The AI in Business Podcast

• Enabling Strategic Procurement with AI, From Frustration to Foresight - with Rob DeSantis of Arkestro

  When finance leaders push for measurable savings and supply chain leaders prioritize continuity and resilience, technology adoption often gets caught in the middle. Procurement teams, operating with risk-averse cultures and outdated tools, face growing complexity while pressure mounts from both sides of the business. In this episode of the AI in Business podcast, Rob DeSantis — CEO and Co-founder of Arkestro, Co-founder of Ariba, and early LinkedIn executive — explains to Emerj CEO and Head of Research Daniel Faggella why AI represents more than incremental change for procurement. Instead of simply digitizing old workflows, AI enables re-imagined processes that deliver step-function value, often translating into 20 to 30 percent savings directly impacting earnings per share. Want to share your AI adoption story with executive peers? Click emerj.com/expert2 for more information and to be a potential future guest on the ‘AI in Business’ podcast! If you’ve enjoyed or benefited from some of the insights of this episode, consider leaving us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts, and let us know what you learned, found helpful, or liked most about this show! This episode is sponsored by Arkestro. Learn how brands work with Emerj and other Emerj Media options at emerj.com/ad1.

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• Connecting the Dots Across Discovery - with Ben Ninio of Deloitte

  On this episode of the AI in Business podcast, Emerj Editorial Director Matthew DeMello speaks with Ben Ninio, Principal in Strategy at Deloitte, about how enterprises are rethinking the fundamentals of scientific discovery in the AI era. Ben explains why language itself has become the “hack” for unifying frameworks across R&D domains—from pharmaceuticals to agriculture to industrial chemistry—allowing organizations to move beyond the limits of brute-force computation. He illustrates how large language models and knowledge graphs can help identify new molecular, biological, and cross-domain insights that were previously impossible to surface. This episode is sponsored by Deloitte. Learn how brands work with Emerj and other Emerj Media options at emerj.com/ad1. Want to share your AI adoption story with executive peers? Click emerj.com/expert2 for more information and to be a potential future guest on the ‘AI in Business’ podcast! If you’ve enjoyed or benefited from some of the insights of this episode, consider leaving us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts, and let us know what you learned, found helpful, or liked most about this show! This episode is sponsored by Deloitte. Learn how brands work with Emerj and other Emerj Media options at emerj.com/ad1.

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• Fixing Ticket Noise with AI in Enterprise MSP Operations - with Steve Taczala of Impact Networking

  Today’s guest is Steve Taczala, VP of Service Operations at Impact Networking. Impact Networking is a managed service provider founded in 1999, with more than 20 US offices, supporting organizations in IT, cybersecurity, and applying AI to business operations. Taczala brings extensive experience in managing MSP service operations and improving IT workflows. Steve joins Emerj Editorial Director Matthew DeMello to discuss how enterprise teams can reduce ticket noise, prioritize actionable incidents, and prepare service desks for AI-driven operations. Steve also shares practical strategies for staging platform migrations, implementing intelligent ticket routing, and using AI to enhance team efficiency and the overall customer experience. This episode is sponsored by Xurrent. Learn how brands work with Emerj and other Emerj Media options at emerj.com/ad1.

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• Data Volume, Quality, and Model Degradation for AI at Scale - with Sunitha Rao of Hitachi Vantara

  Today’s guest is Sunitha Rao, SVP and General Manager for Hybrid Cloud Business at Hitachi Vantara. Hitachi Vantara is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd. that provides data infrastructure foundations that help leading innovators manage and leverage their data at scale. Through data storage, infrastructure systems, cloud management, and digital expertise, the company helps customers build the foundation for sustainable business growth. Sunitha joins Emerj Editorial Director Matthew DeMello on the show to break down how enterprises across industries can modernize their data infrastructure, scale AI deployments, and align IT investments with their sustainability goals. This episode is sponsored by Hitachi Vantara. Learn how brands work with Emerj and other Emerj Media options at emerj.com/ad1.

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• The Future of AI Agents in Consumer Goods Operations - with Padma Hari of Nestlé Purina

  Today’s guest is Padma Hari, Chief Digital Officer at Nestlé Purina. With over 20 years of experience shaping digital strategy and driving enterprise-wide transformations, Padma has leveraged AI, analytics, and data-driven insights to deliver measurable business impact at scale. Padma joins Emerj Editorial Director Matthew DeMello to discuss how enterprise leaders can move from siloed decision-making to end-to-end synchronized planning using data and AI. Padma also shares practical takeaways, including how to harmonize goals across business functions, run mock sessions to test new planning processes, and utilize AI to enable faster and more effective decision-making, which boosts operational efficiency and ROI. This episode is sponsored by Crisp. Learn how brands work with Emerj and other Emerj Media options at emerj.com/ad1. Are you shaping AI adoption at your organization? Share your experience with fellow executives on the ‘AI in Business’ podcast. Apply to be a future guest at emerj.com/expert2. Watch Emerj Editorial Director Matthew DeMello and Kuo Zhang, President of Alibaba.com’s conversation on our new YouTube Channel: youtube.com/@EmerjAIResearch.

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