Enterprise AI Innovators

On the 13th episode of Enterprise Software Innovators, hosts Evan Reiser (Abnormal Security) and Saam Motamedi (Greylock Partners) talk with Bashir Agboola, Chief Technology Officer at Hospital for Special Surgery. HSS is one of the preeminent medical institutions in the world, specializing in orthopedics and providing care to patients from over 100 different countries. Today, Bashir shares his perspective on digital transformation, the exciting technologies HSS is deploying to improve patient outcomes, and insights into upcoming step changes in the healthcare industry.
Quick hits from Bashir:

On HSS utilizing 3D printing: “We have the first in-hospital 3D printing of joints. This was a project we did in collaboration with a European company to set up an FDA regulated facility at the hospital to print the joints for acute procedures. So for things like that of course you might think, ‘3D printing, is that digital?’ Of course...it's all along the line of digital transformation. The modern total knee replacement was developed at HSS close to 50 years ago. So being able to do 3D printing of implants for those acute situations is just in line with that tradition of groundbreaking innovation.”
On HSS accelerating its digital transformation during COVID-19: “We went from an organization that as of 2019 probably had less than 1% of our workforce working remotely to within March of 2020, a third of the organization was working from home, so we had to enable that technology. For me and other infrastructure and operations leaders in healthcare it was ‘finally, yes. This is what we've been saying all along, we need to focus on digital workplace transformation...’[For perspective], in all of 2019 we had less than 1500 telehealth sessions. 12 months later, we had over 123,000 telehealth sessions.”
On the future of healthcare delivery: “The future of healthcare has us consuming care virtually more and in ambulatory settings whether it's in-home or in a clinical setting. To put things in perspective, for the first 150 years of HSS, we did surgery at the hospital. In the last five years, we've opened a number of ambulatory surgical care centers where you go in, you get that meniscus tear repaired and you go back home. You don't have to stay in a hospital setting.”
On blockchain’s use cases for healthcare: “People have also talked about tackling the problems of counterfeit therapeutics, which is a big problem, particularly in the developing world. There are counterfeit drugs in pharmacies all over Africa and other parts of the world. Leveraging the blockchain to track the provenance of that drug or any other thing for which you want to track the provenance, the decentralized nature of the blockchain can allow us to do that.”
Recent Book Recommendation: The First 90 Days by Michael D. Watkins
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Find more great lessons from tech leaders and enterprise software experts at enterprisesoftware.blog.
Enterprise Software Innovators is produced by Josh Meer, Luke Reiser

On the 12th episode of Enterprise Software Innovators, hosts Evan Reiser (Abnormal Security) and Saam Motamedi (Greylock Partners) talk with Bijoy Sagar, Chief Information Technology and Digital Transformation Officer at Bayer. As one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, Bayer positively impacts billions of people through technology innovations across healthcare, agriculture, and biotech. Today, Bijoy shares how Bayer is deploying digital farming practices, his perspective on AI, and the best methodologies for partnering with startups.

Quick hits from Bijoy:

On Bayer deploying drones to optimize farming practices: “We have drones over 73 million acres where we're collecting data real time on the field. We have satellite data coming in. We actually acquired a company to get the data so you can actually predict how much soil moisture is there in one square meter of the land. And then you can actually use algorithms to predict how much seed you plant there and how much do you water? What kind of resources do you need there so that you can actually grow, get the best outcome for the farmers in the most sustainable way? This may not be the most critical digital topic somebody would think about until you think about the fact that this is the food you're eating every day.”
On building mission-driven teams: “​​You have to have everybody be mission driven. We spend a lot of time purposefully looking at ‘how do we build the teams together, how do we actually get them to be mission focused?’ I don't start a single presentation without first referencing our mission and purpose, ‘Health for All, Hunger for None.’ I always remind them you are here every single day because there is a patient at the end of the journey, there's a farmer at the end of the journey...You cannot go solve problems of tomorrow with the tools of yesterday.”
On the technology frontiers of the future: “The best is yet to come. And what do I mean by that? Some of the really complex pharmaceutical problems such as protein folding would require a 1000 qubit computer right now. We are playing with 40 qubit, so it's gonna be amazing but we're not there yet. So I don't want people to sort of feel like yeah, this is the pinnacle of digital; I don't believe that. I think we will look back six years from now and say my God, those were primitive days!
On step changes coming to medicine: “With better models with stronger AI, [in the future, we will have] the ability to do protein folding and visualizations. We should be able to treat Parkinson's disease and cure it. I'm happy to predict and we'll see if I'm true or not in 10 years that Parkinson's will be a curable disease, not even necessarily a manageable disease.”
On the framework for engaging with startups: “Look for non weaknesses in the way of solving a problem. I always tell people, if band aid and bailing wire is the cheapest, best, most reliable way to solve a problem, that's fine because there is a role for a band aid and bailing wire, otherwise we wouldn't be making those things, right? So I wouldn't look for a startup to invent a problem to solve. As you say, if you only have a hammer, then every problem looks like a nail.”

Recent book recommendation: Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari
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Like what you hear? Leave us a review and subscribe to the show on Apple, Google, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Find more great lessons from tech leaders and enterprise software experts at enterprisesoftware.blog.
Enterprise Software Innovators is produced by Josh Meer and Luke Reiser

On the fifth episode of Enterprise Software Innovators, hosts Evan Reiser (Abnormal Security) and Saam Motamedi (Greylock Partners) talk with Anuj Dhanda, CIO of Albertsons Companies. As the second largest supermarket chain in the United States, Albertsons is responsible for helping feed much of the country. Anuj discusses the challenges Albertsons faced in the wake of the pandemic, the various next-generation technologies being used to drive the future of grocery, and the thought process behind when Albertsons partners with startups.
Quick hits from Anuj:
On Albertsons deploying machine learning: “Every aspect of how we run our business has an implication [that] machine learning could improve. [Beyond] demand forecasting and replenishment, [how about] when we think about how we staff our stores, the slot management for e-commerce...How do we fulfill those slots? How do we better predict the specific needs of the customer and to be able to match the offers to them? We think there is a big opportunity as we mature both the machine learning as well as a higher level of base automation in the system.”
On being more customer centric and agile: “From an e-commerce perspective, pre-COVID grocery was lagging other industries. And that has certainly increased at a very fast clip...Our view is that customers will decide what works best for them. Some people like to buy their produce in the store and love the theater of looking at the produce...Some people say, ‘hey, if someone can deliver it, that's great for me.’ Some will do different combinations. Our intent through all this is to be able to meet the customer when she's ready and in a way that she wants to shop...And what we find is that even customers who shop online, many of them go to the store, too. If you give the optionality to the customer, we can personalize this experience in a way that works for her, that would be the winning strategy for the customer and us.”
On working with startups: “If you talked to me five years ago, I would have said we generally tend to work with industrial strength companies because we have big [scaling needs. And I have fundamentally changed that [perspective]...because with the cloud, scalability for a small company is not an issue...That has democratized how we access [and partner with] startups.”
Recent book recommendation: Benjamin Franklin: An American Life by Walter Isaacson
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Like what you hear? Leave us a review and subscribe to the show on Apple, Google, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Enterprise Software Innovators is a show where top tech executives share how they innovate at scale. Each episode covers unique insights and stories that will help you succeed as a technology leader. Find more great lessons from tech leaders and enterprise software experts at https://www.enterprisesoftware.blog/
Enterprise Software Innovators is produced by Luke Reiser, Josh Meer and Emily Shaw.

On the third episode of Enterprise Software Innovators, hosts Evan Reiser (Abnormal Security) and Saam Motamedi (Greylock Partners) talk with Jay Dominick, CIO at Princeton University. Princeton University is a unique organization with 8000 students, over 7000 employees, its own power plant and own police force; in short, ample opportunities for deploying impactful technological innovations at scale. Evan and Saam speak with Jay about balancing risk and reward, the benefits Princeton attains from collaborating with startups, navigating COVID-19, and the best practices for balancing various stakeholders’ technology needs at universities.
Quick hits from Jay:
On managing risk during COVID-19: “What we were facing was an existential crisis... the risk mitigation switched into failure mitigation. We had to take risks to avoid failure.... People tend to be risk averse, but really they should focus on being failure adverse...We had to change a lot of rules...around work at home or around what students could be considered to do with respect to technology in their studies.”
On the benefits of working with startups: “One of the reasons we work with startups is to give our organization the opportunity to see when people are just thinking differently...engagement with the innovator's mind keeps us healthy.”
On how to nurture innovation: “...for CIOs, if you're encouraging innovation from within, you have to figure out how to align your own success and interests with the innovator's success and interests.”
Recent book recommendation: Caste by Isabel Wickerson
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Like what you hear? Leave us a review and subscribe to the show on Apple, Google, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Enterprise Software Innovators is a show where top tech executives share how they innovate at scale. Each episode covers unique insights and stories that will help you succeed as a technology leader. Find more great lessons from tech leaders and enterprise software experts at https://www.enterprisesoftware.blog/
Enterprise Software Innovators is produced by Luke Reiser, Josh Meer and Emily Shaw.

On the sixth episode of Enterprise Software Innovators, hosts Evan Reiser (Abnormal Security) and Saam Motamedi (Greylock Partners) talk with Ravi Malick, Global CIO at Box. Ravi’s career has taken him from investment banking and consulting to the energy industry, where he spent nearly 4 years as the SVP and CIO of Vistra Energy before landing at Box. Evan and Saam speak with Ravi about the most defining moments of his career, the operational differences of startups vs. Fortune 500 companies and how they can work together, the best ways larger companies can leverage startup-driven technology, and the roles of CIOs within executive teams.

Quick hits from Ravi:

On finding the balance of innovating while maintaining a solid foundation: “Your ability to change is determined by the business’s ability to absorb it and how much can you push the envelope a little bit without breaking things”
On recognizing the correlation of company size and operational speed: “I went from being in a speed boat to a tanker”
On prioritizing the importance of experimentation within organizations: "You have to constantly experiment. If every day you’re worrying about the current project, and the current issues, you're going to miss the opportunity...I always felt that if you use technology effectively, [the company could] jump four or five steps ahead."

Recent book recommendation: Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt by Michael Lewis
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Like what you hear? Leave us a review and subscribe to the show on Apple, Google, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Enterprise Software Innovators is a show where top tech executives share how they innovate at scale. Each episode covers unique insights and stories that will help you succeed as a technology leader. Find more great lessons from tech leaders and enterprise software experts at https://www.enterprisesoftware.blog/
Enterprise Software Innovators is produced by Luke Reiser, Josh Meer and Emily Shaw.