Metis Strategy

Among other topics, Neil discusses the following issues with Metis Strategy: * Singularity University and his role as co-chair of the Artificial Intelligence and Robotics track * The ways in which AI can mitigate the heuristics inherent in human cognition * How AI can be used to augment current human capability * Strategies technology executives should use to think about AI * The role the government should play in helping mitigate the potential job losses from AI * His perspectives on the dangers of artificial intelligence that have been expressed by major thought leaders * Advice on how to train workers to be prepared for the coming wave of AI * How individuals can prepare themselves for the opportunity of AI Neil Jacobstein’s Biography Neil Jacobstein is the co-chair of the Artificial Intelligence and Robotics track within Singularity University, a Silicon Valley think tank founded in 2008 at NASA’s research park in California that focuses on educational programs and “exponential technologies.” Prior to becoming co-chair of the Artificial Intelligence and Robotics track, Neil served as President of the University from October 2010 to October 2011.  He has also served as a technical consultant on AI research and development projects for DARPA, Boeing, NIST, among other organizations.  He was also CEO of Teknowledge Corporation, a pioneering AI company that worked on AI applications systems for industry and government. Neil earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Environmental Sciences from the University of Wisconsin, and his Master of Science degree in Human Ecology from the University of Texas.

Among other topics, Oren discusses the following issues with Metis Strategy: * High impact Artificial Intelligence research and engineering at the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence * Some promising future outcomes of developments within the artificial intelligence field * Why equating intelligence with autonomy is inaccurate * His perspectives on the dangers of artificial intelligence that have been expressed by major technology leaders * Job displacement and the role of government in ensuring an easier transition * Methods he uses to stay current on upcoming technology trends * The role Paul Allen plays in the day to day operations * Partner organizations and the benefits of those partnerships * The people who most influenced him to become a serial entrepreneur * The significance of Alpha Go defeating the human international champion of Go * Advice on the use of artificial intelligence for enterprises considering the use of AI Oren Etzioni’s Biography Oren is the Chief Executive Officer of the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence, a role he has had since 2014.  The mission of the Institute is “to contribute to humanity through high-impact AI research and engineering.” The goal of Oren’s research is to solve fundamental problems in AI, particularly the automatic learning of knowledge from text. Oren has been a professor at the University of Washington’s Computer Science Department since 1991, and has also been the founder or co-founder of multiple companies, including Farecast which was sold to Microsoft in 2008, and Decide, which was sold to eBay in 2013, among others. Oren received his bachelor’s degree in computer science from Harvard and his Ph.D. in computer science from Carnegie Mellon University.

Among other topics, Greg discusses the following issues with Metis Strategy: * Motorola Solutions, and his role as CIO of the organization * Items on his roadmap for the year ahead * How he engages external customers and utilize those insights to create his IT strategy * The ways in which he interacts with other CIOs at customer organizations * The processes and skills that have been necessary to shift to a “customer-first” culture within IT * The methods he used to shift IT from a support organization to becoming a strategic enabler * How he has worked to insource some previously outsourced business processes * His career path through the pharmaceutical industry to his eventual hiring at Motorola Solutions * Eye on the Trends: The Internet of Things, Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, and the Cloud Greg Meyers’ Biography Greg Meyers is the Chief Information Officer of Motorola Solutions, a $6 Billion telecommunications equipment provider that succeeded Motorola Inc. following the spin-off of Motorola’s mobile phone division. As CIO, Greg is responsible for the entire IT organization company-wide. Prior to Motorola Solutions, Greg worked in multiple technology roles within the pharmaceutical industry, including stints as the Vice President of IT at Biogen, Vice President and CIO of Novartis Consumer Health, and Director of Sales and Customer Technology at Johnson and Johnson. Greg received his Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing from Rutgers University – Camden and his MBA from Temple University.

Among other topics, Angela discusses the following issues with Metis Strategy: * The definition of “Grit” and how she had made it part of her life’s work * How passion is something that must be found and how it contributes to “Grit” * The development of the “Hard Thing Rule” and what that means * The traits of gritty people: interest, practice, purpose, and hope * Her background teaching math in NYC and how that influences her thoughts on “Grit” * Lessons for organizations that have formulated a gritty culture * How you should factor grittiness into recruiting * The Character Lab in Philadelphia that she runs, and its mission Angela Duckworth’s Biography Angela is the author of Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, a book that explains why talent is hardly a guarantor of success. Angela has found that grit—which she defines as a combination of passion and perseverance for a singularly important goal—is the hallmark of high achievers in every domain. She’s also found scientific evidence that grit can grow. In our conversation, we cover the applicability of this topic to parents and business leaders alike. Angela is also a Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania and the Founder and Scientific Director of the Character Lab, a non-profit organization in Philadelphia whose mission is to advance the science and practice of character development. Angela was a 2013 MacArthur Fellow, and delivered a popular TED talk on the subject of grit. Angela received a bachelor’s degree in Advanced Studies Neurobiology from Harvard.  She received a master’s degree in Neuroscience from Oxford University, and received a PhD in Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania.

Among other topics, Scott discusses the following issues with Metis Strategy: * The inspiration behind Wayin, his digital marketing software company * The disadvantages of locating a company in the San Francisco Bay Area * The tremendous growth of Wayin and EngageSciences * The sophistication and evolution of executives who have worked with Wayin’s offering * How Wayin uses insights and real-time campaign tweaking to change the decisions it makes * How his work at multiple times of the Internet’s growth will fuel his activities around new trends including cloud, mobile, and social * The resources he uses to remain abreast of innovation and technology * The future of the Chief Information Officer role * Eye on the Trends: Big Data, and the intersection of new and old industries Scott McNealy’s Biography Scott McNealy was one of the chief architects of the first wave of the internet, as he co-founded and served as Chief Executive Officer of Sun Microsystems from 1982 through 2006. The company was sold to Oracle in 2010. More recently, Scott co-founded and has served as CEO of Wayin, a social intelligence company that integrates social content into new experiences for consumers and delivers greater value and control for brands. Scott received his bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard University and he received an MBA from Stanford University.

Among other topics, Atticus discusses the following issues with Metis Strategy: * His journey across multiple parts of Intuit, culminating with the CIO position * Working in a technology company where all employees are tech-savvy * The advantage of being both a “consumer” and now producer of IT’s value to the organization * Methods IT has used to become “product leaders” rather than “order takers” within the organization * How he has ensured that the team understands how “customer-centric” technology is used within the organization * The skills and roles that are rising in importance within Intuit * Advice he would give to CIOs not at technology companies, as a CIO who has worked at multiple tech-centric organizations * Resources he uses to remain abreast of innovation and technology * Eye on the Trends: Data, and the shift to managed and hosted solutions Atticus Tysen’s Biography Atticus Tysen is the Chief Information Officer of Intuit Inc., a $4 billion software organization that develops financial and tax preparation software and services.  In that role, Atticus is responsible for the applications supporting the company’s HR, Finance, Marketing, Sales, and Support organizations.  Atticus has been with Intuit since 2002, holding multiple roles both within and outside IT. Prior to Intuit, Atticus was the Vice President of Engineering at Aveo Inc.  He also previously worked as a software engineering manager at Octel and Apple Computer. Atticus earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Science from Stanford University.

Among other topics, Guy discusses the following issues with Metis Strategy: * His role as President of First Data Corporation * Strategic priorities of the organization * Innovation, and how he measures whether the organization is innovating appropriately * The balance between innovation and security * How he thinks about “digital” and the evolution of digital business * How he has expanded beyond the typical “back-office” function of many CIOs to become client-facing * How he recruited the team around him, and what he looks for as an IT executive * How his experience as a CIO shapes his current relationship with First Data Corporation’s CIO * Recruiting and talent acquisition from colleges and universities * Advice he would give to other CIOs to rise beyond that position * Eye on the Trends: Cloud, Mobile, Social, Data, Security, and BlockChain Guy Chiarello’s Biography Guy Chiarello is the President of First Data Corporation, an $11 billion global payment technology solutions company that handles almost half of all US credit and debit transactions.  In that role, Guy focuses on innovation, product development and technological systems, while engaging customers and business leaders to create and enhance First Data’s market solutions. Prior to his role at First Data, Guy was the Chief Information Officer at JPMorgan Chase, where he had responsibility for technology across seven lines of business and helped drive innovation, including creation of a suite of digital banking platforms. Prior to that, he was an IT executive at Morgan Stanley. Guy received his Bachelor of Science degree in Business from the College of New Jersey.

Among other topics, Paul discusses the following issues with Metis Strategy: * His role as Chief Information Officer of Box and how he prepared for that role * The ways in which he thinks about differentiating the business of Box * How his organization operates as the first “customer” of the company’s products * How he has built his team and planned his workforce from a skills and responsibilities standpoint, as a digital-native organization * What it is like to operate in an organization where change is not only inevitable, but also viewed as a source of strength * How Box views security as it invests in other forms of security, as well as its own * Eye on the Trends: Cloud, Security, and new work styles Paul Chapman’s Biography Paul Chapman is the Chief Information Officer of Box, an online file sharing and content management service for businesses.  In that role, he is responsible for leading the company’s global IT strategy and the IT organization focused on the development and delivery of IT solutions that support the company’s growth and a more agile and productive workforce. Prior to his role at Box, Paul worked for Hewlett Packard, where he held the role of CIO of HP software.  Paul also previously worked at VMware, as the Vice President of Global Infrastructure and Cloud Operations. Paul received his Bachelor of Applied Science in Computer Science from Filton Technical College, which is now a part of South Gloucestershire and Stroud College, in the UK.

Among other topics, Greg discusses the following issues with Metis Strategy: * The great potential for artificial intelligence to positively impact humanity * Greg’s experience as CTO of stripe, and the transition from high-growth startup to mission driven non-profit * How Greg thinks about staffing, and how OpenAI’s bold mission and unique structure acts as a magnet for top talent * How AI may replace more jobs than it creates, the economic disruption it could cause, and the role of government in easing the societal shift * The risks of AI, and the pressures of AI development versus AI safety * The role investor-founders Elon Musk and Sam Altman play in OpenAI, and where Greg draws inspiration from * The trend of open sourcing AI development Greg Brockman’s Biography Greg Brockman is the co-founder and CTO at OpenAI, a non-profit artificial intelligence research company that also includes Elon Musk, Sam Altman and other Silicon Valley luminaries as co-founders. OpenAI was founded to ensure that artificial intelligence benefits humanity as a whole. Prior to OpenAI, Greg was the CTO of Stripe, a FinTech company that builds tools enabling web commerce. Greg was the fourth employee at Stripe, a company that now has a valuation of over $5 billion. Greg studied mathematics and computer science at Harvard University and computer science at MIT, though he left to work on Stripe before graduating from either institution.

Among other topics, Scott discusses the following issues with Metis Strategy: * The Artificial General Intelligence differs from Artificial Narrow Intelligence * How Vicarious is applying cognitive science to build next generation general intelligence algorithms * How AI may replace more jobs than it creates, and new economic and social constructs that could ease the societal shift * Vicarious’s decision to prioritize social good over investor returns, and why more companies should do the same * How Vicarious assembled an all-star group of investors including Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, and more * Education and if entrepreneurship can be taught in the classroom * The balance between the promise and peril of AI * World’s Fair style demonstrations of AI, including the recent AlphaGo win and Vicarious’s 2013 cracking of CAPTCHA * How Scott thinks about staffing, and how Vicarious’s bold mission acts as a magnet for top talent Scott Phoenix’s Biography Scott Phoenix is a co-founder at Vicarious, a high-profile artificial intelligence company focused on solving artificial general intelligence. Scott founded Vicarious with Dileep George in 2010. Prior to Vicarious, Scott was the Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Founders Fund, and the co-founder and CEO of touchscreen analytics company Frogmetrics (a Y Combinator company).  He also served as an executive at OnlySecure and Marching Order. His design work has been featured in 16 magazines and 3 museums, including the Institute for Contemporary Art in Philadelphia. Scott earned his BAS in Computer Science and Entrepreneurship from the University of Pennsylvania.

Among other topics, Arne discusses the following issues with Metis Strategy: * Background on GoDaddy’s business * Arne’s strategic priorities at GoDaddy for the future * International expansion and the role that IT plays in the GoDaddy’s international growth strategy * How he has built and organized his team to focus on the global cloud * Openstack and how he has focused a large amount of his efforts in that area * The launch of a social-minded intranet at GoDaddy * How he sees the role of CIO within an organization where everybody has a high level of technology expertise * Eye on the Trends: Big Data and Analytics, Security Arne Josefberg’s Biography Arne Josefsberg is the Chief Information Officer and Chief Infrastructure Officer of GoDaddy.com, the world’s largest domain registrar.  In that role, he oversees the company’s international expansion of global cloud infrastructure and information systems. Prior to joining GoDaddy, Arne held the role of Chief Technology Officer at ServiceNow, an enterprise cloud organization, where he was in charge of driving expansion of the company’s cloud strategy.  He also previously worked at Microsoft for 26 years, eventually rising to the role of General Manager of Window’s Azure Infrastructure, Microsoft’s cloud computing platform. Arne received his Master of Science Degree in Physics from the Lund Institute of Technology in Sweden.

Among other topics, Anne discusses the following issues with Metis Strategy: * Her role as the CIO of Harvard University * The strategic plans and future priorities of the IT organization * The IT Academy and how she builds new skills for her staff * How the IT Academy is administered, and how it functions * The toolkit of every IT professional and how she determines what skills are necessary within IT teams * Her history with massive open online courses (MOOCs) including edX and HarvardX * Eye on the Trends: The Internet of Things, Online Learning Anne Margulies’ Biography Anne Margulies is the University Chief Information Officer at Harvard.  In that role, she is responsible for technology plans, policies, and services that support the University’s mission of teaching, learning, and research. In addition to her institution-wide technology planning and coordination role, Anne directly oversees Harvard University Information Technology (HUIT), which provides IT services to 30,000 educators, students, and staff. Prior to her role at Harvard, Anne was Assistant Secretary for Information Technology and CIO for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Anne has also held additional roles in the online learning community, including as the founding Executive Director of MIT OpenCourseWare, and as the founding Chair of the OCWConsortium, an international organization comprising 300 universities around the world working together to share educational materials.

Among other topics, Kevin discusses the following issues with Metis Strategy: * How he thinks about the experience for both the car buyer and the dealership * His role as CTO and Vice President of Technology * The way he collaborates with other areas of the organization * How he gauges success amongst the customers of his organization * The growth of mobility as a channel and how that has evolved the customer experience * His strategic planning process * How he works to understand emerging technology trends * The move from Waterfall to Agile development * Common elements from the multiple companies where he has worked within IT departments * How he has gone about shaping and instilling the culture of the organizations he has worked in * Eye on the Trends: Mobile, Autonomous vehicles, and the Big Data space Kevin Steele’s Biography Kevin is the Chief Technology Officer of Cars.com.  In that role, Kevin is responsible for all technology areas, including IT architecture, product development, and leading the strategic technology direction of the organization. Prior to joining Cars.com, Kevin was the Director of Internet Marketing Technology at Allstate Insurance.  He has also held posts in technology at other organizations including Unites Airlines, McDonalds Corp, and CNA Insurance. Kevin received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Applied Technical Studies from Southern Illinois University.

Among other topics, Marcy discusses the following issues with Metis Strategy: * Her experience transitioning into the role of CIO of Ford * Strategic priorities for the past several years * How she has modified her strategic plans to encompass technology simplification * Innovation, and IT’s role in shaping the driver experience * The One Ford strategic business plan of the organization * Women in Technology and how she encourages other women to join the ranks of technology * The talent factory within Ford, and how its many alumni, including multiple Fortune 500 CIOs have been so successful * Her favorite vehicles, and the future of driverless technology in automobiles * How IT is able, as customers of the company, to provide feedback about its products Marcy Klevorn’s Biography Marcy Klevorn is the Chief Information Officer at Ford Motor Company.  Marcy has been with Ford for more than 32 years, and rose to the CIO post in January of 2015.  In that role, Marcy oversees IT services for Ford’s global operations. Marcy started at the organization in telecommunications. Prior to her ascension to the CIO post, she previously held roles as the director of the office of the CIO, and was also CIO of Ford’s European operation. Marcy earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan – Stephen M. Ross School of Business.

Among other topics, Kim discusses the following issues with Metis Strategy: * Her priorities for the next year, including Big Data and Analytics * Methods she is using to communicate and create cultural change across the organization * The IT Annual Plan, how it was been honed, and its wide distribution * IT’s role in bringing innovation to the business units * Security and how she balances risk taking with risk mitigation * Her membership on the board of Cloudera and how she began the process of board membership * What she has brought back to her job from her board memberships * Transparency in operations and how she approaches social media in that way * The state of women in technology and how she advocates for continuing progress Kim Stevenson’s Biography Kim Stevenson is the Chief Information Officer of Intel, a $55 billion technology company that designs and manufactures digital technology platforms. Kim leads the more than 6,000 worldwide IT employees to drive competitive advantages and provide IT solutions. Prior to joining Intel, Kim spent seven years at the former EDS (now HP enterprise services), in a variety of positions including vice president of Worldwide Communications, Media and Entertainment (CM&E) Industry Practice, and vice president of Enterprise Service Management where she oversaw the global development and delivery of enterprise services. Before joining EDS, Kim spent 18 years at IBM in several executive positions including vice president of Marketing and Operations of the eServer iSeries division. Kim currently serves on the Board of Directors of Cloudera and Boston Private Financial Holdings, Inc. Kim has a bachelor’s degree from Northeastern University. She also has an MBA from Cornell University, Johnson School of Management, where she is currently a member of the Advisory Board.