David Wright is joined once more by Breno Gentil, Strategic Advisor of C.I.KNOW. In his second appearance on the podcast, Breno — a former CIO for Heineken and British American Tobacco — discusses his recent month-long journey racing across the Atlantic Ocean in the Clipper Race. He shares profound insights on leadership resilience, the psychological challenges of high-stakes environments and how the lessons learned at sea parallel the complexities of digital transformation. Breno offers a unique perspective on the future of the CIO role, arguing that as technology becomes the DNA of an organization, leadership must shift toward human change orchestration.

David Wright is joined by Frank Sweeney, Chief Information Officer and Assistant Director of Support Services of the Arizona Department of Child Safety, to discuss Frank’s journey from a history major to a technology leader, and the crucial role of innovation in public service. They discuss Frank’s mission to protect children and empower frontline workers through technology, the importance of culture over strategy in innovation, and the power of staying curious and patient in one's career.

This week, David Wright is joined by Ahmed Abuelenein, Senior Manager of IT Technical Product Management, Healthcare Digital Innovation at a major academic health system. Ahmed discusses his journey from biomedical engineering to leading digital innovation in healthcare, emphasizing the importance of horizontal skill development, continuous improvement informed by the data and securing data access for researchers while protecting patient information.

This week, David Wright welcomes Manfred Boudreaux-Dehmer, Chief Information Officer and Single Point of Authority for Cybersecurity at NATO, to discuss the Alliance’s digital transformation, the rising sophistication of cyber threats and the role of people, processes and technology in securing global defense systems.

They explore the growing challenges of nation-state adversaries, multi-domain military operations, and the accelerating impact of AI on both offense and defense. Manfred also reflects on leadership lessons learned across his global career and why effective cybersecurity hinges on human behavior as much as technical capability.

In this episode, David Wright is joined by Richard Zane, Chief Medical and Innovation Officer of UCHealth, to explore how healthcare systems can embrace innovation by focusing on people, processes and pragmatic problem-solving. Richard shares lessons from his journey — from emergency medicine to leading one of the most advanced innovation centers in healthcare — highlighting the importance of clarity, communication and execution in driving sustainable change.

In this episode, hear an inspiring conversation with Raman Kaur, Vice President, Education Technology at Elsevier, as she shares valuable insights in her journey from the clinical world to leading technology-driven innovation in education and healthcare. Listeners will discover practical lessons on curiosity, action, the power of change, accountability, and the future of learning shaped by artificial intelligence.

Walt Carter, President of THG Advisors, discusses effective leadership and business transformation with David Wright, as well as the systems required to address disruptive challenges. Walt shares his journey across technology, marketing and consulting, emphasizing why systematized leadership and empowered teams are essential to real sustainable change. The conversation covers lessons from Walt’s new book “Stop Driving Behind Idiots,” real-world strategies for fostering cultures of trust, and how leadership must adapt to an increasingly complex digital landscape.

Greg Townsend, Senior Vice President, Chief Data Officer and Analytics Officer of AltaMed Health Services, sits down with David Wright to share how data and analytics can drive meaningful organizational change. From governance and scalability to risk modeling and AI adoption, Greg explains how his team aligns strategy and operations to deliver consistent value.

David Wright speaks with Karl Mosgofian, Advisor at RampCIO. Karl reflects on his career journey, the expanding scope of the CIO role, and the realities of leading in an era shaped by AI expectations. He emphasizes the importance of empathy, stakeholder alignment and prioritization as essential skills for technology leaders.

In this episode, David Wright sits down with Ken Knapton, Chief Information Officer of Win Brands (Costa Vida / FatCats), to explore the evolution from individual contributor to strategic team leader in enterprise IT environments. They delve into overcoming organizational resistance to change, particularly when implementing shared services across multi-location businesses. Ken reveals how personal growth and humility transformed his leadership approach, while David and Ken examine the challenges CIOs face when stakeholders misunderstand collaborative IT initiatives and unfairly assign security ownership solely to technology leaders.

Holly Hon, Senior Vice President of Operations at Entertainment Partners, joins David Wright to explore how strategic execution, data-driven leadership and cross-functional collaboration shape long-term success. Holly shares lessons from transforming services into scalable product organizations, building AI readiness through data governance and advocating for enterprise-wide change — all with a mindset rooted in continuous learning and purposeful leadership.

Host David Wright talks to Breno Gentil, Strategic Advisor of C.I.KNOW, whose previous roles include Global CTO of British American Tobacco and Senior Director of Digital and Technology at Heineken. Breno shares lessons from his global career leading transformation across consumer goods and explains why simplifying tech is core to IT leadership today. From AI hype to sailing analogies, this conversation dives into the people-centered realities behind digital progress.

Ramesh Razdan, Global CIO/CTO of Bain & Company, joins David Wright to share how a foundation of humility, gratitude and servant leadership has shaped his journey from rural Kashmir to leading global technology transformation. They discuss managing change at scale, fostering collaboration across geographies and functions and how emerging technologies like AI can unlock personalized solutions in areas like healthcare.

A technologist who embraces business leadership, prioritizes humility over ego and learns to truly let go can drive lasting transformation.

Brad Sexton, Chief Information Officer of Terrible's, joins David Wright to talk about leadership, innovation and the realities of driving digital transformation in a diverse, fast-paced organization. Brad shares lessons learned from a career spanning government, hospitality and retail, offering practical insights on team empowerment and the importance of actionable data. The discussion covers how Terrible's deliberately different approach fuels growth, the challenges of integrating legacy systems and the value of learning from every member of the organization.

This week, David Wright is joined by Dr. Aalpen Patel, Chief Clinical and Innovation Officer of MedQuest Associates. Dr. Patel shares insights on innovation in healthcare, particularly in radiology, and discusses his journey from engineering to medicine. Dr. Patel emphasizes the importance of innovation in addressing healthcare challenges.

Sandra Powell-Elliott, Chief Innovation and Commercialization Officer at Hackensack Meridian Health, joins David Wright to discuss the intersection of innovation, AI, and commercialization in healthcare. With a background spanning administration, business strategy, and technology adoption, she shares insights on how health systems can embrace automation, foster an innovation-driven culture, and transform care delivery.

This week, David Wright is joined by Farnaz Ronaghi, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer at NovoEd, to discuss how AI transforms employee learning, the shift in enterprise SaaS and the key leadership lessons she has learned while scaling a company. They explore the role of curiosity in leadership, the challenges of growing a team and how enterprises are rethinking their approach to learning and development.

This week, David Wright is joined by Claudionor Coelho Jr., Chief AI Officer at Zscaler, the company running the largest cybersecurity cloud in the world. Together, they discuss the intersection of AI and cybersecurity, the accelerating pace of technological change and how organizations can prepare for an AI-driven future.

Pavan Pidugu, Chief Technology Officer of FMCSA at the US Department of Transportation, shares insights from his transformative career, which spans retail leadership and federal government innovation. As CTO, he leads initiatives that enhance safety and efficiency in the transportation industry, driving cultural and technological change.

Cheryl Johnson, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Betterworks, joins David Wright to share her career journey and leadership lessons. Cheryl discusses embracing challenges, staying grounded and creating human-centered work cultures. She also shares pivotal career moments, including overcoming burnout, navigating startups and driving innovation with AI.