Soul of the CIO

Leidos CIO: Building a Proactive, AI-Enabled IT Organization

In this episode of Soul of the CIO, Leidos CIO Alexandra Guenther shares how one of the world’s most complex technology organizations is transforming IT service delivery, digital employee experience, and enterprise AI at massive scale. From supporting 50,000 employees across global defense, cybersecurity, and critical infrastructure operations to reducing IT ticket volume through proactive self-healing systems, Alexandra breaks down what it takes to modernize technology inside highly regulated environments. The conversation explores digital employee experience (DEX), AI transformation, predictive analytics, enterprise data strategy, and how CIOs can use technology to unlock productivity and innovation. Soul of the CIO is Sponsored by Nexthink, the leader in digital employee experience. Learn more: nexthink.com  Subscribe for more conversations with the leaders shaping the future of IT and technology.  Find the full in-studio video version on YouTube.

Employees Are Using AI in Secret. Here’s Why That’s Dangerous. | MIT's Dawn Fitzgerald

In this episode of Soul of the CIO, Dawn Fitzgerald shares why organizations are facing a true “adopt or perish” moment with artificial intelligence. Drawing on leadership roles at Schneider Electric, American Family Insurance, Homesite Insurance, and SharkNinja, as well as her work teaching at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dawn explains how leaders can safely integrate AI into engineering, marketing, finance, HR, and every part of the business. She discusses why software engineers often hide their use of tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, and Anthropic’s Claude, and how that creates security, privacy, and governance risks. Dawn outlines a practical framework for enterprise AI adoption: mandate usage, provide secure tools, train teams, establish guardrails, and reward experimentation. Soul of the CIO is Sponsored by Nexthink, the leader in digital employee experience. Learn more: nexthink.com  Subscribe for more conversations with the leaders shaping the future of IT and technology.  Find the full in-studio video version on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@SouloftheCIO)

How I Built, Lost, And Won Back UNILAD | Alex Partridge

In this episode of Soul of the CIO, we sit down with entrepreneur and UNILAD co-founder Alex Partridge for a candid conversation about leadership, mental health, and the realities behind building high-growth digital businesses. Alex shares the untold story of how he built one of the world’s largest social media brands, only to be removed from his own company after signing a partnership agreement he instinctively didn’t trust. What followed was a five-year legal battle, a deeply personal mental health crisis, and ultimately, a hard-fought victory to reclaim what he had built. This episode goes beyond entrepreneurship. It explores the intersection of anxiety, ADHD, leadership, and performance, and how understanding your own mind can be the difference between burnout and breakthrough. Soul of the CIO is Sponsored by Nexthink, the leader in digital employee experience. Learn more: nexthink.com  Subscribe for more conversations with the leaders shaping the future of IT and technology.  Find the full in-studio video version on YouTube.

How Meta Transformed Stores Into Data Machines | Martin Gilliard (Ex-Meta, Barney’s, Microsoft)

In this episode of Soul of the CIO, Martin Gilliard, (Optierra, Ex-Meta, Barney’s, Microsoft) breaks down the future of retail and why physical stores are more important than ever. While many believe e-commerce has taken over, the reality is very different. Over 80% of transactions still happen in physical stores, and retailers are transforming those spaces into powerful data-driven engines. We explore how modern retail brands are no longer just selling products. Instead, they are leveraging data, personalization, and omnichannel strategies to create better customer experiences, drive higher profits, and compete in a rapidly changing market. Soul of the CIO is Sponsored by Nexthink, the leader in digital employee experience. Learn more: nexthink.com  Subscribe for more conversations with the leaders shaping the future of IT and technology.  Find the full in-studio video version on YouTube.

Save the Children: Why Today’s CIOs Can’t Just “Keep the Lights On”

In this episode of Soul of the CIO, we sit down with Trevor Gordon from Save the Children to explore how technology, data, and AI are transforming the future of humanitarian work. Trevor shares his journey from the private sector back into the nonprofit world—and how that full-circle moment shaped his perspective on leadership, innovation, and impact. From supporting frontline workers in high-risk environments to managing complex global IT infrastructure, he offers a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to deliver technology at scale for good. Soul of the CIO is Sponsored by Nexthink, the leader in digital employee experience. Learn more: nexthink.com  Subscribe for more conversations with the leaders shaping the future of IT and technology.  Find the full in-studio video version on YouTube.