Innovation and the Digital Enterprise

DragonSpears
  • 5.0 (12)
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • UPDATED BIWEEKLY
Innovation and the Digital Enterprise

What does it take to keep your organization growing? Innovation and the Digital Enterprise is a podcast dedicated to providing insights and resources to executives and entrepreneurs focused on 10x growth for themselves and the organizations they lead. We interview leaders from early-stage start-ups to billion-dollar enterprises who have boots on the ground experience to distill their lessons from their victories and their failures. Learn how these leaders are organizing their teams, establishing a growth-minded culture, and leveraging new technologies such as DevOps and Cloud. Co-hosts Patrick Emmons of DragonSpears, and Shelli Nelson of Madison Industries, chat with guests such as Gene Kim of the DevOps Enterprise Summit, Mik Kersten of TaskTop, and Thomas South of Northern Trust, to uncover tips, tools, and insights gleaned from spearheading innovation initiatives. Listen Notes

  1. How Local Content Creators are Reshaping Marketing with Emily Steele

    OCT 3

    How Local Content Creators are Reshaping Marketing with Emily Steele

    “It’s marketing through people instead of at them,” says Emily Steele, CEO and Co-founder of Hummingbirds. In this episode of Innovation and the Digital Enterprise we talk with Emily about how Hummingbirds is leveraging hyperlocal content creators to drive brand awareness and sales. Emily shares her journey from running a local marketing agency to founding Hummingbirds, emphasizing the power of word-of-mouth marketing and community-driven content. She explains Hummingbirds’ unique approach of fostering relationships between local businesses and hyperlocal content creators, who serve as community-scale advocates for the brand. We discuss how in our oversaturated digital marketing landscape, Hummingbirds delivers meaningful, authentic, relationship-driven results. We close our conversation chatting about Emily’s future goals and plans for growth, and the challenge of scaling while maintaining that authenticity. (01:28) Emily Steele on the beginnings of Hummingbirds(02:36) The power of local influence(08:12) Scaling, Community Building and Exploring new verticals(11:51) The Hummingbirds community(16:52) Emily's journey to entrepreneurship(18:13) Building a successful brand and Achieving rapid growth(20:36) Strategies for success(24:38) Measuring impact and ROI(27:44) Exciting opportunities ahead(30:29) Fun facts about Hummingbirds Emily Steele is the CEO and Co-founder of Hummingbirds, a SaaS company helping brands connect to local customers through digital word-of-mouth marketing. Before launching Hummingbirds, Emily proved a passionate advocate for local Des Moines businesses as the owner of Love Local. She has a Bachelor's in business administration, from Drake University, and studied at Richmond, the American International University in London. When she’s not championing local business, she helps organize The Water Ride, an annual bike ride that raises funds for clean water efforts in Ghana. If you'd like to receive new episodes as they're published, please subscribe to Innovation and the Digital Enterprise in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review in Apple Podcasts. It really helps others find the show. Podcast episode production by Dante32.

    33 min
  2. Continuous Learning and Sharing from Engineer to Executive with Ann Yeung

    SEP 19

    Continuous Learning and Sharing from Engineer to Executive with Ann Yeung

    Wouldn’t it be great if your boss had a user guide for achieving success under their leadership? Ann Yeung’s team at GEICO, where she serves as the Vice President of Engineering, Head of Enterprise Engineering, received one. In her “user guide,” Ann shares her expectations, values, and tools for successful collaboration that go well beyond pet peeves to establish communicative, empowered teams.  In this episode, Ann discusses her transition to GEICO and the critical role of managing corporate functions during transformation. She shares her journey from individual contributor to leader and how she applies the lessons she’s learned along the way. Ann offers how her perspective has changed over time, (ex. how experience is important but unique application to any particular scenario is key) and outlines how her leadership values match her personal values: integrity, transparency, and direct communication.  As a leader, Ann ensures that her approach includes two critical elements: understanding the problem from the lens of the business stakeholders and carving out time for reflection. Ann discusses welcoming feedback and challenging her teams with growth opportunities with intentional mentorship. She discusses how, as an engineer at heart, her love of data couples with empirical evidence to guide her decision making and the importance of responsible leadership.  (2:10) – Enterprise engineering at GEICO(4:22) – Playbook for success(8:46) – Transition to leadership(13:46) – “Ann Yeung User Guide”(20:47) – Building relationships and trust(23:34) – Opening the door to feedback(27:52) – Recovery (30:09) – Decision-making(32:06) – Empowering your team Ann Yeung is the Vice President of Engineering, Head of Enterprise Engineering at GEICO. Ann is a senior technology executive and business strategist with over twenty years of experience in various industries, including roles at Northwestern Mutual, Capital One, and US Foods. She is the Director of Women Who Code Chicago Network and serves on the Board of Directors for Chinese American Service League and STEM Forward. Ann earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science and mathematics from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. If you'd like to receive new episodes as they're published, please subscribe to Innovation and the Digital Enterprise in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review in Apple Podcasts. It really helps others find the show. Podcast episode production by Dante32.

    38 min
  3. Leading a Global, Multi-Year, Cloud Transformation with Megan Williams

    SEP 5

    Leading a Global, Multi-Year, Cloud Transformation with Megan Williams

    Does the “I don’t know how we’re gonna do this?” feeling ever fade? In large-scale transformation, Megan Williams, VP of Global Technology Strategy and Transformation at TransUnion, doesn’t think so. Leading global, multi-year transformation programs continues to prompt the major questions: What is our vision? What is the approach? With over 20 years of experience, the initial intimidation remains, but Megan and her teams persist.  In this episode, Megan shares how guiding TransUnion’s transformation from on-premise data centers to the cloud has evolved over her four years from a “lift and shift” to a modernization transformation. Growing up in South Africa, Megan’s career has spanned three continents giving her an exceptional glimpse into the work cultures of different countries. Megan highlights the similarities (think: personalities) and differences (think: daily schedule) that she’s experienced and the importance of relating to teams across the globe.  Diving deeper into leadership, Megan discusses how her approach can be summed up as vulnerability and transparency. How can she make thousands feel like six people in a garage? She embraces public conversations and welcomes a challenging question. Megan offers a glimpse into her leadership style with a story of how her continued presence at a daily call had a surprising result and how adjustment is necessary when your intentions fall out of alignment with your impact. Megan shares how effective communication can lean on conversation and support from different ways of connecting. (01:40) – Joining TransUnion(05:05) – Journey to technology(10:52) – A career across three continents(15:00) – Large transformation programs(18:57) – Vulnerability and transparency(24:51) – “Overcommunication” Megan Williams is the VP of Global Technology Strategy and Transformation at TransUnion. She has over 20 years of experience spanning software development to leading global, multi-year transformations and implementing large, complex program delivery in fast-paced technical industries. Megan earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science and economics from the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa. If you'd like to receive new episodes as they're published, please subscribe to Innovation and the Digital Enterprise in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review in Apple Podcasts. It really helps others find the show. Podcast episode production by Dante32.

    31 min
  4. AI, Analytics, and the Future of FinTech with Srikanth Geedipalli

    AUG 22

    AI, Analytics, and the Future of FinTech with Srikanth Geedipalli

    Out of approximately 5,000 lending institutions nationwide, Srikanth Geedipalli and the team at Experian have developed relationships with 3,000 of them, and the list continues to grow. As Senior Vice President of AI Product Management and Commercialization, Srikanth is spearheading the productization and democratization of data.  In this episode, Srikanth explains how he promotes innovation at Experian, accounting for its size, role as a trusted brand, and regulated and compliance-oriented processes. He shares his career journey in three parts—banker, strategy executor, and AI and analytics executive—and how the positionalities create a full picture of the issues he’s trying to solve. Srikanth shares how Experian has embraced its rich data history in building analytic and AI ecosystems that have made these resources more affordable to clients beyond the big banks. As a leader, Srikanth endorses the “crawl, walk, run” method on the boldest visions. He shares how to balance focusing on niche solutions and a wider vision. Srikanth discusses how he encourages his team to move as quickly as possible and how rapid innovation can continue to push boundaries and work symbiotically with approval chains and compliance. In discussing artificial intelligence, Srikanth shares how he sees the future of AI, specifically gen AI, its rapidly approaching role in all products, an anticipated boom of gen AI agents, and how to embrace the transformative technology in your life and for the next generation. (03:30) – Journey to Experian(05:45) – Productizing and democratizing data(09:26) – Innovation in a large organization(12:58) – Engendering trust and confidence(15:57) – Having a big vision(17:13) – Client profile(19:44) – Inspiration (21:19) – Acting like a small business(24:33) – Team incentives(28:28) – Where is gen AI heading? (31:30) – Gen AI agents(33:32) – What should you do? Srikanth Geedipalli is the Senior Vice President of AI Product Management and Commercialization at Experian. Previously, he served as Head of US Strategy at BMO Financial Group, a strategy consultant for McKinsey & Company, and an analytics leader at Capital One. Srikanth earned an MS in Biomedical Engineering from Cornell University and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. If you'd like to receive new episodes as they're published, please subscribe to Innovation and the Digital Enterprise in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review in Apple Podcasts. It really helps others find the show. Podcast episode production by Dante32.

    38 min

  5. AUG 8

    Cross-Team Connections and Logistics Solutions with Christina Garcia

    Sticky notes might be the key to successful leadership. Christina Garcia, Senior Vice President of Engineering at Echo Global Logistics, keeps a few posted nearby with essential reminders to guide her in difficult moments. When leading teams of engineers attempting to disrupt the logistics space grows challenging, having a reminder of foundational leadership tools can be the key to accurately identifying an issue and swift resolution.  In this episode, Christina discusses determining what to build and creating team-wide investment in its success. She considers the role of research and development from pie-in-the-sky projects to simpler, value-adding solutions. Christina offers her perspective on building narrative and encouraging engineers and developers to witness the value firsthand. (For example, “If your grandmother was in the store shopping, what is the experience you’d like her to have with the software?”)  Considering culture, Christina dives into a culture of accountability and being a champion of quality. She shares her thoughts on shifting left, the results she’s seen in earlier testing processes, and searching for the root cause of an issue. Alongside accountability, Christina identifies key areas of success like avoiding silos of communication and leaning on creativity in strategic planning. She offers her perspective on leading a team of passionate engineers and her approach to leading the group through transition (ex. one-on-one time with everyone). One key to her team’s success at Echo: carrying the load together. Speaking on leadership, Christina shares how to work across different strengths and mindsets, build trust, set clear expectations, embrace vulnerability, and ask for help.  (01:30) – Echo(02:52) – Finding software(05:15) – Building the right things(08:52) – Narrative(10:36) – Witnessing the value(13:00) – Shifting left(15:13) – Recognizing the hurdles(16:15) – Little leadership reminders(17:38) – Leading engineers(19:57) – Building passionate teams(22:57) – Setting clear expectations(27:17) – Creative solutions and planning(32:30) – Asking for help Christina Garcia is a Senior Vice President of Engineering at Echo Global Logistics. Her technology and business expertise have led to career achievements in engineering, strategic technology implementation, and leadership, including positions at Capital One, SEQR, Sears Holdings Corporation, and OfficeMax. Christina earned a bachelor’s degree in computer software engineering and a master’s degree in e-commerce at DePaul University. If you'd like to receive new episodes as they're published, please subscribe to Innovation and the Digital Enterprise in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review in Apple Podcasts. It really helps others find the show. Podcast episode production by Dante32.

    37 min
  6. Disagreement, Trust, and Building High-Performing Teams with Dan Kirsche

    JUL 25

    Disagreement, Trust, and Building High-Performing Teams with Dan Kirsche

    Joining a new company and being tasked with adding value and building high-performing teams starts with one key question: what is the organizational structure? Experienced technology leader Dan Kirsche has recently joined Chamberlain Group as the Senior Vice President of Software Engineering after a robust career of leading software engineers. With innovation and team building on his mind, Dan shares key lessons in culture-creating behaviors, embracing disagreement, and successful leadership.  In this episode, Dan discusses the importance of properly structured autonomous teams. He reflects on how leadership on these small teams can smoothly operate and their recommended size. Dan shares how these teams are the fundamental building blocks and that creating the right culture at the team level is essential. As a leader, Dan reveals that a continued focus on quality means that he is looped in when production issues are being discussed (Leaders, join the Slack channel!) and how strong leaders must be familiar with the severity and frequency of these issues.  Beyond focusing on quality, Dan dives into additional values he seeks to find in team members growing into leadership positions. He shares how pushing into an area of discomfort is key while sharing actionable mentorship strategies for providing those challenging and meaningful growth opportunities. Acknowledging how difficult tech leadership can be, Dan discusses the role of accountability and ownership, including how leaders must demonstrate the ability to receive feedback. Dan shares how opinionated, strategically disagreeable team members add value and, alongside other qualities that make them enjoyable to work with, are key members of teams that quickly find the right answers. (01:40) – Leading software engineering at Chamberlain Group(04:20) – Driving better practices(06:57) – Culture-creating behaviors(09:52) – A focus on quality(13:28) – Organization culture vs. team culture(16:05) – Accountability and ownership(19:47) – Embracing discomfort(23:42) – Building opinionated and innovative teams(29:14) – A willingness to disagree(30:57) – On leadership Dan Kirsche is an experienced technology executive and Senior Vice President of Software Engineering at Chamberlain Group. Previously, he was the Chief Technology Officer at CURO Financial Technologies Corp and lead software engineering at Enova International, project44, and Groupon. Dan earned his MBA from Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management and a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. If you'd like to receive new episodes as they're published, please subscribe to Innovation and the Digital Enterprise in Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review in Apple Podcasts. It really helps others find the show. a href="https://www.dante32.com/" rel="noopener

    38 min
  7. Best Of: Accelerating Digital Transformation at Allstate with Christopher Paquette

    JUL 11

    Best Of: Accelerating Digital Transformation at Allstate with Christopher Paquette

    At the start of summer last year, we had a really inspiring conversation with Christopher Paquette and are excited to reshare it this year, in our “Best Of” series. Originally published 06/29/23. Tasked with accelerating digital transformation at Allstate, Christopher Paquette recognizes the digital potential embedded everywhere. Reflecting on his first year as Chief Digital Transformation Officer at Allstate, Christopher shares essential lessons in collaboration, creating value for the customer, and transformation strategy.  In this episode, Christopher discusses focus areas of connectivity, automation, decisioning, and pattern recognition. He gives examples of analysis indicators and the various speeds of digital transformation. Christopher dives into the idea of influence when your discipline is not siloed and discusses his passion for community building through music and music education. (01:42) – Introducing Christopher Paquette(03:21) – Digital transformation(07:04) – Decisioning(09:11) – Relationship building and collaboration(13:34) – Influence (18:10) – Outcomes and determining the “why”(21:51) – Indicators: starts, containment, and satisfaction(24:40) – Beginning a role in Q2(26:01) – Dedication to music and The People’s Music School Christopher Paquette is the Chief Digital Transformation Officer at Allstate. Previously, Christopher served as a Partner at McKinsey & Company for twelve years. His over two-decade career has orbited strategy, digital, and analytics. Christopher earned an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. If you'd like to receive new episodes as they're published, please subscribe to Innovation and the Digital Enterprise in Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review in Apple Podcasts. It really helps others find the show. Podcast episode production by Dante32.

    31 min
  8. Best Of: Engineering Your Career Progression with Deborah Spence-Cummings

    JUN 27

    Best Of: Engineering Your Career Progression with Deborah Spence-Cummings

    We had a fascinating conversation with Deborah Spence-Cummings in late 2022 and are excited to reshare it in our “Best Of” series. Originally published 12/01/22. Only an exceptional innovator would look at a burgeoning career in operations and pause to examine their reputation and evaluate their goals. With the help of an executive coach, Deborah Spence-Cummings did just that and now serves as the Director of AI/ML Operations at Apple.  Deborah shares how she used an engineering mindset developed at MIT and Northwestern to drive her career progression through positions in operations, planning, project management, sales, and now, artificial intelligence and machine learning. In this conversation with Pat and Shelli, Deborah also discusses her contributions to the innovative processes at Apple and NAVTEQ and how she navigated her career when obvious opportunities did not appear. (01:27) – Machine learning and AI(08:09) – Studying material science(11:38) – Journey to NAVTEQ(18:14) – Taking on different roles(21:45) – Working with an executive coach(26:51) – The engineering of sales(28:33) – Approach to leadership(30:27) – Advocates in your network Deborah Spence-Cummings is the Director of AI/ML Operations at Apple. She has previously held executive and senior roles at HERE Technologies and NAVTEQ across operations, planning, program management, and sales. Deborah earned a bachelor's and master's degree in materials science and engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an MBA at the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. If you'd like to receive new episodes as they're published, please subscribe to Innovation and the Digital Enterprise in Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review in Apple Podcasts. It really helps others find the show. Podcast episode production by Dante32.

    40 min
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About

What does it take to keep your organization growing? Innovation and the Digital Enterprise is a podcast dedicated to providing insights and resources to executives and entrepreneurs focused on 10x growth for themselves and the organizations they lead. We interview leaders from early-stage start-ups to billion-dollar enterprises who have boots on the ground experience to distill their lessons from their victories and their failures. Learn how these leaders are organizing their teams, establishing a growth-minded culture, and leveraging new technologies such as DevOps and Cloud. Co-hosts Patrick Emmons of DragonSpears, and Shelli Nelson of Madison Industries, chat with guests such as Gene Kim of the DevOps Enterprise Summit, Mik Kersten of TaskTop, and Thomas South of Northern Trust, to uncover tips, tools, and insights gleaned from spearheading innovation initiatives. Listen Notes

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