CIO &amp; CTO: A match made in nerd heaven. When CIOs and CTOs join forces, it's mostly for good. But how do these roles change when working with a startup instead of a large enterprise? And what does the evolution of AI mean for the next generation of technology?&nbsp;Eric Hexter, CTO of Aliya joins the show to chat who's the bigger nerd, CIO or CTO? The opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the participants and do not necessarily reflect the views of IBM or any other organization or entity.&nbsp;

Austin-based CTO with a decade of successful startup leadership. I've also worked as a chief architect at Fortune 500s and small businesses, covering diverse sectors from manufacturing to finance. Whether you're optimizing in-house software or seeking custom solutions, I've got you covered. I specialize in team revitalization, process enhancement, and strategic tech integration. My background includes tech book authorship, patented fintech ML solutions, and rapid adaptation to emerging tech. Profitability and efficiency drive my approach. Let's connect for honest tech insights and strategic guidance.

Eric Hexter

CTO, Aliya

CIO and CTO, a match made in nerd heaven.  How do these roles change when working with a startup instead of a large enterprise? Eric Hexter, CTO of Aliya, details what the evolution of AI means for the next generation of technology. 

CIO & CTO: A match made in nerd heaven

Your tech strategy as a force multiplier. Realizing the full potential of your organization demands healthy tech habits. Eric Wood - software engineer, former Under Armour guru, current CTO of Cordance, and hardcore weightlifter - talks with Ann about transformation strategies, customizing solutions with AI and achieving goals thanks to an athlete's mindset. 0:38 - Professional arcs and the community you build&nbsp;2:39 - Bringing the athlete mindset to work&nbsp;5:12 - Progressive overload: What athletes know about successful transformations&nbsp;9:07 - Transformations at large-scale companies vs private equity owned companies&nbsp;15:36 - AI, data and the solutions clients actually need&nbsp;24:17 - AI customizations: when to say yes and when to say no&nbsp;26:26 - Water cooler lessons and bringing your whole self to work&nbsp; The opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the participants and do not necessarily reflect the views of IBM or any other organization or entity.&nbsp;

Eric leads Cordance’s technology strategy, integrating our businesses in ways that serve as a force multiplier for both our businesses and their customers. Eric started his career as a software engineer and consultant at IBM, helping businesses small and large adopt modern security and architecture practices. From there, he moved to Under Armour, focusing on the integration of the MapMyFitness, MyFitnessPal, and Endomondo acquisitions. He led the MyFitnessPal Data and Engineering teams through the successful sale of the business to Francisco Partners. Most recently, he served as CTO at Aceable. Eric has a BS and MS in Computer Science from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. 

Eric Wood

CTO, Cordance 

Transform your tech: AI customizations, data solutions, and the mindset for progressive overload

The Transformation Venn Diagram: Strategy, Implement,&nbsp;Operate.&nbsp;When it comes to&nbsp;transformation, Shakespeare’s rule of three rings true.&nbsp;There are&nbsp;three&nbsp;parts of a transformer’s Venn&nbsp;diagram that&nbsp;seem consistent&nbsp;across technologies and industries: Strategy, implement,&nbsp;operate.&nbsp;&nbsp; In this episode of&nbsp;Transformers,&nbsp;two guests from Deloitte Consulting -&nbsp;Jag Bandla and Ayo&nbsp;Odusote&nbsp;–&nbsp;discuss&nbsp;how&nbsp;this&nbsp;synergy&nbsp;of strategy, technology&nbsp;and skills&nbsp;helps&nbsp;enterprise clients achieve business transformation goals.&nbsp;Hear&nbsp;their&nbsp;thoughts on&nbsp;the latest trends&nbsp;– from&nbsp;what’s&nbsp;new to&nbsp;what’s&nbsp;constant – and what it all means at a human level.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the participants and do not necessarily reflect the views of IBM or any other organization or entity.&nbsp;

Jagadish Bandla

Enterprise Performance CTO, Principal, Deloitte Consulting

Ayo Odusote

Principal, Deloitte Consulting

When it comes to transformation, Shakespeare’s rule of three rings true. There are three parts of a transformer’s Venn diagram that seem consistent across technologies and industries: Strategy, implement, operate. In this episode of Transformers, two guests from Deloitte Consulting - Jag Bandla and Ayo Odusote – discuss how this synergy of strategy, technology and skills helps enterprise clients achieve business transformation goals.

The transformation Venn diagram: Strategy, implement, operate

Partners, priorities and the art of the possible. A CIO is the new client zero in the technology transformation for their company. They play a part in everything from procurement and development to sales and customer service, blending business and technology expertise. Juan Perez, CIO at Salesforce, talks about this new reality, the future of work with AI agents, AI governance and risk management, and how alignment with trusted partners is crucial for making AI successful.&nbsp; The opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the participants and do not necessarily reflect the views of IBM or any other organization or entity.&nbsp;

Juan Perez is EVP and CIO at Salesforce. He is responsible for the global IT team, driving digital strategy, and the technical integration of newly acquired companies. Juan also partners closely with customers to advise on their digital transformations.

Juan joined Salesforce in 2022 from UPS where he was CIO and Engineering Officer and a member of the Executive Leadership Team. Juan was a key part of UPS’ adoption of new technologies, including AI, virtual assistants, and virtual reality solutions for driver training. He was also responsible for all technology, including operations, airline, automation, sortation, and customer and back-office systems.

Juan Perez

CIO, Salesforce

The CIO team is client zero in technology transformation. They play a part in everything from development and procurement to sales and customer service... blending business and technology expertise. Juan Perez, CIO at Salesforce, talks about this new reality, the future of work with AI agents, AI risk management, and how alignment with trusted partners is crucial for making AI successful.

Partners, priorities and the art of the possible

A CTO's 2025 wishlist. From open source for all to more eyes on AI tools to getting his parents to understand what he does for a living, Chris Aniszczyk, CTO of CNCF, shares his hopes for 2025.&nbsp; The opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the participants and do not necessarily reflect the views of IBM or any other organization or entity.&nbsp;

Chris Aniszczyk is an open source technologist with a passion for building a better world through open collaboration. He's currently a CTO at the Linux Foundation focused on developer experience and running the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF). Furthermore, he's a Partner at Capital Factory where he focuses on mentoring, advising and investing in open source and infrastructure focused startups. He has a strong passion for supporting open source founders and entrepreneurship. 
 
At Twitter, he created their open source program and led their open source efforts. For many years he served on the Eclipse Foundation's Board of Directors representing the committer community and the Java Community Process (JCP) Executive Committee. In a previous life, he bootstrapped a consulting company, made many mistakes, lead and hacked on many eclipse.org and Linux related projects. 
 
In his spare time, you'll find him doing yoga, writing, running or cycling. 

Chris Aniszczyk

CTO, CNCF

A CTO's 2025 wishlist. From open source for all to more eyes on AI tools to getting his parents to understand what he does for a living, Chris Aniszczyk, CTO of CNCF, shares his hopes for 2025. 


A CTO's wishlist for 2025

The year to get open source right. A CIO's new year's resolutions—finding the mix of open source and proprietary tech, getting the right infrastructure in place, and making sure people have the skills to use it all. In this episode, host Ann Funai, CIO and VP of Business Platforms Transformation at IBM, speaks with Marco Bill-Peter, SVP of Core Business Platforms at Red Hat.&nbsp; The opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the participants and do not necessarily reflect the views of IBM or any other organization or entity.&nbsp;

Marco Bill-Peter is Senior Vice President of Core Business Platforms (CBP) at Red Hat, with a mission to improve productivity, business outcomes and create capacity for Red Hat’s growth through the modernization of business processes & technology. 
 
CBP is responsible for the tooling around four major ecosystems – Data, Sales, Marketing, and Finance – and works closely with CEO, CRO, CFO and CMO leadership to find areas of opportunity to innovate the technology and processes that support Red Hat’s corporate strategy. 

Bill-Peter has more than 30 years of experience in the IT and support delivery fields. During his time at Red Hat, he has led both the Customer Success & Services and Customer Experience & Operations (CXnO) teams, challenging the standard industry definition of support, with a strategic focus on innovation that better serves customers and delivers more customer value. Prior to joining Red Hat, he held various support and engineering roles at Hewlett-Packard, Compaq, and Digital Equipment Corp. in the United States, Europe, and Asia. 

Marco Bill-Peter

SVP, Enterprise Transformation, Red Hat 

The year to get your open source right. Host Ann Funai talks with Marco Bill-Peter of Red Hat about finding the mix of open source and proprietary tech, getting the right infrastructure in place, and making sure people have the skills to use it all. 

The year to get open source right

What does it mean to be a CIO&nbsp;in charge of transformation? What if&nbsp;you’re&nbsp;a co-CIO? In&nbsp;this&nbsp;inaugural episode,&nbsp;host&nbsp;Ann Funai, CIO and VP of Business Platform Transformation at IBM speaks with Matt&nbsp;Lyteson, also CIO and VP of Technology Platform Transformation at IBM. Together they discuss&nbsp;some of their greatest&nbsp;challenges, where they stand on benchmarks and value realization&nbsp;in tech,&nbsp;and&nbsp;how&nbsp;their&nbsp;very different paths&nbsp;merged&nbsp;when they became&nbsp;co-CIOs.&nbsp; The opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the participants and do not necessarily reflect the views of IBM or any other organization or entity.&nbsp;

Matt Lyteson is IBM CIO and VP of Technology Platforms, and leads the transformation to AI-enabled experiences. He leads the AI-driven technology platforms that enable employee and developer productivity and experience as well as IBM’s information technology operations. He has C-suite leadership, management and IT experience overseeing digital transformation and technology operations for multinational organizations including IBM, Red Hat, and with HP Enterprise Services and Electronic Data Systems in client-facing roles. As an IT transformation expert, Matt is a seasoned business and technology executive, empowering business with technology. His expertise in supporting organizations strategically architect and deploy applications and platforms to hybrid cloud empowers businesses and delivers competitive advantage.

Matt Lyteson

CIO & VP of Technology Platform Transformation

What does it mean to be a CIO in charge of transformation? Host Ann Funai talks with Matt Lyteson about some of their greatest challenges, their IT benchmarks, value realization, and their unique paths to becoming co-CIOs.

Transformation: What's a CIO got to do with it?

Information is everywhere. For businesses, information is everything. The roles of CIOs, CTOs and other transformative leaders have evolved to impact all areas of business, from employee experience and digital labor to product development and the customer experience. Hosted by Ann Funai, CIO and VP of Business Platforms Transformation at IBM, Transformers the podcast takes you behind the scenes and screens of these transformative leaders, exploring their real-world challenges, inspiring lessons, and best practices. From personal transformations to the transformative influences around them, Ann and her guests explore what it is to be transformers. Tune in every other Wednesday at 7am EST.

CIO & CTO: A match made in nerd heaven

DESCRIPTION

Today's Host

Ann Funai

Today's Guests

Eric Hexter

Recent Episodes

CIO & CTO: A match made in nerd heaven

DESCRIPTION

Today's Host

Ann Funai

Today's Guests

Eric Hexter

Related Resources

Recent Episodes

Transform your tech: AI customizations, data solutions, and the mindset for progressive overload

The transformation Venn diagram: Strategy, implement, operate

Partners, priorities and the art of the possible

A CTO's wishlist for 2025

The year to get open source right

Transformation: What's a CIO got to do with it?