Digital transformation is a critical component of corporate strategy. Technology executives that get it right can lead their firms into the future. Those that don't, risk losing investor confidence and, ultimately, market irrelevance.
CNBC recently held its first Technology Executive Council Summit in New York City on Oct. 29, 2019. CEOs, chief information officers, chief technology officers, chief transformation officers and chief innovation officers were among the speakers.
Watch the full sessions below to discover how these technology leaders are thinking about the rapid advances taking place today in areas such as cloud computing, data analytics and consumer experience and how they are positioning their organizations for success.
The Google, Facebook 'fallacy'
Palo Alto Networks' CEO Nikesh Arora is known these days for not only running a major cloud computing company but as the former SoftBank executive who disagreed with the WeWork investment. Arora spoke to CNBC's Jon Fortt about how the tremendous success of Google and Facebook has led to an era of questionable investments in founder-led start-ups.
Breaking views on internet privacy
Facebook's former privacy chief and first general counsel Chris Kelly faced off against privacy hawks from DuckDuckGo and Mozilla over the future of the internet. "This is not the internet we want," says Alan Davidson, v.p. of global policy, trust and security at Mozilla. But Kelly thinks banning internet data practices would be going too far.
Featuring:
- Alan Davidson, Mozilla, Vice President Global Policy, Trust & Security
- Megan Gray, DuckDuckGo, General Counsel & Policy Advocate
- Chris Kelly, Former Facebook, Chief Privacy Officer & First General Counsel
- Ylan Mui, CNBC
Thoughts on the future of A.I.
Everyone talks about AI, but it remains hard to define. But it will be transformative, says Andrew Ng, CEO of Landing AI and co-founder of education tech company Coursera. Companies must tread carefully, especially in areas like facial recognition. Ng tells CNBC.com tech editor Steve Kovach how many laws were written for the pre-AI era, and in sectors like finance and health care, where AI can lead to better outcomes, a regulatory rethink is needed to enable the technology to come to market faster.
Reviewing an Amazon success
Dan Lewis, Convoy CEO and co-founder, watched firsthand during the early days at Amazon when the online giant was building its customer reviews and ratings platform. Success came, but so did a big lesson about being too focused on one solution that now informs every team effort at Convoy, the trucking logistics company Lewis went on to found.
360-degree consumer experience
J. Crew's chief information, deputy transformation officer and TEC member Michelle Garvey has a bone to pick about shopping online, and it's as a shopper herself, not as a retail executive. Garvey says when she buys a pair of black jeans for her son online, it does not mean she wants to receive six months of nothing-but-black-jeans ads. And yet much of online advertising still works this way, with a glaring lack of contextualization. Developing a 360-degree view of customers is the end goal of experience management, but we're not there yet.
Featuring:
- Michelle Garvey, J. Crew, Chief Information Officer & Deputy Chief Transformation Officer; TEC Member
- Dan Lewis, Convoy, Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder
- Diana Pan, The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), Chief Technology Officer; TEC Member
- Tyler Mathisen, CNBC
Beyond data hype
The hype cycle is over, says Brad Keywell, CEO of Uptake, a data analytics start-up that works with some of the largest old-guard companies in the world, including Berkshire Hathaway Energy. Collecting data is easy; finding use cases for it and providing customers with better, simpler applications that generate value is the challenge.
Featuring:
- Mike Cuddy, Toromont Industries, Vice President & Chief Information Officer; TEC Member
- Brad Keywell, Uptake, Chief Executive Officer & Founder
- Kate Rogers, CNBC
Making tech better
Theresia Gouw, aCrew Capital founding partner, and Imran Khan, Verishop CEO and co-founder, give their expert take on some of the most pressing issues facing tech executives, CEOs and Silicon Valley.
Featuring:
- Theresia Gouw, aCrew Capital, Founding Partner; Aspect Ventures, Co-Founder
- Imran Khan, Verishop, Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder; Former Snap, Chief Strategy Officer
- Jon Fortt, CNBC
