Our guest, Ravi Shankavaram, is a visionary thought leader specializing in business architecture and the strategic evolution of business models through intelligent technology integration. With extensive experience spanning CPG, B2B, and B2C markets, he brings deep expertise in AI and advanced analytics, next-generation infrastructure, and enterprise applications.

As a dedicated innovator, Ravi continuously experiments with technology and business transformation to uncover emerging opportunities and enable revolutionary approaches to organizational effectiveness.

We interview experts on trends and best practices for IT leaders with a focus on 21st-century business topics such as innovation, digital transformation, AI, automation, and tech talent.

Our guest, Paul Deaux II, brings over 16 years of leadership experience in the call center space and currently serves as the Director of Customer Service at Mammoth Holdings. With a track record of building customer service operations across industries like HVAC, plumbing, car washes, and telecom, Paul specializes in helping businesses integrate modern technology while maintaining a personal touch. We’ll explore how AI and automation are reshaping customer interactions, the challenges of balancing efficiency with personalization, and what the future holds for customer service.

Charles Griffith is a trailblazer in the technology sector with an established expertise in numerous areas including Supply Chain, Entertainment, Mobile & Retail Systems, Big Data, B2B, CAD, Security, and Payments Processing. Over the past twenty five years, he has led the development of enterprise solutions for logistics, retail, payments, and ecommerce, and has also authored more than a dozen commercial products spanning business applications to home entertainment.

We interview experts on trends and best practices for IT leaders with a focus on 21st-century business topics such as innovation, digital transformation, AI, automation, and tech talent.

Guest expert details

Eric is a seasoned IT Leader with a rich 20+ year track record of steering technology departments towards strategic alignment, operational efficiency, and innovative growth. He exhibits a fervent commitment to empowering teams, inspiring them to achieve and surpass their potential within the ever-evolving landscapes of IT Strategy, Application Development, Data Architecture, and Cyber Security. Currently functioning as the Executive Director at Wilmot Cancer Institute, he has made significant strides in health technology innovation. His leadership style is in favor of an empowerment-based approach that fosters a culture of ownership, innovation, and continuous improvement.

Key Takeaways

• Current scenario of the healthcare technology industry
• Challenges faced by healthcare technology professionals across the globe
• Importance of innovation in healthcare IT
• Key differences between innovations in healthcare technologies as compared to generic technologies
• Convergence of product management and healthcare IT
• Futuristic outlook for the healthcare technology industry
• Insightful suggestions and recommendations for healthcare businesses and professionals

We interview experts on trends and best practices for IT leaders. We talk monthly with tech thought leaders on 21st-century business topics like innovation, digital transformation, AI, automation & Tech talent.

Guest Expert Details:

Robin Sutara has more than 25 years of experience in helping global organizations harness the power of data and AI to achieve their digital transformation goals. She provides consultation and thought leadership on how to successfully implement data-driven transformations, including people, process, culture, and technology. Leading by example, she strives for operational excellence and coaches organizations to adopt a data-centric mindset while also leveraging her legal background and certifications to navigate the complex and evolving landscape of data governance, ethics, and privacy. In addition to her current role at Databricks, Robin is a founding member of two influential networks that aim to support and empower women leaders in data and AI and in general.

Key Takeaways:

• Evolution of data in the recent years
• Key platforms, tools and technologies deployed in the data space
• Data intelligence: The advent of AI and ML
• Use cases of generative AI used for data optimization
• Roadblocks to implementing a robust data strategy
• Women in data
• Importance of gender diversity and inclusivity in IT

Key Takeaways:

• Digital transformation and importance of innovation and research in financial services
• Digital strategy and innovation at Broadridge
• Applying the design thinking methodology to uplift customer experience
• Difference between product-centric model and project-centric model
• Sustainable VS disruptive innovation
• Current state of the financial services landscape in India
• Potential impacts of emerging technology trends such as digital assets, AI, and blockchain on the financial services industry
• How can financial services organizations in the West leverage the current economic growth happening in India

Guest expert details: Robert Krugman is a digital transformation expert and startup advisor engaged in the technology field for more than 25 years. Currently functioning as the Chief Digital Officer at Broadridge, his job is to define transformative digital strategies, research and incubate new products, and create a disruptive client experience. His forte lies in innovating new solutions and defining business models that enable organizations to get the most out of emerging digital technologies. Apart from his technical expertise, he enjoys speaking about the current trends in digital transformation, DeFi, the API economy, identity management, omni-channel communications, and the digitization of the customer experience.

The Enabling Digital with Systems Plus podcast series explores how CIOs can capture opportunities by looking at and beyond technology and data to propel their organizations into the digital forefront.

The podcast series looks at how independent thought leaders and visionaries from the tech industry across the globe bring their ideas to scale within the business world, sharing innovative, path-breaking insights with our listeners.

We interview experts on trends and best practices for IT leaders. We talk monthly with tech thought leaders on 21st-century business topics like innovation, digital transformation, AI, automation & Tech talent.

Guest Expert Details

Guy Courtin is a Senior Executive with deep experience in the technology field. Currently functioning as the Vice President of Industry and Advanced Technology at Tecsys Inc., he is a broadly curious professional not afraid to color outside the lines while exciting and enthusiastically engaging colleagues and employees. He has extensive global experience with both small and large companies- concentrations in B2B software and package applications. His key skills and specialties include industry marketing, thought leadership, market segmentation analysis, competitive analysis, industry analyst relations, public relations, contract negotiation, event management, partner strategies, inbound marketing, and social media marketing. He also exhibits staunch domain expertise in the supply chain, logistics, retail, automation, and fulfillment industries.

Key Takeaways

1. Impact of the pandemic on supply chains
2. Automation during the pandemic
3. Importance of a Chief Supply Chain Officer in C Suite
4. Challenges in digital transformation and order fulfillment
5. Consumer-centric approach in retail supply chains
6. Data utilization for supply chain optimization
7. Future of automation and robotics in supply chains
8. Key to successful adoption of technological implementation
9. Future trends in retail supply chains

Guest Expert details: Currently Chief Digital Officer and CIO at Homestar Financial Corporation, Walt is leading the 21-year-old company’s digital solutions group through several major technology projects. Homestar is headquartered in Gainesville, GA and is “the easiest way home” in 46 states. After earning an undergraduate degree in Physics from Guilford College, he began his career as a technical officer in the US Air Force, serving in key roles for recovery and reconstitution of strategic nuclear assets including three years serving on Strategic Air Command’s “Looking Glass” aircrew, directly supporting the President and the National Command Authority. Since then, he has served in a variety of technology leadership roles with companies such as Fidelity, Gannett, BDM, TRW, Ajilon Consulting, Generation Mortgage, and most recently, Primary Capital Mortgage. Walt earned his MSA in Public and Private Administration from Central Michigan University in 1991. While at TRW, he won the President's Award for his leadership on their largest commercial project. Walt was recognized as the Georgia CIO Leadership Association's Corporate CIO of the year for 2014 and more recently recognized by Constellation Research as one of the top 150 Business Transformation Leaders in 2020.

Walt is a frequent speaker to professional groups on the topics of leadership, governance, risk management and compliance. His #1 international bestselling book, We Can’t Stay Here: Becoming a Great Change Captain is available at Http://www.wecantstayhere.net and on amazon. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/waltergcarter Twitter: https://twitter.com/walt74

Key Takeaways:

• Aligning business and technology in the mortgage industry.
• AI, automation, and the mortgage industry.
• Change management strategies for digital transformation.
• Leadership and orchestration in a business setting.

• Aligning people and technology for digital transformation.
• Digital transformation, ethics, and privacy in the workplace.
• Remote work and its impact on productivity and culture.
• Emerging technologies and their ethical implications.
• Business ethics and the importance of hiring ethical employees.

• Digital transformation opportunities and privacy regulations.
• Technology implementation and ecosystem impact.

• How can data be transformed into a valuable asset with measurable economic benefits?
• What’s the key to effectively measuring and managing data assets for optimal results?
• How might the shift to separate data and technology roles reshape organizations?
• What innovative methods create self-funding data environments beyond traditional data selling?
• How do organizations overcome challenges when embracing data monetization?
• Can generative AI unlock untapped potential in analyzing unstructured content?
• What’s the value of AI in ideation workshops and determining data market value?
• How can businesses foster creativity in data monetization?
• What’s the next exciting chapter in the journey of data monetization and AI?

Guest Expert details:

Bashir Agboola is an award-winning Information Technology Executive/Chief Technology Officer with extensive experience in Information Technology strategy, executive management, technology-driven transformation and operations, enterprise cloud computing, as well as cybersecurity. He has ean extensive experience developing and leading teams to deliver business value through the alignment of IT strategic goals with organizational objectives. Bashir is a frequently sought-after subject matter expert speaker at industry events, with extensive technology industry and Healthcare IT experience.

Key Takeaways:

• The impact of AI in the healthcare sector
• AI in diagnostics and personalized medicine
• Using data to improve patient experience
• The importance of data interoperability in healthcare
• Standardization platform for medical records
• Regulatory framework for data sharing and interoperability
• The evolving role of tech leaders today

• The power of AI, data, Data regulation, and the Metaverse

• The challenge is not being data-driven, but insight-driven

• The Impact of data analytics on the creative industry

• Recent Transformations in the research industry

• How data and data analytics can help solve humanitarian issues

• how do more women in leadership equal better profit?

• Investing in women to plug skill gaps in tech

• Research shows doubling the share of women in tech by 2027 can increase GDP from the current tech contribution of 260 billion euros to 600.

• The challenges women have in male-dominated environments

• What companies need to do to foster enabling environments

• How Women are taking ownership and Leading the Way

• Digital transformation curve in the logistics industry as compared to other industries
• How cloud and cloud-based technologies are currently disrupting the traditional model?
• Differences between the traditional models versus these new tech-backed models
• Key trends in the logistics industry
• Suggestions for logistics companies who are looking to embark on their digital transformation journey
• Significance of finding the right partner for logistic companies when planning digital transformation
• Why industry experience becomes paramount in digital transformation in the logistics space

The podcast series looks at how independent thought leaders and visionaries from the tech industry across the globe bring their ideas to scale within the business world, sharing innovative, path-breaking insights with our listeners.

We interview experts on trends and best practices for IT leaders. We talk monthly with tech thought leaders on 21st-century business topics like innovation, digital transformation, AI, automation & Tech talent.

Guest Expert details:

We are excited to be in conversation with Asheesh Vashishth on ‘Driving Digital Transformation Success with a People first strategy’, as part of our Enabling Digital podcast series.

Asheesh has over 3 decades of experience in high-growth domestic and international Information Technology markets. He is skilled in all phases of the project life cycle from initial feasibility analysis & conceptual design through implementation and enhancement. He has been a core part of Systems Plus’ mGIC model. (Managed Global In-house center model) and works as the President of GIC, at Systems Plus.

He also has a humane belief to support & educate the less privileged and help them prosper with careers through his foundation.

Key takeaways:

• What is Managed GIC and how do organizations benefit from it?

• Managed GIC- a perfect blend of US and Indian cultures

• Evolution of GCC from a cost-center to an innovation partner

• How GCCs drive innovation in India

• Harmonization process for GICs

  · How to help your team embrace the corporate culture.

  · Key factors in retaining employees, keeping them happy, and ensuring that, you know, they have a good career path.

  · Employee’s perspective on working in traditional IT companies vs MGIC’s

  · Kinds of roles happening in India, senior level managers to directors

  · Finding the right talent and pitfalls to avoid while hiring

  · Hiring potential leaders at an early stage and bolstering their growth

  · Leveraging GICs for Business-facing, non-technical roles.

  · Things to consider when setting up GICs in India

How to help your team embrace the corporate culture.

· Key factors in retaining employees, ensuring employee satisfaction, and their career and individual growth

· Employee’s perspective on working in traditional IT companies vs GCCs

· Finding the right talent and pitfalls to avoid while hiring

· Hiring potential leaders at an early stage and bolstering their growth

· Leveraging GICs for business-facing, non-technical roles.

· Things to consider when setting up GICs in India

Arthur has over 25 years of global experience at the executive level. He has extensive experience working with organizations to reinvent them through Digital Transformation across industries varying from Retail, Banking, E-commerce, Gaming, and Telecom to even working with the Government as well.

He also has a humane belief to support & educate the less privileged and help them prosper with careers through his foundation.

Key Takeaways:

1. What is Digital Transformation and how do organizations benefit from it?

2. What is the central message of servant leadership philosophy and how it is relevant and important for Technology leaders?

3. The relationship between People, Processes, and Technology

4. How important is the role of the Cloud in the Digital Transformation journey?

5. What is Jewel Tech and how Retail Technology Innovation is the next big thing?

6. How to protect customer data, especially with remote data centers

7. How important is it for organizations to build sustainability, and inclusion into their operations’ fabric and make their businesses more socially responsible?

The podcast series explores how CIOs can capture opportunities by looking at and beyond technology and data to propel their organizations into the digital forefront.

The podcast series looks at how independent thought leaders and visionaries from the tech industry across the globe bring their ideas to scale within the business world, sharing innovative, path-breaking insights with our listeners.

We interview experts on trends and best practices for IT leaders. Sapan Choksi, CEO at Systems Plus, talks monthly with tech thought leaders on 21st century business topics like innovation, digital transformation, AI, and automation.

Guest expert details:

We are excited to be in conversation with Niklas Palmqvist on ‘Developing your enterprise cloud migration and implementation strategy.’, as part of our Enabling Digital podcast series.

Niklas has spent the last 10+ years in various ‘C’ level roles for multi-national shipping & logistics & software companies. He has extensive experience working across different cultures & business practices after having lived and worked in the USA, Europe & Asia.

He has successfully spearheaded and successfully delivered multimillion-dollar projects and Digital Transformation/IT Strategies for various customers around the globe. Niklas is a technologist at heart, where he enjoys the execution of these solutions with a heavy focus on modern and disruptive technologies such as Cloud Computing.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/niklaspalmqvist

About QloudX:

QloudX was established as a strategic alliance/extension brand of Systems Plus which was co-founded by Nikunj Jhaveri (Founder of Systems+) & Niklas Palmqvist to create a next generation Cloud Company, which focuses on all aspects of Cloud & help businesses across the globe to leverage Cloud Technologies, in order to maximize their digital transformation journeys.

QloudX is proudly headquartered in Denmark (Europe), with having a strong outreach extending to continental Europe, USA, Asia & India.

Learn more: https://www.qloudx.com

Key takeaways:

1. What are the important aspects businesses should know before considering a move to the cloud?

1. What are the after effects of Cloud Migration in terms of People, Processes and not just in the context of Technology?

1. How can retailers get the most out of the cloud beyond just cutting costs on computing and data storage?

1. Do dependencies accompany applications to the cloud when we lift and shift them without re-architecting?

1. How do Businesses become a more Agile Organization after adopting Cloud Technologies?

The podcast series explores how CIOs can capture opportunities by looking at and beyond technology and data to propel their organizations into the digital forefront.

The podcast series looks at how independent thought leaders and visionaries from the tech industry across the globe bring their ideas to scale within the business world, sharing innovative, path-breaking insights with our listeners.

We interview experts on trends and best practices for IT leaders. Sapan Choksi, CEO at Systems Plus, talks monthly with tech thought leaders on 21st century business topics like innovation, digital transformation, AI, and automation.

Guest Expert details:

Jonathan is a well-connected problem solver, drawing on over 20 years of experience within the technology industry covering all aspects from infrastructure and operations to management and strategy. Having worked across client, agency, and vendor sides, he has developed a unique understanding of digital and the skills required to deliver in this ever-changing fast-paced world. As a highly organized and self-motivated strategic thinker, he utilizes his blend of abilities and understanding of the digital agency landscape across EMEA to drive high-value strategical relationships with a proven track record of creating and executing channel strategies across multiple regions.

About Treasure Data:

Treasure Data is a global leader in Customer Data Platforms (CDP) and enterprise data management. Providing the ability to aggregate and translate massive volumes of scattered and siloed data. Flexible, tech-agnostic, and infinitely scalable, Treasure Data provides fast time to value even in the most complex environments.

Systems Plus is a Technology partner of Treasure Data helping drive value with the product by providing implementation, adoption, support, maintenance, and enabling innovation.

As a Treasure Data Technology partner, we help design unique enterprise architectures, allowing your customer data to go the extra mile and persist through every step of the customer journey.

Treasure Data partners with best-in-class Independent Software Vendors, helping you maximize your CDP investment and deliver extraordinary customer experiences.

Key takeaways:

1. How do you go about developing a customer data strategy that is separate from but connected to your customer experience strategy?

1. How important is it to develop a flexible, scalable, and privacy-compliant data fabric that is consistent across the enterprise?

1. How to measure the ROI of a CDP: What’s a CDP’s role in improving marketing ROI?

1. What are some key factors to consider while evaluating CDP vendors?

And many more.

The podcast series explores how CIOs can capture opportunities by looking at and beyond technology and data to propel their organizations into the digital forefront.

The podcast series looks at how independent thought leaders and visionaries from the tech industry across the globe bring their ideas to scale within the business world, sharing innovative, path-breaking insights with our listeners.

We interview experts on trends and best practices for IT leaders. Sapan Choksi, CEO at Systems Plus, talks monthly with tech thought leaders on 21st century business topics like innovation, digital transformation, AI, and automation.

Guest expert details:

We are excited to be in conversation with Amay Jhaveri on ‘how to drive and elevate enterprise product adoption’, as part of our Enabling Digital podcast series.

Amay has been on both sides of the spectrum. He started his career on the product side where he helped customers adopt the products. And today, he is working on the services side helping large enterprises select the right product and drive product success.

Amay worked as the VP of Product Management at Entytle where he was not just building the product but also driving overall implementation and post-implementation services and fostering customer adoption.

And now in his current role at Systems Plus, Amay is on the other side of the fence helping large enterprises select the right product that will meet their needs. And with his product management knowledge, he strives to try to do everything he can to make sure the enterprise adopts the product as easily as possible.

LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amay-jhaveri

Key takeaways:

· So, what are the things one should be thinking about when they're actually selecting the product?

· What are some of the key factors that influence the adoption process of new products?

· How important is the alignment across IT, Marketing, Finance, and any other cross-functional departments in driving product adoption?

· What should you know about the implementation and configuration when selecting a product?

· How important is training and who normally does it in a typical product framework?

· How do you measure success in product adoption?

The podcast series explores how CIOs can capture opportunities by looking at and beyond technology and data to propel their organizations into the digital forefront.

The podcast series looks at how independent thought leaders and visionaries from the tech industry across the globe bring their ideas to scale within the business world, sharing innovative, path-breaking insights with our listeners.

We interview experts on trends and best practices for IT leaders. Sapan Choksi, CEO at Systems Plus, talks monthly with tech thought leaders on 21st-century business topics like innovation, digital transformation, AI, and automation.

Guest expert details:

We are excited to be in conversation with Rahul Sanghi on ‘How Web3 and Metaverse will revolutionize the future of retail and e-commerce, as part of our Enabling Digital podcast series.

Rahul Sanghi most recently served as Fintech Lead for Visa in India & South Asia. He began his career as a consultant with KPMG in London, spending a majority of his time helping the firm set up its global enterprise blockchain and crypto asset advisory practice. He moved back to India in 2018 and joined Koinex (then India’s largest cryptocurrency exchange) as Director of Business and Strategy, before assuming the same role at B2B-SaaS startup FloBiz. He is currently the co-founder of Tigerfeathers, a media brand that is being built for Web3.

LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahul-sanghi-1b919984/

Twitter Profile: https://twitter.com/RahulSanghi1

Website: https://tigerfeathers.substack.com/

Key takeaways:

· What is the Web 3.0 and the Metaverse all about?

· How do Retailer and e-commerce businesses need to start thinking about Web 3.0?

· What are some of the new ways which web3 offers for retailers to connect directly to consumers instead of through a third party?

· Should retailers consider opening stores in the Metaverse? Should these stores be extensions of online stores or physical stores? Or do we need to think of a new experience entirely?

· How can NFTs be used to drive loyalty for retailers?

· How do you see the use of NFTs and crypto wallets in changing the relationship between merchants/brands and their customers?

Eric is a strategic technology advisor, board member, and Managing Partner at Versitae, a Virtual Captive IT outsourcing company.

Eric spent many years working as a CIO. If there is one common thread he’s seen, it’s that the value of Information Technology is only as good as the people working on it.

Many growing companies don’t realize that finding their most ideal IT team isn’t something they have to do on their own.

As someone who has transformed many IT organizations, he has learned that the Virtual Captive IT sourcing model is the most cost-effective solution to this challenge. Eric’s mission is to help growing companies understand the value of smarter outsourcing.

About Versitae

Versitae is leading the charge on a new and improved way to “insource” IT talent. Insourcing is the shift in service delivery from a third-party outsourcing model – referred to as legacy offshoring – and to an in-house model – known as “Virtual Captive”.

The Virtual Captive approach allows companies to source the specific talent they need both now and in the future – saving them time, overhead, and stress.

Key Takeaways

• What classifies as digital transformation?

• What are the common digital transformation barriers faced by organizations?

• How virtual captive can help companies with their digital transformation journey?

• How do you see virtual captives leading the next-gen technology adoption?