadership advice, and even her passion for winemaking.

Nancy Avila, the Chief Information Officer of Analog Devices, lends her expertise in driving IT and AI strategy within the semiconductor industry. She shares her compelling three-pillar strategy for IT transformation, focusing on operational excellence, process optimization, and innovation. Nancy discusses the shift from traditional machine learning to agentic AI, which enhances engineering productivity and manufacturing anomaly detection. With insights on transparent decision-making and the future of quantum computing and humanoid robotics, her vision for technology is both forward-thinking and inspiring.

1013: Wyndham’s Scott Strickland on AI, loyalty, and how digital innovation is reshaping hospitality. In this episode of Technovation, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Chief Commercial Officer and longtime CIO Scott Strickland joins Peter High to share how Wyndham is redefining hospitality with digital innovation, from its owner-first philosophy and the new Wyndham Gateway loyalty initiative to the creation of a guest engagement platform that powers mobile check-in, digital tipping, and personalized upsells; Strickland also discusses Wyndham’s $350M technology modernization journey, how it prepared the company for AI adoption, the role of data and personalization in shaping future guest experiences, the impact of user-generated content and micro-influencers, and practical leadership lessons for CIOs aiming to expand into broader commercial roles, proving that in hospitality, where there’s a Wyndham, there’s a way.

1012: Sokwoo Rhee, EVP of Innovation at LG Electronics and Head of LG NOVA, reveals how LG is rethinking corporate innovation through ecosystem-led venture building. In this episode we explore LG NOVA’s venture into healthcare, energy optimization, and AI innovation, including Primefocus Health and PADO, plus how public-private partnerships (like with West Virginia) power new business creation. Learn why LG is focused on vertical AI use cases, how they identify 5-10 year opportunities, and what it takes to build cross-sector teams for impact.

In an engaging conversation with Jennifer Charters, Lincoln Financial's Executive Vice President and CIO, the discussion dives into the company's AI strategy and IT transformation. Jennifer shares insights on creating a 401(k)-style budgeting model for IT that maximizes ROI. She highlights the importance of a model-agnostic AI architecture for agility and outlines use cases in cybersecurity and customer experience. Emphasizing the human side of tech, she advocates for partnership with HR to future-proof skills as AI evolves.

Aaref Hilaly, a Partner at Bain Capital Ventures with a focus on AI-native startups, shares insights into the future of agentic AI. He discusses how AI is revolutionizing venture investment and redefining work productivity. Hilaly highlights the potential for automation in legal and healthcare sectors and the importance of a unique entrepreneurial mindset. He also introduces emerging trends like vibe coding, making tech accessible, and emphasizes the growing role of personal AI assistants in enhancing creativity and efficiency.

Simplify to accelerate. In this episode of Technovation, host Peter High speaks with Richard Jardim, Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC). Richard shares how his team is modernizing one of North America’s leading banks by focusing on technology simplification, speed, and agility in service of building a relationship-oriented bank for a modern world. He details CIBC’s transformation journey, from migrating core platforms to the cloud and leveraging proprietary online banking infrastructure, to developing digital talent, integrating AI, and preparing for quantum computing. Richard also reflects on the importance of curiosity, communication, and adaptive leadership in today’s fast-moving tech environment. Key topics include: How CIBC simplifies its 1,200+ app footprint to increase agility The bank’s strategy for scaling internal IP and AI skills Bridging business and technology through vertical CIO alignment Quantum computing as both risk and opportunity in financial services

Ukraine’s Digital Revolution: From Warzone to Innovation Hub In this episode of Technovation, host Peter High speaks with Valeriya Ionan, Advisor to the Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine on Innovation, Digitalization, and Global Partnerships. Previously Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Digital Transformation, Valeriya played a pivotal role in launching Ukraine’s groundbreaking Diia ecosystem and driving the nation’s goal of becoming the world’s most convenient digital state. She shares how digital public services, AI-driven education, and defense-tech innovation are reshaping Ukraine’s future, even in the face of war. With partnerships spanning global governments and tech giants, Valeriya offers a masterclass in crisis-driven transformation, digital infrastructure, and building agile government at scale. Key insights include: The evolution of Diia: from IDPs to e-marriage to war bonds Scaling drone production from 7 to 500+ in three years Ukraine’s “Win-Win” Innovation Strategy and defense tech surge The rise of the CDTO and building a digital-first public sector

 Resilience is earned, not given. In this episode of Technovation, host Peter High speaks with Rusty Patel, Chief Information Officer at Baxter, about leading IT through one of the most consequential 13-month periods in the company’s history. Rusty reflects on Baxter’s mission to save and sustain lives, the resilience required to restore operations after natural disasters, and the CIO’s role in both enabling innovation and enforcing enterprise discipline. He shares insights into simplifying a complex IT ecosystem, building financial acumen across the org, and advancing connected care and AI across Baxter’s portfolio of 1.5 million devices and 350 million patients served annually. Key topics include: How Baxter IT responded to floods and cyber incidents without a playbook Rationalizing thousands of systems to reduce IT cost-to-serve Creating segment-aligned tech leadership and shared services Applying AI to connected care and enterprise transformation

Can AI transform a 200-year-old commercial real estate company? In this episode, Peter High speaks with Yao Morin, Chief Technology Officer of JLL, a $24B global commercial real estate leader. Yao shares how she is leading JLL’s AI and data transformation which is reshaping how buildings are operated, how software is developed, and how employees work. Yao details how JLL is building customer-facing AI products like the JLL Property Assistant, driving cultural change through AI literacy programs, and launching internal tools like JLL GPT that already see 17,000 daily users. She also explains why she believes Scrum teams will shrink, engineers will code less, and AI adoption will soon be table stakes across industries. Key topics include: AI strategy across internal and external JLL platforms The APEX program for AI-driven software engineering Metrics for measuring AI impact beyond efficiency gains Ethical AI design, data privacy, and client trust