Zinnov Podcast

Most companies answer the AI question by experimenting first and deciding later. At CAI Software, that order is reversed. On this episode of the Zinnov Podcast, the first in the AI Transformation Series, host Amita Goyal, Managing Partner, Zinnov, sat down with Brent Pietrzak, Chief Executive Officer, CAI Software, the manufacturing software company serving more than 15 industries, from seafood processing to aerospace. Brent took the role in the fall of 2025 after 25 years at Flexera. In his first year he launched a company-wide AI strategy built on three decisions: one leader for AI and technology, one AI provider as core infrastructure, and a bar set at autonomous agents rather than faster coding. The conversation covers why those decisions came before any tool, how CAI measures whether the strategy is working, what the shift from headcount spend to AI spend means for hiring, and why Brent argues that AI without domain knowledge gets nowhere. Zinnov Podcast ft. Brent Pietrzak, CAI Software Episode Summary On this Zinnov Podcast episode, CAI Software CEO Brent Pietrzak describes building a company-wide AI strategy in his first year: a combined Chief AI and Technology Officer role, standardization on a single AI provider, vertical engineering held inside each business unit with shared services for what crosses them, and an AI-first software development lifecycle that moved products three to seven times faster within four to five months. He sets out four things a manufacturing CEO should do first, the one thing to skip, and the industry belief he thinks is wrong. Tune in now.

Everyone knows Samsung. Far fewer know that Samsung R&D Institute India-Bangalore (SRIB), its second-largest R&D center outside Korea, has filed around 14,000 patents in the last decade, growing that count by about 20% a year. Even fewer know the man who runs it joined as an engineer in 1997, when the office built telephone systems for small offices. In this episode of the Zinnov Podcast, Mohan Rao Goli, Corporate Vice President & Managing Director, talks to Zinnov CEO Pari Natarajan about: • From one email to 5G. A casual note to a mentor in Korea brought 3G to Bangalore; a first commercial 3G phone followed in 2003, then full 4G software ownership, then global leadership of 5G commercialization. Mohan tells it from the inside.   • How SRIB became an IP engine. A brainstorm, a Samsung CSO saying "let's patent it," and a team that had to look up what a patent was. Today: 14,000 patents and standard-essential IP in communications. • Making engineering AI-native. SRIB is decomposing product development, recruitment, IP filing, and employee engagement into tasks and asking which AI should own. Mohan explains the one question that drives it. • GDP: Goals, Domain, Productivity. The framework he built this year when asked what engineers should unlearn, and what he chose to focus on instead. • "The model debate is gone." What he believes matters instead: on-device vs. cloud, and personalization without giving up privacy. • What India taught Samsung. Why "best audio" here means loudness over fidelity, why Galaxy cameras are tuned differently for India, and how Finance+, built for UPI-first consumers, became a sell-out tool across emerging markets. Thirty years in, this is a conversation about the next thirty. Tune in. #ZinnovPodcast #Samsung #SRIB #AI #EngineeringLeadership #RnDIndia

Theom's story began with a question its founders encountered at their previous company: Who was accessing enterprise data, what were they doing with it, and how could companies keep track? It was a challenge they set out to solve. With AI now accessing and acting on that same data, the stakes are much higher. Their approach is to build security and governance directly into the data and AI infrastructure, so enterprises can put AI to work with the right controls in place. In this episode of Zinnov Podcast, Karthik Padmanabhan, Managing Partner, Zinnov, speaks with Navindra Yadav, CEO & Co-Founder, Theom, and Ravi Sankuratri, COO & Co-Founder, Theom, about how AI can govern AI, why guardrails can accelerate adoption, and what makes their approach to enterprise data security different. Beyond the technology, they share how they're building an AI-native company, keeping engineers in control of AI agents, why they chose Hyderabad for their GCC, and what six years of entrepreneurship have taught them. Watch the full conversation for more.

Enterprise transformation has long been a priority, yet technology alone rarely delivers meaningful change.   As AI enters the enterprise at scale, the challenge is becoming even more pronounced: realizing its value requires organizations to rethink how work gets done, how people engage with change, and how technology fits into that equation.   In this episode of the Zinnov Podcast, Erica Volini, Chief Customer Officer at MongoDB, joins Rajat Kohli, Partner at Zinnov, to unpack what enterprise transformation demands in the AI era. From why go-live is only the beginning to the need to redesign work rather than simply make existing processes more efficient, Erica explores the organizational shifts needed to translate technology investments into enterprise impact.   The conversation spans workforce adoption, data readiness, leadership, cross-functional ownership, and partner ecosystems,  and what enterprises and technology companies need to rethink as AI changes the nature of work.   Tune in now.

Most companies building a GCC in India begin with execution and earn product ownership later. At isolved, that order is reversed. On this episode of the Zinnov Podcast, host Ravi Darbha sat down with Pragya Gupta, Chief Operating Officer, isolved and Amy Mosher, Chief People Officer, isolved, the HCM company opening its first center outside the United States in Hyderabad in 2026. Their framing for that center is an office of equals. Every function is staffed to its fullest, full-stack development and product ownership included, and every team is measured on the same outcomes as its US counterpart. The conversation covers why isolved waited until 2026 rather than 2016, how a four-decade-old company is standing up an R&D-led center from day one, where AI agents already run inside R&D and support operations, and why Amy Mosher argues that retention was never really about compensation. On this Zinnov Podcast episode, isolved's Pragya Gupta and Amy Mosher describe building the company's first India GCC in Hyderabad as an office of equals: an R&D-led center with full-stack development and product ownership from day one, AI agents kept inside a human-in-the-loop workflow, and outcome metrics held consistent across the US and India. Amy Mosher makes the case that retention depends on a holistic employee experience rather than compensation.  Tune in now. 

Every box on a shelf, every label on a bottle, every pouch in your pantry passed through a world most of us never think about. It's a business of wafer-thin margins, nonstop production lines, and zero room for error, and right now, AI is turning it upside down. In this episode, Nitika Goel, CMO and Managing Partner, Zinnov, sits down with Chuck Schneider, CEO of Amtech Software, whose systems run more than 1,250 packaging plants around the world. Chuck opens up about betting big on AI (every single employee now has an AI goal), and what it really takes to lead through relentless change. Along the way, he shares how growing up on an island of 37 people shaped his leadership style, why he's the last one to speak in the room, and the one thing that still keeps him up at night. It's a candid look at technology, culture, and staying ahead — with a masala dosa detour along the way. Tune in now.

In an AI-led world where workflows are getting commoditized and customer expectations are rising, what truly separates companies that live customer centricity from those that use it as lip service?   For Sarv Saravanan, Chief Customer Officer at Commvault, the answer lies in designing customer experience as an end-to-end operating model - one that connects product, engineering, partners, AI, and leadership around customer outcomes.   In this episode of the Zinnov Podcast, Sarv joins Nitika Goel, Managing Partner & CMO, Zinnov, to discuss how customer experience is being redefined for speed, trust, and resilience.   Sarv shares why customer centricity cannot sit in isolated functions or rely on bolt-on tools, but must be built into the product, operating model, partner ecosystem, and leadership culture. He also explores how AI is simplifying customer journeys, improving self-service, and empowering teams to focus on higher-value outcomes, while underscoring the need for governance, security, and trust. The conversation also examines how mature GCCs are strengthening customer proximity through faster product feedback, cross-functional collaboration, and outcome delivery.   Tune in for a sharp conversation on what it takes to make customer centricity real in the AI era.

Enterprises have never been more committed to AI, yet many are still struggling to translate that investment into measurable business value. For Dinesh Venugopal, CEO of Tenarai, this wasn't just an industry trend. It was showing up in conversations with business and technology leaders every day. He saw a massive opportunity to help enterprises accelerate their AI journey. After three decades as Infogain, the company reinvented itself as Tenarai, shifting from a traditional engineering services model to one built around AI squads, forward-deployed engineers, and outcome-based delivery. In this episode of Zinnov Podcast, Pari Natarajan, CEO of Zinnov, sits down with Dinesh at our New York office to discuss what prompted that shift, why so many enterprise AI initiatives never move beyond pilots, and what it actually takes to transform your own company before helping customers transform theirs. Tune in now.

There may be 400 million SMBs in the world, but there is no such thing as a typical SMB. That's what makes the segment so difficult and so valuable. From AI adoption and cybersecurity to marketplaces, partner ecosystems, and hyper-local go-to-market strategies, SMBs operate by a different set of rules than enterprises. What works for one business, industry, or geography may not work for another, making SMBs one of the most complex markets to understand and serve. In this episode of Zinnov Podcast, Kristine Henley, WW Head, Public Sector Partner Core at AWS, joins Rajat Kohli, Partner, Zinnov, to explore how SMBs are evolving, why many companies still misunderstand the segment, and what leaders need to do differently to build and scale successfully in the SMB market. Tune in now.

The partner ecosystem is changing. As AI reshapes enterprise technology and customers demand faster business outcomes, traditional partnership models built around co-marketing and channel reach are being challenged. In this episode of #ZinnovPodcast, Rajat Kohli, Partner at Zinnov, speaks with Alyssa Fitzpatrick, GVP, Partner Sales at Elastic, to discuss how partner ecosystems are evolving and what it takes to stay relevant in an increasingly competitive landscape. Together, they explore: • Why the future is customer-led, not partner-led • How AI is changing the way partner ecosystems are built • Why co-innovation is becoming more important than co-marketing and co-selling • The challenge of differentiation when every partner looks like an A+ player • How leading organizations identify and invest in the right ecosystem partners • The growing role of enablement, managed services, and ecosystem collaboration Whether you're a partner leader, alliance manager, technology executive, ecosystem builder, or GTM strategist, this episode offers valuable insights into the future of partnerships and ecosystem-led growth. Tune in now.