CIO Classified

CIO Classified

Candid conversations with leading CIOs.

Episodes

October 16, 2025 31 mins

This episode features Chidi Alams, CIO of Just Born — the company behind candy classics like Peeps, Mike and Ike, and Hot Tamales.

Chidi shares how his team is using AI, automation, and smarter data systems to modernize operations, strengthen supply chain resilience, and double the business impact of technology. It’s a conversation about what it really means to run IT like a growth engine — not just keeping the lights on, but drivin...

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CIO Classified is back! 
More CIO secrets. More battle-tested IT wisdom. 
Straight from leading CIOs across a wide range of industries. 

In this episode, host Ian Faison and co-host Yousuf Khan dive into the deep end of technology leadership in manufacturing. Ben Davis, Executive Vice President of IT at Cambria, joins the show to talk about his sweeping digital transformation at the quartz manufacturing leader, and shares how his star...

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Eric Johnson, CIO at PagerDuty, shares why today’s most impactful CIOs are evolving into strategic business leaders. He explains how AI is driving a fundamental shift in how IT organizations operate—moving from reactive support functions to proactive, value-creating business enablers.

About the Guest
Eric Johnson is the Chief Information Officer at PagerDuty, responsible for PagerDuty’s critical IT infrastructure, data management a...

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Siroui Mushegian, CIO at Barracuda, shares how she’s building a smart, secure foundation for AI—-from setting up an AI council, to governing agents, and creating employee guidelines that protect innovation. She also shares how AI is transforming IT operations and unlocking new levels of productivity across the enterprise.

About the Guest

Siroui Mushegian is the Chief Information Officer (CIO) at Barracuda. Siroui joined Barracuda m...

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Saket Srivastava is the Chief Information Officer at work management platform Asana. Saket oversees Asana's IT organization, including optimizing technology systems and processes, connecting technology strategy to overarching business strategy, and ensuring that technology infrastructure supports organizational goals. Previously, Saket held executive positions at Square, Guidewire Software, and other leading technology companies. S...

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Rich Horwath, CEO of Strategic Thinking Institute and best-selling author, shares strategies that help CIOs to elevate their strategic thinking—providing a roadmap for transitioning from technical leaders to visionary business executives. Drawing from his advisory work with top-tier technology leaders, Horwoth breaks down the critical skills needed to move beyond operational management and position themselves as strong CEO candidat...

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Carl Froggett, CIO at Deep Instinct, breaks down the AI-driven disruptions reshaping the cybersecurity landscape. From navigating complex security architectures to busting big data myths, Carl offers strategic advice for CIOs and CISOs on staying one step ahead in a rapidly evolving tech world.

About the Guest

Carl Froggett, CIO of Deep Instinct, brings nearly 30 years of experience to the role. Previously, as Head of Global Infras...

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Jason LaFollette, CTO at Yext, shares his product-driven approach to leading agile teams, maintaining tech debt, and using a “top-down, bottom-up” style to keep productivity and momentum high.

About the Guest

Jason LaFollette is Yext's Chief of Technology. Jason joined the company in 2014 and built out the enterprise consulting side of the business before moving over to product engineering and technology. Prior to joining Yext, Jas...

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Naveen Zutshi, CIO at Databricks, shares his strategies for successful AI implementation. This must-listen episode is perfect for tech leaders wanting to learn how to craft an effective AI strategy, bridge gaps in tech teams, and drive innovation in your organization.

About the Guest

Naveen Zutshi is the CIO at Databricks, previously CIO at Palo Alto Networks where he managed analytics, applications, and infrastructure. Before that...

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Cisco Sanchez, SVP and CIO at Qualcomm, shares his business-first philosophy to technology cultivated over 25 years of IT experience. Sanchez emphasizes the importance of IT professionals loving both technology and the business, creating roadmaps that align with business goals, and utilizing frameworks like Charlie Feld's approach. 

About the Guest:

Cisco Sanchez is Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer for Qualcomm Inc...

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Carter Busse, CIO at Workato, explores how AI is reshaping business decisions and empowering citizen developers. With over 20 years of IT leadership experience, Carter shares real-world automation examples and advice on navigating point solution vendors, and also discusses orchestrating data across systems, democratizing automation, and future trends that will revolutionize the industry. 

About the Guest:

Carter Busse, CIO at Workato...

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In this episode, Sheila Anderson, CIO at Aflac, discusses how the company is using AI to modernize while handling legacy systems. Sheila highlights key initiatives such as digital claims processing, establishing an AI center of excellence, and transforming internal operations.

About the Guest:

Shelia Anderson is an information technology executive with extensive Fortune 100 CIO, services, and consulting experience, particularly in Fi...

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Just like the role of the CIO has transitioned from a back-office data manager to a business enabler, how CIOs build and maintain internal and external partnerships has also greatly evolved. In this episode, Madlin Sadler, COO of the International Rescue Committee, and Colleen Berube, CIO and SVP of Operations at Zendesk, draw insights from their own collaboration to talk about the many ways partnerships can be powerful—from bringi...

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Spending money is easy when investment opportunities are everywhere, but it’s harder to predict if something is worth the cost. In this episode, IT leaders from the public and private sectors tell us about the times their investments paid off—from new technology to the employee experience. You’ll hear advice from Tim Chester, VP of IT and CIO at the University of Georgia, and Carrie Rasmussen, CIO at Ceridian, on how to keep pace w...

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The competition to attract and retain talent remains fierce, and today’s leading CIOs understand that creating an employee experience model should be just as high of a priority as technology and innovation. In this episode, we’ve compiled advice from CIOs and technology leaders who are creating employee-centric cultures at their companies, and examine strategies used by successful organizations—from VMware to the Boston Red Sox—tha...

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Key partnerships between CIOs and their internal departments are evolving rapidly, creating new ways of working and opening up new revenue streams. In this episode, we talk to Adam Glick, CISO at SimpliSafe, and Marc Linster, CTO at EDB, about where they see relationships with CIOs going in the future and ask them their secrets for success when it comes to cloud infrastructure, data security, and more. 

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The impact of today’s economic climate is felt everywhere – even in the CIO’s office. In this episode, we ask two leading CIOs how they save money on IT and talent while still producing results. You’ll hear from Jason Conyard, CIO at VMware, and Ginna Raahauge, EVP & CIO of Digital Transformation at Zayo Group, who discuss how to keep attrition in check and streamline and optimize your organizational costs, plus much more.

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In this episode, Darren Person, Global CIO at The NPD Group, and Max Chan, CIO at Avnet, share their insights about the use of AI in enterprise industries and reveal how to reap its benefits without breaking the bank. They address knowing when it is time to introduce AI, how to approach boards about it, how to leverage AI to drive employee experience and expand your business, and much more.

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“You cannot do AI or machin...

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Today’s modern CIO is expected to do much more than just keep the lights on and make sure you can log in to your system. Join Sanjay Macwan, CIO and CISO at Vonage, and Harry Temkin, CIO at DriveWealth, as they discuss their evolving roles before revealing what makes an effective leadership model, including the main drivers behind employee productivity and retention.

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“CIOs should obsess about this every day: how do we...

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The constantly shifting demands of digital users are forcing IT leaders to anticipate the next curveball -- that’s why we talked to Brian Shield, SVP & CTO, Boston Red Sox and Fenway Sports Management, and David Vidoni, VP of IT at Pegasystems, about simplifying their IT departments in order to remain agile. In this episode, Brian & David reveal their secrets to providing a world-class experience that's constantly changing with con...

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