ISG Digital Dish

Remember the days when it would take weeks, or even months, to get your results from medical tests? When a routine hospital checkup would take up the best part of a day? When doctors could be seen carrying great wads of paper notes as they made their patient rounds? It wasn’t that long ago, but due to the pressures of COVID-19 and recent technological advancements, the healthcare industry is undergoing a profound revolution. From telemedicine to cutting-edge innovations in diagnostics and treatment and the use of robotics and automation in surgery, technology is fostering a new era of personalized medicine. It’s an era centered around improving accessibility, efficiency and patient-centered care. One woman at the forefront of this technological revolution is Keerthi Harikrishnan, an expert in healthcare and life sciences with Persistent Systems. She joins our Digital Dish hosts to discuss some of the ways that emerging technology and data analytics are improving healthcare outcomes for both patients and medics. Listen in as Keerthi discusses her fascinating journey, from her passion for researching heart disease and lung cancer, to her current role at Persistent where she leverages the latest technologies to advance the understanding of human diseases. As a woman who has built a successful career in both science and tech, she shares some valuable advice and lessons learned for other women navigating careers in these fields.

When you’re looking to buy a luxury product, how do you choose which product you buy? Today, consumers are faced with an unprecedented abundance of choices, and their expectations are in a perpetual flux. This constantly shifting consumer landscape presents a formidable challenge for retail and consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands seeking to build a devoted following. Digital technologies, such as the metaverse, force brands to reevaluate their business strategies to ensure they stay relevant in a multi-brand-loyal world. This rings especially true for some of the long-established luxury brands whose consumers have distinct and often demanding expectations of their retail experiences. What strategies can these brands employ to consistently raise the bar, thereby ensuring they secure loyalty and the largest share of their purchasing choices? Join us for this episode as we explore how digital is impacting the world of luxury brands. Our guest Anika Sharma, General Manager & Global Client Partner at LTIMindtree, who works with large-scale CPG and retail clients. She has a deep passion for elevating cherished brands that evoke a sense of well-being in their customers. Our discussion revolves around the pivotal role played by digital technology and human-centric approaches in enabling brands to adapt and thrive within the ever-evolving consumer landscape. How can the metaverse emerge as a transformative catalyst for brands and consumers, altering the dynamics of their interactions in profound ways?

As the modern workplace is disrupted time and time again, employees struggle to establish a sense of purpose and contentment in their work. With more people working remotely, the lines between professional and personal life have blurred, making it harder to set boundaries and find balance. And a multi-generational workforce with different needs and expectations makes fostering a sense of belonging even more challenging for employers. To discuss these challenges, our host Lois Coatney speaks to Stephanie Marcon, director of ISG’s Experience Assessment Center. Their conversation focuses on the different ways employers can boost employee experiences, encourage healthy relationships and create an environment that supports well-being and productivity. Plus, get tips on how you can prioritize time for self-care and get the best out of your work relationships. Tune in!

The technology industry is undoubtedly one of the fastest-paced and most innovative sectors to work in, and India has rapidly established itself as a leading global technology hub. In this episode of ISG’s Digital Dish, we shine a spotlight on the role of women in tech in India. Guest host and Chief Data and Analytics Officer at ISG, Kathy Rudy speaks to Namratha Dharshan, Chief Business Leader for ISG Research, about her experiences in the industry. Together they discuss how the industry has evolved for women in India over the past decade. Namratha gives her views on the current gender gap and how companies in India can support and encourage women leaders to thrive in the tech industry. They also explore how the Covid-19 pandemic impacted women in tech and created a boom in entrepreneurship.

Technology plays a part in every aspect of our lives, so diversity in tech is critical – and can benefit both the tech industry and society at large. If you’ve ever helped a child go to a public restroom, you might have an understanding of what we mean. Whether it’s the height of the sink, the toilet or the light switch, a child struggles to use many public facilities. This stems from a lack of diversity – if only one type of person is designing from their own experiences, society suffers. People can only extrapolate so much – we need diversity in tech (and in all fields) to account for diverse experiences of life. In this special episode of ISG’s Digital Dish, we honor Black History Month and shine a light on what it’s like to be a BIPOC woman in the tech industry. Missy Lawrence speaks to Tiera Gray, Vice President, Office of the CIO at Exelon. Tiera shares her insights and first-hand experience of the challenges and opportunities faced by many minorities in the industry today. Plus, hear Tiera’s valuable advice for girls and women wanting to carve out a fulfilling and rewarding career in the tech space. And find out why hair is a crucial part the conversation. Have you heard of the CROWN act? If not, we’ll catch you up to speed in the post-interview debrief with hosts Lois Coatney and Jeanne Cuff.

Given recent global events and current economic disruption, change has never felt so constant and so urgent. It’s safe to say that most organizations have embarked on at least one major digital transformation project in the last 36 months. With all these deep investments, it’s alarming to learn that the vast majority of business transformations fail, according to research, even those with a change management program in place. Why are these programs falling short of achieving their business cases? To get to the bottom of this question, we spoke to Ema Roloff, a digital transformation and change management expert, and, at the time of recording, Director with Naviant*. In a conversation with Digital Dish host Missy Lawrence, Ema shared her definition of change management and the part it plays in combatting the number one reason many digital transformations fail. Listen in to hear why she believes a people-oriented approach is critical to making any transformation successful. And don’t miss her top tips on creating an environment that will ensure your transformation program constantly maintains momentum. *Ema is now at the time of publication, a Director with EIS Group

Have you ever been hired or promoted into a new role where you feel like you have to be someone you’re not? It’s exhausting to constantly measure yourself against unrealistic expectations, to hold back from behaving authentically, or to emulate a leadership style that’s counter to your preferred ways of working. And yet despite the downsides to productivity and morale, today, it’s often a struggle to be true to yourself at work. In this special hour-length episode of the ISG Digital Dish, we continue to dive deep into the theme of being your authentic self. What we’ve found: being authentically you is not only liberating; it can actually be a career accelerator. Coming off the back of a successful Women in Digital Awards program, Lois Coatney speaks to two inspirational women and digital leaders, Isabelle Roux-Chenu, Former Head of Group Commercial & Contract Management at Capgemini, and Sarah Urbanowicz, CIO at AECOM. Listen in to hear them share their experiences and advice on leading authentically – both how and why to be you at work.

Understanding your authentic self is one thing. Knowing how to position that authentic self professionally via a personal brand is another thing entirely, and it has never been more important to career growth than it is today. But both the understanding and the positioning can be incredibly challenging – you may find yourself struggling with where to start. That’s why, in this episode of the ISG Digital Dish, host Missy Lawrence is interviewing Jennifer Galvin, Technology Alliances Lead at OutSystems, about her proven techniques for building a personal brand. To illustrate why she believes personal brand building is so critical to career success, Jennifer shares her own career path into tech and her personal challenges and wins along the way. Together with hosts Jeanne Cuff and Lois Coatney, we delve into why it is important to find and embrace your true identity and how you can use it to drive value and make an impact. And since both our hosts and our guest are all long-time tech industry veterans, we can’t help but to make connections with tech topics including low-code, digital identity and access management. Tune in now!

In this episode of the Digital Dish, Missy Lawrence speaks to our guest Dr. Rebecca Harvey about several key issues affecting women today. They begin by discussing the lack of women in senior positions and why women are still missing out on promotions despite research that shows companies run by women and that include women in senior positions are more profitable. What are the pressures impacting women as they climb the career ladder? And how can women best equip themselves? Dr. Rebecca Harvey offers insight into how meditation and mindfulness can combat stress and improve overall health and well-being. It might be easier than you think to master, so tune in to this episode to hear how!

Featuring: In a special segment, ISG Vice Chairman and President Todd Lavieri announces the inaugural ISG Women in Digital Awards ceremony. Learn more about how to participate here. Then, we move into our regular program: this time, Digital Dish host Jeanne Cuff is speaking to Radhika Krishnan, Chief Product Officer, Hitachi Vantara. Radhika is passionate about promoting diversity in tech. Specifically, she has a lot to teach about the impact of biased AI in our daily lives, where software and technology are ubiquitous. But Radhika also makes time to discuss the importance of getting more girls and women into STEM fields and to share advice for those considering a career in tech. After all, diversity is critical to countering bias. Radhika reminds us: without diverse leaders, developers and stakeholders, AI can and will only ever have one perspective. Listen in to find out what you should be doing to pre-empt or counter bias in your organizations’ artificial intelligence programs – and to create a positive (rather than dystopian) outlook for the future of AI.

The path to career success is not a linear one, especially for women in tech. This episode of the ISG Digital Dish explores the power of following your passion, as well as some of the inherent challenges of working in this industry, where women are still hugely underrepresented. Taylor Card, Hannah Stapleton and Allie Woodcock join host Jeanne Cuff to share about their non-linear paths to their current digital careers. Together, they discuss what is needed to ensure women entering the technology industry thrive. What are the expectations of women in tech? And what does the digital future look like for them?

In this episode of the ISG Digital Dish, Jeanne Cuff and Lois Coatney interview their new co-host Missy Lawrence-Johnston. Missy is a Culture & Change Leadership expert with a passion for organizational effectiveness and human capital optimization. She shares her insights on why she believes companies should be examining their organizational cultures, values, empathy and diversity, post pandemic and in the context of the Great Resignation.

In 2018, ISG Partner Lois Coatney launched the ISG Women in Digital program, now run by Kimberly Tobias. Her vision was to create a group dedicated to connecting, educating, empowering and recognizing women as they navigate the changing world of business and the IT industry and make the most of their futures. In this episode of the ISG Digital Dish, Lois, Kimberly and Jeanne Cuff are joined by Lisa Graver, who recently launched LTI’s global Women in Tech program. With Missy Lawrence-Johnston facilitating the discussion, they chat about the ins and outs of setting up such a group. What issues need considering before starting out? What are the benefits for the women involved – and for the enterprise? How can men be involved? These are just some of the questions they cover in their conversation.

In recent months, much ink has been spilled over the rising numbers of people leaving their jobs. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt the workplace and the global economy, the wave of resignations is just another sign of the change. The trend originated in the U.S. in early 2021 and has been reshaping the global labor market ever since. It has simply become impossible to ignore the statistics. Recent data shows that 4 million workers in the U.S. quit their jobs in April 2021, and another 4.4 million in September. Who is driving this shift? And why? Join Jeanne Cuff, Lois Coatney and Missy Lawrence-Johnston as they discuss some of the staggering statistics and fall out.

Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, IT industrialization was already revolutionizing the way we do business. The pandemic has only increased the need for enterprises to improve performance and efficiency to retain competitive advantage. Tune into this episode to learn how a resilient, reliable and optimized IT organization is key to improving service, productivity and overall agility. Joining host Jeanne Cuff to discuss this topic is Leslie Scott, VP & CIO, IT Enterprise Services at Stanley Black & Decker. Scott shares her experiences and lessons learned industrializing the delivery of IT services and managing a major transition – remotely – during the pandemic. Their conversation covers other current issues common to many global enterprises, including the supply chain crisis, staffing challenges and the future of the workplace.

The differences between men and women have been the subject of thorny debates for centuries. Still today, stories can be found in the media that vastly exaggerate these differences. Yet, much of modern research fails to support many of the gender-based stereotypes with which we are all familiar. Numerous studies have shown that the differences between men’s and women’s brains are far less profound than previously thought. If these differences are so slight, then do they really matter? And how do they impact women in the workplace? Our guest on this episode of the ISG Digital Dish not only believes they matter, she believes they must be recognized and managed so women can thrive as leaders. Join host Jeanne Cuff as she talks to entrepreneur and executive coach Marsha Clark. Through her leadership and executive development programs, Clark has supported and empowered many women to achieve their full leadership potential. Listen in as Clark shares her insights about how women can bring their best, most authentic selves to the table. She also discusses her recently released book Embracing Your Power: A Woman’s Path to Authentic Leadership and Meaningful Relationships.

For many thousands of people across the globe, the COVID-19 pandemic was a catalyst for starting their own business. Despite the huge risks associated with launching a new venture during a global crisis, the number of newly created businesses has increased significantly in recent months. Data from the United States Census Bureau show that in January 2021 new business creation applications increased 73% year over year. Women have been key contributors to the entrepreneurship boom. Many who lost their jobs when the virus took hold in 2020 started a business out of necessity. Others needed greater flexibility as they juggled careers with childcare and homeschooling responsibilities. A recent survey by Gusto shows that 49% of entrepreneurs in 2020 were women, up from just 27% in prior years. In this episode of the ISG Digital Dish, host Jeanne Cuff interviews Pam Kendall, founder of Qui Collection, a U.S.-based start-up fashion brand. Born from Kendall’s lifelong passion for clothing and vintage fabric, the venture was launched just before the world was disrupted by the virus. ISG co-hosts Lois Coatney and Julie Fernandez join the discussion on how the pandemic has radically shifted the entrepreneurial environment. Today, it might be easier than ever to create a business, but our hosts firmly believe that a desire to make money is not enough for success. Entrepreneurs first and foremost need to be driven by a deep passion for their project.

Over the past year, many working women have faced intense challenges brought on by the pandemic. This has been especially true for women who have been trying to balance their careers with the needs of young children. Working from home has certainly provided the flexibility to facilitate that balance, but it also has thrown its own challenges into the mix. As the lines between work life and personal life get blurrier, it is no wonder many women have been feeling overwhelmed and frustrated. What does this mean for women’s professional development? How can women overcome the current challenges, gain the confidence they need to make their voices heard and continue to achieve? Our guest on this episode of the ISG Digital Dish believes that women have much more power than they imagine. Listen in as host Jeanne Cuff talks to Maxine Nwaneri, a certified executive coach, best-selling author, international speaker and founder of The Future is Greater. Nwaneri shares her personal story of turning failures into successes, demonstrating that we can not only survive, but thrive in the face of challenge. She believes that, with the right mindset, anything can be achieved. Finding your inner wisdom and believing in yourself is the first step!

The pandemic not only accelerated the trend to remote work but forever changed the way we think about working remotely. With more employees than ever before now regularly working from home, employers and business leaders are having to adapt their management styles to ensure they stay engaged with their teams, wherever they are based. How can managers successfully lead their teams into the post-pandemic future? And how can they overcome some of the challenges arising from the new hybrid work environment? Our guest on this episode of the Digital Dish is Taruna Rai, Senior Director Information Technology at Relativity. She talks to host Jeanne Cuff about her experience of managing and transitioning a large, international team through a remote working environment during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Through their discussion, we learn how a balanced and flexible approach enabled Rai to create a positive work environment, promote innovation and empower her team to thrive.

In an age shaped by technological advancement, it is alarming to see that girls are still vastly underrepresented in STEM subjects. U.S. data shows that 74 percent of middle school girls show an interest in STEM subjects and careers, yet only 0.4 percent choose to pursue these options in college. What is creating this disconnect between girls and STEM? One key element is the scarcity of relatable female role models in STEM fields, meaning that most girls likely lack inspiration and motivation to pursue these options. In this episode of the Digital Dish, host Jeanne Cuff talks to Madelyn Nelson, a platform software engineer at Sprout Social and instructor for the non-profit organization Girls Who Code. Listen in as they discuss the importance of improving access to STEM education for girls and women as a key part of closing the gender gap in technology. Nelson shares insights from her experience of teaching technology and offers advice to women who are thinking of getting involved but may be reluctant to take the leap. Co-hosts Lois Coatney and Julie Fernandez join the discussion on empowering girls and women to embrace and explore careers in technology.