Over the past four years, I have been honored and proud to invite many of my close friends and peers to join me on my podcast, Chambers Talks, for discussions on the most-pressing challenges and opportunities facing businesses and governments today.
I started this podcast in the middle of the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, when all of us were navigating the unknown and, at least for me, craving meaningful connections and conversations as we continued to quarantine and social distance. A lot has changed since then, but Chambers Talks has remained a consistent source of learning, both for myself and for you, our loyal listeners.
As we enter year four of Chambers Talks this summer, I am reflecting on the 30 special episodes I’ve hosted with some of the brightest minds from different corners of the world. I welcome you to look back with me at some of our discussions on leadership, lessons learned, the hottest tech trends, global economic uncertainty, and so much more.
Friends for life,
JOHN CHAMBERS
And to the friends of the pod – the leaders who have made Chambers Talks possible with their invaluable insights and candor – thank you from the bottom of my heart. I learn more from our discussions than I could ever teach.
Shelley Moore Capito U.S. SENATOR WEST VIRGINIA
Ajay Banga PRESIDENT THE WORLD BANK
Raj Subramaniam CEO FEDERAL EXPRESS
Bill McDermott CEO SERVICENOW
Timotheus H ö ttges CEO DEUTSCHE TELEKOM
Arianna Huffington CEO THRIVE GLOBAL
Joe Manchin U.S. SENATOR WEST VIRGINIA
Thomas Kurian CEO GOOGLE CLOUD
Antonio Neri CEO
HEWLETT PACKARD ENTERPRISE
Eric Yuan CEO ZOOM
Brian Moynihan CEO BANK OF AMERICA
Hans Vestberg CEO VERIZON
Dr. Lisa Su CHAIR & CEO AMD
Arvind Krishna CEO IBM
B örje Ekholm CEO ERICSSON
PODCAST Series with JOHN CHAMBERS
Steve
CEO REVOLUTION
Neal
FOOTBALL HEAD COACH WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY
Bipul Sinha CEO RUBRIK
Cedrik Neike CEO OF DIGITAL INDUSTRIES SIEMENS
Ragy Thomas CEO SPRINKLR
Gustavo Sapoznik CEO ASAPP
Jim Whitehurst PRESIDENT (former) IBM
Jay Walder CEO (former) VIRGIN HYPERLOOP
John Chen CEO (former) BLACKBERRY
Peggy Johnson CEO (former) MAGIC LEAP
Idie Kesner DEAN (former) INDIANA UNIVERSITY KELLEY SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
Tony Werner PRESIDENT OF TECHNOLOGY, PRODUCT, XPERIENCE (former) COMCAST
Zac Bookman CEO OPENGOV
Vijay Balasubramaniyan CEO PINDROP
Philippe Wahl CEO LA POSTE
Hock Tan CEO BROADCOM
Mukesh Aghi CEO US-INDIA STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP FORUM
Padmasree Warrior CEO FABLE
Mike Fong CEO PRIVORO
Brown
Case
LEADERS DISCUSS WHAT’S NEXT FOR BUSINESS AND TECH WITH JOHN CHAMBERS
“In today’s competitive environment, it’s all about executing faster than ever imagined. For me, that means, it’s all about taking the opportunity that an unfortunate event like COVID-19 created and catching the market in transition to solve the newest, most press challenges.”
Antonio Neri, President & CEO
CHAPTER 1 / HEWLETT PACKARD ENTERPRISE / JULY 5, 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic led to a business environment many leaders had never seen before. While we have come out stronger than before four years later, in July 2020, many CEOs were struggling with how to navigate the changes happening overnight. Antonio Neri, CEO and President of HPE, was the inaugural Chambers Talks guest to discuss what was on everyone’s mind –how to sustain innovation and lead during a time of crisis. A key strategy to navigate the “new normal” for HPE was powering the newly remote workforce with innovative edge and cloud technology solutions.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
• New challenges can be a catalyst for innovation that leads to growth opportunities.
• Continuous innovation is key. HPE embraces three types – innovation that is organically driven, innovation driven by acquisitions, and innovation driven by partnerships.
Chambers Talks - A Podcast Series - Since 2020
• Competing against market transitions, rather than competitors – and doing it quickly – is crucial.
Listen the to full episode here and on:
JOHN CHAMBERS
LEADERS DISCUSS WHAT’S NEXT FOR BUSINESS AND TECH WITH JOHN CHAMBERS
“To emerge stronger on the other side of global challenges – like inflation, the widening skills gap, and supply chain risks – we have to leverage more than just people. We have to innovate and create a lot more technology. The answer lies with cloud and AI.”
Thomas Kurian, CEO
CHAPTER 2 / GOOGLE CLOUD / JANUARY 5, 2021
When Thomas Kurian assumed the role of CEO at Google Cloud, the company had a strong foundation in technology and product excellence. He understood, though, that adopting a customer-centric approach was equally crucial to success in the long-run. Under his leadership, Google Cloud has shifted its strategy. Today, Google Cloud emphasizes the importance of deeply understanding the problems customers are trying to solve – because that empathy-driven approach can serve as a catalyst for innovation and the application of new technologies that will truly resonate. Leveraging cloud technologies, in particular, will be key for businesses that want to become more digitally-focused, while bringing ongoing value to their customers.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
• Cloud is a critical enabler of digital transformation for companies across every industry.
• Disruptive cloud technologies will forever change business and allow leaders to be more customer centric
• It is equally important to prioritize customer need as it is to have superior products.
Chambers Talks - A Podcast Series - Since 2020
Listen the to full episode here and on:
JOHN CHAMBERS
LEADERS DISCUSS WHAT’S NEXT FOR BUSINESS AND TECH WITH JOHN CHAMBERS
“It’s hard to fully leverage a digital transformation without cloud computing, because these cloud platforms will be the standard in companies in every industry around the world. Why? Because every C-level executive needs to transform the business and the business model they’re in.”
Bill McDermott, CEO
CHAPTER 3 / SERVICENOW / MARCH 31, 2021
The future of work has been a buzzword for a long time, but the idea did not truly progress until the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered offices practically overnight. CEOs had to rethink their entire strategy for keeping business going and they no longer had time to prepare. For Bill McDermott, CEO of ServiceNow, workplace flexibility has always been the answer to unleashing the unique creativity each person brings to the table. This ultimately allows companies to build products the world doesn’t even know it needs yet, especially at a time when digital transformation, cloud computing, and business model innovations are happening at incredible speed.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
• No one wants to buy software –they want to buy outcomes that evolve the way their customers interact and completely transcend time.
• Digital transformation investment is on the rise, but you can’t fully leverage it without cloud computing.
• Personal and professional setbacks open the door for deeper connections and understanding.
Listen the to full episode here and on:
JOHN CHAMBERS
LEADERS DISCUSS WHAT’S NEXT FOR BUSINESS AND TECH WITH JOHN CHAMBERS
CHAPTER 4 / ZOOM / JULY 27, 2021
“Let us imagine a world where any two people – no matter where they are, no matter what kind of device they’re using – can talk to each other in their own native language and feel like they’re sitting together, having a cup of coffee.”
Eric Yuan, CEO
It’s hard to imagine a world without Zoom but, back in 2011, it was just an idea in the mind of founder and CEO Eric Yuan. Eric set out to create what would become one of the most successful tech launches of 2019 and, shortly thereafter, would become a lifeline for businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. And even as we look at the post-COVID era in 2024, video communication is clearly here to stay. As a visionary tech leader, Eric is relentlessly focused on competing against market transitions, rather than competing against competitors, to innovate for the world of tomorrow, which he complements with a simple, yet effective mission and culture focused on delivering happiness to customers.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
• Identifying customer pain points, offering solutions, and envisioning future innovations are the keys to achieving growth.
• To outpace competitors, it is essential to maintain a sense of urgency around the speed of innovation.
• Continuously challenging and reinventing oneself is just as crucial as excelling in leadership and market differentiation.
Listen the to full episode here and on:
JOHN CHAMBERS
LEADERS DISCUSS WHAT’S NEXT FOR BUSINESS AND TECH WITH JOHN CHAMBERS
“In West Virginia, we are trying to inspire and educate young people about how to be an entrepreneur and start a company, and how there are pockets and seeds of growth and opportunity everywhere. One measurable way I am working to improve this in the Congress and the Senate is by addressing the roadblocks in the state related to connectivity.”
Shelley Moore Capito, U.S. Senator, West Virginia
CHAPTER 5 / U.S. SENATOR, WEST VIRGINIA / SEPTEMBER 26, 2021
West Virginia is a state that has had its fair share of challenges but leaders across government, business, and academia are coming together to re-imagine the state’s future. For Senator Shelley Moore Capito, her home state is not only a great place to live but it also provides an ideal environment for startups and businesses to thrive. As West Virginia’s first female senator, Senator Capito is driving change within the state and across the nation by working across party lines to enhance both physical and digital infrastructure, foster entrepreneurship and innovation, and build jobs of the future.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
• West Virginia’s boom and bust cycle has demonstrated that every business, state, and nation must continually strive for reinvention, otherwise they will get left behind.
• Success hinges on being open to new ideas that enhance existing ones.
• Flexibility plays a crucial role in fostering a diverse workforce.
Listen the to full episode here and on:
JOHN CHAMBERS
LEADERS DISCUSS WHAT’S NEXT FOR BUSINESS AND TECH WITH JOHN CHAMBERS
“For the human operating system, downtime is a feature and not a bug, and that’s the huge cultural mindset shift that we need in order to reimagine and reinvent productivity in a way that avoids burnout and mental health problems.”
Arianna Huffington, CEO
CHAPTER 6 / THRIVE GLOBAL / NOVEMBER 3, 2021
Arianna Huffington, founder and CEO of Thrive Global, is on a mission to revolutionize the way we approach health and wellness. From firsthand experience, she knows that making the behavior changes is one of the most challenging yet transformative journeys, both in your personal life and professional life. After years of study to understand why taking people from awareness to action is so hard, she discovered that to truly achieve behavior change, one must engage both the heart and mind, considering the whole human. She encourages companies to help consumers and employees take science-based “micro steps” to avoid burnout in the long-run.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
• Technology and storytelling can help end the burnout epidemic and allow people and companies to prioritize health and wellness.
• To really transform the wellbeing and the health of the entire workplace population, leadership needs to be engaged and take part.
• Burnout is disproportionately impacting women, ultimately leading to them leaving the workforce entirely. We need to better balance burdens people feel and take on, both at home and at work, with structure and accountability.
Chambers Talks - A Podcast Series - Since 2020
Listen the to full episode here and on:
JOHN CHAMBERS
LEADERS DISCUSS WHAT’S NEXT FOR BUSINESS AND TECH WITH JOHN CHAMBERS
“Whether I’m talking to Democrats or Republicans, I get their perspectives and find out if there’s a path forward that is a win-win. Sometimes you have to say,
‘We have irreconcilable differences, so let’s not go down this path. That’ll be for another day. But, what can we agree on now?’”
CHAPTER 7 / U.S. SENATOR, WEST VIRGINIA / NOVEMBER 18, 2021
Joe Manchin’s service as Senator of West Virginia is a case study in courageous leadership. At a time of heightened division within our nation, he has remained committed to bipartisanship and doing the right thing for the majority of Americans. He works hard to find balance. Our country needs a centrist approach to leadership in politics to implement fair policies that enable individuals to realize the American Dream. As technology and innovations continue to accelerate, leaders from the private and public sector alike can learn valuable insights from Senator Manchin on why effective leadership requires a willingness to adapt to achieve consensus.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
• When it comes to leadership, extreme swings to the left or right mean a constant cycle of resetting that hinders forward progress.
• Leaders have a responsibility to give back, not just from an economic return perspective but for the good of society too.
• You must deeply understand what people want now and in the future in order to successfully innovate – and the only way to do that is to listen and spend time with them, whether it be customers, voters, or consumers.
Listen the to full episode here and on:
Joe Manchin, U.S. SENATOR, WEST VIRGINIA
JOHN CHAMBERS
LEADERS DISCUSS WHAT’S NEXT FOR BUSINESS AND TECH WITH JOHN CHAMBERS
“Our three major assets are our people, our technology, and our buildings. We have a massive number of customers that are obviously the reason we’re here, but technology is always going to be a part of that three-legged stool to make us work well.”
Brian Moyniham, CEO
CHAPTER 8 / HEWLETT PACKARD ENTERPRISE / FEBRUARY 14, 2022
The changes Bank of America has undergone underscore that every company, no matter the industry, will become a tech company. As far as CEO Brian Moynihan is concerned, his company is not just a bank but a financial tech firm at the forefront of digital innovation. Since taking the helm in 2010, Brian has been laser-focused on making investments in next generation technology that allow the bank’s increasingly modernized systems to work more seamlessly together to deliver a better customer experience. And that strategy is clearly working as we’ve watched Bank of America’s stock more than triple under Brian’s leadership.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
• Leaders must align innovation and technology investments, as well as ESG commitments to stakeholder capitalism to gain buy-in.
Chambers Talks - A Podcast Series - Since 2020
• Constant investments in technology platforms are key to transforming historically non-digital industries. Nothing can be oneand-done.
• You’ll always be judged by your successes – but how you get there is determined by how you learn from your failures
Listen the to full episode here and on:
JOHN CHAMBERS
LEADERS DISCUSS WHAT’S NEXT FOR BUSINESS AND TECH WITH JOHN CHAMBERS
“You need accessibility, affordability, and the applications. Today, half the world’s population is not covered by the Internet, which means they don’t have equal opportunity. We need to improve access, make devices more affordable, and help people understand the useful applications for technology, whether it be healthcare, education, or otherwise.”
Hans Vestberg, CEO
CHAPTER 9 / VERIZON / FEBRUARY 28, 2022
When Chairman and CEO of Verizon Hans Vestberg took the helm of the most profitable telecom carrier in the world, he had a clear vision of how to implement the changes required to seize a market in transition. He also knew to successfully execute this vision, he needed to get everyone to work towards the same goal. After introducing a new, three-pronged strategy to position Verizon as the first in the world to deploy 5G home and mobile technology, Hans setup one-on-one meetings with 250+ of the company’s most senior leaders. Today, he still seeks their buy-in on a continuous basis to bridge gaps and achieve disruption on a global scale.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
• 5G will alter the consumer experience and change the world for the better.
• Large, global enterprises need to break down bureaucracy in order to more efficiently work with startups that are innovating faster than they ever could.
Chambers Talks - A Podcast Series - Since 2020
• When entering a company with a storied past, leaders should remember that it is possible to make existing strengths even stronger, while also changing and evolving to stay ahead.
JOHN CHAMBERS
LEADERS DISCUSS WHAT’S NEXT FOR BUSINESS AND TECH WITH JOHN CHAMBERS
“The way I think of AI is that it’s actually trying to make each of us much more productive as individuals, as businesses, as large enterprises in research. And so, if we think about it that way, AI is here to help. It’s here to make us much more efficient in how we do things.”
Dr. Lisa Su, CHAIR & CEO
CHAPTER 10 / ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES / MARCH 24, 2023
Since the dawn of the Digital Age, new technologies have sparked debates about whether the change they will bring will be for better or for worse. As time goes on, we have seen again and again that technology and change should be embraced. Consider technologies like the Internet and cloud computing, which created more jobs and new businesses than they destroyed. AMD Chair and CEO Dr. Lisa Su believes that AI will be no different. AMD’s core mission is to advance high-performance computing to help solve the worlds most important challenges, underscoring that business leaders can create real value for stakeholders while promoting tech for good. As we enter the “Decade of AI”, we will see the technology enhance human productivity and help us accomplish more than we could ever have imagined.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
• AI is the biggest technology mega-trend ever, and it has reached its inflection point. It will soon make a larger impact than the Internet and cloud combined.
• External innovation through acquisitions and partnerships must be complementary to the internal innovation engine.
• Today, it’s nearly impossible to predict what’s going to happen on a quarterly basis. Leaders need to be agile in the short-term.
Listen the to full episode here and on:
JOHN CHAMBERS
LEADERS DISCUSS WHAT’S NEXT FOR BUSINESS AND TECH WITH JOHN CHAMBERS
“To emerge stronger on the other side of global challenges – like inflation, the widening skills gap, and supply chain risks – we have to leverage more than just people. We have to innovate and create a lot more technology. The answer lies with Cloud and AI.”
Arvind Krishna, CEO
CHAPTER 11 / INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES / APRIL 11, 2023
Over the past 5 years, big changes have taken place at IBM. Under the leadership of Chairman & CEO, Arvind Krishna, IBM has renewed its approach to innovation with a “70-30” strategy focused on internal research and development, and also acquisitions and investments in partners who are building emerging tech faster than the incumbents. Arvind talks with John about the current tech innovations on his radar, as well as the next big opportunity for businesses – quantum computing – and his advice for CEOs to navigate current market disruptions.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
• AI for enterprises is game changing. Businesses can improve recruitment, onboarding, quoteto-cash, fraud detection, & more.
• Partnerships are key. No single company can do all the innovation customers want. IBM is championing an ecosystem approach.
• Responsible, ethical tech has the power to make other aspects of life more inclusive. Every citizen on the planet needs to participate fully in order to maximize our full potential as a society.
Listen the to full episode here and on:
JOHN CHAMBERS
LEADERS DISCUSS WHAT’S NEXT FOR BUSINESS AND TECH WITH JOHN CHAMBERS
“The use of digital technology to transform governance in countries which is the ‘Holy Grail’ – because you can enable the ability for countries to deliver solutions and progress for their citizens with transparency, with speed, and much more.”
Ajay Banga, President
CHAPTER 12 / THE WORLD BANK / MARCH 27, 2024
Selected as the World Bank’s 14th president for a five-year term by President Joe Biden in 2023, Ajay Banga is passionate about tackling the toughest challenges of today with digitization at the forefront. As the fifth and newest vertical for the World Bank – the other four are people, prosperity, planet, and infrastructure – the World Bank is leveraging the power of digital technology to transform governance and opportunities for countries and individual citizens alike. Ajay has changed the future in previous roles – including transforming Mastercard with technology and advancing the US-India partnership by advising India’s leadership on the power of digital – and he’s setting out to do it again at the World Bank.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
• Digital has the power to even the playing field, allowing new players – whether it be companies or countries – to breakdown barriers and bring new ideas and solutions to the table.
• The most successful leaders are those who skillfully blend humor and humility to connect with their teams and inspire trust.
• Success hinges on your ability to embrace a contrarian mindset, pushing the boundaries of what is considered possible.
Listen the to full episode here and on:
JOHN CHAMBERS
MORE PODCASTS COMING SOON / JC2VENTURES
John Chambers, CEO
“What an amazing four years it’s been. And what I’m most excited about is that there’s so much more to come.”
Subscribe to the pod, so you don’t miss out on future discussions. We have an exciting lineup of guests in the coming months.
