BlueCat

Today I’m joined by Brian Benn, a former NASA software engineer and current Chief Innovation Officer at the Atlanta Housing Authority - a leader in transforming public housing to provide affordable communities for those in need. In this episode, we’re going to focus on how technology leaders - particularly in government, can stoke innovation, create a culture that resists complacency, welcomes vulnerability, and actually empowers agile development.
Tom is a truly innovative strategist, technologist, and overall thought leader, with an adamant belief in digital literacy driving the betterment of Atlanta. He has some really awesome stories from his time on the final frontier. Enjoy!
Let me know what you thought of today’s discussion! Tweet me at @netwkdisrupted + @awertkin, leave a review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, or email me at andrew@networkdisrupted.com.

Brian Benn

Chief Innovation Officer, Atlanta Housing Authority

Today I’m joined by Brian Benn - former NASA software engineer and Chief Innovation Officer at the Atlanta Housing Authority. We’re going to focus on how technology leaders can create a culture of that innovation that resists complacency, welcomes vulnerability, and  empowers agile development. Enjoy!

Season 2, Episode 4 - "How do I Foster a Culture of Innovation?" with Brian Benn, CIO @ Atlanta Housing Authority

Today, I’m speaking with Tom Andriola, the Vice Chancellor of Information, Technology, and Data over at the University of California, Irvine - an inovation hub for higher education, public research, and healthcare. On this episode, we explore Tom's unique take on enabling partnerships to promote UC Irvine’s ambitious data strategy, discuss the keys to merging technology and business strategy at organizations at the scale of UC Irvine, and investigate emerging thoughts on what’s to come in healthcare and higher ed.
Tom is a brilliant technology leader and a true advocate for innovation. His ambitious strategic approach is reason enough to take notes - enjoy!
Let me know what you thought of today’s discussion! You can tweet me at @netwkdisrupted + @awertkin, leave a review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, or email me at andrew@networkdisrupted.com.

Tom Andriola

Vice Chancellor of Information, technology, and Data, UC Irvine

On this episode, we explore Tom Andriola’s unique take on enabling partnerships to promote UC Irvine’s ambitious data strategy, discuss the keys to merging technology and business strategy at organizations at the scale of UC Irvine, and investigate emerging thoughts on what’s to come in healthcare and higher ed.

Season 2 Episode 3 - "How do I choose & enable my partners?" with Tom Andriola, Vice Chancellor of IT at UC Irvine

Today, I’m speaking with Gayleen Gray - the Assistant Vice President and CTO at McMaster University in Canada. On this episode, we explore the evolution of the CIO role and why we’re seeing more people adopting the CTO title today, how Gayleen brought the entire university along in her strategic planning process, how she measures success in her department, what peer communities Gayleen is involved in, and so much more.
She is a brilliant open book and I found so much to take away from this episode - it was hard to pick what elements to cut down in editing, so you’ll certainly enjoy this one. 
Let me know what you thought of today’s discussion! You can tweet me at @netwkdisrupted + @awertkin, leave a review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, or email me at andrew@networkdisrupted.com.

Gayleen Gray

AVP and CTO at McMaster U

Season 2, Episode 2: "Should I abandon the CIO title?" with Gayleen Gray, AVP and CTO at McMaster University

Today, I talk to <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/cfsheridan/">Chad Sheridan</a>, Chief Innovation Officer at NetImpact Strategies about:- How to measure value in the federal context- The balance between delivering features and technical debt- Why switching from project to product thinking matters- The value in leveraging cloud for agencies- How to lean on peers and overcome other technology leadership challengesAs former service delivery chief for the USDA, Chad recently moved to work at NetImpact Strategies to advise a number of agencies on what we’re about to talk about today. That is, creating and measuring value in the federal context, switching from project to product thinking to nurture innovation, the cloud’s value for agencies, and how to lean on peers to overcome the challenges that inevitably come with the territory of technology leadership.

Chad Sheridan

CIO, NetImpact Strategies

Today, I talk to Chad Sheridan, Chief Innovation Officer at NetImpact Strategies. We discuss the balance between delivering features and technical debt, how to measure value in the federal context, the benefit in leveraging cloud, why switching from project to product thinking matters, and how to overcome technology leadership challenges by leaning on peers.

Season 1, Episode 8: "How can I nurture innovation at a federal agency?" with Chad Sheridan, Chief Innovation Officer, NetImpact Strategies

Today, I talk to Thomas Sweet, VP in IT Solutions at GM Financial, about: - How he’s turning his QA organization into a unified engineering team - The value of certifications and metrics - Specific tactics he uses to drive continuous learning - Why he doesn’t want GM Financial’s Cloud Centre of Excellence (CCoE) to return his team members Tom’s got a real focus on lifting people up in the workplace. I want to give credit where credit is due, so I’d like to thank our friends at Linux Academy (or, rather, A Cloud Guru), for introducing us. Tom gets into the tactical weeds explaining how he’s doing what he’s doing, which is really valuable, so thanks for that Christophe.&nbsp; Note: Tom’s opinions are his own and do not represent those of GM or GM Financial. P.S. Know who I should speak to next? Drop me a line at andrew [at] networkdisrupted [dot] com.&nbsp; P.P.S. Short on time? I send episode summaries to my email subscribers. Add yourself to the list if you’d like.

Thomas Sweet

VP of IT, GM Financial

Today, I talk to Thomas Sweet, VP in IT Solutions at GM Financial. We discuss how he’s turning a QA organization into a unified engineering team, the value of certifications and metrics, specific tactics to drive continuous learning, and why he doesn’t want GM Financial’s Cloud Centre of Excellence (CCoE) to return his team members.

Season 1, Episode 7: "How do I up-skill my team for digital transformation?" with Thomas Sweet, VP in IT Solutions @ GM Financial

Today, I talk to Anshuman Awasthi, Director of Infrastructure and Engineering at a publicly traded, leading retailer based in CA whose legal team won’t let me say their name... but they do furniture really well. Anshu’s company was an early adopter of SD-WAN before its value was as defined, so we talk about how and why they did that. We'll also discuss:<ul><li>- Why his team chose to adopt SD-WAN before its relative popularity</li><li>- How he leveraged vendor partnerships to tailor emerging solutions </li><li>- How Anshu’s company determined requirements for the emerging technology </li><li>- What securing traffic in this new world looked like for Anshu’s team </li></ul>Read his Forbes column here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/people/anshumanawasthi/#53b78c831ec4P.S. Know who I should speak to next? Drop me a line at andrew@networkdisrupted.com P.P.S. Short on time? I send episode summaries to my email subscribers. Add yourself to the list if you’d like.

Anshuman Awasthi

Director of Infrastructure, and Engineering

Today, I talk to Anshuman Awasthi, a Director of Infrastructure and Engineering. We discuss why his team chose to prematurely adopt SD-WAN, the fundamentals of leveraging vendor partnerships to tailor emerging solutions, how his company determined requirements for emerging technology, and what securing traffic looks like in this new world.

Season 1, Episode 6: "How did they adopt SD-WAN so fast?" with Anshuman Awasthi, Director of Infrastructure, Engineering @ Leading Retailer

In this episode, I talk with Vishal Gupta, CTO @ Unisys, about:- The value AI actually has (and doesn’t have) in an enterprise setting- Low-hanging fruit for which an organization can use AI (specifically in the realm of improving customer experience and classifying devices for policy application)- Common data-collection misconceptions enterprises have- Bonus: how Unisys is equipping its employees career security through skills trainingVishal is the CTO of Unisys, the IT company we’ve known for over a century. Since he started in 2018, Vishal has been focused on helping Unisys’ customers apply analytics in practical ways, and on enabling his organization to attract, engage, and retain talent. We talk about both things in the episode.P.S. Know who I should speak to next? Drop me a line at andrew [at] networkdisrupted [dot] com.P.P.S. Short on time? I send episode summaries to my email subscribers. Add yourself to the list if you’d like.

Vishal Gupta

CTO, Unisys

In this episode, I talk with Vishal Gupta, Chief Technology Officer at Unisys. We discuss the value AI actually has (and doesn’t have) in an enterprise setting, common data-collection misconceptions, low-hanging fruit for organization-wide use of AI (specifically improving customer experience and classifying devices for policy application), and how Unisys is equipping its employees career security through skills training.

Season 1, Episode 5: "Is AI a dirty word?" with Vishal Gupta, CTO @ Unisys

In this episode, I talk with Juha Holkkola, CEO @ FusionLayer about:- The networking reality at many large organizations- Automation strategy mistakes he sees organizations making- The best IP address management (IPAM) tools most organizations cling to- His advice for effective automationJuha is the co-founder and CEO of FusionLayer, a DDI company focused on helping large customers automate their infrastructure. While a bit different than my typical guest, Juha – like me – talks to a large number of IT leaders. He therefore understands where widespread holes (and, conversely, opportunities for improvement) exist.P.S. Know who I should speak to next? Drop me a line at andrew [at] networkdisrupted [dot] com.P.P.S. Short on time? I send episode summaries to my email subscribers. Add yourself to the list if you’d like.

Juha Holkkola

CEO and Co-Founder, FusionLayer Inc.

In this episode, I talk with Juha Holkkola, CEO of FusionLayer.  We disucss the reality of networking at many large organizations, the best IP address management (IPAM) tools, commonly seen automation strategy mistakes, and his advice for effective automation.

Season 1, Episode 4: "How do I measure an automation strategy?" with Juha Holkkola, CEO @ FusionLayer

In this episode, I talk with Jon Macy, Director @ Cerner about: * How he balances single customer requirements and popular requests * How he engages with the business * The business-focused platform-as-a-service that he’s effectively built for the organization * What he thinks makes a valuable technology partnership  Jon is focused on building enduring architectures and systems at Cerner, and it shows in the way he talks about his role and challenges. It’s both reassuring to listen to, and certainly helpful to others on a similar path. P.S. Know who I should speak to next? Drop me a line at andrew [at] networkdisrupted [dot] com.&nbsp; P.P.S. Short on time? I send episode summaries to my email subscribers. Add yourself to the list if you’d like.

Jon Macy

Director, Cerner Corp.

In this episode, I talk with Jon Macy, Director at Cerner Corporation. We discuss business engagement,
balancing single customer requirements with popular requests, the business-focused platform-as-a-service that he’s effectively built at Cerner, and the fundamentals of a valuable technology partnership.

Season 1, Episode 3: "How do I interpret business requirements?" with Jon Macy, Director @ Cerner

<div>In this episode, I talk with <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-markwell-6a18b37b/" target="_blank">David Markwell</a>, SVP of Information Technology at Loblaw, about:<ul><li>- Technology’s responsibility to the business</li><li>- How to move from supporting technology projects to driving overarching business objectives</li><li>- Loblaw’s forward-looking investments in the cloud, SD-WAN, and more</li><li>- The way David grew from being a ‘technology leader’ in Loblaw to a leader, point blank</li><li>I think David’s approach is so thoughtful, and so customer-, business-, and employee-focused. There's a lot to learn from that and to be proud of. Enjoy this one.</li><li>P.S. Know who I should speak to next? Drop me a line at andrew [at] networkdisrupted [dot] com.</li><li>P.P.S. Short on time? I send detailed episode summaries to my email subscribers. Add yourself to the list if you’d like.</li></ul></div>

David Markwell

SVP of Technology, Loblaw

Today, I talk to David Markwell, SVP of Information Technology at Loblaw. We discuss technology’s responsibility to the business, Loblaw’s forward-looking investments in the cloud and SD-WAN, and David's personal growth from ‘technology leader’ to a leader, period.

Season 1, Episode 1: "How can I enable my organization?" with David Markwell, SVP of Technology @ Loblaw

In this episode, I talk with Mathew Chase, VP of IT at Ellucian about:- How to architect for broader business requirements- What IT’s position in the business really is- Shadow IT and the different ways technology is rolled out in organizations- Being vulnerable and confident as an IT leaderMat’s story is a relatable one, as his company continues to integrate IT into more of the business’ strategic goals. Enjoy this one.P.S. Know who I should speak to next? Drop me a line at andrew [at] networkdisrupted [dot] com.P.P.S. Short on time? I send episode summaries to my email subscribers. Add yourself to the list if you’d like.

Mathew Chase

VP of IT, Ellucian

In this episode, I talk with Mathew Chase, VP of IT at Ellucian. We discuss IT’s true position in a business setting, alternative methods for tech rollouts, being vulnerable and confident as an IT leader, and how to architect for broader business requirements.

Episodes