Maribel Lopez, Founder of Lopez Research, is one of the people you most want in your corner as a technology leader. She’s a trusted advisor to senior executives from startups to the largest global businesses, and has deep expertise in AI, cybersecurity, and customer experience transformation. But beyond her bonafides, Maribel is clear-eyed and practical about technology change, what leaders need to do to be successful, and why. In this episode, Susan and Maribel discuss why she believes the AI platform shift is different, why the data challenge is more meaningful in an AI world, her advice on building a strong technology foundation, and the unprecedented ability we now have to explore the art of the possible.

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Guest: ⁠Maribel Lopez⁠ | ⁠Lopez Research⁠

Related: ⁠The AI with Maribel Lopez Podcast⁠ | ⁠AI with Maribel on YouTube⁠

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Host: ⁠Susan Etlinger⁠

The Leading the Shift podcast is a place for experts to share their insights and opinions. As students of the future of technology, Microsoft values inputs from a diverse set of voices. That said, the opinions and findings of our guests are their own and they may not necessarily reflect Microsoft's own research or positions.

Great minds think alike—or do they? In this episode, Susan speaks with Hiren Shukla, Global Neurodiversity and Inclusive Value Leader, Ernst & Young LLP, about how neurodiversity—the idea that there is no single “right” way for the brain to function—is a source of compressed innovation, especially as generative AI expands the ways we interact with technology. Hiren discusses the mission of the Neurodiversity Center of Excellence (NCoE) and how his work has intersected with his personal journey. He shares examples of recent projects, from designing more inclusive interview experiences to collaborating with neurodivergent developers on the user experience for Azure AI Foundry. Finally, Hiren shares advice for leaders: to learn about and embrace the innovation potential of neurodiversity: what he calls “the beautiful capacity of thinking differently.”

Guest: Hiren Shukla | Ernst & Young LLP, Neurodiversity Center of Excellence (NCoE)

Related: EY helps enhance the inclusivity of AI development with Azure AI

Get more innovation insights from Microsoft Azure.

Discover and follow other Microsoft podcasts.

Host: Susan Etlinger

The Leading the Shift podcast is a place for experts to share their insights and opinions. As students of the future of technology, Microsoft values inputs from a diverse set of voices. That said, the opinions and findings of our guests are their own and they may not necessarily reflect Microsoft's own research or positions.

Basketball is life. And like life, it’s fast, fluid, and hard to measure. It’s about movement, split-second decisions, team dynamics, fan engagement and running a great business. In this episode, Susan talks with Charlie Rohlf about how his early days as a student manager for the legendary “Coach K” and his background in computer vision prepared him for his current role as Vice President, Stats Technology Product Development of the National Basketball Association. Charlie traces the evolution of basketball analytics from a single metric—the box score—to today’s ability to capture player pose tracking data, which enables the NBA to offer unprecedented insights to its customers, teams, and fans. Finally, Charlie shares his advice for leaders: make sure everyone understands the “why” behind everything you do.

Guest: Charlie Rohlf | NBA

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Related: How the NBA is innovating with cloud and AI

Get more innovation insights from Microsoft Azure.

Discover and follow other Microsoft podcasts.

Host: Susan Etlinger

The Leading the Shift podcast is a place for experts to share their insights and opinions. As students of the future of technology, Microsoft values inputs from a diverse set of voices. That said, the opinions and findings of our guests are their own and they may not necessarily reflect Microsoft's own research or positions.