Making Data Simple

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423

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Nov 2026

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Hosted by Al Martin, WW VP of Technical Sales at IBM, Making Data Simple cuts through the hype to reveal how data and AI reshape the modern enterprise. Thought leaders, researchers, and innovators share firsthand lessons on leading teams, scaling analytics, and driving real-world impact—delivered in Al’s signature straightforward, witty style. Tune in to Making Data Simple today. From data and AI breakthroughs to leadership hacks, top experts drop actionable gems that help businesses thrive in a data-driven world. #MakingDataSimple #AI #Leadership

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November 11, 202644 min

One Year Later: Is AI Making Us Better, or Just Making It Easier? — with Geoff Thatcher, Founder & Chief Creative Officer, Creative Principals

Send us Fan Mail Originally aired October 2025. Exploring the intersection of creativity and innovation, Geoff Thatcher, Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Creative Principals and author of The CEO’s Time Machine , shares how AI is transforming live experiences, from personalized exhibits to universal storytelling. Geoff explores the possibilities and the pitfalls of AI, from his five rules for using it well to why “better” and “easier” aren’t the same thing, and how to keep AI from stealing the moments of inspiration that make us human. 01:39 Introducing Geoff Thatcher 02:48 Thinking about AI Differently 13:47 What Does it Mean to “Create” Now? 19:32 Augmented Intelligence 22:27 Death By PowerPoint 23:57 Five Rules for Using AI 24:47 Difference between Better and Easier? 30:16 Don’t Let AI Steal Moments of Inspiration 33:18 Always Use the Most Reliable Source 34:57 Use AI to Tell Stories 37:36 The Worry of Getting Lazy 39:48 Humanizing AI! LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geoffthatcher/ Website: https://www.creativeprincipals.com/ Want to be featured as a guest on Making Data Simple? Reach out to us at almartintalksdata@gmail.com and tell us why you should be next. The Making Data Simple Podcast is hosted by Al Martin, WW VP Technical Sales, IBM, where we explore trending technologies, business innovation, and leadership ... while keeping it simple & fun.

November 4, 202650 min

#423 Drowning in Data? Chris Rafter, COO of Inzata and Chief AI Officer at SIGNLD, on Governance, Third-Party Data, and Decision Intelligence

Send us Fan Mail Drowning in data but struggling to unlock its potential? Chris Rafter, Chief AI Officer at SIGNLD and COO of Inzata, shares his insights on navigating the complex world of analytics — exploring how businesses can leverage data for strategic growth, with discussions on governance, third-party data sets, and the emerging role of AI. 00:56 Meet Chris Rafter 05:18 Why Inzata 14:06 Analytics 17:15 SIGNLD Tech 19:08 Governance 20:35 Why SIGNLD 27:30 The Company Name 28:43 Third-party Data Sets 31:47 The Summary 33:21 Monetization 35:45 Where to Find Chris 38:52 The AI Revolution 40:52 Why Are Analytic Platforms Needed 43:04 Rapid Fire LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopherrafter Website: https://inzata.com/ · https://signld.ai/ Want to be featured as a guest on Making Data Simple? Reach out to us at almartintalksdata@gmail.com and tell us why you should be next. The Making Data Simple Podcast is hosted by Al Martin, WW VP Technical Sales, IBM, where we explore trending technologies, business innovation, and leadership ... while keeping it simple & fun.

October 28, 202644 min

#422 Your AI Can’t Read That — Neil Katz, CPO of Valantor, on Why Document Understanding Is the Missing Layer of Enterprise AI

Send us Fan Mail Today, I'm your host, Katherine Mayne, and we’re joined by Neil Katz, Chief Product Officer at Valantor and co-founder of EyeLevel AI, who is building AI designed to tackle complex, messy enterprise documents. Be sure to listen to the end — Neil shares valuable insights on the future of AI document understanding that you won’t want to miss. 01:31 Introducing Neil Katz 07:09 RAG Before RAG 12:39 Visual Intelligence 15:19 Custom Workflows 16:52 RAG Details 24:44 AI and the Future of Work 32:30 Our Imagination is the Limit 37:04 Models for Animal Language 39:44 AI Optimism 42:57 Where to find Neil LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilkatz Website: https://valantor.ai/ Send us your ideas for the AI Optimist! Want to be featured as a guest on Making Data Simple? Reach out to us at almartintalksdata@gmail.com and tell us why you should be next. The Making Data Simple Podcast is hosted by Al Martin, WW VP Technical Sales, IBM, where we explore trending technologies, business innovation, and leadership — while keeping it simple & fun. Want to be featured as a guest on Making Data Simple? Reach out to us at almartintalksdata@gmail.com and tell us why you should be next. The Making Data Simple Podcast is hosted by Al Martin, WW VP Technical Sales, IBM, where we explore trending technologies, business innovation, and leadership ... while keeping it simple & fun.

October 21, 2026Episode 42042 min

Ep. 420 ICYMI - Why Your Structured Data Is Stuck — and How Graph Neural Networks Unlock It, with Jure Leskovec, Stanford Professor and Co-Founder of Kumo

Send us Fan Mail Since this aired, Kumo has moved from GNNs to relational foundation models — the ‘secret sauce’ segment at 17:57 is where that story starts Data’s everywhere, but so often it feels… stuck. Joining us today is Jure Leskovec, Co-Founder and Chief Scientist at Kumo and a Stanford Professor who pioneered Graph Neural Networks and fundamentally reshaped how we understand networks — from Pinterest’s recommendations to tracking the spread of disease. We unpack why structured data is lagging behind the AI revolution, how techniques like Graph Neural Networks are finally unlocking its potential, and how this all plays out in real-world applications. 00:57 Meet Jure Leskovec 02:31 Knowing When to Move On 04:01 Academia versus Industry 07:30 Learnings from Pinterest 10:28 The Kumo Pitch 17:57 The Secret Sauce 25:51 Monetization 27:12 Only the Enterprise? 29:49 The Sandbox to Try Before Buy 31:42 The Best Use Cases 35:00 Summarizing 37:38 Predicting AI 40:15 What’s True and No One Agrees 41:19 Learning LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leskovec/ Website: https://kumo.ai/ Want to be featured as a guest on Making Data Simple? Reach out to us at almartintalksdata@gmail.com and tell us why you should be next. The Making Data Simple Podcast is hosted by Al Martin, WW VP Technical Sales, IBM, where we explore trending technologies, business innovation, and leadership ... while keeping it simple & fun.

October 14, 202646 min

Ever wondered why brilliant CEOs sometimes seem to stall? Meet Andrea Petrone.

Send us Fan Mail Ever wondered why brilliant CEOs sometimes seem to stall? Andrea Petrone’s groundbreaking work reveals that success can actually become a trap, freezing leaders into outdated identities. In this episode we unpack Andrea’s 20+ years coaching over 250 CEOs – including those at Shell and Unilever – to understand how leaders can break free from pressure, rediscover their ‘throughline,’ and truly embody leadership. 01:20 Meet Andrea Petrone 05:54 Andrea's CEO Experience 09:25 Definition of a Leader 13:40 CEO Differentiation 22:29 Where to Start Coaching a CEO 25:47 Changes the Last 10 Years 30:32 First Tell of a Leader 33:15 Subtle, Great Leadership 38:13 Where CEOs Lie to Themselves 43:15 Ron Johnson 46:10 Reaching Andrea Petrone LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone/ Website: https://andreapetrone.com/ Want to be featured as a guest on Making Data Simple? Reach out to us at almartintalksdata@gmail.com and tell us why you should be next. The Making Data Simple Podcast is hosted by Al Martin, WW VP Technical Sales, IBM, where we explore trending technologies, business innovation, and leadership ... while keeping it simple & fun.

October 7, 202644 min

Stop Buying AI Tools and Start Changing the Work — with Ashley Gross, Founder & CEO, AI Workforce Alliance

Send us Fan Mail Most companies have bought the AI tools. Far fewer have changed how the work actually gets done. Ashley Gross, Founder & CEO of the AI Workforce Alliance and author of The AI Workweek, joins Al Martin to close that gap. Ashley used AI to cut her own workweek from 40 hours to 15. Her AI Impact Alignment™ framework shows teams how to get there too: decide what to automate first, build a "digital staff" of agents, and give those agents the information they need to do real work. She and Al dig into what token costs and orchestration mean for your budget, when agents are ready to run on their own, and why data capture is largely solved while adoption is not. If you've been told to "do AI" and aren't sure where to begin, jump to 38:58 for the workflows Ashley recommends starting with. * 00:52 Introducing Ashley Gross * 01:52 The Book: The AI Workweek * 06:34 What to Automate First * 09:06 The Digital Staff * 12:06 Sharing of Info to Agents * 17:58 Token Affordability & Orchestration * 20:42 Autonomous Agents * 23:12 Engagement with Ashley * 27:58 Data Capture Solved, Adoption Not * 30:30 Differentiation via Outcomes * 38:58 Workflows to Start * 40:38 Reaching Ashley LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theashleygross/ Website: https://www.aiworkforcealliance.com/ Want to be featured as a guest on Making Data Simple? Reach out to us at almartintalksdata@gmail.com and tell us why you should be next. The Making Data Simple Podcast is hosted by Al Martin, WW VP Technical Sales, IBM, where we explore trending technologies, business innovation, and leadership ... while keeping it simple & fun.

September 30, 202646 min

Learn how to leverage your data for authentic leadership and strategic decision-making with Kate Mayne, Executive Producer of this Podcast and Coach!

Send us Fan Mail Unlock your full potential with Kate Mayne, Executive Coach and data expert! In this episode, Kate dives into the surprising ways our behaviors impact our data, offering actionable strategies for clarity and growth – insights you can put into practice today. Learn how to leverage your data for authentic leadership and strategic decision-making – explore more at www.experttoexec.com. 00:57 Meet Kate Mayne 01:55 Why and Exec Coach? 05:17 Why Pay for a Coach? 09:10 Certifications 12:10 Natural & Adaptive Behaviors 14:47 Top Coaching Tricks 32:18 Compromising Who You Are 35:24 Coaching Tricks 41:57 Recommended Books https://experttoexec.com/reading-list 42:12 AI in Coaching LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherinemayne/ Website: www.experttoexec.com Book report: Want to be featured as a guest on Making Data Simple? Reach out to us at almartintalksdata@gmail.com and tell us why you should be next. The Making Data Simple Podcast is hosted by Al Martin, WW VP Technical Sales, IBM, where we explore trending technologies, business innovation, and leadership ... while keeping it simple & fun.

September 23, 202644 min

In case you missed it....How Do You Build AI That Actually Works 99.999999% of the Time? With Tina Tarquinio Chief Product Officer of IBM Z and LinuxONE

Send us Fan Mail Dive into the powerful world of mainframes! Chief Product Officer of IBM Z and LinuxONE, Tina Tarquinio, reveals the truth behind those eight nines of uptime and explores how mainframes are evolving with AI, hybrid cloud, and future-proofing strategies for mission-critical business decisions. Discover the cutting-edge innovations transforming enterprise computing—from on-chip AIU and Spyre AI accelerators enabling real-time inferencing at transaction speed, to how LinuxONE is redefining hybrid cloud architecture. Tina discusses DevOps integration, AI-powered code assistants revolutionizing mainframe development, compelling AI use cases, and shares her bold predictions for the mainframe’s next 100 years. Plus, career advice from a tech leader and what she does for fun! 00:46 Tina Tarquinio 03:18 The Most Mainframe Surprise 09:12 What IS the Mainframe Really? 8 Nines! 14:40 On Chip AIU, Spyre Inferencing 18:11 Mainframes with Hybrid Cloud 19:11 The Linux One Pitch 19:59 Exciting Mainframe Innovations 22:09 DevOps 23:36 Code Assistants 26:03 AI Use Case 27:49 Future Proofing Decisions 37:17 Regulations 38:45 Bold Prediction 38:58 Mainframe 100 40:48 Career Advice 42:24 For Fun LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tina-tarquinio Website: https://www.ibm.com/products/z Want to be featured as a guest on Making Data Simple? Reach out to us at almartintalksdata@gmail.com and tell us why you should be next. The Making Data Simple Podcast is hosted by Al Martin, WW VP Technical Sales, IBM, where we explore trending technologies, business innovation, and leadership ... while keeping it simple & fun.

September 16, 202646 min

Real Consumer Insights: Beyond the Data Hype with Lev Mazin of AYTM

Send us Fan Mail Want to cut through the noise and understand *real* consumer behavior? Lev Mazin, CEO of aytm—Ask Your Target Market—is here to challenge the hype around AI and big data. Lev’s spent over a decade connecting with 100 million consumers, revealing why human insight is more valuable than ever in a world racing towards synthetic data. 01:10 Lev Mazin 04:55 AYTM 06:52 AYTM's Differentiator 09:06 Consumer Insights Automation 12:28 Why Do Surveys Still Exist 17:50 Panels of 100M Clients 19:17 Data Quality, an Existential Crisis 24:41 Synthetic Data 27:11 Extracting Noise from Data 29:45 Big Data to Human Insights 30:58 Do ISO Certification Matter? 37:03 Irrational Behavior 41:20 Rapid Fire LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/levmazin Website: https://aytm.com/ Want to be featured as a guest on Making Data Simple? Reach out to us at almartintalksdata@gmail.com and tell us why you should be next. The Making Data Simple Podcast is hosted by Al Martin, WW VP Technical Sales, IBM, where we explore trending technologies, business innovation, and leadership ... while keeping it simple & fun.

September 9, 202632 min

🧠 Is AI a Tool or a Teammate? — with Phanish Puranam, Professor of Strategy & Organisation Design, INSEAD {Replay}

Send us Fan Mail ICYMI — revisiting one of our most useful conversations on what AI actually does to the shape of an organization. How do we make organizations not just run — but run intelligently ? Phanish Puranam, the Roland Berger Chaired Professor of Strategy and Organisation Design at INSEAD, joins Al Martin to explore where organizational science meets artificial intelligence. Phanish studies how intelligent algorithms show up inside organizations in three distinct roles — as tools , as teammates , and as templates for organizing itself — and what actually changes when they do. We get into the research, real use cases, the pitfalls most companies walk straight into, and a contrarian argument that generating bad ideas fast may be one of the most underrated engines of innovation. Since this conversation aired, Phanish published re-Humanize: How to Build Human-Centric Organizations in the Age of Algorithms — the natural next step if this episode lands for you. Chapters 01:50 – Meet Phanish Puranam 03:36 – Organizational Design 08:39 – Where is Org Design Today 12:41 – A Research Example 15:59 – Technologies as Tools & Teammates 17:54 – A Real Use Case Example 20:30 – The Metaverse, Eliminate Bad Ideas Fast 21:28 – Pitfalls 23:30 – Use Case Deep Dive 30:06 – The Power Structure Connect with Phanish Puranam LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/phanishpuranam INSEAD Profile: insead.edu/faculty/phanish-puranam Book: re-Humanize: How to Build Human-Centric Organizations in the Age of Algorithms Want to be featured as a guest on Making Data Simple? Reach out to us at almartintalksdata@gmail.com and tell us why you should be next. The Making Data Simple Podcast is hosted by Al Martin, WW VP Technical Sales, IBM, where we explore trending technologies, business innovation, and leadership ... while keeping it simple & fun.