Enterprise AI Innovators

Bill Briggs, Deloitte CTO with decades helping enterprises modernize, explains why leaders must reimagine outcomes rather than graft AI onto old workflows. He discusses starting AI initiatives from the top, why agent pilots fail without data and orchestration foundations, where quick frontline wins live, and how to engineer trust, privacy, and security into systems.

On the 63rd episode of Enterprise AI Innovators, hosts Evan Reiser (co-founder and CEO, Abnormal AI) and Saam Motamedi (General Partner, Greylock Partners) talk with Lev Gonick, Chief Information Officer at Arizona State University (ASU). ASU treats AI like a product and a platform: build internal capacity, run structured grant cycles to surface real workflows, and ship a “builder” that can support tens of thousands of users. Gonick also lays out why student agency matters, and why universities that wait for vendors risk becoming “nothing but vendor management.”Quick hits from Lev:On building an internal AI acceleration team: “We literally took, initially 20 and now it's 40 people dedicated from morning till night working on platform technology, security, compliance, tooling, building tools to support what we knew that needed to grow up to be, again, a low code, no code kind of environment.”On scaling demand through structured internal grants: “We thought there be, you know, 40 or 50 great ideas, you know, as we speak today. Now we're through through four full rounds of engagements. We have over 600 projects in-flight, right now.”On fixing the friction-filled student journey with AI: “Focus in on transforming the ways in which students have to navigate incredibly, difficult, friction-filled, journey. Applying for, getting into, having to do financial aid, landing in a dorm room, [solving] some of the back office through again tools that they're using in their consumer life.”Recent Book Recommendation: Capitalism: A Global History by Sven Beckert--Like what you hear? Leave us a review and subscribe to the show on Apple, Spotify, or Youtube you listen to podcasts.Enterprise AI Innovators is a show where top technology executives share how AI is transforming the enterprise. Find more great lessons from tech leaders and enterprise software experts at https://www.enterprisesoftware.blog/. Enterprise AI Innovators is produced by Abnormal Studios.

On the 62nd episode of Enterprise AI Innovators, hosts Evan Reiser (CEO and co-founder, Abnormal AI) and Saam Motamedi (Greylock Partners) talk with Mike Trkay, CIO at FICO. Mike explains how FICO is moving AI from pilots to production by prioritizing ROI, data foundations, and governance. He argues for sanctioned LLM access to curb leakage, system integration for business-wide answers, and smaller domain models when accuracy, compliance, and trust matter.Quick hits from Mike:On the shift from pilots to ROI: “We’re leaving that phase and starting to get to the point of going, okay, but where’s the true return on that investment?”On the must-do for enterprises: “Everybody who works for you… they’re going to go use one of the LLMs somewhere… and probably share data and proprietary data.”On why one big model is not enough: “Sometimes you need the PhD. Who’s got who speaks the jargon, understands the context, and it helps deal with some of the hallucinations and bias, and other things that could be influencing.”Recent Book Recommendation: The Forgotten Founding Father: Noah Webster's Obsession and the Creation of an American Culture by Joshua Kendall--Like what you hear? Leave us a review and subscribe to the show on Apple, Spotify, or Youtube you listen to podcasts.Enterprise AI Innovators is a show where top technology executives share how AI is transforming the enterprise. Find more great lessons from tech leaders and enterprise software experts at https://www.enterprisesoftware.blog/ Enterprise AI Innovators is produced by Abnormal Studios.

Allen Fazio, CIO at Houlihan Lokey and former Disney technologist, discusses how AI is reshaping investment banking. He emphasizes the importance of an orchestration layer and the firm's focus on empowering analysts and interns with practical AI use cases. Fazio also highlights the role of culture over tools in driving innovation, recommending that young bankers enhance their AI skills. He envisions a future where routine tasks are simplified, but new challenges will emerge, urging tech leaders to blend technical prowess with storytelling.

On the 60th episode of Enterprise AI Innovators, hosts Evan Reiser (CEO and co-founder, Abnormal AI) and Saam Motamedi (Greylock Partners) speak to Ronald White, the former CIO of Avanade. Ronald brings deep experience leading global enterprise IT at Avanade and shares actionable lessons from orchestrating large‑scale AI adoption across business functions.Quick hits from Ronald:On moving beyond surface-level AI: "What are we going to get past these little parlor tricks and actually do something that impacts the enterprise?"On proving value through AI adoption: "A lawyer using general AI technology will 100 percent of the time beat a lawyer who is not. Period. End of statement."On early enterprise wins with AI: "You’re changing the game right away... and so if you don’t stay on top of it and iterate and iterate and iterate, you lose."Recent Book Recommendation: Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard--Like what you hear? Leave us a review and subscribe to the show on Apple, Google, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts.Enterprise AI Innovators is a show where top technology executives share how AI is transforming the enterprise. Discover more great lessons from tech leaders and experts in emerging AI technologies at https://www.enterprisesoftware.blog/Enterprise AI Innovators is produced by Josh Meer

On the 59th episode of Enterprise AI Innovators, hosts Evan Reiser (CEO and co-founder, Abnormal AI) and Saam Motamedi (Greylock Partners) welcome Sanjay Macwan, Chief Information Officer at Sprinklr. Sanjay explains how Sprinklr is using AI to enhance customer experience at scale by reducing friction, making engagement intuitive, and ensuring every user feels heard. He also shares practical examples of how internal operations are being optimized through AI.Quick hits from Sanjay:On transforming billing with AI: "That workflow from sending a bill to collecting the cash can be incredibly complex. I did solve that in my prior work using AI."On Sprinklr's AI architecture: "Now we have a platform with three rich components: custom models, GenAI, and allowing our customers to integrate their own models."On AI making customer experience feel more human: "Even if they couldn't solve the things because there are some physical barriers, I got heard. They heard me. They genuinely reacted to me."Recent Book Recommendation: All in on AI by Thomas Davenport and Nitin Mittal--Like what you hear? Leave us a review and subscribe to the show on Apple, Google, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Enterprise AI Innovators is a show where top technology executives share how AI is transforming the enterprise. Each episode covers the real-world applications of AI, from improving products and optimizing operations to redefining the customer experience. Find more great insights from technology leaders and enterprise software experts at https://www.enterprisesoftware.blog/Enterprise AI Innovators is produced by Josh Meer.

Jaime Montemayor, Chief Digital & Technology Officer at General Mills, dives into the transformative power of AI in the food industry. He explains how clean data and cloud migration have driven innovation, enabling predictive analytics and improving supply chain efficiency. With 30% of the workforce embracing generative AI, Montemayor emphasizes the importance of being hands-on with technology. He also shares insights on digitizing logistics, accelerating product development, and the future of AI-driven consumer interactions, all while maintaining strategic focus for business growth.

Mark Sherwood, EVP and CIO at Wolters Kluwer, leads transformative AI efforts in product development and operations. He discusses revolutionary changes like automating standard operating procedures, reducing weeks of work to minutes. Sherwood elaborates on enhancing contract management by surfacing risks and suggesting rewording. He emphasizes a pragmatic AI strategy, prioritizing real business challenges and productivity gains. Looking ahead, he predicts AI agents will work alongside humans, enhancing collaboration while preserving uniquely human roles.

On the 56th episode of Enterprise AI Innovators, host Evan Reiser (Abnormal AI) welcomes Sally Miller, Global Chief Information Officer at DHL Supply Chain. Sally reveals how AI and robotics are reshaping the warehouse floor, the back office, and customer expectations at a company operating 2,500 sites across more than 50 countries. From early bets on generative tools to inclusive bots supporting multi-language teams, she shares the strategy, systems, and human factors required to scale AI across the globe.Quick hits from Sally:On strategic clarity for AI: “We look for where people spend time doing non-value-added tasks and ask if AI can do that for them.”On AI’s impact at DHL: “Where we would be calling over the course of a week to confirm delivery appointments, we now kick off agents and those appointments are confirmed within a couple of hours. We’ve saved that [manual work], we’ve automated it, and we have the data faster. So the downstream processes are more efficient.”On business framing for AI usage: “I view AI as to the white-collar workforce what robotics was to the blue-collar workforce. It is going to change the way people work, much like the introduction of the personal computer.”Recent Book Recommendation: The Gray Man by Mark Greaney--Like what you hear? Leave us a review and subscribe to the show on Apple, Google, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts.Enterprise AI Innovators is a show where top security executives share how moves to the cloud have created an evolved threat landscape that requires new tools to protect against cybercrime. Find more great lessons from tech leaders and enterprise software experts at https://www.enterprisesoftware.blog/ Enterprise AI Innovators is produced by Josh Meer

On the 55th episode of Enterprise AI Innovators, hosts Evan Reiser (Abnormal AI) and Saam Motamedi (Greylock Partners) welcome Richard Donaldson, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Duke Energy. Richard explains how one of the largest regulated utilities in North America is embracing AI to reshape its digital infrastructure and accelerate enterprise-wide transformation. He shares concrete use cases, like Duke Energy Explorer for regulatory responses and generative AI authoring relicensing documentation, and conceptualizes a future where AI-powered drones and intimate co-pilots redefine operational productivity.Quick hits from Richard: On strategic clarity for AI: “Everybody’s waiting for me to say we did this AI thing straight out of a science fiction book, but the most valuable stuff doesn’t always come with the spice.”On AI’s impact at Duke: “We built a conversational AI that harvests data across hundreds of sources for regulatory Q&A. It’s not banan, but it moves the needle every single time.”On business framing for AI usage: “We spent 2024 doing the unsexy work: protecting data, governing AI platforms. That was the homework. Now we're turning the page and going fast.”Book Recommendation: Fall; or, Dodge in Hell by Neal Stephenson—Like what you hear? Leave us a review and subscribe to the show on Apple, Google, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts.Enterprise AI Innovators is a show where top technology executives share how AI is transforming the enterprise. Each episode covers the real-world applications of AI, from improving products and optimizing operations to redefining the customer experience. Find more great insights from technology leaders and enterprise software experts at https://www.enterprisesoftware.blog/ Enterprise AI Innovators is produced by Josh Meer.