Technovation with Peter High (CIO, CTO, CDO, CXO Interviews)

What drives someone to spend decades pursuing artificial general intelligence, not for wealth, but for scientific discovery?

In this episode of Technovation, Peter High speaks with bestselling author and financial historian Sebastian Mallaby about his new book, The Infinity Machine, which chronicles the remarkable journey of DeepMind co-founder Demis Hassabis and the global race to build artificial general intelligence (AGI).

Drawing on more than 30 hours of interviews with Hassabis and conversations with over 100 colleagues, competitors, and friends, Mallaby explores the leadership philosophy, scientific ambition, and organizational decisions that shaped one of the world’s most influential AI companies.

Listeners will also hear an in-depth discussion of Google’s acquisition of DeepMind, the evolution of AI from AlphaGo to Gemini, the competitive dynamics among OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft, and Google, and what the pursuit of superintelligence means for business leaders navigating the next era of technological transformation.

Key topics include:

Why Demis Hassabis devoted his career to AGI

The founding story behind DeepMind

Google’s AI strategy and the Innovator’s Dilemma

Leadership lessons from building world-class research organizations

The opportunities of increasingly capable AI systems

Listen to discover why the future of AI may depend as much on leadership and organizational design as on technological breakthroughs.

This episode is presented by ElevenLabs — Bringing technology to life. Learn more at elevenlabs.io

Technology transformation isn’t about AI, it’s about building the foundations that make AI possible.

In this episode of Technovation, Peter High sits down with Michael Wisler, Senior Executive Vice President of Technology and Operations at M&T Bank, to explore how the bank spent nearly a decade rebuilding its engineering culture, reducing technical debt, modernizing its data foundation, and transforming technology into a strategic business capability.

Wisler explains why changing organizational beliefs came before changing technology, how M&T dramatically improved engineering productivity and resiliency, why technology and operations now belong together, and how those investments positioned the bank to scale generative AI responsibly.

Key discussion topics include:

Building a technology-first culture

Reducing technical debt and improving resiliency

Developing enterprise engineering talent

Creating technology hubs in Buffalo and Wilmington

Preparing data foundations for AI

Scaling generative AI responsibly

Integrating technology and operations

Cybersecurity and quantum readiness

Whether you’re leading digital transformation, modernizing enterprise technology, or developing an AI strategy, this conversation offers practical lessons on why long-term competitive advantage begins with strong engineering foundations.

This episode is presented by ElevenLabs — Bringing technology to life. Learn more at elevenlabs.io

The companies that define an era often appear irrational before they appear inevitable.

In this episode of Technoventure, Peter High speaks with FPV Ventures Co-Founder & Managing Partner Wesley Chan about building products at Google, founding Google Ventures, investing against consensus, and recognizing founders with 100-year visions. Wesley explains how first-principles thinking helped him identify companies such as Canva and why the most important investment question may be, “What if it goes right?”

They also explore:

Why Google prioritized speed and relevance over keeping users on its site

How Google Ventures aligned corporate capital with founder interests

What Wesley saw in Canva after 111 investors said no

Why specialized data can create more durable AI businesses

How Bill Campbell taught leaders to protect their time and energy

Why incentives frequently matter more than policies or intentions

Listen for an operator-investor’s perspective on product excellence, AI investing, organizational design, and building companies capable of outliving their founders.

Artificial intelligence isn’t the transformation, it’s the catalyst.

In this episode of Technovation, Peter High speaks with Francesco Tinto, Chief Information & Global Business Services Officer at Kimberly-Clark, about why enterprise AI success depends on far more than technology. Francesco explains how Kimberly-Clark’s Powering Care strategy combines data, AI, operating model transformation, and process redesign to drive sustainable growth across one of the world’s most recognized consumer products companies.

Together they explore how IT and Global Business Services are converging, why AI requires rethinking enterprise workflows, the importance of building trusted data foundations, and how leaders can prepare their organizations for an AI-first future.

Key topics include:

Kimberly-Clark’s Powering Care transformation strategy

Why AI must serve business strategy, not the other way around

Building enterprise data foundations for scalable AI

Predictive maintenance, demand forecasting, and supply chain optimization

Training the workforce for an AI-enabled operating model

If you’re leading technology, digital transformation, or enterprise operations, this conversation offers practical insights into scaling AI while keeping people, process, and business value at the center.

This episode is presented by ElevenLabs — Bringing technology to life. Learn more at elevenlabs.io

How can AI help farmers produce more with fewer resources?

That’s the challenge driving digital transformation at AGCO. In this episode of Technovation, Peter High speaks with Jena Holtberg-Benge, Chief Digital & Information Officer at AGCO, about how AI, precision agriculture, connected equipment, and data are reshaping modern farming.

Drawing on her unique background leading both business operations and technology, Jena explains why successful AI initiatives begin with customer problems, not technology. She discusses AGCO’s precision agriculture strategy, AI-powered dealer experiences, cybersecurity for connected machinery, data governance, and the leadership skills required to scale AI across the enterprise.

In this episode:

How AGCO uses AI to reduce costs and improve yields for farmers

Why business-first technology leadership drives better outcomes

Building AI agents that improve dealer and customer experiences

Managing data across connected agricultural equipment

Developing AI literacy and a culture of continuous learning

This episode is presented by ElevenLabs — Bringing technology to life. Learn more at elevenlabs.io