Me, Myself, and AI
Why do only 10% of companies succeed with AI? In this series by MIT SMR and BCG, we talk to the leaders who've achieved big wins with AI in their companies and learn how they did it. Hear what gets experts from companies like Google Cloud, Mastercard, and others excited to do their jobs every day and what they consider the keys to their success.
Episodes
"We tend not to be a company of half measures,” notes Dave Johnson, chief data and artificial intelligence officer at Moderna, “so when we decide we’re going to do something, we’re going to do it.” This characterization certainly seems to fit the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based biotech company that made a name for itself in 2020 upon releasing one of the first COVID-19 vaccines approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration f...
Technology presents many opportunities, but it also comes with risks. Elizabeth Renieris is uniquely positioned to advise the public and private sectors on ethical AI practices, so we invited her to join us for the final episode of Season 2 of the Me, Myself, and AI podcast.
Elizabeth has worked for the Department of Homeland Security and private organizations in Silicon Valley, and she founded the legal advisory firm Hackylawyer. ...
Colin Lenaghan says he wakes up every Monday morning looking forward to the week ahead and what he’ll learn as he continues to lead digital transformation and artificial intelligence projects at work. With nearly a quarter-century under his belt working in revenue management at PepsiCo, these technology implementation projects keep him and his team on their toes while positioning the consumer packaged goods company for continued su...
Huiming Qu didn’t plan to work in data science, a nascent field at the time she was pursuing a Ph.D. in computer science, but one course in data mining changed all of that. She started her career in the research department at IBM, transitioned to a 50-person startup, spent some time in the financial services industry, and today leads data science and machine learning in the marketing and online functions at The Home Depot.
In this ...
Chris Couch has a unique role, serving as senior vice president and CTO of automotive supplier Cooper Standard as well as CEO of Liveline Technologies, a startup born from the CS Open Innovation initiative. Both organizations use AI to manufacture products the average consumer likely never thinks twice about, such as brake fluid and polymer seals for car doors.
In this episode, we talk with Chris about open innovation, automating r...
JoAnn Stonier can’t deny that her role as chief data officer at Mastercard isn’t easy. Advising the company on the mitigation of current and future risk while guiding her team to think critically about the problems they’re using AI to solve is challenging — but, she says, it’s also fun.
In this episode, JoAnn talks with Sam Ransbotham and Shervin Khodabandeh about the elements of her job that are both demanding and rewarding. She a...
1-800-Flowers faces the same cold-start problem any consumer-facing business might face: It doesn’t know exactly what its customers need when they first come to its website. What’s more unique to the platform which operates through a network of local florists and affiliates worldwide, though, is that each time a customer comes to its site, they may have a different end goal in mind. Consumers shop for gifts and floral arrangements ...
Will Grannis discovered his love for technology playing Tron and Oregon Trail as a child. After attending West Point and The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, he translated his passion for game theory into an aptitude for solving problems for companies, a central component of his role as founder and leader of the Office of the CTO at Google Cloud. Will leads a team of customer-facing technology leaders who, while ta...
Craig Martell says he won the career lottery. After studying logic, philosophy, political science, and political theory, he completed a Ph.D. in computer science and found his way to machine learning, a field he thoroughly enjoys. After spending time at Dropbox and LinkedIn, Craig headed to Lyft, where he runs the LyftML engineering team. He’s also an adjunct professor at Northeastern University in Seattle.
We kick off Season 2 of ...
Kay Firth-Butterfield was teaching AI, ethics, law, and international relations when a chance meeting on an airplane landed her a job as chief AI ethics officer. In 2017, Kay became head of AI and machine learning at the World Economic Forum, where her team develops tools and on-the-ground programs to improve AI understanding and governance across the globe.
In the final episode of the first season of the Me, Myself, and AI podcast...
Arti Zeighami’s interest in artificial intelligence started when he read science fiction as a teen. Yet as head of advanced analytics and AI for global retailer H&M Group, his leadership style focuses on reality: first building a business case and a proof of concept, and then undergoing an agile process of iteration and scaling, failure and success, measurement and improvement.
In this episode, Arti talks about weaving AI into ...
Mattias Ulbrich has always been interested in new technology. As CIO of Porsche and CEO of Porsche Digital, he runs a subsidiary focused on the “new stuff” — new ideas, new models, and new opportunities. That means implementing innovations in AI, cloud technology, and blockchain in local markets around the world, and instilling a culture of continuous learning within his own cross-functional workforce.
In this episode, Mattias shar...
As vice president of innovation at logistics company DHL, Gina Chung oversees a 28,000-square-foot innovation facility in Chicago. Fascinated with supply chains since college (“I think it’s something to do with the fact that I’m from New Zealand and grew up in a pretty isolated part of the world,” she explains), she spearheads AI and robotics projects focused on front-line operations — like automated pallet inspection and stacking,...
Slawek Kierner, senior vice president of enterprise data and analytics at Humana, has been immersed in data for as long as he can remember. His fascination with process simulations began on his first PC running MATLAB and Sumulink, and later led him to innovative roles at Procter & Gamble and Nokia. His desire to use data for a noble purpose drove Slawek to Humana, where he leverages AI to solve problems around medication adher...
Prakhar Mehrotra, vice president of machine learning at Walmart, shares his experience and how it prepared him to lead an AI team at a $500B retailer. Tasked with using AI to help with decision-making and enhance the business, Prakhar focuses on the technology that improves store merchandising (pricing, inventory management, financial planning).
Before joining Walmart, Prakhar led data scientists and developed stochastic models at ...
Why do only 10% of companies succeed with AI? In this series by MIT SMR and BCG, we talk to the leaders who've achieved big wins with AI in their companies and learn how they did it. Hear what gets experts from companies like Google Cloud, Mastercard, and others excited to do their jobs every day and what they consider the keys to their success. Follow along at sloanreview.mit.edu/ai.
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