Podcasts about principal analyst

Most mainstream media outlets have spent the last several years convincing Americans that a recession is either here or just around the corner. But according to tech analyst Ray Wang and category design pioneer Christopher Lochhead, the real story about the US economy looks very different from what we are being fed. In a recent episode of Disrupt TV, the two thought leaders broke down the actual data behind American economic growth, the rise of AI-driven entrepreneurship, and a new investment program that could reshape generational wealth in this country. You're listening to Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different. We are the real dialogue podcast for people with a different mind. So get your mind in a different place, and hey ho, let's go.   Record Business Starts Signal a Thriving US Economy Despite relentless recession predictions from commentators and media personalities, Americans are starting new companies at a record pace. More than 5.6 million business applications were filed in 2025 alone, with over 400,000 new companies being created every single month. This level of entrepreneurial activity has not been seen in the modern era. Layoffs are also at historic lows, GDP is still growing, and inflation has come down from 4.2% in May to 3.5%. Initial unemployment claims have recently fallen to their lowest level since 1969. Meanwhile, prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket have dropped recession odds from around 28 to 30% in April to just 4 to 11% today, showing that people putting real money on the line do not believe a recession is coming.   AI Is Creating a New Class of Entrepreneur The rise of artificial intelligence is fundamentally changing who can build and run a successful business. Small teams of two to three people are now executing at a level that previously required thirty or more employees. This shift from knowledge worker to what Lochhead calls a “creator capitalist” is fueling much of the new company growth happening across the US economy. Ray Wang noted that we are beginning to see ten-person companies generating hundreds of millions in revenue, and the trend is only accelerating. As an example, the former CEO of Kirkland and Ellis, the largest law firm in the United States, left to launch an AI-first law firm called Irving with just twenty people. This signals a profound restructuring of professional services and virtually every other industry, driven entirely by AI innovation.   Trump Accounts Could Close the Wealth Gap One of the most underreported developments in the US economy is the launch of the Invest America program, commonly referred to as Trump accounts. Every child born in America can now receive a $1,000 federal contribution into a protected investment account that grows through an index fund until the child turns eighteen. Family members and friends can contribute up to $5,000 per year into these accounts and receive a tax break for doing so. The math behind compounding returns is striking. A child who receives $5,000 per year from birth to age eighteen, invested in the S&P 500, could have approximately $250,000 by their eighteenth birthday. Michael and Susan Dell have already pledged $6.25 billion to give $250 to twenty-five million American children aged ten and under, making it the largest charitable investment gift in American history. Lochhead believes this new model of charitable investing, giving gifts that compound over time rather than providing temporary relief, represents a powerful and lasting solution to economic inequality. To hear more from Ray Wang and Christopher’s discussions, download and listen to this episode. Bio R “Ray” Wang (pronounced WAHNG) is the Founder, Chairman, and Principal Analyst of Silicon Valley based Constellation Research Inc. He co-hosts DisrupTV, a weekly enterprise tech and leadership webcast that averages 50,000 views per episode and authors a business strategy and technology blog that has received millions of page views per month.  Wang also serves as a non-resident Senior Fellow at The Atlantic Council's GeoTech Center. Since 2003, Ray has delivered thousands of live and virtual keynotes around the world that are inspiring and legendary. Wang has spoken at almost every major tech conference. His ground-breaking bestselling book on digital transformation, Disrupting Digital Business, was published by Harvard Business Review Press in 2015.  Ray's new book about Digital Giants and the future of business titled, Everybody Wants to Rule the World will be released July 2021 by Harper Collins Leadership. Ray Wang is well quoted and frequently interviewed in media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, Fox Business News, CNBC, Yahoo Finance, Cheddar, CGTN America, Bloomberg, Tech Crunch, ZDNet, Forbes, and Fortune.  He is one of the top technology analysts in the world.   Links Follow Ray Wang! Website | Twitter | LinkedIn | Constellation Research | DisrupTV   We hope you enjoyed this episode of Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different™! Christopher loves hearing from his listeners. Feel free to email him, connect on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and subscribe on Apple Podcast / Spotify!

In this special episode of Sales Pipeline Radio from the Forrester B2B Summit 2026 marketplace floor, Matt spoke with John Buten, Principal Analyst, Portfolio Marketing, Forrester Research. Matt interviews the best and brightest minds in sales and Marketing.  If you would like to be a guest on Sales Pipeline Radio send an email to acceleration@heinzmarketing.com. Sales Pipeline Radio was recently listed as one of 30 Best Sales Management Podcasts and Top 60 Sales Podcasts Don't miss an episode! You can subscribe right at Sales Pipeline Radio and/or listen to full recordings of past shows everywhere you listen to podcasts! You can even ask Siri, Alexa and Google or search on Audible!

Wie misst man die Customer Journey wirklich richtig? Darüber habe ich 2025 mit Maxie Schmidt, VP und Principal Analyst bei Forrester gesprochen. Die Realität in vielen Unternehmen zeigt: Oft wird nur der Lifecycle analysiert, während echte, zielgerichtete Kundenreisen im Dunkeln bleiben. Maxie Schmidt räumt mit diesem Missverständnis auf und präsentiert das innovative "Four Lenses"-Modell von Forrester. Du lernst, wie die emotionale Ausgangslage (Baseline) die Wahrnehmung beeinflusst und warum das Ende einer Reise (Value Shape) entscheidend für die Kundenbindung ist. Ein unverzichtbarer Leitfaden für alle CX-Professionals, die von der reinen Datenanalyse in die wirksame Umsetzung kommen wollen. Weitere Themen: Warum Zielerreichung nur 30 Prozent der Kundenwahrnehmung ausmacht Kulturelle Unterschiede im Service-Erlebnis zwischen Ländern Die Rolle von Self-Service und menschlicher Unterstützung Wie man die wichtigsten Hebel für Optimierungen identifiziert Die Definition von aussagekräftigen Signal- und Erfolgsmetriken

Ari Paparo and Eric Franchi are joined by Nikhil Lai, Principal Analyst at Forrester, to discuss the evolution of performance marketing, Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), connected TV, incrementality, AI-powered advertising, and the future of marketing measurement. They also examine the latest ad tech news, including ChatGPT advertising, Walmart's acquisition of Vibe, AppLovin, retail media, and Q2 earnings across the digital advertising industry. Takeaways Why Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is fundamentally different from SEO and how brands should prepare. How marketers are redefining performance measurement with blended ROAS and incrementality. The opportunities and challenges of Performance TV, connected TV, and AI-driven advertising. What ChatGPT, AI agents, and creative automation mean for the future of marketing. Key insights from the latest ad tech acquisitions, earnings, and industry trends. Chapters00:00 Introduction and Summer Catch-Up01:24 Phishing Scam Warning for Advertising Professionals03:42 Introducing Guest Nikhil Lai, Principal Analyst at Forrester04:01 Nikhil Lai's Career Journey05:22 Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) vs SEO09:01 The Evolution of Performance Marketing11:09 Measuring Brand Advertising Effectiveness12:57 Incrementality and Modern Attribution14:28 AppLovin and Performance Advertising15:46 Performance TV and Connected TV18:38 Walmart Acquires Vibe and Pinterest's TV Strategy21:26 Is There an AppLovin for the Open Web?22:17 The Future of Marketing Automation and Creative23:59 Weekly Ad Tech News Begins24:38 BMW, Spider-Man, and In-Car Advertising30:31 Agentic Advertising and AI Search34:32 ChatGPT Advertising and Brand Agents40:02 Ad Tech Earnings Highlights45:18 Is MySpace Making a Comeback?46:50 Meta and LiveRamp Partnership47:58 Closing Remarks Guests: Ari Paparo, Eric Franchi, Nikhil Lai Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michael Rochelle, Chief Strategy Officer and Principal Analyst at Brandon Hall Group™, sits down with Bob Szostak of V2X Professional Services (VPS) for a candid look at where AI stands in learning and development today. Bob brings nearly three decades of industry experience to a conversation that moves past the hype cycle and into what organizations actually need to get right before they scale AI adoption.

AI interactions are introducing behavioral risks that traditional DLP and rule-based systems were never designed to detect. In this executive conversation, Marcus Law is joined by Dan Nadir, Chief Product Officer at Theta Lake, and Irwin Lazar, President and Principal Analyst at Metrigy, to explore how generative and agentic AI are creating entirely new categories of governance risk.The discussion covers why monitoring isolated prompts and outputs is no longer enough, and why organizations need forensic-level analysis of interaction patterns over time. From behavioral drift and intent detection to the growing complexity of agentic AI, this conversation sets out what enterprises need to be thinking about — and doing — right now.Topics include: why only 58% of organizations have a proactive AI governance strategy, how traditional DLP systems miss subtle data probing and intent-based risks, what behavioral drift looks like in practice, how agentic AI blurs the line between human and machine accountability, and practical steps CIOs and CISOs can take in the next 60 to 90 days.

As organisations modernise their digital workplaces, service management and connectivity are no longer separate disciplines – they're converging into a single experience layer that shapes how people work, sell, and serve customers.In this UC Today roundtable, Christopher Carey is joined by Irwin Lazar, President and Principal Analyst at Metrigy; Chethan Visweswar, Chief Product Officer at Movius; John Finch, Global VP at RingCentral; and Mark Bunnell, Chief Operating Officer at Nuwave.Together they explore how the market is evolving, where organisations are falling behind, and what it takes to move from reactive IT to predictive, AI-driven operations.Topics covered include:

In this episode of UC Today, Christopher Carey sits down with Irwin Lazar, President & Principal Analyst at Metrigy, to unpack the key takeaways from InfoComm 2026 in Las Vegas. From AI-powered room management and deep fake detection to MCP-enabled data federation, Irwin breaks down how AI is reshaping the AV and workplace collaboration space – and what to watch for next. Topics covered include: AI use cases in AV and video conferencing, NetSpeek's Lena agent for multi-vendor management, Neat Pulse's MCP integration, deep fake detection from Zoom/BrightHire, privacy and security concerns, and what Irwin wants to see at Infocomm 2027.

In this UC Today interview, host Kristian McCann sits down with Irwin Lazar, President and Principal Analyst at Metrigy, and Josh Blalock, Global Director of Alliances & Engagement at Shure, to unpack a growing issue in enterprise collaboration: why AI-powered productivity tools are failing to deliver without the right infrastructure underneath. AI is transforming how work gets done, but if your meeting rooms can't keep up, you're leaving value on the table. In this discussion, Metrigy and Shure break down why collaboration infrastructure,not AI itself, is the real bottleneck.Discussion inludes:Why “good enough” audio and video fail in an AI-driven workplace, where accuracy fuels downstream insights and automationHow outdated hardware cycles (3–5 years) clash with rapid AI innovation across platforms like Microsoft Teams and CopilotWhere collaboration breakdowns really happen, from BYOD setups to poor content sharing and fragmented workflowsThe rise of meeting data as a business intelligence asset, and why capture quality now impacts compliance, decisions, and cultureIf you're investing in AI but not seeing the returns, this is the missing piece.Next Steps:Audit your meeting rooms for audio, video, and device integration gapsAlign hardware refresh cycles with AI software innovation timelinesExplore solutions that enhance full-room capture and AI-ready data accuracy at https://www.shure.com/en-GB/solutions/enterpriseFor more Unified Communications & Collaboration Tech News visit https://www.uctoday.com/

Michael Rochelle, Chief Strategy Officer and Principal Analyst at Brandon Hall Group™, sits down with Bob Szostak of V2X Professional Services (VPS) for a candid look at where AI stands in learning and development today. Bob brings nearly three decades of industry experience to a conversation that moves past the hype cycle and into what organizations actually need to get right before they scale AI adoption.

In this episode of the Brandon Hall Group™ Excellence at Work Podcast, host Michael Rochelle, Chief Strategy Officer and Principal Analyst at Brandon Hall Group™, talks with Steve Lange, General Manager of the Metrics That Matter business unit at Explorance, about a framework Lange unveiled at Explorance World 2026.

Research from Gallup shows that only about 23% of employees are engaged at work globally, a number that has remained stubbornly low despite years of investment in culture, leadership, and development. In reality, what drives behavior at work is often much less visible - it's the systems behind the scenes. The way meetings are structured, how success is measured, what gets rewarded, and what gets overlooked. These are the forces that shape how work actually gets done.In this episode of Bring Out the Talent, we are joined by Justin Robbins, Founder and Principal Analyst at Metric Sherpa. Justin has spent over two decades helping organizations strengthen customer experience, optimize operations, and turn insight into execution. His work has been featured by NBC Nightly News, The New York Times, and Forbes, and he's known for bringing a practical, operator-driven perspective to complex organizational challenges. Together, we discuss what really drives performance, why so many transformation efforts fall short, and how leaders can start rethinking the systems that shape engagement, burnout, and results.

In this episode, we're joined by Stephen O'Grady, Co-Founder and Principal Analyst at RedMonk, to explore one of the biggest shifts happening in software engineering: AI is making code dramatically cheaper to produce, but everything downstream is becoming the new bottleneck.We discuss why SaaS isn't dead despite the hype, the explosive rise of MCP, why AI agents are overwhelming developer infrastructure, and what happens when every engineer suddenly has dozens of AI developers working alongside them. Stephen explains how package managers, code reviews, security, governance, and enterprise systems are all struggling to keep pace with AI-generated software.Along the way, we dive into AI coding tools, MCP adoption, developer productivity, infrastructure scaling, enterprise software, open source, package repositories, governance, and why the hardest problems in software may no longer be writing code—but managing everything that comes after.RedMonk: https://redmonk.comStephen O'Grady: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sogradyDemetrios: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dpbrinkm

New drug classes–proteolysis-targeting chimeras (PROTACs) and molecular glue degraders–are potentially a new source of product innovation for small-molecule drugs in their ability to reach previously “undruggable” drug targets. There have been several large deals among the bio/pharma majors and smaller innovator companies, with one drug candidate recently gaining FDA approval. What is the market potential and both the promise and limitations of these drug classes? Matthew Arnold, Principal Analyst and Content Strategist, Clarivate, provides the latest insights.Support the show

On today's Cannes Miniseries Podcast, we discuss Incremental ROAS, or iROAS, and unpack the problem it was designed to solve and what advertisers should be doing to evaluate performance. Recorded from the EMARKETER studio at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, EMARKETER Vice President and Principal Analyst, Sarah Marzano, welcomes Liz Roche, Vice President, Measurement and Media, from Albertsons Media Collective to the discussion.   Get more insights like these with our free, industry-leading newsletters covering advertising, marketing, and commerce. Sign up at emarketer.com/newsletters Follow us on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/emarketer/ For sponsorship opportunities contact us: advertising@emarketer.com For more information visit: https://www.emarketer.com/advertise/ Have questions or just want to say hi? Drop us a line at podcast@emarketer.com For a transcript of this episode click here: https://www.emarketer.com/content/podcast-albertsons-media-collective-unpacks-mysteries-of-iroas © 2026 EMARKETER Albertsons Media Collective is a next-generation retail media network rooted in connections, technology and innovation. As the retail media arm for Albertsons Companies, one of the largest food and drug retailers in the United States, we connect with consumers in more than 2,200 locations across 35 states and the District of Columbia. Through a companywide focus on innovation, we partner with leading brands to help them engage shoppers when and where it matters most, with the power of sophisticated first-party data. From innovative delivery platforms to highly targeted marketing solutions, we offer our clients a variety of programs designed to drive retail sales and maximize brand impact to best serve our shoppers.​ Learn more at albertsonsmediacollective.com

In this UC Today interview, host Kristian McCann sits down with Irwin Lazar, President and Principal Analyst at Metrigy, and Josh Blalock, Global Director of Alliances & Engagement at Shure, to unpack a growing issue in enterprise collaboration: why AI-powered productivity tools are failing to deliver without the right infrastructure underneath.AI is transforming how work gets done, but if your meeting rooms can't keep up, you're leaving value on the table. In this discussion, Metrigy and Shure break down why collaboration infrastructure, not AI itself, is the real bottleneck.Discussion Includes:Why “good enough” audio and video fail in an AI-driven workplace, where accuracy fuels downstream insights and automationHow outdated hardware cycles (3–5 years) clash with rapid AI innovation across platforms like Microsoft Teams and CopilotWhere collaboration breakdowns really happen, from BYOD setups to poor content sharing and fragmented workflowsThe rise of meeting data as a business intelligence asset, and why capture quality now impacts compliance, decisions, and cultureIf you're investing in AI but not seeing the returns, this is the missing piece.Next Steps:Audit your meeting rooms for audio, video, and device integration gapsAlign hardware refresh cycles with AI software innovation timelinesExplore solutions that enhance full-room capture and AI-ready data accuracy at https://www.shure.com/en-GB/solutions...

As generative and agentic AI promise to accelerate everything we do, are we at risk of becoming incredibly efficient at producing forgettable customer experiences?Today, we are here in Brooklyn at Forrester CX Forum East and we're going to talk about building better experiences with an AI-enabled design workflow. Specifically, we'll cover:- Balancing the speed of AI with the intentional, human-led decisions required to craft exceptional experiences.- The role of a robust design system in scaling high-quality, AI-powered experiences consistently across the enterprise.- How to identify high-value AI use cases for your design workflow while maintaining responsible practices that build customer trust.To help me discuss this topic, I'd like to welcome, Gina Bhawalkar, Principal Analyst at Forrester. About Gina Bhawalkar Gina's research focuses on digital accessibility and experience design. Gina established and now leads Forrester's coverage of the digital accessibility space and has a deep background and interest in the topic. She advises organizations on how to establish and scale sustainable accessibility practices and is an expert on the digital accessibility platform (DAP) market. Her research on accessibility has appeared in publications such as The Wall Street Journal and The Financial Brand, and she is a frequent speaker at accessibility events and podcasts. Gina's other areas of expertise include inclusive and responsible design, design systems, personas, and measuring the impact of digital experience design improvements.Gina has over 20 years of experience as both a UX/CX practitioner and leader, with eight years in the financial services industry. Prior to joining Forrester, Gina was the director of customer experience research at Bank of the West, a subsidiary of BNP Paribas. There, she led the bank's digital voice-of-the-customer program and conducted primary research to inform digital product development. Previously, Gina led the user experience and accessibility department at Scottrade, where she built the two disciplines from the ground up. Earlier in her career, Gina was a UX consultant at Perficient, leading design and research projects for clients in the financial services, agribusiness, utilities, insurance, and retail industries. She has also served as an accessibility consultant at both Criterion 508 and the Georgia Tech Research Institute.Gina holds bachelor's degrees in psychology and computer science from Trinity University and an MS in human-computer interaction from the Georgia Institute of Technology, where her research focused on evaluating the accessibility of physical and digital products to people with disabilities. Gina Bhawalkar on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ginabhawalkar/ ---------- Resources ---------- Forrester: https://www.forrester.com We're proud to be a media partner for #MAICON26 - Oct. 13-15! Learn how AI can power your marketing and business and help you grow smarter. Use code AGILE150 to save! https://aglbrnd.co/r/7fe458ced0f04658Reach your customers with Reddit. Spend $500 in ad spend, get $500 back in ad credit! Learn more: https://advertalize.com/r/491818c79fb1873fThe most influential minds in software, AI, and engineering leadership will be at WeAreDevelopers World Congress North America, September 23-25 in San Jose. Learn more: https://aglbrnd.co/r/60a7299222a7bcf1 Enjoyed the show? Tell us more at and give us a rating so others can find the show at: https://aglbrnd.co/r/faaed112fc9887f3 Connect with Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkihlstromDon't miss a thing: get the latest episodes, sign up for our newsletter and more: https://aglbrnd.co/r/35ded3ccfb6716ba Check out The Agile Brand Guide website with articles, insights, and Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://www.agilebrandguide.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if your next customer isn't a person, but an AI agent acting on their behalf? And what if that agent is evaluating your brand on a purely logical, data-driven basis, completely devoid of the emotional hooks your marketing has always relied on?Agility requires not just adapting to changing customer behaviors, but also redefining who—or what—our customer even is. It demands that we build operational and strategic frameworks that can cater to both human emotional drivers and the cold, hard logic of machines.Today, we are at Forrester CX in New York City, and we're going to talk about a fundamental shift in the customer journey: the rise of the AI agent as an influential, and in some cases, decision-making persona. This isn't just about using AI in our marketing; it's about marketing to AI. We'll explore what it means when our brand's message needs to be optimized not just for human perception, but for machine interpretation and evaluation.To help me discuss this topic, I'd like to welcome Chuck Gahun, Principal Analyst at Forrester. About Chuck Gahun Chuck is a leader in Forrester's Digital Business & Strategy practice serving business and digital executives. His research coverage includes content management systems (CMSes), product information management (PIM) systems, and commerce services and strategy for B2B and B2C companies. Chuck helps executives design strategies that deliver customer and business value by partnering with technology vendors and services providers. Chuck has 20 years of experience in content and commerce. He specializes in digital strategy, experience design, and technology initiatives in CMSes, e-commerce systems, digital asset management (DAM) systems, PIM systems, digital experience platforms (DXPs), and several others. He has led strategy and implementations for brands like Goldman Sachs, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Hilti, Marriott, AARP, and the Centers for Disease Control. Prior to joining Forrester, Chuck was a managing director and partner at Shift7 Digital (a Merkle company) and held senior management positions at ZS Medullan and Publicis Sapient. Chuck holds a BA in government and international politics and an MS in technology management from George Mason University. Chuck Gahun on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckgahun/ ---------- Resources ---------- Forrester: https://www.forrester.com We're proud to be a media partner for #MAICON26 - Oct. 13-15! Learn how AI can power your marketing and business and help you grow smarter. Use code AGILE150 to save! https://aglbrnd.co/r/7fe458ced0f04658Reach your customers with Reddit. Spend $500 in ad spend, get $500 back in ad credit! Learn more: https://advertalize.com/r/491818c79fb1873fThe most influential minds in software, AI, and engineering leadership will be at WeAreDevelopers World Congress North America, September 23-25 in San Jose. Learn more: https://aglbrnd.co/r/60a7299222a7bcf1 Enjoyed the show? Tell us more at and give us a rating so others can find the show at: https://aglbrnd.co/r/faaed112fc9887f3 Connect with Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkihlstromDon't miss a thing: get the latest episodes, sign up for our newsletter and more: https://aglbrnd.co/r/35ded3ccfb6716ba Check out The Agile Brand Guide website with articles, insights, and Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://www.agilebrandguide.com The Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.company Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of the EMARKETER Cannes Podcast Miniseries, we explore brand partnerships, retail data, and what it takes for retailers and brands to build more accountable, sustainable long-term growth together.   Sarah Marzano, Vice President and Principal Analyst at EMARKETER, sits down with Christine Foster, Group Vice President, Commercial Strategy and Operations at Kroger Precision Marketing, for a conversation recorded at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.   Get more insights like these with our free, industry-leading newsletters covering advertising, marketing, and commerce. Sign up at emarketer.com/newsletters Follow us on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/emarketer/ For sponsorship opportunities contact us: advertising@emarketer.com For more information visit: https://www.emarketer.com/advertise/ Have questions or just want to say hi? Drop us a line at podcast@emarketer.com Cannes Lion 2026 Coverage Center: https://www.emarketer.com/learningcenter/toolkits/cannes-lions-2026/   For a transcript of this episode click here: https://www.emarketer.com/content/podcast-kroger-precision-marketing-discusses-how-marketers-rethinking-brand-growth-strategies © 2026 EMARKETER   Kroger Precision Marketing (KPM) is the retail media business of Kroger designed to make brand advertising more effective by closing the loop between media exposure and store sales. Powered by 84.51˚data science, and Kroger's popular loyalty card program, KPM connects consumers to brands through engaging moments that inspire purchasing online or in-store. https://www.krogerprecisionmarketing.com

On this episode of Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different, we welcome back Ray Wang, Chairman and CEO of Constellation Research, and widely regarded as one of the most insightful technology analysts in the world. In a recent conversation with Christopher Lochhead, Ray Wang shared his unfiltered perspective on the biggest developments shaping the technology landscape today. From the historic SpaceX IPO to the transformative acquisition of Cursor, Ray Wang offered sharp analysis that cuts through the noise and gets to what actually matters for businesses and investors navigating an AI-driven world. The conversation covered topics that most analysts are still catching up on, including why knowledge workers need to rethink their value, what Data Inc companies actually are, and why the context layer above large language models may be the most important competitive battleground of the next decade. What makes Ray Wang’s perspective so valuable is not just his breadth of knowledge but his ability to synthesize experience into wisdom, which is precisely the distinction he draws when talking about why AI cannot replace truly seasoned professionals. You're listening to Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different. We are the real dialogue podcast for people with a different mind. So get your mind in a different place, and hey ho, let's go.   Ray Wang on AI, Knowledge Work, and the Commoditization of Expertise Ray Wang makes a clear and compelling distinction between knowledge and wisdom. He argues that knowledge has become a commodity, but wisdom, the ability to take insights and turn them into meaningful action, remains deeply human and increasingly valuable. As AI automates deterministic, repetitive tasks, what rises in importance is judgment, the capacity to learn from failure and connect dots in ways that no model trained exclusively on successful outcomes can replicate. This reframing is critical for anyone worried about AI displacing their career. Ray Wang points out that AI systems today learn only from success, with no real failure database informing their outputs. That gap is where experienced professionals earn their keep. Businesses are increasingly paying for people who have lived through cycles of failure and recovery, not simply those who can recite information retrieved from a search index.   The SpaceX IPO and What Ray Wang Says It Means for the Future of Markets Ray Wang describes the SpaceX IPO as a completely new playbook, one that flipped conventional wisdom about how public offerings should be structured. Rather than allocating the vast majority of shares to institutional investors through a traditional roadshow, SpaceX directed somewhere between 20 and 30 percent of the offering toward retail investors. Ray Wang sees this as Elon Musk rewarding the individual investors who stayed loyal through years of volatility, particularly the Tesla shareholders who held on despite relentless short-selling pressure. Beyond the allocation strategy, Ray Wang highlights how Musk essentially told the markets to take it or leave it at a fixed price, bypassing the typical price-discovery process. The Nasdaq inclusion guaranteed a floor without needing the traditional green shoe option to do the heavy lifting. Ray Wang believes this model could influence how future high-profile tech companies, including OpenAI and Anthropic, approach their own public offerings, fundamentally shifting leverage away from Wall Street banks and toward founders and retail participants.   Ray Wang Explains Data Inc Companies and the Context Layer That Defines AI Competitive Advantage Ray Wang has been developing a framework he calls the Data Inc company, a concept centered on the idea that businesses that treat data as their primary asset, combined with strong distribution, will dominate the AI era. According to Ray Wang, unique data sets that no competitor can access or replicate are the foundation of next-generation competitive moats. Companies that fail to own their data and build derivative products from it will find themselves structurally disadvantaged as AI capabilities become more broadly available. Taking that framework one step further, Ray Wang agrees that the real battleground is not the large language model itself but the contextual layer that sits above it. This semantic and contextual wrapper, built from proprietary data and accumulated organizational knowledge, is what gives AI outputs meaning and reduces hallucinations. Swapping out one LLM for another becomes straightforward when this context layer is robust, much like swapping one database for another in a well-architected system. Ray Wang adds one more dimension that elevates the entire conversation: persistent memory. The ability for AI systems to retain learnings across interactions and pass that accumulated intelligence to downstream systems is, in his view, the true home run of enterprise AI. Decision velocity, powered by a rich contextual layer and persistent memory, is what separates companies that merely adopt AI from those that build genuine exponential advantage from it. To hear more from Ray Wang and his thoughts about the Future of Tech, download and listen to this episode.   Bio R “Ray” Wang (pronounced WAHNG) is the Founder, Chairman, and Principal Analyst of Silicon Valley based Constellation Research Inc. He co-hosts DisrupTV, a weekly enterprise tech and leadership webcast that averages 50,000 views per episode and authors a business strategy and technology blog that has received millions of page views per month.  Wang also serves as a non-resident Senior Fellow at The Atlantic Council's GeoTech Center. Since 2003, Ray has delivered thousands of live and virtual keynotes around the world that are inspiring and legendary. Wang has spoken at almost every major tech conference. His ground-breaking bestselling book on digital transformation, Disrupting Digital Business, was published by Harvard Business Review Press in 2015.  Ray's new book about Digital Giants and the future of business titled, Everybody Wants to Rule the World will be released July 2021 by Harper Collins Leadership. Ray Wang is well quoted and frequently interviewed in media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, Fox Business News, CNBC, Yahoo Finance, Cheddar, CGTN America, Bloomberg, Tech Crunch, ZDNet, Forbes, and Fortune.  He is one of the top technology analysts in the world.   Links Follow Ray Wang! Website | Twitter | LinkedIn | Constellation Research | DisrupTV   We hope you enjoyed this episode of Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different™! Christopher loves hearing from his listeners. Feel free to email him, connect on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and subscribe on Apple Podcast / Spotify!

The conversation around artificial intelligence has shifted. It is no longer a question of what AI can do, it is a question of where it belongs inside an organization and how to integrate it into the fundamental operating system of a business. Brian Bryson, principal technology analyst at MIT Technology Review, has been tracking that shift closely, and his conclusion is clear: AI is no longer a technology problem. It is a change management problem. As one of the most trusted voices in technology research and analysis, Bryson helps senior executives, policymakers, and business leaders cut through the hype, understand what is real, and prepare for what is coming next. MIT Technology Review reaches millions of influential decision makers across technology and business, and Bryson sits at the center of that conversation, connecting technical breakthroughs in AI, quantum, and energy to the real-world business implications that matter most to the leaders navigating them.On this episode of The Reboot Chronicles Podcast, we sit down with Brian Bryson, principal analyst at MIT Technology Review, to unpack how AI adoption is evolving from experimentation to enterprise integration, what the most forward-thinking organizations are doing differently, why the convergence of AI, quantum, and energy represents the next major investment thesis, and how MIT is repositioning itself around the most consequential technology forces of our time. Bryson also shares his personal reboot story that taught him why slower is sometimes faster, and why rebuilding from the foundation up is the only way to build something that lasts.

The Experience Strategy Podcast Hosts: Aransas Savas, Dave Norton, Joe Pine Featured articles: "Death of the Segment: Why Personas Are Killing Personalization" — SwiftERM "Your Personas Are Outdated. It's Time to Evolve Your Approach." — Audrey Chee-Read, Principal Analyst, Forrester Every other post on LinkedIn is announcing the death of something. Most of it is alarmist storytelling dressed up as insight. But under the noise, two recent articles — one from SwiftERM, one from Forrester — are pointing at a real problem: personas and segmentation, built for an earlier era of marketing, have become a drag on personalization in the era of AI. Dave, Joe, and Aransas trace where personas actually came from, why they got merged with segmentation, what AI changes about the math, and what should replace the persona as the stable determinant companies are still looking for. The answer Dave keeps returning to: situations. Key Ideas Personas were never built for marketers. Dave opens with the history. The persona originated around 1999–2001 as a design thinking technique to get engineers to think more like customers. It worked. Then it migrated into marketing and merged with segmentation, and the original purpose got lost. Segmentation is the search for a stable determinant. Companies need something they can count on to define a market — geography, demographics, lifestyle, generation. Stable determinants make markets identifiable, and identifiable markets are countable. But the stability is increasingly fictional. Customers are not stable. They want different things at different times. Joe's arc: mass market → segments → niches → markets of one → markets within one. Joe walks the progression from Henry Ford's mass market through Alfred Sloan's segments through the minivan that opened up niche thinking. Stan Davis's Future Perfect (1987) saw the path to markets of one. What comes next is the flip: multiple markets inside every customer. Joe on a business trip is a different market than Joe on a leisure trip with his wife, even though it is the same person and the same credit card. This is the situational markets argument. Dave's frame: situations can be the new stable determinant. Friday night with your wife is a context. Monday morning before work is a context. Travel in cold Chicago is a different context than travel in France. The behavior changes with the context, even when the person does not. The SwiftERM line that lands the case. "While your team is busy building a persona for Sarah, the 35-year-old yoga enthusiast, Sarah has already moved on. She isn't a persona. She's a dynamic stream of intent." She bought a yoga mat six months ago. For the last three days, her behavior shows interest in high-end supplements and weightlifting gear. The persona missed the shift. The window of intent closed before the system caught up. Bayesian thinking is the right math for this. Predictive analytics has historically used past behavior to predict future behavior — yesterday you watched a romance, so tomorrow you will too. The newer move is using context, not just history. Yesterday you watched a romance because it was Friday and you were with your wife. The probability updates with every new piece of information. AI makes this practical at scale for the first time. The Apple Watch and Netflix examples make it concrete. The latest Apple Watch update no longer just serves up the workout you did last. It serves up the workout you usually do on that day of the week. Aransas lifts Monday and Wednesday and the watch knows. Netflix recommends romance on Friday night because the pattern holds across the whole user base. Restaurants have understood this for a hundred years — they do not serve breakfast at nine at night because they read the context. Customers have the same AI you do. Joe's reminder at the end is the one that should make every CMO uneasy. Customers can now vibecode their own shopping experience. They can customize as easily as you can customize for them, and they will configure it for their own context every time. The companies that win are the ones whose offerings can flex to the customer's situation, not the ones with the most polished persona deck. A Word on "Moments" Dave makes a careful distinction at the end. Moments is the right idea, but 20 years of design thinking have loaded the term with retail-moment-one, retail-moment-two, retail-moment-three thinking — discrete and product-out, not organic and customer-out. Situations carry the meaning without the baggage. Memorable Moments Joe: "I might be multiple personas, but you never say there's a person, they're that persona. That's just wrong — morally, much less business-wise." Joe: "Dave has yet to find a situation in which talking about situations does not work." Dave's bathroom study: weather changed bathroom usage at French gas stations. It did not move the needle at Chicago train stations. Different situational markets. Aransas on the Paris Marathon: one toilet, a hundred urinals, 20,000 runners — half of whom needed to sit. A persona designed for one imagined customer, and the actual situation ignored. Joe on the American Girl Place men's bathroom stocking products that men do not use — because the company actually thought about who was walking in with their daughter. The Strategic Takeaway Companies need something they can count on. Personas have stopped being that thing. Aggregated situations — Friday night, business travel with kids, post-workout, end-of-quarter — are stable enough to plan against and dynamic enough to respect what the customer actually wants in the moment. AI no longer makes one-to-one a scary thing to attempt. The excuse is gone. The companies that move now will be the ones the customer feels actually understands them. Subscribe and Continue the Conversation Find the show on the Experience Strategist Substack, the podcast feed, and everywhere else. Article links in the show notes.

Small rural hospitals keep entire communities alive, and they're quietly running out of road. In this episode, host CCB sits down with Aaron McKenzie, Senior Strategist, and Eric Peabody, Principal Analyst at Taylor Design's Cove Studio, to unpack their 2025 ONEder Grant research into one of healthcare's most underfunded problems: strategic planning for under-resourced rural and community hospitals. Through interviews with hospital executives across the country, the team mapped a layered crisis of financial constraint, recruitment chicken-and-eggs, and the surprising importance of narrative continuity in long-horizon planning. Their response: four lightweight, AI-enabled tools designed to give overstretched facilities teams, and their local generalist architects, a real fighting chance. This is research that meets communities where they are today.

Are there positive findings in a new Bankrate housing market index report? Principal analyst with Bankrate, Ted Rossman joins the show to break down their findings. 

This week, former Forrester Research Director, Jeff Clark, is back in the studio with our host Ian Truscott to discuss an article from Anthony McPartlin, Principal Analyst at Forrester, Agentic Prospecting: Seven Reasons The Hype Falls Short. Demand generation and prospecting have changed, with sales teams now armed with tools that allow them to run lead generation campaigns across LinkedIn and email, which was traditionally the role of marketing, but now this role is being handed to the robots, with agentic prospecting handling everything from deciding the ICP, buyer personas, to executing the campaign.  Picking 5 f'in' things from the article, as is the editorial policy of the podcast, Ian and Jeff discuss: Agentic Prospecting Assumes Signal Quality That Doesn't Exist The Assumption that Sales is a Numbers Game Accuracy is Fragile Due to Heavy Reliance On LLMs & External Data The Fallacy of End-To-End Autonomy Claims The Spam Problem Ian then joins Robert Rose in the virtual bar, The Rose & Rockstar, to discuss Robert's recent article from The Content Marketing Institute - Content-Led Marketing: The Essential Strategy for the AI Era. They discusses the evolution of marketing strategies from campaigns to content-led marketing, and the impact of AI and community building on brand storytelling. Enjoy! — The Links The people: Ian Truscott on LinkedIn  Jeff Clark on LinkedIn Robert Rose on LinkedIn Mentioned this week: Agentic Prospecting: Seven Reasons The Hype Falls Short Tuesday 2¢ - The Cost of the Easy Button Content-Led Marketing: The Essential Strategy for the AI Era Robert's podcast: This Old Marketing  Robert's newsletter: Lens, his websites, robertrose.net and seventhbear.com Rockstar CMO: The Beat Newsletter that we send every Monday Rockstar CMO on the web and LinkedIn Previous episodes and all the show notes: Rockstar CMO FM. Track List: We'll be right back by Stienski & Mass Media on YouTube Piano Music is by Johnny Easton, shared under a Creative Commons license The Miracles - Love Machine You can listen to this on all good podcast platforms, like Apple, Amazon, and Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Send us Fan MailRod Scholl is the Founder and Principal Analyst at Epsilon FEA, an engineering services company he launched in 2008 to specialize in advanced numerical analysis and simulation-driven problem solving. With nearly two decades at the helm, Rod has built Epsilon FEA into a trusted partner for companies tackling challenging structural, thermal, and dynamic performance problems across a wide range of industries.Before founding Epsilon FEA, Rod spent over a decade at PADT, Inc. as a Specialist Engineer in Analysis. There, he led and executed FEA projects using the ANSYS toolset, supporting everything from early-stage R&D concept exploration to highly regulated FAA and DOT-certified analyses. Rod not only delivered simulations — he helped organizations implement FEA strategically, advising on licensing, training, internal resource development, and competitive advantage through simulation.Earlier in his career, Rod worked at Honeywell Aerospace, where he analyzed and redesigned turbine engine components using closed-form calculations, ANSYS FEA, and life prediction tools. His work resulted in improved component life, material cost savings, and enhanced manufacturability — grounding his simulation expertise in real-world hardware performance.Rod holds a BSME in Engineering Mechanics from Arizona State University and has built his career around one central belief: simulation is most powerful when it's applied with engineering judgment. Through Epsilon FEA, he continues to help engineering teams reduce risk, improve product performance, and make confident, data-backed decisions.LINKS:Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/epsilonfea/Guest website: https://epsilonfea.com/Aaron Moncur, host Subscribe to the show to get notified so you don't miss new episodes every Friday.The Being An Engineer podcast is brought to you by Pipeline Design & Engineering. Pipeline partners with medical & other device engineering teams who need turnkey equipment like cycle test machines, custom test fixtures, automation equipment, assembly jigs, inspection stations and more. You can find us at www.teampipeline.usWatch the show on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@TeamPipelineus 

This week's show is entitled, "Seven AI Agent Archetypes for B2B GTM" and my guest is Jessie Johnson, Principal Analyst at Forrester. Tune in as we discuss... AI isn't replacing marketers, it's reshaping what they do. The fear of being replaced is shifting toward a more useful question: what do I bring to this that AI can't? Not all AI agents are created equal. Forrester's seven AI agent archetypes give go-to-market teams a practical way to think about which type of AI they need and where it actually belongs in their workflow. Trust AI aggressively, but verify religiously. The teams winning with AI aren't the ones who set it and forget it…they're the ones who stay deeply in the loop, questioning outputs until the trust is truly earned and the sources are transparent. Listen Now | Watch the video HERE Matt interviews the best and brightest minds in sales and Marketing.  If you would like to be a guest on Sales Pipeline Radio send an email to acceleration@heinzmarketing.com. Sales Pipeline Radio was recently listed as one of 30 Best Sales Management Podcasts and Top 60 Sales Podcasts You can subscribe right at Sales Pipeline Radio and/or listen to full recordings of past shows everywhere you listen to podcasts! You can even ask Siri, Alexa and Google or search on Audible!  

Rajiv talks with Mike Ni (Constellation Research) about why AI makes old go-to-market playbooks less useful and why experience, judgment, and outcome thinking become the real edge. We break down enterprise-grade context, closed-loop learning, and what changes when humans start managing both people and AI agents.• LLMs commoditizing expertise while elevating experience and question quality• Aligning go-to-market work to outcomes as roles converge across marketing and sales• Humans becoming the bottleneck through constant review and context switching• Defining enterprise context through semantics, memory, and traceability• Replacing dashboards with learning loops and decision automation that improves over time• Comparing Meta's closed-loop AI ROI with Microsoft's slower enterprise payoff• Rethinking SaaS pricing as seat counts fall and value shifts toward decisions and platforms• System integrators pivoting from stitching apps to redesigning end-to-end AI-enabled processesYour best “proven” playbook might already be obsolete, and AI is the reason. From Park City, Utah, we sit down with returning guest Mike Ni, VP and principal analyst at Constellation Research, to unpack what happens when large language models commoditize expertise and the real differentiator becomes experience, judgment, and asking better questions. If you lead go-to-market, marketing, sales, RevOps, or product, the stakes are no longer incremental improvements. The pressure is to design for outcomes and build systems that learn faster than your competitors.We dig into why humans are suddenly the bottleneck in AI-enabled workflows, and how burnout shows up when people sit in the middle of automated flows doing nonstop review and context switching. That leads to a provocative shift: managers won't just manage humans, they'll manage AI agents too. To make that workable, enterprise AI needs more than a clever chatbot. It needs context you can trust: shared semantics, stateful memory, and decision traceability so inputs stay fresh, constrained, and permission-aware at execution time.We also break down “dashboards die, decision loops live”, why closed-loop learning makes ROI provable, and the tale of two cities between Meta's immediate AI payoff and Microsoft's more gated enterprise story. Then we get practical about SaaS pricing pressure as seats decline, plus how system integrators can move from integration tax to building unified systems of context while controlling token costs with the right mix of ML and generative AI.Mike Ni: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelni/Mike Ni is the VP & Principal Analyst at Constellation Research, Inc., having previously served as the CMO of Openprise, CGO Coveo and CPO at Avangatel. Drawing on over 25 years of executive experience, Mike specializes in driving growth for SaaS companies and brings deep expertise in product strategy, go-to-market execution, and RevOps-enabled journey orchestration.  In his current role, he covers the fast-evolving Data-to-Decision Automation landscape. Mike also holds an impressive "trifecta" of degrees: a BS in Mechanical Engineering from MIT, an MS in Systems Engineering from Stanford, and an MBA from Harvard Business SchoolWebsite: https://www.position2.com/podcast/Rajiv Parikh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajivparikh/Sandeep Parikh: https://www.instagram.com/sandeepparikh/Email us with any feedback for the show: sparkofages.podcast@position2.com

In this Brandon Hall Group™ Excellence at Work Podcast, Michael Rochelle, Chief Strategy Officer and Principal Analyst at Brandon Hall Group, joins Anastasia Tsimiklis, Chief Marketing Officer at Explorance, to explore why this is a defining moment for learning and development and what L&D leaders must do to prove their impact, earn their seat at the table, and drive measurable business outcomes. This conversation offers a sneak peek at Michael's keynote, "Performance or Irrelevance: The Moment of Truth for L&D and Talent," taking place at Explorance World 2026 in Boston, June 16-19 at Boston University.

Dani Johnson is Co-Founder and Principal Analyst at RedThread Research, and returns to the show to unpack how learning and development is being reshaped in real time. Drawing on new research, she offers a different perspective on the centralized vs decentralization org structure and staffing model, and instead argues for more intentional, decision-based design. Dani also shares why Learning and Development's pursuit of having a “Seat at the table” may be fading and why that might not be a bad thing. From the rise of workflow-based learning to the growing importance of data and change management, she outlines what it means to be tactically strategic. Linkshttps://redthreadresearch.com/redthread-summit-2026https://www.linkedin.com/in/dani-johnson/

US equity futures rose, reversing earlier declines, helped along by late-market gains in Alphabet Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. Meanwhile, Meta Platforms Inc. shares slid in post-market trading alongside Microsoft Corp., keeping alive lingering concerns over artificial intelligence spending. We heard from Maribel Lopez, Lopez Research Founder and Principal Analyst. She spoke to Bloomberg's Shery Ahn and Haidi Stroud-Watts. Plus - Federal Reserve officials left interest rates unchanged, but revealed a deepening division over the outlook for policy amid increased uncertainty caused by the conflict in the Middle East. Four officials voted against the decision, including three who objected to language in their post-meeting statement that suggested the central bank would eventually resume cutting rates. In what will be his last press conference as Fed chair, Jerome Powell said he intends to remain at the central bank as a member of its Board of Governors. We heard from Jeanette Garretty, Robertson Stephens Chief Economist. She spoke to Bloomberg's Haidi Stroud-Watts and Shery Ahn. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's YOUR time to #EdUp with Dave Kieffer, Principal Analyst & Matt Winn, Principal Analyst, The Tambellini GroupIn this episode, recorded LIVE from the Ellucian Live 2026 conference in Denver, Colorado,YOUR cohost is Nandini Khedkar, Senior Director of Corporate Strategy & Research, EllucianYOUR host is Dr. Jodi BlincoListen in to #EdUpThank YOU so much for tuning in. Join us on the next episode for YOUR time to EdUp!Connect with YOUR EdUp Team - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Elvin Freytes⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Dr. Joe Sallustio⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠● Join YOUR EdUp community at ⁠The EdUp Experience⁠We make education YOUR business!P.S. Want access to the only intelligence platform built exclusively from presidential conversations in higher education? Join EdUp Leadership!

In this episode, we discuss digital screens and audio, connecting in-store exposure to purchase, attribution challenges, retailer infrastructure investments, and shopper experience considerations. EMARKETER Vice President & Principal Analyst, Sarah Marzano hosts Gabi Viljoen, Vice President & Head of eCommerce at Nestlé Health Science and Austin Leonard, Vice President and General Manager of DG Media Network.   Get more insights like these with our free, industry-leading newsletters covering advertising, marketing, and commerce. Sign up at emarketer.com/newsletters Follow us on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/emarketer/ For sponsorship opportunities contact us: advertising@emarketer.com For more information visit: https://www.emarketer.com/advertise/ Have questions or just want to say hi? Drop us a line at podcast@emarketer.com For a transcript of this episode click here: https://www.emarketer.com/content/podcast-screens-shelves-signals-retail-media-s-in-store-opportunity-behind-numbers-special-edition © 2026 EMARKETER

In today's podcast episode, EMARKETER Vice President & Principal Analyst, Sarah Marzano, examines what's holding in-store back, what it will take to overcome these constraints, and where the most meaningful opportunities lie as retailers work to scale the next stage of retail media. Get more insights like these with our free, industry-leading newsletters covering advertising, marketing, and commerce. Sign up at emarketer.com/newsletters Follow us on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/emarketer/ For sponsorship opportunities contact us: advertising@emarketer.com For more information visit: https://www.emarketer.com/advertise/ Have questions or just want to say hi? Drop us a line at podcast@emarketer.com For a transcript of this episode click here: https://www.emarketer.com/content/podcast-in-store-unlock-retail-media-s-next-stage-behind-numbers-special-edition © 2026 EMARKETER

In this special episode, Pete is joined by Holger Mueller, VP and Principal Analyst at Constellation Research, live from the annual Zoho Day 2026 analyst event and update in Austin, Texas! Drawing on decades of watching Zoho grow from early cloud pioneer to fully integrated “ecosystem,” Holger breaks down what makes Zoho's horizontally and vertically integrated stack so distinctive, and why its people-first culture and homegrown talent strategy show up so clearly in its products and customer relationships.  Pete and Holger dive into the noisy “SaaS is dead” narrative and cut through the hype around AI agents, cloud, and data. They unpack why back-end modernization and elasticity still matter, why all‑in‑one suites are back in vogue, and how integration gaps quietly sabotage ROI in HCM, payroll, and benefits. From orchestration and data lakes to edge computing and mobile‑only HR, they explore how frontline employees, real‑time payments, and smartphones at the “edge” are reshaping how work gets done  Holger argues HR must lean into technology, get closer to IT and data governance, and use AI to turn static policies and PDFs into conversational, employee-friendly experiences, while protecting trust, security, and compliance.   Connect with Holger: LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/holgermueller/ X: https://x.com/holgermu BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/holgerbsky.bsky.social Constellation Research: https://www.constellationr.com/  Connect with the show: LinkedIn:  http://linkedin.com/company/hr-payroll-2-0 X: @HRPayroll2_0  X: @PeteTiliakos  X: @JulieFer_HR BlueSky: @hrpayroll2o.bsky.social YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HRPAYROLL2_0  WRKDefined Podcast Network: https://wrkdefined.com/podcast/hr-payroll-20  Thank you to our marquee sponsors for powering the HR & Payroll 2.0 podcast forward!  G-P ‘Globalization Partners': https://www.globalization-partners.com/ OneSource Virtual: https://hubs.ly/Q03YFNR90 Zoho: https://www.zoho.com/press.html Thank you to our ‘wizard behind the curtain' and show producer Ryan Kielma: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-kielma/

In this special episode of Mainframe Voices, we explore how open source is helping people discover, enter, and grow their careers on the mainframe. Our guests share how contributing to open source projects on IBM Z has given them hands‑on experience, visibility, and a community that supports their professional journeys.Featuring: •Steven Dickens – CEO and Principal Analyst, Top 3 Global Technology Industry Analyst, Advisor to Tech Vendor Executives •Sarah Julia Kriesch - Senior Lead, Mainframe Architect & Open Source Evangelist - zCloud @Kyndryl•John Lovett - Head of Education & Customer Engagement for the Mainframe Software Division @Broadcom Inc.•Junior Tamekem Tadiffo - IBM Z Student Ambassador•Marcus Davage - Lead Product Developer@BMC Software•Hunter Johnson - Product Marketing Engineer@Beyond Code(Broadcom)You will hear how open source has: - Lowered the barrier to getting practical mainframe experience - Helped contributors build portfolios they can share with employers - Created mentorship and networking opportunities across the global ecosystem.The Mainframe Connect podcast includes the I Am a Mainframer series, Mainframe Voices, and other content exploring relevant topics with mainframe professionals, sponsored by the Open Mainframe Project, a Linux Foundation initiative.#MainframeVoices #MainframeConnect #OpenMainframeProject #LinuxFoundation #Mainframe #OpenSource #IBMZ

In this episode of The Story of a Brand, host Rose Hamilton, CEO of Compass Rose Ventures, sits down with Sucharita Kodali, Vice President and Principal Analyst at Forrester Research, for a thoughtful and strategic conversation about the forces reshaping modern retail. The discussion draws on Rose's experience as an operator inside brands like The Vitamin Shoppe and Nutrafol, where Forrester's research often informed critical boardroom decisions. Throughout the episode, Rose and Sucharita unpack how retail strategy has evolved—from marketplaces and DTC to retail media and AI—and why leaders today must think beyond growth tactics to understand leverage, channel strategy, and long-term enterprise value. Key moments from the episode include: * Why brands should approach marketplaces strategically and consider the sequencing of channels when building long-term value * The importance of "e-control"—protecting pricing, distribution integrity, and brand presentation across marketplaces * How retail media networks are becoming structural components of retailer economics * What leaders should understand about AI and generative AI in retail today—and where the hype exceeds reality * Why the most effective research blends data with narrative to create conviction and drive decision-making This episode offers an inside look at how data-driven insight shapes the biggest strategic decisions in retail and commerce. Join us in listening to the episode to hear Rose Hamilton and Sucharita Kodali explore the patterns, shifts, and lessons that continue to influence how brands build durable growth in a rapidly evolving marketplace. For more on Sucharita Kodali and Forrester Research visit: https://www.forrester.com/bold/ If you enjoyed this episode, please leave The Story of a Brand Show a rating and review.  Plus, don't forget to follow us on Apple and Spotify.  Your support helps us bring you more content like this!

Welcome to another episode of Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different, featuring the legendary Ray Wang. In this memorable conversation, Christopher and Ray dive deep into the latest developments shaping the world of technology, business, and careers. From dissecting recent tech earnings from giants like Apple, Meta, Tesla and Microsoft to sharing insights from Davos and contemplating the implications of AI for the future of work and entrepreneurship. This episode delivers high-caliber analysis and practical takeaways for anyone navigating today’s rapidly evolving landscape. You're listening to Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different. We are the real dialogue podcast for people with a different mind. So get your mind in a different place, and hey ho, let's go. Lessons from Davos and the New Economic Realities Returning from a bustling Davos, Ray Wang shares his observations on how global leaders and executives are tackling an era defined by uncertainty, rapid technology adoption and a relentless pursuit of efficiency. One of Ray's core takeaways is the prevailing theme of “margin compression,” where even the world's largest corporations are working harder than ever just to achieve modest growth. Companies are now measured by their ability to scale exponentially, as illustrated by India's ISRO launching rockets at a fraction of NASA's cost, fundamentally altering competitive dynamics across industries. Ray explains that the rise of AI turbocharges this transformation by opening up “infinite possibilities.” Companies no longer just compete on physical or financial assets, but on their ability to harness vast data resources, quickly innovate and make sharp strategic choices about what problems to solve—and, crucially, what not to do. Privacy challenges, especially for companies like Apple, arise in this new era, making it difficult to deliver world-class AI solutions while maintaining rigorous data protection standards. Both Christopher and Ray emphasize that managing growth, inflation and investment are more complex than ever, with the U.S. outpacing much of the world in GDP growth, yet operating in a global environment rife with policy and market uncertainties. AI, Tech Earnings, and the Rise of the New IPO Era The conversation pivots to the massive investment and exuberance surrounding generative AI and tech infrastructure. Ray points out that while there are fears about overbuilding capacity or creating a circular funding loop among AI companies, there is still significant real opportunity. The current phase has seen enormous capital pour into building data centers and scalable AI platforms. Landmark IPOs from OpenAI, Databricks and others are expected to reshape the tech landscape. Despite market fluctuations and some outsized reactions to earnings, the fundamentals for big tech remain robust. Companies like Apple have solidified their status as luxury brands, even as others like Tesla and Meta retool and pivot to sustain long-term relevance and unlock new revenue streams such as robotics and energy. At the structural level, venture capital itself is in flux. Many VC firms have become indistinguishable from private equity, constrained both by too much and too little available capital relative to the demands of today's tech startups. The gap between small angel, family office, or solo GP funds and the mega funds has widened so much that the “middle” has all but disappeared. It is now entirely possible for one-person companies, through the leverage of AI and autonomous agents, to achieve scale and revenues previously thought impossible. Ray predicts it is likely we will see a single founder build a billion-dollar annual revenue company within the next five years, echoing the democratization and disruption that generative AI promises. Building Legendary Companies and Careers in the Age of AI Christopher and Ray close their discussion by exploring what all these rapid changes mean for leaders and individuals. For CEOs and entrepreneurs, the formula for thriving is clear but audacious. Leaders must design their companies to be fully autonomous and authentic, constantly reinventing their business as if they were attempting to disrupt themselves. Boards need to be stacked with people who grasp the new fundamentals: margin compression, exponential scale, and infinite possibilities brought by AI. Combining domain expertise with technical agility is more critical than ever, as the fusion of seasoned judgment and lightning-fast, innovative execution is where breakthroughs occur. On a personal level, Ray stresses that knowledge and execution are becoming commodities, rapidly automated by advances in AI. To stay relevant, individuals must become “macro analysts,” adept at synthesizing big ideas and patterns, deeply immersed in experimenting with new technologies and surrounded by others who are passionate about their own crafts. The traditional playbooks for career building, education, and even family strategies are being rewritten in real-time. The U.S. faces global competition for talent and innovation, and entrepreneurial energy is no longer confined to Silicon Valley or New York. The nature of immigration, investment and even educational choices must be reconsidered for new generations. In a world where the location and structure of opportunity are shifting, only those who embrace change, foster diverse collaborations and pursue purpose will continue to define the next era of legendary achievement. As both Christopher and Ray reflect, living and leading like Rob Burgess—embracing boldness, curiosity and authenticity—remains the path to being truly legendary in this rapidly changing world. To hear more from Ray Wang and his updates on the world of Tech and AI, download and listen to this episode. Bio R “Ray” Wang (pronounced WAHNG) is the Founder, Chairman, and Principal Analyst of Silicon Valley based Constellation Research Inc. He co-hosts DisrupTV, a weekly enterprise tech and leadership webcast that averages 50,000 views per episode and authors a business strategy and technology blog that has received millions of page views per month.  Wang also serves as a non-resident Senior Fellow at The Atlantic Council's GeoTech Center. Since 2003, Ray has delivered thousands of live and virtual keynotes around the world that are inspiring and legendary. Wang has spoken at almost every major tech conference. His ground-breaking bestselling book on digital transformation, Disrupting Digital Business, was published by Harvard Business Review Press in 2015.  Ray's new book about Digital Giants and the future of business titled, Everybody Wants to Rule the World will be released July 2021 by Harper Collins Leadership. Wang is well quoted and frequently interviewed in media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, Fox Business News, CNBC, Yahoo Finance, Cheddar, CGTN America, Bloomberg, Tech Crunch, ZDNet, Forbes, and Fortune.  He is one of the top technology analysts in the world. Links Follow Ray Wang! Website | Twitter | LinkedIn | Constellation Research | DisrupTV We hope you enjoyed this episode of Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different™! Christopher loves hearing from his listeners. Feel free to email him, connect on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and subscribe on Apple Podcast / Spotify!