PwC Pulse - a business podcast for executives – Details, episodes & analysis

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In this episode, Dinkar Saran, Pharma and Life Sciences Operations Partner at PwC, and Jim Cafone, SVP of Global Supply Chain at Pfizer, dive into operations transformation and its critical role in building resilient and sustainable supply chains, revenue growth and differentiation in an ever-changing world.

Their discussion features insights on how to navigate the delicate balance between short-term pressures and long-term challenges, exploring strategies for improving operations, enhancing agility and leveraging technology to drive productivity and adaptability.

Join us as we uncover key principles and practical approaches that can help your organization thrive in an evolving business landscape.

About the podcast participants

Dinkar Saran leads PwC’s Pharmaceutical & Life Sciences Operations practice delivering integrated operations solutions for PwC clients.

Globally he has worked across biopharmaceuticals, generics and CDMOs with the board and C-suite of multinational companies to enable quantifiable value and EBITDA improvements. He has extensive experience in mergers & acquisitions and has supported multiple corporate and private equity driven transactions on revenue and cost side diligence, integration planning, and post deal value capture.

Jim Cafone is the Senior Vice President, Global Supply Chain, at Pfizer. He is responsible for global demand forecasting, demand and supply planning, worldwide logistics, and inventory management.

Jim is an engineer by trade and has expertise in supply chain management and strategic sourcing. Prior to joining Pfizer, Jim spent almost two decades with Wyeth Pharmaceuticals as part of the manufacturing and operations analysis team. He held numerous positions within manufacturing, materials management, customer order management, physical distribution, and information technology functions. This included Vice President, EMEA Manufacturing and Supply and Vice President, Worldwide Logistics.

For more information on this episode's speakers, and to view the full transcript, please visit pwc.com.

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Technological advances, surging investments and the competition for talent are all working toward one thing: artificial intelligence (AI) is fundamentally changing how business gets done. In this episode, Joe Atkinson, Vice Chair - Chief Products & Technology Officer at PwC and Sal Companieh, Chief Digital and Information Officer at Cushman & Wakefield check in on the top AI trends for businesses – highlighting the need for smart AI choices, responsible AI practices and upskilling leaders to harness its full potential. They discuss how AI can accelerate the value of data-driven decisions and be the 'missing link' for your data investments, helping you stay ahead of the competition. Join us to learn how one of the world’s largest commercial real estate services firms has been using technology and AI in some innovative ways.

About the podcast participants 

Joe Atkinson is a member of PwC's US Leadership Team and is responsible for leading the firm through the next wave of digital transformation. This includes accelerating growth in go-to-market products and digital solutions, as well as the firmwide technology capabilities.

Previously serving as the Chief Digital Officer, Joe defined and executed the vision to digitally enable the firm, and better leverage technology and talent to bring greater value (and experience) to the firm's people and clients. Prior to that, Joe was the leader of PwC’s Technology, Media and Telecommunication consulting business for the US, Japan and China, and he has built a reputation as a trusted, pragmatic and thoughtful advisor to clients as they navigate through accelerating technology changes and increasing regulatory complexity.

Sal Companieh is the Chief Digital and Information Officer at Cushman & Wakefield responsible for providing solutions that improve Cushman & Wakefield’s operations, enhance client service and drive new business. Sal has over 20 years of consulting experience in process and technology transformation and has led the firm through numerous acquisition integrations as well as implementations of global platforms. 

Sal joined Cushman & Wakefield in 2011 as Vice President, Global Applications, and since that time has held technology leadership positions across the business, most recently as co-Chief Information Officer (CIO). She also previously served as CIO, Corporate Solutions, where she was responsible for building processes that collect, curate and optimize enterprise, client and property data, and as CIO for the firm’s facility services business, C&W Services. Prior to joining the firm, Sal was an independent consultant at Covidien and held senior technology positions at IBM and Lindt & Sprüngli.

For more information on this episode's speakers, and to view the full transcript, please visit pwc.com.

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In a world of heightened volatility in financial markets and concerns around economic activity – executives need a clear understanding of the macroeconomic environment to help make long-term decisions.   

In this episode of PwC Pulse podcast, Dr Alexis Crow, Principal and head of the Geopolitical Investing Practice at PwC, is joined by Pierre Yared, MUTB Professor of International Business, Senior Vice Dean for Faculty Affairs, and Vice Dean for Executive Education at Columbia University Business School. Together, they discuss some of the key issues that investors and executives are facing today, including inflation, the outlook for recession, impact of AI and more.

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After a tumultuous few years, business leaders are now focused on growth to survive. From people to technology, they are applying the lessons learned as they navigate through the headwinds of today’s environment.

In this episode, Tim Ryan, PwC’s US Chair and Senior Partner, is joined by Miguel Patricio, CEO & Chairman at Kraft Heinz, to discuss reinvention and leadership fundamentals. Together they explore views on human capital, customer experiences, supply chain resilience and more.

About the podcast participants

Miguel Patricio has been the Chief Executive Officer of The Kraft Heinz Company since June 2019. He has also served as a director of Kraft Heinz since May 2021 and as Chair of the Board of Directors since May 2022.

Before joining Kraft Heinz, Miguel spent 20 years with Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (AB InBev) and its predecessors. Most recently, he served as Chief of Special Global Projects – Marketing from January 2019 to June 2019.

Tim Ryan is PwC's US Chair and Senior Partner. A forward-thinking leader committed to driving human-led, tech-powered outcomes to build trust in society and solve important problems, Tim has a proven record advancing strategy, growth, innovation, and upskilling. He reimagined PwC leading a complete digital transformation and launching a bold new strategy – The New Equation – to get ahead of the rapid pace of change bringing the best people, capabilities and technology together to support clients in building trust and delivering sustained outcomes. Equity is foundational to Tim’s trust-based leadership – he is also the founder of CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion.

For the full transcript, please visit pwc.com

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As fractured geopolitics, social tensions and global events unfold, we are presented with opportunities to strengthen trust among our stakeholders. It is more important than ever to build growth strategies that emphasize diversity, equity and inclusion, and motivate people to support the needs of our communities.   

In this episode, Shannon Schuyler, PwC’s Chief Purpose and Inclusion Officer, is joined by Carin Taylor, Chief Diversity Officer of Workday, to discuss how building trust through transparency and leveraging the right data can drive an equitable future for businesses, their people and communities at large.

For the full transcript, please visit pwc.com

About the podcast participants
Shannon Schuyler is PwC’s US Chief Purpose & Inclusion Officer - working to activate PwC’s purpose to build trust in society and solve important problems and to create a fulfilling employee experience.

Responsible for furthering diversity, inclusion and equity across the firm’s workforce, she connects purpose with belonging to create an environment in the firm that celebrates identity and intersectionality as a way to drive innovation and business value.

Shannon worked alongside US Chair and Senior Partner Tim Ryan to lead CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™, the largest CEO-driven business commitment to advance diversity and inclusion. In this role, she drove the strategy for engaging more than 2,400 company CEOs, academic institutions and associations.

Carin Taylor is chief diversity officer at Workday and has global responsibility for the development and execution of Workday’s inclusion and diversity strategy. Additionally, Carin serves on the board of Watermark, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to increase the number of women in leadership positions.

Prior to joining Workday, Carin served as the head of diversity, inclusion, and innovation at Genentech where she was responsible for strategic initiatives including executive coaching, building and leading highly effective teams, and increasing employee engagement. She was also responsible for creating strategies to successfully recruit, develop, and retain diverse workforces as well as enabling large organizations to leverage diversity and inclusion to drive innovation. Before Genentech, Carin held various positions in human resources, inclusion and diversity, finance, and customer service at Cisco Systems.

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Companies have been using artificial intelligence (AI) technology for years. But as AI rapidly evolves, it has the power to reshape industries and transform today’s businesses. How can AI improve your business? What is Generative AI? What are the risks to consider?

In this episode, Joe Atkinson, PwC’s Chief Products and Technology Officer, is joined by Ramayya Krishnan, Dean of Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University, to explore the evolution of AI, how it can unlock opportunities and the critical role ethics and responsibility will play in its success.

For the full transcript and speaker bios, please visit pwc.com.

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The metaverse has attracted both a lot of attention and a lot of skepticism. But first, what is the metaverse? What are the possible risks, how does it connect to web3 and how can businesses build trust into their metaverse activities from the start?

In this episode, Roberto Hernandez, PwC’s Global Metaverse Leader and US Customer Strategy & Experience Leader, is joined by Chris Duffey, Head of AI Innovation and Strategy for Adobe, at PwC’s Emerging Tech Exchange. Listen as they discuss these questions and the current and future impact of these emerging technologies on the business landscape.

To learn more on the topics and research discussed, check out PwC’s 2023 Metaverse Predictions.

For the full transcript, please visit pwc.com.

About the podcast participants
Roberto Hernandez is a Principal in PwC’s Consumer Finance practice. He has extensive experience in advising banking and lending clients on customer experience, strategy, operations , risk management, process improvement, and consumer compliance. Roberto has over 17 years experience in the financial services industry in both a consulting capacity and also working for two of the top 10 global financial institutions. Roberto is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and the author of several news articles as well as whitepapers on the topics of customer experience, operational strategy, regulatory compliance response, and target operating model design.

Chris Duffey spearheads Adobe’s strategic development design partnerships across the creative enterprise space. 

Chris’ keynotes have received over 50 million impressions and his work has been featured by more than 100 global media outlets on topics including the Metaverse, Web3, NFTs, DAOs, generative experience design, computational creativity, the role of human + machine, and AI-enhanced creativity. 

Chris is the author of the award-winning book Superhuman Innovation, the world’s first book co-authored by AI about AI. And has written the forthcoming book Decoding the Metaverse: Expand Your Business Using Web3.

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It’s no secret that fast fashion often drives the clothing industry. Business models hinge on the concept that styles can change quickly — and it’s essential to keep up. But quick pivots also can correlate with low quality products that can add to landfills and contribute to unsustainable business practices.

Allbirds is among the companies looking to kick the habit. Not only has Allbirds established aggressive sustainability goals, but it’s also backing them up with results. In this episode Alan Jones, National TMT Deals Leader and San Francisco Office Managing Partner at PwC, is joined by Joey Zwillinger, Co-CEO at Allbirds, to discuss how companies can take their sustainability initiatives to a higher level.

About the podcast participants

Alan Jones, serves as the Managing Partner of PwC's Bay Area & Northwest market, responsible for leading a team of more than 4,300 PwC professionals across San Francisco, San Jose, Sacramento, Seattle and Portland offices.

Joey Zwillinger Co-CEO at Allbirds has long been passionate about making things from renewable resources, which led him to start Allbirds and begin tackling sustainability issues in the fashion industry.

For the full transcript, please visit pwc.com

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Big challenges can yield big payoffs — for everyone. That’s why some companies are positioning themselves to be game changers. These companies are innovating new technologies that can enable exponential returns on investments at the center of new business models and pointing it towards solving major societal challenges, all to create value for stakeholders along the way.

In this episode, Sundar Subramanian, US Strategy& Leader, is joined by Heather Lavallee, CEO of Voya Financial, to explore how game-changing companies like Voya are challenging the status quo and redefining the future of business.

About the podcast participants

Sundar Subramanian serves as the PwC US Strategy& Leader. He brings an investor mindset to value creation. By applying systems thinking and advanced analytics to decision-making, Sundar builds business models, improves performance and creates transformative value.

Heather Lavallee is chief executive officer, and a board member, of Voya Financial, Inc. With 30 years of experience in the financial services industry, Heather is a collaborative leader who excels in building high-performing businesses. Prior to assuming her current roles, Lavallee served as the company’s president and CEO-elect, overseeing Voya’s Workplace Solutions and Investment Management businesses, as well as Voya’s technology and data organizations, strategy and risk teams. Previously at Voya, Heather served as CEO of Wealth Solutions, and prior to that she was president of the company’s Tax-Exempt Markets business, and earlier she was president of Employee Benefits (now Health Solutions).

For the full transcript, please visit pwc.com

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After a series of crises, from the pandemic to geopolitical issues to the current economic conditions, executives are becoming seasoned in handling challenges. Today we’ll explore how executives can evaluate evolving risks, meet the changing needs of their stakeholders and lean into the strengths of their organization.

In this episode Julia Lamm, Workforce Transformation Principal at PwC, is joined by Melanie Foley, Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer at Liberty Mutual, to discuss the challenges executives are facing today and what they can focus on to keep their companies moving forward.

About the podcast participants

Julia Lamm serves as PwC’s Workforce Transformation Principal focusing on financial services clients. She is a leader in the development of PwC’s point of view on the workforce of the future and how financial institutions are responding post-COVID. In addition to her work with clients, Julia is a featured thought leader at PwC, and is often cited in the media including The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and CNBC.

Melanie Foley is Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer of Liberty Mutual Insurance. In her role, she leads Liberty Mutual’s talent, procurement, brand and communications, real estate, community investments, sustainability, and workplace services functions.

For the full transcript, please visit pwc.com