Host Chet Kapoor shares his favorite moments and learnings from Season 4 of Inspired Execution. Thanks for listening!

Hussein Mehanna, Head of AI and ML at Cruise, is helping build the future of transportation with the world&rsquo;s first self-driving cars. In this podcast episode, we discuss how to build an AI-native company, where robotics fits into the machine learning ecosystem, the future of autonomous vehicles, and much more!

Today, we hear from the Co-Founder and CEO of the World Justice Project. Bill dominated in his field as a lead lawyer for Microsoft for almost 25 years before serving as Managing Partner for the San Francisco Giants. Now, he runs his own company with the mission to promote the rule of law throughout the world. Tune in to hear Bill&rsquo;s nuggets of wisdom and lessons in fair play from business to baseball.

Today, we are joined by Sagnik Nandy, CTO and President of Technology at Okta, the world&rsquo;s #1 identity platform. After spending fifteen years at Google, Sagnik transitioned to Okta and turned his focus to identity management and keeping us all safe in the digital world. He joins the show to talk about what it takes to build scalable products, how to stay grounded in high-stress situations, and much more!

Today, we are joined by one of the brightest minds in marketing, Raja Rajamannar. He is the CMO &amp; CCO of Mastercard, as well as President of their Healthcare Business. For more than 30 years, Raja has influenced large enterprises across the globe with brands like Unilever, Citi, and now Mastercard. You can read all about his fresh perspective on the future of marketing in his WSJ bestseller, Quantum Marketing. In today&rsquo;s episode, we talk about how Raja went from a degree in chemical engineering to being named one of the world&rsquo;s most influential CMOs, how it takes a team of Leonardo da Vincis to build a marketing machine, and so much more.

Jennifer Edwards is a founder, author, and professional coach whose recently published book&mdash;Bridge the Gap&mdash;is named by Forbes as a must-read business book in 2022. She discusses tips for overcoming Zoom fatigue and forming connections in our digital world, the importance of listening to understand, and so much more.

Today, we are joined by Kelly Battles, a seasoned CFO and board member for many enterprises at the forefront of innovation. From an education at Princeton and Harvard to changing the world one board seat at a time, Kelly knows what it takes to lead teams and scale businesses. Tune in to hear her practical and tactical advice for finding work-life balance, knowing when to take risks vs. opt out, and much more.

Today we hear from Elizabeth Hunter, Former SVP of Technology at T-Mobile and advocate for diversity and inclusion. A Vogue hopeful turned telecom expert, Elizabeth shares how success doesn&rsquo;t always come from climbing only one ladder, tips for creating a culture of belonging, and how to tap into your resilience through periods of change.

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Today, we hear from Anna Claiborne and Dave Ward of PacketFabric. Anna co-founded the company in 2015 and currently serves as CTO and CPO. Dave joined PacketFabric as CEO in 2020. Listen as they discuss why a business is only as strong as its network, how to trust yourself through your journey, and lots more!
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Today, we hear from HackerOne CEO Marten Mickos, who is on a mission to create a safer internet. From his humble beginnings in Finland to his meteoric rise in the U.S., Marten offers advice for aspiring leaders and how to embrace pain and suffering in order to grow. We also learn about technical physics and the importance of security and privacy in the new digital civilization.

Today, we hear from Guy Kawasaki, ​​Chief Evangelist of Canva and a venture capitalist whose investments are known for turning everything into gold. He is also a New York Times bestselling author and the host of his own podcast, Remarkable People. Guy discusses the difference between sales and evangelism, why it&rsquo;s important to learn the art of handling rejection, and the one thing entrepreneurs should never lose sight of.&nbsp;

Listen to the Inspired Execution Podcast Trailer.

Inspired Execution host Chet Kapoor recaps Season 3, focusing on themes and key takeaways from each episode.

Alana Mayo is the President of Orion Pictures, a division of MGM that's dedicated to underrepresented voices and authentic storytelling in film. For as long as she can remember, Alana has always loved engaging with narrative storytelling. Even as a child, she came up with plays based on the American Girl dolls for her friends to perform. Now, Alana has overseen award-winning films like The Big Short, Selma, and many others. In this episode, she discusses the importance of active listening and vulnerability, how taking a break helped her find clarity on her career journey, advice for recognizing our unconscious biases, and how the film industry is evolving.

Dilip Venkatachari, CIO at U.S. Bank, is a technology executive, entrepreneur, and board member. He has a diverse set of experiences, from starting two companies of his own to leading at large enterprises like Goldman Sachs and McKinsey. In this episode, Dilip shares how focusing on people and purpose has helped him navigate many different roles, how the meaning of customer-centricity evolves as a company scales, how simplification helps with execution, and the power of persuasion.

Jim Baum is a technology executive with over thirty years of experience. From starting his first business called Mr. Tree to &ldquo;growing up&rdquo; at Parametric Technology to taking Netezza through IPO, Jim is a master at executing thoughtfully with speed. Today he shares the steps to building a successful team, the biggest mistake companies make with regards to execution, why the best leaders are "uncoachable," and how he turned his weakness into a superpower.

Aashima Gupta is the Director of Healthcare Solutions at Google Cloud. She started out as a programmer in the finance industry and later found her calling in healthcare at Kaiser Permanente. Today, Aashima shares how Google Cloud is helping providers meet their patients with the right information at the right time, the importance of taking an outside-in approach when you're building products, how to focus on impact versus activities, and the difference between a mentor and a sponsor.

Joining the podcast today is Abhay Parasnis, CTO and CPO at Adobe. The common thread throughout his impressive career is a deep passion for technology, products, and building new things. Abhay shares why career journeys are not a straight line, how Adobe is helping enable self-expression for all, three lessons learned from becoming a cloud company, and the exciting future of AI.

For the first time ever on IEP, we are featuring two guests in one episode! Anand Deshpande is the Founder, Chairman, &amp; Managing Director of Persistent Systems, a 30+ year organization focused on ​digital engineering and enterprise modernization. He also runs a nonprofit that helps entrepreneurs find success. Sandeep Kalra is Persistent’s CEO &amp; Executive Director and has grown the company impressively through the pandemic. Tune in to learn about the three things entrepreneurs need to succeed, how to leverage your data for decision-making, and what it takes to build a culture of transformation.

Alex Hood, CPO of Asana, has been intrigued by consumer behavior since starting his career in the stock market. He shares how this interest led him to adopt human-centered design as a product-building methodology and how he leans on it at Asana for scale. Alex also discusses why disruption is freeing, how he stays productive, the key ingredients needed to change user behavior, how clarity drives innovation, and more.

Chet Kapoor kicks off the newest season of Inspired Execution with an introduction to his Inspired Leadership Principles, which will help guide the conversations with our awesome guests. Follow along with Season 3 and use the insights from each episode to build your own playbook for success.

Another season of Inspired Execution is in the books! After 11 phenomenal conversations, DataStax Chairman and CEO Chet Kapoor wraps up season two with the top takeaways and lessons learned. This episode highlights the greatest moments from: Cisco, Wells Fargo, DBS Group, PayPal, Macquarie Group, Goldman Sachs, iHeartMedia, Wiley, Verizon, and Microsoft. Stay tuned for season three!

Charlotte Yarkoni, COO of Cloud and AI at Microsoft, started her career as an engineer and grew to a variety of leadership roles at companies like AT&amp;T, VMware and EMC.&nbsp;Today, she shares how she's facilitating the customer journey across multiple products at Microsoft, the role diversity and inclusion play in creating thriving communities, and what horseback riding has taught her about leadership.

Jeetu Patel, SVP and General Manager of Cisco's Security and Collaboration Division,&nbsp;walks us through building and delivering&nbsp;a&nbsp;multi-product platform. He also discusses&nbsp;how to stay energized throughout the week,&nbsp;his vision for the future of work, and the power of compounding value.

Greg Sly, SVP of Platforms and Infrastructure at Verizon, has nearly three decades of experience driving innovation and operational efficiencies for organizations. In this episode, he talks about maintaining employee morale during times of change, delivering an experience the customer wants and learning how to listen to others. Greg also shares&nbsp;what he's currently reading and which three people he'd invite to a dinner party.

Aref Matin, EVP and CTO at Wiley, explains how the company is leveraging AI and ML to transform the education experience for students and teachers. He also talks about patience, failure, and the Winston Churchill quotes that inspire him.

Steve Mills, Global CIO at iHeartMedia,&nbsp;discusses the importance of cross-collaboration, how software helps broaden employees’ bandwidth for creativity, and why you should build a strong network early in your career. He also reveals the key element that all the best podcasts have in common.

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Hari Moorthy, Global Head of Transaction Banking at Goldman Sachs, explains how he’s utilizing data and technology to reimagine a traditional industry. Leading with vision and conviction, he built a 350-person team in just 18 months. Hari also shares excerpts from a letter he wrote to his younger self.&nbsp;

Luis Uguina, Chief Digital Officer of Macquarie, shares how his passion for digital technology and delivering the customer experience have shaped his 25-year-long journey in banking. He talks us through his approach to digital transformation and explains why “data is the new plutonium.”

Sri Shivananda, EVP and CTO of PayPal, discusses how having a shared purpose leads to aligned execution across teams. He talks about the three things that help bridge the skills gap, and urges us to always seek new knowledge.
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Piyush Gupta, CEO of DBS Group, shares how he has led DBS to be named one of the top 10 global companies leading strategic transformations in the last decade. He gives advice on how to create a culture of change and underlines the importance of managing what you measure.

Ravi Radhakrishnan, CIO of Commercial Banking and Corporate &amp; Investment Banking at Wells Fargo, takes us on his journey to holding leadership positions at two of the largest banks in the world. He shares his top tips for balancing scale and speed, and discusses how AI is addressing some of the biggest financial challenges of the future.

Jacqueline Guichelaar, Group CIO at Cisco, shares her inspiring story—from being born in Uruguay to living all over the world. She teaches us how to cultivate diverse teams, put customer experience at the forefront of product strategy, and – most notably – to be courageous leaders.

Leaders from global enterprises join DataStax Chairman &amp; CEO Chet Kapoor to discuss how they inspire teams and scale massive businesses. Conversation themes surrounding customers, culture, speed, and education bring fresh perspectives.

That's a wrap! After 12 phenomenal conversations, DataStax Chairman and CEO Chet Kapoor wraps up season one with the top takeaways and lessons learned. The season finale includes the greatest moments from: NetApp, Burberry, Barclays, Pearson, Udacity, AT&amp;T Business, Nordstrom, Jackson Financial, T-Mobile, Banco Santander, Home Depot, and FedEx. We're just getting started... So stay tuned for season two in 2021!

NetApp SVP and General Manager Kim Stevenson shares her career journey through major tech shifts and the birth of new industry sectors. She gives us her best career advice, tips on how to be a change-agent, and underscores the importance of Diversity &amp; Inclusion.

Burberry Global CIO Mark McClennon shares his passion for getting a versatile perspective on consumers, the importance of using data to drive insights, and - most importantly - in our fast-paced world, to always be sure to stop and smell the roses.&nbsp;

Ashok Vaswani shares his global experience working at the largest financial institutions, including Barclays and Citigroup. Tune-in to hear about his global journey and advice on the importance of the customer journey and how to be a successful banker in the digital age.

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Albert Hitcock, Pearson CTO and COO, shares how COVID has not impacted Pearson strategy, but has accelerated higher expectations from the digital consumer. He shares his journey and advocates that we should be bold, question everything, and be forward in all that we do.

Learn why Udacity (Founder &amp; Executive Chairman) and Kitty Hawk (CEO) Sebastian Thrun believes job skill training and education needs to be a basic human right in every country, and how AI will help us get there.

Be a lifelong learner and always believe in yourself, be self-aware, and work hard, says Sorabh&nbsp;Saxena, EVP of&nbsp;Customer Service &amp; Operations at AT&amp;T Business. Listen in to learn why he says adversity and pressure can be great motivators.

Edmond Mesrobian, CTO of Nordstrom, tells us the majority of computer science has been solved, the problem has just been regurgitated and reformulated. Learn about the challenges of being a change agent, and how to get embedded in the culture before embarking on the change.

Jackson CIO Dev Ganguly teaches us how the power of connection, the 10,000-hour rule, and the pace of change encourage us to have an outside-in perspective.

T-Mobile EVP and CIO Cody Sanford makes it clear that customers and employees on the front lines should always be at the center. You&rsquo;ll hear Cody say it&rsquo;s not about the technology, but rather about the teams that come together to leverage it.

Hear from Banco Santander’s Chief Platform Officer Aiaz Kazi on moving from traditional on-premise to a cloud-native, mobile-first, and AI-enabled platform in today's modern world.

Home Depot SVP of Information Technology, Fahim Siddiqui tells us how to work in an agile manner while leading with fundamental grounding in terms of people, process, and technologies. Fahim shares the importance of velocity in decision making, at a time when Home Depot is seeing 'Black Friday' volumes every day.

Rob Carter shares his experience as CIO of the world’s leading logistics provider, FedEx, and explains why he believes technology is the 'digital nervous system' of a company.

The Inspired Execution podcast series is introduced by DataStax Chairman and CEO Chet Kapoor. In addition to sharing the inspiration behind 'Inspired Execution,' Chet tells us what listeners can expect from interviews with CIOs and tech leaders from the world's top enterprises.

Hosted by DataStax Chairman and CEO Chet Kapoor, Inspired Execution is a Q&A-style podcast series featuring technology leaders from global enterprises. Each episode will follow a leader on their journey to scaling a multi-billion dollar business while inspiring and energizing their teams. You will hear their stories, their unique perspectives, the advice they’d tell their younger selves and much more.

As technology leaders work to power modern data apps with simplicity and true cloud economics (at scale), Inspired Execution focuses on how to spark transformation, overcome challenges and celebrate innovation.

Build and scale cloud native apps

Discover the benefits of DBaaS and why your apps deserve an upgrade.

Learn about NoSQL Databases

Learn about NoSQL databases with Apache Cassandra and Astra DB.

2022 Recap: A Year for Customers, Community, and Real-Time Data

Highlights from 2022 and a glimpse into the year ahead.

A Podcast Series With

S4 E11
Chet Kapoor, Chairman and CEO of DataStax

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Previous Episodes

Guests Bios

Hussein Mehanna

Raja Rajamannar

Jennifer Edwards

Sagnik Nandy