Zinnov Podcast is for leaders who set direction, not follow it. Featuring CIOs, CTOs, and CEOs, the series examines how organizations scale amid data, AI, and growing complexity, through real decisions, trade-offs, and leadership at scale.
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June 9, 2026Episode 10636 min
The SMB Race: Speed, Relevance, and Scaled Growth Ft. Kristine Henley, AWS
There may be 400 million SMBs in the world, but there is no such thing as a typical SMB.
That's what makes the segment so difficult and so valuable.
From AI adoption and cybersecurity to marketplaces, partner ecosystems, and hyper-local go-to-market strategies, SMBs operate by a different set of rules than enterprises. What works for one business, industry, or geography may not work for another, making SMBs one of the most complex markets to understand and serve.
In this episode of Zinnov Podcast, Kristine Henley, WW Head, Public Sector Partner Core at AWS, joins Rajat Kohli, Partner, Zinnov, to explore how SMBs are evolving, why many companies still misunderstand the segment, and what leaders need to do differently to build and scale successfully in the SMB market.
Tune in now.
June 2, 2026Episode 10538 min
No One Wins Alone Anymore: Rethinking Value Creation in Mature Markets Ft. Alyssa Fitzpatrick, Elastic
The partner ecosystem is changing.
As AI reshapes enterprise technology and customers demand faster business outcomes, traditional partnership models built around co-marketing and channel reach are being challenged.
In this episode of #ZinnovPodcast, Rajat Kohli, Partner at Zinnov, speaks with Alyssa Fitzpatrick, GVP, Partner Sales at Elastic, to discuss how partner ecosystems are evolving and what it takes to stay relevant in an increasingly competitive landscape.
Together, they explore:
• Why the future is customer-led, not partner-led
• How AI is changing the way partner ecosystems are built
• Why co-innovation is becoming more important than co-marketing and co-selling
• The challenge of differentiation when every partner looks like an A+ player
• How leading organizations identify and invest in the right ecosystem partners
• The growing role of enablement, managed services, and ecosystem collaboration
Whether you're a partner leader, alliance manager, technology executive, ecosystem builder, or GTM strategist, this episode offers valuable insights into the future of partnerships and ecosystem-led growth.
Tune in now.
May 19, 2026Episode 10437 min
The New Security Stack: Platforms, Partners, and AI-Driven Innovation Ft. Michael Khoury, Palo Alto Networks
Enterprises today are managing increasingly complex cybersecurity environments across cloud, AI systems, applications, endpoints, and enterprise networks. As AI adoption accelerates, organizations are under pressure to secure AI-driven environments while responding to faster and more sophisticated threats.
In this episode of the Zinnov Podcast, Rajat Kohli, Partner, Zinnov speaks with Michael Khoury, Vice President, Global Ecosystem Partners, Palo Alto Networks, about the shift from point products to platform-led cybersecurity strategies and what it means for enterprises, partners, MSSPs, hyperscalers, and global system integrators.
Michael Khoury shares perspectives on how enterprises are navigating cybersecurity complexity in an AI-first world, and how ecosystem models are evolving alongside it.
The conversation explores:
• Why AI is accelerating platform-led cybersecurity
• The rise of MSSPs and cloud marketplaces as key routes to market
• How enterprises are reducing security complexity through platformization
• What differentiates advanced ecosystem partners in the AI era
Tune in now.
May 11, 2026Episode 10335 min
Why Urban Mobility's Leading Player is Betting on India Ft. Arrive
Every day, millions of people navigate cities through a maze of apps, systems, and decisions - yet urban mobility remains one of the most fragmented and complex challenges cities face today.
As cities grow denser and regulations, infrastructure, and mobility systems become increasingly disconnected, the pressure to keep cities moving efficiently continues to rise. Behind all of this lies an invisible intelligence layer that determines whether urban mobility works seamlessly or breaks down at scale.
In this episode, Amita Goyal, Managing Partner at Zinnov, sits down with Arrive’s Chief Operating Officer, Jérôme Selva, and Chief Technology Officer, Sandesh Bhat, to unpack how global mobility systems are built and scaled across 90 countries and 20,000 cities.
From orchestrating movement at the Paris Olympics to building frictionless, AI-driven mobility experiences, the conversation explores what it takes to connect cities, systems, and users at scale. The discussion also dives into why India is emerging as a critical innovation hub and how talent will shape the future of urban mobility.
If you’re interested in systems thinking, global platforms, and building for real-world complexity, this episode offers a front-row view into the future of how cities move.
Tune in now.
May 5, 2026Episode 10236 min
The Tech Services Reinvention Cycle: AI Transformation and the Growth–Liquidity Trade-Off Ft. Jeff Rich, Sunstone Partners
The tech services industry is being forced into a reset.
AI is changing how work gets done, how it is priced, and how value is measured. For private equity investors and tech services leaders, the impact is already visible. Delivery is getting automated, costs are coming down, and revenue models built on billable hours are under pressure. So the real question is: how do you create and capture value when execution itself is being commoditized?
In this episode of the Zinnov Podcast, Jeff Rich, Operating Partner at Sunstone Partners, joins Sidhant Rastogi, President at Zinnov, to break down how the AI transformation of tech services is reshaping growth, margins, and exit outcomes. Jeff brings a rare operator + investor perspective, having helped scale a tech services company into a multi-billion-dollar business. He now works closely with portfolio companies across cloud, data engineering, and AI services.
In this conversation, we cover why outcome-based pricing is still hard to implement in tech services, how AI agents and agentic architectures are changing enterprise workflows, and why vertical and workflow-level expertise is becoming critical. We also explore the reality of AI-driven commoditization and what it means for services firms, along with the growth versus liquidity trade-off and how it impacts valuation and exit timing. A key takeaway is that AI usage does not matter unless it shows up in revenue growth, margin expansion, or EBITDA.
This episode is especially relevant for private equity investors, founders, and leaders of tech services companies navigating the shift to an AI-driven market.
Tune in for a grounded, no-hype perspective on what it takes to build, scale, and exit in the next phase of technology services.
March 24, 2026Episode 10132 min
The New Rules of Enterprise Cloud Partners, Platforms, and the Path to AI Scale Ft. Pallab Deb, Google Cloud
Over the past decade, hyperscalers have grown at extraordinary speed. But behind that growth sits a quieter transformation: the evolution of the partner ecosystems that enable it. Building an ecosystem is not a one-time strategy. It is a continuous process of adaptation as technology shifts, customer expectations evolve, and entirely new categories of partners emerge.
In this episode of the Zinnov Podcast, Pallab Deb, Managing Director, SI & Industry GTM Partnerships, Google Cloud, joins Rajat Kohli, Partner, Zinnov, to unpack what it takes to build and scale a partner-led platform business.
Pallab brings experience from both sides of the ecosystem. After nearly two decades in the system integrator world, he joined Google Cloud and witnessed how partner models evolve as platforms reach enterprise scale. At Google Cloud, that journey has been shaped by a deliberate partner-first approach.
The conversation explores how hyperscalers think about ecosystem strategy, the friction points that emerge as partner networks scale, and the new types of partners beginning to shape the next phase of enterprise transformation.
Tune in now.
March 17, 2026Episode 10026 min
Driving the Future: Accelerating the Shift to Software-defined Vehicles Ft. Naveen Kichili, HCLTech
The automotive industry is undergoing a once-in-a-generation shift as vehicles evolve from hardware-centric machines to software-defined vehicles (SDVs). This transformation is redefining how cars are built, updated, and improved across their lifecycle.
In this episode of the #ZinnovPodcast, Naveen Kichili, Global Head – Software-Defined Vehicle at HCLTech, joins Vijaykumar Hegde, Partner at Zinnov, to explore what it takes for OEMs to transition toward software-driven vehicle platforms. Drawing on more than two decades of experience in automotive transformation, Naveen shares deep insights into the architectural, operational, and business changes required to make SDVs a reality.
The conversation unpacks why SDVs represent a structural shift for the automotive industry, the move from distributed ECUs to centralized and zonal compute architectures, and why over-the-air (OTA) capabilities go far beyond a feature to require a secure, end-to-end software pipeline. It also delves into the challenges of managing legacy complexity while modernizing vehicle platforms, outlines the SDV roadmap for the coming decade, from building foundations to scaling and enabling closed-loop evolution, and highlights how OEMs can unlock lifecycle value through software, services, and data.
If you are working on automotive software, vehicle platforms, or digital mobility transformation, this episode is for you.
Listen now.
March 10, 2026Episode 9938 min
Making Customer Communities Your Strongest Moat Ft. StarRez's Jason Day and David Meale
"Our customers come to us and stay with us because of our culture."
In an industry where switching costs are high and contracts are long, most software companies mistake retention for loyalty. StarRez doesn't.
Over 30 years, across Australia, North America, Europe, and now Asia Pacific, they've built something harder to replicate than any feature roadmap, a community that genuinely wants to stay.
In this episode of the Zinnov Podcast, Jason Day, CEO, and David Meale, President, StarRez, sit down with Ravi Darbha, Partner, Zinnov, to talk about what it takes to build a technology company where culture is the actual product.
From navigating PE without losing their identity, to building cross-functional teams in Hyderabad, to rethinking what AI-driven leadership looks like in practice, this is a conversation about the unglamorous, deliberate work behind sustainable scale.
Here is what you will take away:
Why culture is a competitive moat, and how to protect it as you scale
How to build global teams that feel local, not transplanted
What it means to treat AI as a collaborator in how you think and lead
Why alignment across an organization is harder, and more valuable, than speed
The leadership habits worth building, and the ones worth leaving behind
Listen to the episode now.
March 10, 2026Episode 9831 min
Woman in the Mirror Ft. Dr. Ekroop Caur, IAS
Imagine operating in a system where decisions are public, consequences are immediate, and mistakes are rarely forgiven.
That is the everyday reality of Dr. Ekroop Caur, IAS. In this episode of Women in the Mirror, she reflects on what it takes to lead in public service at scale — shaping technology and innovation policy, making high-stakes calls under constant scrutiny, and carrying the weight of decisions that affect millions.
What gives this conversation its edge is how plainly she talks about the personal cost of such leadership. Dr. Caur challenges the idea that women must “be everything to everyone” — at work, at home, all the time. She speaks about drawing boundaries, delegating without guilt, and letting go of the myth of perfection. Not as advice, but as lived reality. The result is a portrait of leadership that is demanding, deeply human, and quietly empowering for anyone trying to lead well without burning out.
🎙️ Listen to the episode
February 2, 2026Episode 9723 min
The Next Product Paradigm: People, Patterns, and AI ft. Ajay Singh, Pure Storage
“AI shouldn’t replace judgment. It should amplify it.”
As AI rapidly collapses product development cycles and accelerates decision-making, the margin for getting things wrong has never been smaller. Product leaders today are navigating faster launches, heightened customer expectations, rising concerns around trust and bias, and an increasing reliance on automated intelligence, while still being accountable for outcomes, accuracy, and long-term value creation.
In this episode, Ajay Singh, Chief Product Officer at Pure Storage, joins Namita Adavi, Partner at Zinnov, for a candid conversation on what it truly takes to lead products in an AI-accelerated world, where speed is abundant, but judgment remains scarce.
Ajay brings over 25 years of experience spanning Silicon Valley startups and global enterprises, having led technology and product teams through multiple waves of disruption, from the PC era and cloud revolution to today’s AI inflection point. Drawing from his journey across Sun Microsystems, VMware, Hewlett Packard, and as a founder whose companies were acquired by BMC Software and Intuit, Ajay offers a grounded operator’s perspective on how innovation actually scales.
The conversation explores how AI is reshaping product management and customer experience, why biased outcomes often originate in data rather than models, and how product teams must move from feature-centric execution to outcome-driven design. Ajay also shares why the venture-driven startup model continues to be the most effective engine for innovation, even inside large enterprises, and why, despite all the technological change, leaders must continue to place their biggest bets on people.
This episode offers a pragmatic view of AI as an enabler, not a replacement, where success is defined not by adopting the latest tools, but by building resilient teams, trustworthy systems, and products that deliver real customer outcomes.
Tune in to hear:
Why AI is compressing product cycles, but not eliminating accountability
How product leaders can manage trust, accuracy, and bias in AI-driven systems
Why product management is shifting from features to outcomes and behavior patterns
How startup-style venture models can unlock innovation inside large enterprises
Leadership lessons on judgment, competitiveness, and building teams that win
Tune in to hear the full episode.
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