AI Today Podcast

In this episode of AI Today, host Kathleen Walch welcomes Jennifer Tharp, president of Mastodon Consulting, former PMI Board chair, PMI Fellow, and also PMP and PMI-CPMAI certified. Jennifer discusses how AI is transforming project management, not just as a tool but by reshaping the work itself. 

She highlights three forces as the new bottleneck: collapsed estimation, distributed authorship, and quality assurance. Traditional a...

In this episode of AI Today, host Kathleen Walch welcomes Cheryl Howard, principal consultant at Howard Consulting, PMI standards volunteer, and PMI‑CPMAI certified. Cheryl shares how CPMAI’s structured, iterative framework, combining CRISP‑DM and Agile, helps organizations move beyond hype to deliver governed, human-centered AI outcomes.

She explains that AI project success starts with business understanding and clean, well-p...

In this episode of AI Today, host Kathleen Walch welcomes Islam Tanas, who is a PMI Authorized Training Partner, founder of PASS‑PM Academy, an AI ambassador at PMI, and PMI-CPMAI certified. With 20+ years of experience, Islam enthusiastically shares how the CPMAI methodology reshaped his approach to AI projects, moving from traditional project management to structured, business‑first strategies. 

He explains that AI projects i...

Kathleen Walch welcomes Mouhsine Kabbaj, a seasoned Senior Program Manager with 25+ years in transformation, business process engineering, and AI integration. With PMP, PGMP, PFMP, and PMI-CPMAI certifications, Mouhsine passionately shares how CPMAI reshaped his approach to AI projects, moving beyond traditional software methods to a methodology built on business understanding, data quality, and iterative experimentation that unloc...

As AI Today enters its 10th season, host Kathleen Walch takes a step back to reflect on nearly a decade of conversations about artificial intelligence and the lessons that remain just as relevant today as they were when the podcast launched in 2017. 

In this special anniversary episode, Kathleen explores how AI has evolved from predictive analytics and machine learning initiatives led by specialized teams to today's era of gene...

In this episode of AI Today, host Kathleen Walch speaks with Dave Prior, project management consultant, longtime PMI volunteer, host of DrunkenPM Radio, and PMI-CPMAI certified practitioner. 

Dave shares his journey from resisting Agile to embracing it and now confronting AI with similar skepticism before finding clarity through the PMI-CPMAI certification. He explains how the methodology helps overcome fear by groundin...

Kathleen Walch speaks with Jürgen Eckhart, Engineering Program Manager at Google in Munich, lecturer in project management, and PMI-CPMAI certified practitioner. Jürgen shares how CPMAI expanded his “toolbox” for managing AI projects, grounding them in business value, quality data, and realistic stakeholder expectations.

He explains why AI must be treated as iterative and probabilistic, not deterministic “magic,&rd...

Kathleen Walch speaks with Vinay Babu Tarala, Agile and AI Transformation Leader at AT&T, PMI Pearl City Hyderabad Chapter General Secretary, and author of AI Meets Agile. With passion and candor, Vinay shares how early AI project failures led him to PMI-CPMAI certification, transforming his approach to managing AI initiatives.

He illustrates how CPMAI’s structured framework reduced software development cycle times from 2....

Kathleen Walch speaks with Johan Sporre, Engineering Manager at IKEA Retail (Ingka Group) and CPMAI-certified professional, about how AI is transforming translation and language services at scale. 

Johan explains how his team supports 230,000 coworkers across 64 markets, with 90% of translations now AI-driven, and how CPMAI ensures alignment, quality data, and measurable outcomes.

An IKEA case study shows how redefining translat...

In this episode of AI Today, host Kathleen Walch speaks with Michael Joyce, Enterprise Service Delivery and AI Transformation Leader at Cisco, about what it really takes to move AI from experimentation to operational impact in enterprise project delivery. 

Drawing on his experience leading technical program management teams across multiple customers, Michael shares how Cisco is applying generative AI to accelerate service deliv...

In this episode of AI Today, host Kathleen Walch speaks with CP Richardson who is co-founder of Agile in Color, an Agile Alliance Board Member, and is also PMI- CPMAI certified to discuss what it really takes to bring AI into day-to-day work with discipline, intention, and the right framework.

CP draws on more than 15 years of experience across software development, operations, marketing, and AI, including early work with ma...

In this episode of AI Today, host Kathleen Walch sits down with Chris Scordo, Founder and Managing Director of PMTraining—a PMI Authorized Training Partner—for a candid conversation about deploying AI responsibly in a training business while keeping the human element at the center.  

As artificial intelligence reshapes how content is created and delivered, Chris explains how the project management training landscape...

In this episode of AI Today, host Kathleen Walch sits down with Sumathi Arcot, Project Director for Lean Agile Transformation in AstraZeneca’s U.S. Oncology Business Unit, for a candid conversation on what it really takes to manage AI responsibly in one of the world’s most regulated industries. 

Sumathi shares how the CPMAI methodology fundamentally shifted her perspective on AI, from something experimental and expl...

In this episode of AI Today, host Kathleen Walch talks with Ivonne Mejia, Lead Project Portfolio Manager for the San Francisco Bay Region Network at California State University (CSU), to discuss how PMOs can drive responsible AI transformation in higher education.

As multiple CSU campuses consolidate under one unified PMO, Ivonne shares how she's embedding CPMAI into portfolio intake, prioritization, and oversight, ensuring...

In this episode of AI Today, host Kathleen Walch is joined by Michael Hyzy, Vice President of AI Strategy and Product Development at CGI, to explore why so many AI initiatives struggle—and why methodology matters more than ever. 

Drawing on his experience leading enterprise AI initiatives in regulated industries, Michael explains why treating AI like traditional software often leads to failure, stalled pilots, and unmet e...

In this episode of AI Today, host Kathleen Walch sits down with Dr. Katrenia Reed Hughes, educator, curriculum designer, and project leader, to explore how AI is transforming education—and what it means to prepare learners for project success in a rapidly changing world. 

As part of AI Today's PMI Global Summit Series, this conversation highlights how AI can be used not just as a tool, but as a pathway to equity, empowerm...

In this episode of AI Today, host Kathleen Walch sits down with Lee Lambert, PMI Fellow, a founder of the PMP certification, and long-time project management thought leader. Recorded live at PMI Global Summit 2025, this conversation bridges the past, present, and future of the project management profession.

Lee shares his candid thoughts on how AI is reshaping what it means to lead projects—and why the future belongs to those ...

In this episode of AI Today, host Kathleen Walch sits down with Ashima Sharma, Founding Partner of Ayuka Consulting, to explore what it really takes to deliver AI that works—in practice, at scale, and with purpose. 

This conversation was recorded live at PMI Global Summit 2025 and highlights the often-overlooked foundations of successful AI adoption: clean, contextual data; empowered, cross-functional teams; and a human-c...

In this episode of AI Today, host Kathleen Walch sits down with Chris Caldwell, CEO of Concentrix, to explore how AI is being operationalized across customer experience (CX) ecosystems—from listening and learning to acting and delivering at scale. 

This conversation dives into how trust, transparency, and intentional use of AI are helping Concentrix deliver highly personalized experiences for some of the world’s lar...