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

AI is reshaping every stage of pharmaceutical distribution, but only if the organization is built to absorb it.

In this episode of Technovation, Peter High speaks with Pawan Verma, Executive Vice President and Chief Data and Information Officer at Cencora, about leading technology and data strategy at one of the world’s largest healthcare companies ($320B+ in revenue, 5 million pharmaceuticals moving through its network daily).

Verma joined Cencora in 2024 after serving as Global CIO at MetLife, with earlier leadership at Foot Locker, Target, and Verizon, a cross-industry arc that shapes how he thinks about patient access, workforce transformation, and what AI can and cannot replace in leadership.

Key Highlights:

Why “centered-out” change management outperforms both top-down mandates and bottoms-up experimentation

How Cencora evaluates AI investments against a four-bucket prioritization model, including long-term sustaining value

Where AI is shortening the pharmaceutical chain: virtual clinical cohorts, faster drug discovery, and real-time inventory optimization

Why pharmaceutical supply chains demand a different standard of precision than conventional logistics

What AI cannot replace: the ability to unlearn, reframe on new emotional data, and hold authentic human connection

This episode is sponsored by Tines. This episode is presented by Tines: Freedom to build. Complete security. No compromises. Learn more at tines.io

A digital-only bank can’t afford to retrofit security. Ally Financial builds it in from the start.

In this episode of Technovation, Peter High speaks with Spencer Cremers, Chief Information Security Officer at Ally Financial, about designing security and resiliency into cloud infrastructure by default — and what that requires organizationally.

Cremers spent 20+ years at Ally progressing through divisional CIO and engineering roles before becoming CISO, including a stretch as interim Chief Information and Data Officer. That delivery background shapes how he positions security: not as a gatekeeper handing down requirements late in the cycle, but as a design partner embedded from the start.

Key Highlights:

Why Ally’s cloud environment uses templatized resiliency patterns so application teams inherit security standards automatically

How a three-bucket framework separates AI-in-defenses, AI-enabled external threats, and governing Ally’s own AI use

What Cremers learned running a three-day, CEO-involved crisis simulation with concurrent threat vectors

Why a CISO with a delivery background can dismantle the adversarial dynamic between security and engineering

How Cremers managed the interim CIDO role without putting the organization into a holding pattern

This episode is sponsored by Tines. Freedom to build. Complete security. No compromises. Learn more at tines.io

 

What separates a great founder from a great company? For XYZ Venture Capital Founder and Managing Partner Ross Fubini, execution is only part of the equation. The company also needs to find its “wave.”

In this episode of Technoventure, Fubini joins Peter High to unpack the investment philosophy behind XYZ’s bets on founder networks, defense technology, and AI. Drawing on his experience as an engineer, entrepreneur, executive coach, and investor, he explores:

Why XYZ built an early thesis around the Palantir talent network

What Fubini saw in Anduril before other investors embraced defense technology

Why exceptional execution still needs a market “wave”

How AI changes software development, defensibility, and venture investing

Why forward-deployed engineers are becoming increasingly important

Fubini also shares how he personally uses AI to research, challenge investment theses, and sharpen his thinking.

In this episode of Technovation, Nationwide CTO Michael Carrel joins Peter High to discuss how the company is building an AI-ready workforce while modernizing technology across its insurance and financial services businesses. Carrel explains why Nationwide made everyday AI available to associates across the company and paired access with future-ready learning sprints, manager certifications, and role-specific skill development.

He also shares how Nationwide is applying generative and agentic AI across underwriting, claims, software engineering, and other domains while maintaining disciplined governance, trusted data, and human judgment.

This episode is presented by Tines — Freedom to build. Complete security. No compromises. Learn more at tines.io

What happens when AI moves beyond generating content and starts autonomously optimizing the physical world?

In this episode of Technovation, Peter High speaks with Riaz Raihan, Senior Vice President and Chief Digital Officer of Trane Technologies, about how the company is applying AI, connected equipment, and massive volumes of IoT data to make buildings more autonomous and energy efficient.

Riaz explains how BrainBox AI acts as an “autopilot” for complex HVAC systems, continuously making small adjustments to optimize energy use without sacrificing comfort. He also discusses Trane Technologies’ three-pillar AI strategy, responsible data use and cybersecurity, and a future in which smart, resilient buildings coordinate energy consumption, storage, and generation autonomously.

 

This episode is presented by Tines — Freedom to build. Complete security. No compromises. Learn more at tines.io