Keeping Humanity in the Loop: You Don't Have to Lose Yourself to Lead Change in AI | ft Judith Spitz
What does it take to reach the top of one of the largest tech organizations on the planet, and then walk away to fix the pipeline that got you there?In this episode of B the Way Forward, host Brenda Darden Wilkerson sits down with Judith Spitz, former CIO of Verizon and founder of Breakthrough Tech, an initiative reshaping who gets access to power and influence in a tech-enabled world. Judith's path from applied research scientist to Fortune 10 C-suite leader to movement builder is not a story about climbing a ladder. It's a story about learning when the ladder stops serving you, and having the courage to go build a new one somewhere else.Brenda and Judith dig into what authentic leadership actually costs, why imposter syndrome is a conversation worth retiring, what happens to AI when the wrong people are in the room, and why the moment we are living in right now may be a once-in-a-generation opportunity to break a broken talent pipeline before it locks into place again. This is a conversation about humility, urgency, humanity, and the radical act of lifting others as you climb.Connect with Judith on LinkedInWe Learned About:How Judith built her leadership identity through applied research rather than corporate command-and-control, and why that unconventional start gave her the freedom to lead authentically from the beginningJim Collins' definition of great leadership as "a paradoxical combination of personal humility and professional will" and why that framework reshapes how we think about authorityWhy Judith wants us to retire the imposter syndrome conversation and replace it with a more empowering reframe: you don't have to know everything, you just have to surround yourself with people who doThe moment Judith looked around the C-suite and realized women weren't coming up behind her in 30 years, and why that observation became the foundation of Breakthrough TechWhat "democratizing privileged access" actually means in practice, from Sprinternship micro-internship programs to AI-focused work-based learning cohortsChapters:0:00 Introduction & Season Theme1:00 Meet Judith Spitz, Former CIO of Verizon and Founder of Breakthrough Tech2:30 What Pressure at the C-Suite Level of a Fortune 10 Company Actually Looks Like4:00 Relationships as Rocket Boosters: How Judith Survived the Peak5:30 The "March": Suits, Pumps, and How Women Were Taught to Perform Leadership7:30 Judith's Unconventional Path: Why Coming Up Through Research Changed Everything10:00 Authenticity as the Non-Negotiable Foundation of Leadership13:00 Jim Collins, Personal Humility, and the Paradox of Great Leadership15:30 Why Judith Wants to Retire the Imposter Syndrome Conversation18:00 Leaving Verizon: How Do You Know When It's Time to Go?21:00 Fall in Love With the Problem, Not the Solution23:00 The Origin Story of Breakthrough Tech26:00 Women in CS Peaked in 1986: The Data That Would Not Let Judith Rest27:30 Democratizing Privileged Access: What It Means and Why It Matters35:00 How to Hear the Voice That Tells You It's Time to Do Something Different38:00 What Happens When You Give Overlooked Talent a Foot in the Door41:00 How Judith Stays Motivated on the Hardest Days43:00 Was Your Drive Rooted in Achievement? Judith's Honest Answer47:30 Who Is in the Room When AI Decisions Are Made, and Who Is Not53:00 The AI Skills Gap: What Hiring Managers Say vs. What Technical VPs Need58:00 The Medical Residency Model and the Once-in-a-Generation Pipeline Opportunity1:01:00 Defining Leadership by Integrity, Not Title1:02:00 Closing Thoughts: You Don't Have to Lose Yourself to Lead Change#BTheWayForward #WomenInTech #BreakthroughTech #AIWorkforce #TechEquity #LiftAsYouClimb #InclusiveAI #WomenInLeadership
