Technovation with Peter High (CIO, CTO, CDO, CXO Interviews)

Hosted by Metis Strategy

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Episodes

300

Latest episode

Aug 2026

Language

EN-US

About the show

Twice-weekly conversations with top executives and thought leaders at the intersection of business, technology, and innovation. Each episode of Technovation explores the technology trends that are transforming business, and the leaders driving digital change inside their organizations. Produced by Metis Strategy and hosted by firm President Peter High, Technovation is the premier podcast for IT and technology professionals with the largest collection of interviews with elite CIOs, CTOs, and CDOs.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

August 20, 202637 min

Aetna’s Nathan Frank on Scaling AI to Give Healthcare Workers Time Back

What happens when AI gives healthcare workers more time to do the work only humans can do? Nathan Frank, Chief Digital and Technology Officer of Aetna, joins Peter High to discuss how Aetna is scaling AI across healthcare while keeping people at the center. Frank shares how AI-enabled workflows are giving care-management nurses 90 minutes back per day, reducing the administrative burden of navigating clinical notes and multiple systems. He also explains how Aetna is building on years of investment in enterprise data and clinical data infrastructure, applying responsible AI governance, and bringing employees directly into the product-development process. The conversation explores what it takes to move AI from experimentation to meaningful improvements for members, providers, and colleagues, and why Frank believes AI and humans together can create a better healthcare experience. This episode is presented by ElevenLabs — Bringing technology to life. Learn more at elevenlabs.io This episode is also presented by Retool — Build internal software better, with AI. Learn more at retool.com

August 17, 202625 min

Michael Kempe on How AI Is Reinventing the Professional Services Business Model

AI may make professional services faster, but Grant Thornton Advisors CIO Mike Kempe believes the bigger opportunity is to rethink what clients are actually buying. In this episode of Technovation, Kempe joins Peter High to discuss how Grant Thornton is using AI to reimagine professional services from the ground up. He explains why simply automating individual steps leaves much of AI’s potential untapped, how the firm keeps human judgment at the center of AI-enabled work, and why trust and governance remain essential as adoption scales. Kempe also explores a larger shift in the industry: away from traditional time-and-materials engagements and toward a model built around outcomes, insight, confidence, and results. The conversation also covers Grant Thornton’s AI investments, its GTAP audit platform, experimentation with AI agents, M&A integration, and the evolving role of the CIO. This episode is presented by ElevenLabs — Bringing technology to life. Learn more at elevenlabs.io This episode is also presented by Retool — Build internal software better, with AI. Learn more at retool.com

August 14, 202654 min

How Sequoia’s Bogomil Balkansky Identifies Outlier Founders

What separates an exceptional executive from an outlier founder? For Sequoia Capital partner Bogomil Balkansky, learning the difference required recalibrating his own definition of talent. In this episode of Technoventure , Peter High speaks with Balkansky about how Sequoia evaluates founders when there is little data to rely on, why intuition matters in early-stage investing, and what his experiences at VMware and Bebop taught him about building enduring companies. They also explore the evolution of Wiz, AI’s impact on cybersecurity, and why the companies that define a technology era may not be the ones that first blaze the trail. You’ll hear: What makes a founder an “outlier” Why great employees do not always become great founders How Balkansky approaches high-stakes, one-way-door decisions Why startups should earn the right to become platforms How AI could create a new generation of cybersecurity champions Listen to the full conversation for an investor-operator perspective on founders, markets, risk, and building through disruption.

August 13, 202648 min

Retool CEO David Hsu on Why AI Models Are No Longer the Bottleneck

The smartest AI model may no longer be the biggest constraint on enterprise AI. In this episode of Technovation , Peter High speaks with Retool Co-Founder and CEO David Hsu about why the next frontier is the “harness” around the model: the context, tools, governance, and human approvals that allow AI to do meaningful work inside an enterprise. David explains why knowledge workers are still too often acting as the API for AI, how enterprises can democratize software development without sacrificing security, and why model flexibility matters as costs and capabilities change rapidly. The conversation also explores the future of SaaS, the growing cybersecurity implications of AI-generated code, and how David’s background in philosophy shapes his thinking about intelligence itself. This episode is presented by ElevenLabs — Bringing technology to life. Learn more at elevenlabs.io

August 10, 202647 min

Verizon CTO Yago Tenorio on Building the Autonomous Network

The next evolution of enterprise networks is not more automation, it is autonomy. In this episode of Technovation , Peter High speaks with Verizon CTO Yago Tenorio about how Verizon is building toward Level 4 network autonomy, where AI agents operate as “digital colleagues” under human supervision. Yago explains how autonomous systems could reduce incident resolution from hours to seconds, identify customer experience gaps traditional network monitoring cannot see, and operate safely through observability, traceability, reversibility, and accountability. They also discuss Verizon’s rollout of Claude Code to 33,000 technology employees, the changing skills required in an AI-first workforce, why data and domain expertise matter more than simply deploying the largest language model, and how AI could reshape the future of connectivity. This episode is presented by ElevenLabs — Bringing technology to life. Learn more at elevenlabs.io

August 6, 20261 hr 8 min

The Infinity Machine: The Untold Story of Demis Hassabis and DeepMind

What drives someone to spend decades pursuing artificial general intelligence, not for wealth, but for scientific discovery? In this episode of Technovation , Peter High speaks with bestselling author and financial historian Sebastian Mallaby about his new book, The Infinity Machine , which chronicles the remarkable journey of DeepMind co-founder Demis Hassabis and the global race to build artificial general intelligence (AGI). Drawing on more than 30 hours of interviews with Hassabis and conversations with over 100 colleagues, competitors, and friends, Mallaby explores the leadership philosophy, scientific ambition, and organizational decisions that shaped one of the world’s most influential AI companies. Listeners will also hear an in-depth discussion of Google’s acquisition of DeepMind, the evolution of AI from AlphaGo to Gemini, the competitive dynamics among OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft, and Google, and what the pursuit of superintelligence means for business leaders navigating the next era of technological transformation. Key topics include: Why Demis Hassabis devoted his career to AGI The founding story behind DeepMind Google’s AI strategy and the Innovator’s Dilemma Leadership lessons from building world-class research organizations The opportunities of increasingly capable AI systems Listen to discover why the future of AI may depend as much on leadership and organizational design as on technological breakthroughs. This episode is presented by ElevenLabs — Bringing technology to life. Learn more at elevenlabs.io

August 3, 202647 min

How M&T Bank Built a Technology-First Culture with Michael Wisler

Technology transformation isn’t about AI, it’s about building the foundations that make AI possible. In this episode of Technovation , Peter High sits down with Michael Wisler, Senior Executive Vice President of Technology and Operations at M&T Bank, to explore how the bank spent nearly a decade rebuilding its engineering culture, reducing technical debt, modernizing its data foundation, and transforming technology into a strategic business capability. Wisler explains why changing organizational beliefs came before changing technology, how M&T dramatically improved engineering productivity and resiliency, why technology and operations now belong together, and how those investments positioned the bank to scale generative AI responsibly. Key discussion topics include: Building a technology-first culture Reducing technical debt and improving resiliency Developing enterprise engineering talent Creating technology hubs in Buffalo and Wilmington Preparing data foundations for AI Scaling generative AI responsibly Integrating technology and operations Cybersecurity and quantum readiness Whether you’re leading digital transformation, modernizing enterprise technology, or developing an AI strategy, this conversation offers practical lessons on why long-term competitive advantage begins with strong engineering foundations. This episode is presented by ElevenLabs — Bringing technology to life. Learn more at elevenlabs.io

July 31, 202648 min

Wesley Chan on Building 100-Year Companies and Investing Against Consensus

The companies that define an era often appear irrational before they appear inevitable. In this episode of Technoventure , Peter High speaks with FPV Ventures Co-Founder & Managing Partner Wesley Chan about building products at Google, founding Google Ventures, investing against consensus, and recognizing founders with 100-year visions. Wesley explains how first-principles thinking helped him identify companies such as Canva and why the most important investment question may be, “What if it goes right?” They also explore: Why Google prioritized speed and relevance over keeping users on its site How Google Ventures aligned corporate capital with founder interests What Wesley saw in Canva after 111 investors said no Why specialized data can create more durable AI businesses How Bill Campbell taught leaders to protect their time and energy Why incentives frequently matter more than policies or intentions Listen for an operator-investor’s perspective on product excellence, AI investing, organizational design, and building companies capable of outliving their founders.

July 30, 202634 min

Kimberly-Clark’s Francesco Tinto on Leading AI-First Enterprise Transformation

Artificial intelligence isn’t the transformation, it’s the catalyst. In this episode of Technovation , Peter High speaks with Francesco Tinto, Chief Information & Global Business Services Officer at Kimberly-Clark, about why enterprise AI success depends on far more than technology. Francesco explains how Kimberly-Clark’s Powering Care strategy combines data, AI, operating model transformation, and process redesign to drive sustainable growth across one of the world’s most recognized consumer products companies. Together they explore how IT and Global Business Services are converging, why AI requires rethinking enterprise workflows, the importance of building trusted data foundations, and how leaders can prepare their organizations for an AI-first future. Key topics include: Kimberly-Clark’s Powering Care transformation strategy Why AI must serve business strategy, not the other way around Building enterprise data foundations for scalable AI Predictive maintenance, demand forecasting, and supply chain optimization Training the workforce for an AI-enabled operating model If you’re leading technology, digital transformation, or enterprise operations, this conversation offers practical insights into scaling AI while keeping people, process, and business value at the center. This episode is presented by ElevenLabs — Bringing technology to life. Learn more at elevenlabs.io

July 27, 202621 min

How AGCO’s Jena Holtberg-Benge Is Using AI to Transform Precision Agriculture

How can AI help farmers produce more with fewer resources? That’s the challenge driving digital transformation at AGCO. In this episode of Technovation , Peter High speaks with Jena Holtberg-Benge, Chief Digital & Information Officer at AGCO, about how AI, precision agriculture, connected equipment, and data are reshaping modern farming. Drawing on her unique background leading both business operations and technology, Jena explains why successful AI initiatives begin with customer problems, not technology. She discusses AGCO’s precision agriculture strategy, AI-powered dealer experiences, cybersecurity for connected machinery, data governance, and the leadership skills required to scale AI across the enterprise. In this episode: How AGCO uses AI to reduce costs and improve yields for farmers Why business-first technology leadership drives better outcomes Building AI agents that improve dealer and customer experiences Managing data across connected agricultural equipment Developing AI literacy and a culture of continuous learning This episode is presented by ElevenLabs — Bringing technology to life. Learn more at elevenlabs.io