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

Latest Episodes:

Technovation 1000: Jeffrey Katzenberg on DreamWorks, Disney, WndrCo & Creative Risk Aug 07, 2025

Show notes

From Hollywood mogul to venture capital visionary, Jeffrey Katzenberg’s story is one of bold bets, iconic storytelling, and relentless reinvention. In this milestone 1000th episode of Technovation, host Peter High welcomes Katzenberg to reflect on a remarkable career spanning five decades across film, animation, and now AI-driven venture investing.

As the founding partner of WndrCo, Katzenberg backs transformative companies like Netomi (conversational AI), Writer (enterprise GenAI), Alembic (causal AI), and Aura (consumer digital safety). But long before that, he shaped global pop culture as President of Paramount Pictures, Chairman of Walt Disney Studios, and Co-Founder of DreamWorks SKG and DreamWorks Animation.

In this wide-ranging and candid conversation, Katzenberg shares:

Why the best ideas are risky and why failure is essential to success
How DreamWorks was launched just 8 days after being fired from Disney
Leadership lessons from icons like Barry Diller and David Geffen
The real story behind building Hollywood’s most beloved franchises
Why AI is both “prose” and “poetry” and what that means for creativity
How WndrCo is scaling category-defining businesses across tech

This episode explores 50 years of transformation, from The Lion King to Shrek, from studio boardrooms to Silicon Valley pitch rooms. A must-listen for anyone interested in creativity, leadership, and what it takes to build at scale.

From Tesla CIO to Tekion CEO: Jay Vijayan’s Journey Transforming Auto Retail Aug 04, 2025

Show notes

From Tesla to Tekion: How Jay Vijayan Is Transforming the Automotive Experience
In this episode of Technovation, Peter High speaks with Jay Vijayan, Founder & CEO of Tekion and former CIO of Tesla, about revolutionizing the dealer-to-consumer automotive experience through a cloud-first, AI-powered SaaS platform. Jay shares how his time at Oracle, VMware, and Tesla inspired the vision for Tekion, now valued at over $4 billion and serving major OEMs and dealer groups across the U.S.

Jay explains Tekion’s three-cloud architecture—Retail Cloud, Enterprise Cloud, and Partner Cloud—and how it’s streamlining operations, enabling e-commerce, and connecting a vast automotive ecosystem. He also unpacks Tekion’s innovative use of AI agents to enhance after-sales service, deliver transparency, and empower both dealers and consumers.

Key topics include:

How Tekion modernizes the fragmented automotive retail experience
The impact of AI co-pilots on vehicle service and customer trust
Lessons from Tesla and Elon Musk that shape Tekion’s product philosophy
Jay’s advice for CIOs aspiring to become CEOs

Unlocking Value: From AI Investment to Impact with AMD, Ingram Micro, and Palantir Jul 31, 2025

Show notes

How are executives creating value from AI investment?

In this Technovation episode, we feature a panel from our most recent Metis Strategy Summit where Metis Strategy’s Chris Davis moderates a panel on how companies can unlock real value from their investment in AI with AMD CIO Hasmukh Ranjan, Palantir CIO Jim Siders, and Ingram Micro CTO Dham Pathervellai.

The panel shares bold strategies for AI adoption, including AMD’s “Four A’s” maturity model, Palantir’s mandate to scale lean with high impact, and Ingram Micro’s marketplace revolution powered by GenAI. With an emphasis on data ownership, productivity KPIs, and shifting product development mindsets, this conversation offers a playbook for turning AI talk into measurable impact.

Key themes include:

AMD’s assist-to-autonomous AI framework and data-centric strategy
Palantir’s edge IT model and shift to generalist engineering teams
Ingram Micro’s GenAI integration and “Come as you are” partner model
Rethinking productivity, talent models, and data governance for AI scale

How Mars Uses AI and Platforms to Scale Value Across Brands Jul 28, 2025

Show notes

At Mars, digital services must feel shared and personal at the same time. In this episode, Peter High speaks with Marina Bellini, President of Global Services and Digital Technologies at Mars. With over 150,000 associates across 70+ markets, Mars spans industries from pet care and veterinary services to food and confectionery. Marina oversees shared services, enterprise technology, and Mars’ digital transformation.

She discusses her first six months in the role, how Mars blends scale with customization across business units, and the company’s accelerating use of product operating models, data platforms, and GenAI. Marina also shares how Mars’ family-owned, fifth-generation culture drives long-term thinking and responsible innovation.

Key topics include:

Mars’ digital and AI platform strategy (MAX)
Product model adoption and agile scaling
Tailoring global services for local business needs
Culture, principles, and shared services as enterprise glue
GenAI use cases across pet health and marketing

How Intel, Experian, and General Mills are Driving Innovation with GenAI and Agents Jul 24, 2025

Show notes

How are digital leaders driving real business impact with GenAI and agents?

In this Technovation episode, we feature a panel from our most recent Metis Strategy Summit where Metis Strategy’s Steven Norton speaks with three top executives who are driving innovation through generative AI and agents: Motti Finkelstein, CIO of Intel; Shri Santhanam, EVP & Chief AI Officer at Experian; and Jaime Montemayor, Chief Digital and Technology Officer at General Mills.

Together, they explore what it takes to move from pilots to production at scale, how to build trust in AI agents, and the organizational shifts required to maximize GenAI’s potential. With insights spanning financial services, semiconductors, and consumer packaged goods, this conversation dives into strategic frameworks, technical foundations, and real-world use cases.

Key topics include:

Experian’s EVA: A financial agent handling personal credit data at scale
Intel’s 2,500+ AI use cases tracked through finance-validated buckets
MillsChat at General Mills: Securing and scaling enterprise AI tools
AI training compressing certification time from 12 months to weeks
Future of AI agents as full digital coworkers across B2B and B2C

Adam Brotman & Andy Sack on Becoming an AI-First Business and Future-Proofing Jul 21, 2025

Show notes

“The genie is out of the bottle”

In this episode of Technovation, host Peter High speaks with Adam Brotman and Andy Sack, co-CEOs of Forum3 and co-authors of AI First: The Playbook for a Future-Proof Business and Brand. Adam is a former co-CEO of J.Crew and Starbucks Chief Digital Officer, while Andy is a longtime entrepreneur, VC, and former advisor to Satya Nadella at Microsoft. Together, they’re helping executives and brands navigate the unprecedented opportunities and risks of generative AI.

They discuss lessons from their book, including their conversations with thought leaders like Sam Altman and Bill Gates, the imperative of becoming an AI-first company, and why future-proofing requires both agility and principled leadership. Adam and Andy also share practical advice on building an “AI council,” experimenting at all levels, and keeping pace with a technology that’s reshaping work, society, and competition.

Key insights from this episode:

Why AGI could arrive within 3 – 5 years and what it means for your business
How to build an AI-first culture, starting with leadership
Lessons from Moderna’s AI adoption playbook
The importance of balancing innovation, security, and ethics
How generative AI can act as a “co-founder” and personal productivity multiplier

Leading Through Change: CIOs on Agility, Experience & Transformation Jul 17, 2025

Show notes

994: Leading Through Change Requires Culture, Clarity, and Courage.

In this episode of Technovation, Metis Strategy’s Andrew Krusell moderates a powerful panel with three accomplished CIOs: Richard Donaldson (CIO of Duke Energy), Neal Sample (CIO of Walgreens Boots Alliance), and Darlene Taylor (CIO of Superior Industries). Together, they share candid lessons and actionable strategies for leading large-scale transformation amid disruption.

From building cultural permission for failure and branding your own leadership style to balancing customer needs with operational rigor and navigating AI-driven growth, these executives illustrate how technology leaders can drive meaningful, sustainable change in complex environments.

Key topics include:

Building cultural agility at legacy, risk-averse organizations
Branding transformation through authentic leadership
Balancing internal and external forces driving AI adoption
Managing through market volatility and geopolitical uncertainty
Avoiding pitfalls and cultivating resilience through networks and listening

Why the CIO at FICO Owns Innovation, Not Just IT Jul 14, 2025

Show notes

Customer-first IT and innovation at scale. On this episode of Technovation, host Peter High speaks with Mike Trkay, Chief Information Officer at FICO, a $2B analytics software company. Mike leads not only internal IT but also the operations of FICO’s customer-facing SaaS and PaaS platforms making him a unique, customer-facing CIO.

Mike shares insights from his 12-year tenure, during which FICO’s stock has risen 3,600%, and explains how his team drives customer trust, operational excellence, and innovation. Topics include his customer-centric approach to IT, leveraging AIOps and AI to scale operations, and the emergence of focused language models to reduce complexity and deliver business impact.

Key topics include:

Evolving the CIO role to include customer-facing operations
Driving revenue retention through world-class SaaS delivery
Scaling with innovation and a culture of experimentation
Applying AI, AIOps, and focused language models at FICO

How UHG Is Aligning Its AI Strategy on Patient-Centered Care Jul 10, 2025

Show notes

“Healthcare, first of all, unlike other industries, has to be held to a higher standard in terms of responsibility.”

In this episode of Technovation, host Peter High speaks with Sandeep Dadlani, Executive Vice President and Chief Digital & Technology Officer of UnitedHealth Group, the Fortune 3 healthcare leader.

Sandeep explains how his team’s technology and digital strategies are tightly aligned to UnitedHealth Group’s mission: helping people live healthier lives and making the health system work better for everyone. He shares how AI, cloud, and data-driven innovations improve care delivery, enhance provider and patient experiences, and reduce administrative burden while driving transformation at scale.

Key topics include:

Aligning digital-first strategies to UHG’s mission and patient outcomes
Using AI to free clinicians and advocates to focus on care, not paperwork
Empowering patients with seamless, portable, digital healthcare experiences
Partnering responsibly with startups to accelerate mission-aligned innovation
Embedding responsible AI governance to uphold trust and fairness

Backing First-Principles Founders: Rajeev Dham on AI, SaaS, and Agentic Enterprise Tech Jul 07, 2025

Show notes

In this episode of Technovation, Peter High speaks with Rajeev Dham, Partner at Sapphire Ventures, about how venture capital investment in enterprise technology is evolving in the age of AI. Rajeev discusses why he prioritizes first-principles, highly technical founders over playbook-driven approaches, and how enterprise buyers are distinguishing between authentic and superficial AI innovation.

Rajeev shares his view on why SaaS remains a powerful model in the AI era, how agentic AI is starting to reshape enterprise use cases, and the profound implications AI has on software development, go-to- market strategies, and business models. He also explains how CIOs can identify the most promising emerging technologies and the cultural change required to adopt them effectively.

Topics include:

Why agility and creativity define great founders in the AI era
How agentic AI differs from traditional automation and where it’s gaining traction
The evolving role of SaaS in an AI-native world
How AI is transforming software development and the developer experience
Advice for CIOs evaluating emerging AI-enabled solutions

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