FWD: Technology

Susan Johnson (AT&T): Rewiring a telecom giant

AT&T is modernizing a network built over decades, while expectations for speed, reliability, and simplicity keep rising. In this episode of FWD: Technology, Bill Briggs (US Chief Technology Officer) and Simona Spelman (US Chief Human Officer), sit down with Susan Johnson (Senior Executive Vice President – Transformation & Supply Chain) to talk about what it really takes to "cloudify" a network at scale, and how AI is helping teams move faster, coordinate across the business, and deliver a better customer experience. They separate the headlines from the hard parts, and get specific about how major transformations actually get done.

The future of aviation is not what you think

Air travel hasn't changed much in decades, but the next leap may look nothing like a tube with wings. Deloitte's Brett Davis (US Chief Innovation Officer), Simona Spelman (US Chief Human Officer), and Bill Briggs (US Chief Technology Officer) sit down with Tom O'Leary, Co-Founder and CEO of JetZero, to unpack the blended-wing aircraft design that could dramatically improve efficiency while reshaping the passenger experience. O'Leary shares how JetZero is moving from "science project" to scale, why the economics work for both commercial and government use cases, and how an AI-first approach is accelerating everything from documentation to operations. The conversation also zooms out to the leadership lessons any enterprise can apply: first-principles thinking, building the right partnerships, and creating a culture of ownership that blends technology with people.

Redesigning the human-machine relationship: Deep dive into the trends shaping the future

AI is accelerating again, but the real shift is happening in how leaders design work, build skills, scale human edge, and make decisions. In this episode of FWD: Technology, Deloitte's Brett Davis (US Chief Innovation Officer), Bill Briggs (US Chief Technology Officer), and Simona Spelman (US Chief Human Officer) connect the dots between our Tech Trends 2026 report and 2026 Global Human Capital Trends report. They break down what is changing inside organizations right now and what leadership teams can do to stay relevant, move faster, and create an employee and customer experience that keeps up with the technology. Tech Trends 2026: https://www.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/topics/technology-management/tech-trends.html 2026 Global Human Capital Trends: https://www.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/topics/talent/human-capital-trends.html

AI transformation is not just a tech project

AI investment is exploding, but most organizations are still treating transformation like a technology project instead of a people-and-culture shift. In this episode, Brett Davis, Deloitte's US Chief Innovation Officer, Simona Spelman, Deloitte's US Chief Human Officer, and Bill Briggs, Deloitte's US Chief Technology Officer, sit down with Karenann "Kat" Terrell, former CDTO GSK & CIO (Walmart, Baxter Intl Inc., DaimlerChrysler North America), to unpack why adoption, culture, and the right measures of progress matter more than raw spend. Kat shares what she's seeing in boardrooms, why AI leadership demands a move from "expert" to "chief learner," and how tactics like reverse mentoring can help leaders build real fluency across the enterprise. The conversation also explores why unfinished digital transformation still matters, how AI can accelerate modernization, and what it will take to move beyond productivity into true reinvention of work.

Agentic commerce: Why value and trust are non-negotiable

AI agents are already shopping—and the brands that win won't be the loudest; they'll be the most trusted and have the most "more value for the price." In Deloitte's FWD: Technology podcast, Bill Briggs, Brett Davis, and Simona Spelman sit down with Rob Pace, founder and CEO of HundredX, to dissect agentic commerce, the GO score "headlights" that can spot inflection points 6–9 months out, and why rear‑view metrics aren't enough. You'll hear how HundredX "listens" to consumers at scale and ties experience to future performance. You'll also learn how trust, reliability, transparency, capability, and humanity turn into a growth engine when you organize the business around outcomes, not products.