Pragmatism in Practice

Hosted by Thoughtworks

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Aug 2026

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Pragmatism in Practice addresses the challenges facing today's digital leaders and gives practical approaches to overcoming them. We have candid conversations with a range of inspiring change-makers who share stories of becoming a modern digital business. 334660

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60 recent

August 27, 202654 min

From Ferrari to AI-powered banking: How Piergiorgio Grossi is building innovation at speed at Credem

Alla Gancz joins Piergiorgio Grossi, Chief Innovation & Data Officer at Credem, to discuss his extraordinary career spanning Ferrari Formula 1, data and AI ventures, Ducati and banking. Piergiorgio explains what high-performance engineering can teach banks about data, feedback loops and decision-making; how Credem's AINEXT model moves AI from experimentation into business execution; and why successful transformation depends as much on people, culture and trust as it does on technology. The discussion explores Credem's adoption of AI, and the challenge of giving teams greater speed and autonomy while maintaining the control, resilience and accountability required of a bank.

August 13, 202630 min

Why AI alone won't modernize legacy systems

AI is rapidly reshaping enterprise tech conversations, but successfully transforming legacy architecture requires far more than just automated code generation and powerful models. In this episode, host Christina Stathopoulos joins Thoughtworks' Shodhan Sheth, Enterprise Modernization Platform and Cloud Lead, and Alessio Ferri, Lead Software Engineer, to discuss how technology leaders can balance AI innovation with engineering discipline, organizational change and real-world governance. Originally hosted on EM360's Tech Transformed podcast.

July 23, 202635 min

Designing the technology organization of the future

In this episode, Ricard Vilá, CDO at LATAM Pass, outlines his strategies for designing a future-ready technology organization. He shares lessons on shifting IT from a cost center to a value engine, fostering genuine team empowerment, managing multilingual organizational structures and navigating rapid AI transformation to meet evolving business needs.

April 23, 202640 min

AI and the workforce: Beyond efficiency to real value creation

Join Laura Burger, Global Head of Employer Brand and Recruitment Marketing, Rachel Laycock, Thoughtworks CTO and former Chief Talent Officer Joanna Parke for a discussion on why AI success fundamentally depends on people, not just tools. Together, they debunk the "job theft" myth, highlight why junior talent remains a vital engine for innovation and explore how to shift the executive conversation from mere cost-cutting to long-term value creation.

April 8, 202656 min

The velocity trap: Why GenAI is exposing broken foundations

While 2025 was the year of shopping for AI, 2026 is the year of ROI. In this episode, Thoughtworks and CircleCI leaders discuss the 2026 State of Software Delivery Report, revealing why AI-generated code is creating bottlenecks rather than business value. Learn how elite teams are distancing themselves from laggards by rethinking compliance and testing, and why a Tiger Team approach is the fastest way to expose hidden technical debt and accelerate delivery.

March 26, 202651 min

Navigating the messy middle: A guide to real product organization transformation

Join product experts John Cutler and Ivana Ciric as they deconstruct the "messy" reality of product org transformation. Moving beyond rigid frameworks and feature factory mentalities, explore how leaders can embrace complexity, use AI for strategic sense-making and finally bridge the gap from simply shipping code to delivering genuine business value.

November 24, 202531 min

The soul in the system: Humanizing AI Strategy

As companies race to adopt AI, many overlook the hardest part — the human one. In this conversation, we unpack the principles behind Humanizing AI Strategy and discuss how creativity, critical thinking, and cross-functional collaboration shape the success of any AI initiative. This episode is for decision-makers who want AI that works in the real world, helping them design systems that are responsible, effective, and grounded in their organization's purpose.

September 16, 202527 min

Measuring what matters in the age of AI

Many engineering leaders are eager to embrace AI, but few have a clear way to measure what's working. In this episode, we dig into how teams can track AI adoption, assess the real impact of AI tools and agents, and make smarter decisions about where to invest. You'll hear from Abi Noda, CEO and Co-founder at DX, and Chris Westerhold, Global Practice Director at Thoughtworks, as they share how leading engineering orgs are turning AI hype into measurable value. Host: Kimberly Boyd Guests: Abi Noda , CEO & Co-founder at DX Chris Westerhold , Global Practice Director at Thoughtworks

July 30, 202538 min

From bronze bullets to big impact: AI-first software delivery

Join Thoughtworks CTO Rachel Laycock for a candid look at what AI-first software delivery really means, beyond the buzzwords. In this episode, she discusses how this emerging technology is reshaping software development life cycles, and how it can be used to tackle the most complex modernization challenges. If you're navigating the fast-changing landscape of tech strategy, this one's for you. Host: Kimberly Boyd Guest: Rachel Laycock, CTO at Thoughtworks

April 25, 202534 min

Powering innovation: Thoughtworks' AI journey

AI promises to reinvigorate the way we work, and many organizations are already seeing its potential come to life. In this podcast, we explore how we at Thoughtworks are transforming our own operations with AI. This episode is packed with insights for leaders who are embarking on a similar AI journey within their own organization. Host: Kimberly Boyd Guests: Jessie Xia, Global Chief Information Officer at Thoughtworks Sara Michelazzo, Head of Innovation and Strategy at Thoughtworks Global IT Services