About this episode

Scot Burdette discusses the importance of prioritizing data in digital transformation and the evolving role of the CIO.

🎙️ Data First, AI Second, People Always | Scot Burdette, ABB CIO "𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗹, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻." - Scot Burdette Scot Burdette runs digital transformation at ABB across 3 business lines, 60+ countries, and 17 factories. 40 years in technology, from HP and EDS to global division CIO, and a 2025 Ohio ORBIE Awards global finalist. In this conversation with Dave Goyal, he lays out a simple order of operations: 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁. 𝗔𝗜 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱. 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀. We get into the unglamorous data plumbing nobody celebrates, why a demo is the easy part, what good data means across 60 countries, capturing hard-won knowledge before people retire, and how the CIO role moved from the basement to the boardroom. If you lead data, AI, or a team through change, this one is for you. ⏱️ Chapters: 00:00 Meet Scot Burdette: 40 years, 60+ countries, 17 factories 01:01 A day when one decision touches 60 countries 03:34 Using AI to run his own calendar and time 05:30 Why expecting AI to be perfect on day one backfires 06:54 The multi-year build for end to end order automation 09:33 What good data actually means…

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