Stay ConnectedThe AI in Business Podcast is for non-technical business leaders who need to find AI opportunities, align AI capabilities with strategy, and deliver ROI.
Each week, Emerj research staff and journalists interview top AI executives from Fortune 2000 firms and unicorn startups – uncovering trends, use-cases, and best practices for practical AI adoption.
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Copyright: © Daniel Faggella, 2014
Enterprise data estates often optimize for platform expansion over decision velocity, producing reporting layers that signal activity but fail to accelerate strategic outcomes. In this episode, Barry McCardel, CEO at Hex, examines how leading organizations can compress the gap between executive questions and decision-grade insight to materially increase the enterprise value of data. The discussion focuses on tightening feedback loops, operationalizing collaborative and AI-augmented analysis, and redefining data ROI around adoption, trust, and measurable business impact rather than production metrics. This episode is sponsored by Hex. Learn how brands work with Emerj and other Emerj Media options at emerj.com/partner. Want to share your AI adoption story with executive peers? Click emerj.com/expert for more information and to be a potential future guest on the 'AI in Business' podcast!
Today's guest is Ylan Kazi, Chief Data and AI Officer at Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota. With deep experience leading enterprise AI strategy in regulated healthcare, Ylan brings a grounded perspective on how organizations can innovate responsibly with emerging technology. Ylan joins Emerj Emerj Client Narrative & Content Strategy Lead Nick Gertsch to discuss how healthcare leaders can approach AI adoption through clear organizational posture, strong governance, and a focus on measurable customer and operational value. Ylan also shares practical takeaways, including balancing build-versus-buy decisions, embedding explainability and auditability into workflows, and prioritizing AI use cases that reduce friction in the patient experience while delivering sustainable ROI. Want to share your AI adoption story with executive peers? Click emerj.com/expert2 for more information and to be a potential future guest on the 'AI in Business' podcast!
Customer service leaders face rising pressure to resolve more interactions faster, while maintaining high-quality experiences — and many legacy systems and processes can't keep up. In this episode, Craig Walker, CEO of Dialpad, joins Daniel Faggella, Emerj CEO and Head of Research, to break down how AI can augment human agents to handle routine requests like order status and password resets, freeing teams to focus on complex issues. He shares actionable strategies for enterprise leaders, from cleaning knowledge bases and analyzing ticket patterns to running controlled pilots and scaling AI agents across the organization. Craig also explains how AI can coach agents in real time and surface insights for managers, creating a continuously improving support system that drives measurable ROI. This episode is sponsored by Dialpad. Learn how brands work with Emerj and other Emerj Media options at emerj.com/ad1 Want to share your AI adoption story with executive peers? Click emerj.com/expert for more information and to be a potential future guest on the 'AI in Business' podcast!
The critical bottleneck in small commercial pricing is no longer the actuarial model itself, but the operational friction and administrative stagnation that occurs during the transition from indication to production deployment. In this episode, Barbara Stacer, Vice President and Head of Small Commercial Underwriting and Underwriting Operations at Utica National Insurance Group, unpacks how carriers can eliminate premium leakage and accelerate speed-to-market by implementing standardized operational infrastructure to automate versioning, documentation, and governance. The discussion outlines a practical framework for mapping pricing lifecycles to identify specific deployment delays and transitioning to a governed environment where audit trails are synchronized with rate adjustments. Want to share your AI adoption story with executive peers? Click emerj.com/e2 for more information and to be a potential future guest on Emerj's flagship 'AI in Business' podcast! This episode is sponsored by Akur8.
Today's guest is Carey Smith, Former President and CIO of XcelerateHealth and Chief Technology Innovation Officer (CTIO) of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota. XcelerateHealth is a health-tech startup and business unit of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, focused on AI-driven digital products to transform healthcare insurance experiences. Carey joins Emerj's Nick Gertsch to discuss how leaders can structure talent and workforce AI so decisions are consistent, reviewable, and aligned with organizational controls. Smith also shares practical steps for tightening decision rights, improving data readiness, and designing workflows where AI accelerates hiring and mobility without increasing risk. This episode is sponsored by Eightfold AI. Learn how brands work with Emerj and other Emerj Media options at go.emerj.com/partner Want to share your AI adoption story with executive peers? Click emerj.com/expert for more information and to be a potential future guest on the 'AI in Business' podcast!
Commercial life‑sciences teams are facing a widening gap between strong brand strategy and fragmented real‑world execution, driven by misaligned workflows, static targeting, and an inability to act at the speed patients move through their therapeutic journeys. In this episode, Philip Poulidis, CEO and Co-founder of ODAIA, unpacks how AI can close that gap by connecting brand intent to real‑time execution, enabling teams to prioritize the right HCPs, orchestrate engagement, and measure impact through outcomes rather than activity metrics. He highlights the practical shifts required to get there — from cross‑functional adoption and workflow‑embedded insights to attribution modeling, efficiency gains, and focused pilots that prove value quickly. This episode is sponsored by ODAIA. Learn how brands work with Emerj and other Emerj Media options at emerj.com/partner. Want to share your AI adoption story with executive peers? Click emerj.com/expert for more information and to be a potential future guest on the 'AI in Business' podcast!
Today's guest is Raghu Ahobilam, Global Director of Inventory and Assets at NOV. Raghu brings global leadership experience across inventory management, asset strategy, and operational transformation in the energy and industrial manufacturing sector. Raghu joins Daniel Faggella Emerj CEO and Head of Research to examine how enterprise data foundations and emerging AI capabilities are reshaping maintenance, asset utilization, and cross-functional decision-making in complex, legacy environments. Raghu also shares practical approaches to building KPI-driven dashboards, prioritizing predictive use cases, improving asset deployment across regions, and strengthening business cases for ROI across supply chain, manufacturing, and operations. Want to share your AI adoption story with executive peers? Click emerj.com/expert2 for more information and to be a potential future guest on the 'AI in Business' podcast! If you're interested in unlocking our AI best practice guides, frameworks for AI ROI, and specific resources for AI consultants, visit emerj.com/p1
Enterprise risk leaders are currently struggling to move beyond static, episodic checklists while managing the data "fire hose" generated by continuous monitoring. In this episode, Dean Alms, Chief Product Officer, and Eric Hensley, Chief Technology Officer at Aravo, break down how AI-native orchestration transforms fragmented risk data into a holistic, board-level resilience strategy. They examine practical shifts toward exception-based monitoring, the automation of rote tasks like document ingestion, and the necessity of governing "responsible AI" practices within the vendor ecosystem. This episode is sponsored by Aravo. Learn how brands work with Emerj and other Emerj Media options at emerj.com/partner. Want to share your AI adoption story with executive peers? Click emerj.com/expert for more information and to be a potential future guest on the 'AI in Business' podcast!
Eliminating the friction caused by fragmented customer context is a primary mandate for enterprise operations leaders. Joe Atamian, Vice President at Comcast, joins the program to discuss the transition to an AI-first operating model — where AI acts as the connective infrastructure that maintains history and intent across IVR, chat, and live agents. This briefing explores how the Fortune 500 can move human teams away from system navigation and toward high-value judgment, empathy, and resolution. This episode is sponsored by Atlan. Learn how brands work with Emerj and other Emerj Media options at go.emerj.com/media_kit
Today's guest is Hemant Banavar, Chief Product Officer at Motive. Hemant leads product strategy for AI-driven systems that bring real-time visibility and decision support to safety-critical physical operations. Hemant joins Emerj Editorial Director Matthew DeMello to unpack what changes when AI moves from after-the-fact reporting to edge-based, real-time detection and feedback — where accuracy and low latency determine whether insights actually prevent incidents. Hemant also shares practical takeaways on replacing lagging indicators with frontline feedback loops, combining video and operational telemetry to surface actionable risk signals, and building an ROI case through fewer incidents, lower insurance and fuel costs, and more consistent operational performance. This episode is sponsored by Motive. If you've enjoyed or benefited from some of the insights of this episode, consider leaving us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts, and let us know what you learned, found helpful, or liked most about this show. Episode Notes:
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