Data Hurdles

In this compelling episode of Data Hurdles, hosts Chris Detzel and Michael Burke sit down with Rich Williams, Senior VP and Head of Data Partnerships and Strategy at Hexaware Technologies. Rich shares his remarkable health transformation journey, from weighing 280 pounds and facing life-threatening medical complications to losing over 100 pounds and completely reinventing his approach to wellness.Rich candidly discusses his wake-up call—a serious medical emergency involving gallstone pancreatitis that left him contemplating mortality on a hospital bed. This pivotal moment led him to make the bold decision to step away from his high-powered career for 15 months to focus exclusively on his health.Throughout the conversation, Rich offers valuable insights on how high-stress leadership roles in data and consulting can silently erode health through demanding schedules, workplace food culture, and constant pressure. He breaks down his comprehensive approach to wellness into four key components: food, body, mind, and sleep, sharing practical strategies that helped him succeed where previous attempts had failed.The episode explores how Rich completely reframed his identity, treating his health transformation as a "Project Me" with the same strategic approach he would use for client work. Listeners will gain actionable advice on developing sustainable healthy habits, overcoming setbacks, and prioritizing self-care as the foundation for leadership success rather than an afterthought.

In this revealing episode of "Data Hurdles," hosts Chris Detzel and Michael Burke interview Matthew Cox, Chief Data Officer at Fusable, about his journey transforming data strategies across traditionally underserved industries.Matthew shares his unique position overseeing product, data, engineering, cybersecurity, enterprise applications, and professional services at Fusable - a company created from multiple acquisitions to deliver vital data services to agriculture, construction, and trucking industries. The conversation explores how these essential sectors, often overlooked in data innovation, are being revolutionized through connected data strategies.Listeners will gain insights into Matthew's vision for building customer trust through data quality, his excitement about agentic AI's practical applications, and how Fusable creates value by meeting customers at their "moment of truth" when decisions are made. The episode highlights the progression from data-driven to insight-driven decision making and reveals how Matthew's experience at Google informs his approach to democratizing advanced data capabilities across industries that form the backbone of our economy.A must-listen for data leaders looking to connect traditional business models with cutting-edge data strategies and AI applications.

In this thought-provoking episode of Data Hurdles, hosts Chris Detzel and Michael Burke welcome back Ramon Chen, Chief Product Officer at Acceldata, for an insightful discussion on the rapidly evolving world of enterprise data observability and agentic AI.Ramon shares how data observability has evolved from an emerging concept to a "full-blown tidal wave" in the industry, now widely recognized as a crucial component of data management that ensures proactive data quality and trustworthiness throughout the data supply chain. The conversation explores how data observability functions as a set of policies and rules that monitor data quality from inception, providing data engineers with timely alerts to resolve issues before they affect business users' reports or downstream AI applications.The episode dives deep into Acceldata's recent announcement of "Agentic AI data management" - a paradigm shift that applies AI agents to data management in a way similar to their application in customer support and sales. Ramon explains how this approach offers a chat-like interface that adapts to the user's role and intent, providing personalized insights and recommendations about data quality and reliability.The hosts and Ramon also discuss broader implications of AI advancement, including the changing nature of technical roles, the balance between automation and human oversight, and the emergence of AI observability as a natural extension of data observability. Ramon highlights the upcoming "Autonomous 25" conference on May 20th in San Francisco, where industry leaders will explore agentic AI and its impact on data management.This episode offers valuable insights for data professionals navigating the intersection of AI and data management in an era of unprecedented technological change.

In this thought-provoking episode of Data Hurdles, hosts Chris Detzel and Michael Burke speak with Ram Bulusu, Head of Applied Artificial Intelligence of Warp9Ai about his work developing advanced surveillance technologies for public safety applications. The conversation primarily explores Ram's development of an AI-enabled camera system designed for airports and border crossings that uses multimodal data inputs to identify potential security threats in real-time.Ram explains his concept of "benevolent monitoring" - using AI surveillance as a protective shield rather than a controlling weapon - and details how his proposed system could help prevent security breaches, traffic accidents, and crimes by detecting behavioral patterns before incidents occur. He discusses the technical challenges of creating real-time monitoring systems, including energy requirements and data management issues, while addressing concerns about privacy and government oversight.The discussion also touches on Ram's other AI projects, including an interactive AI psychotherapist designed to provide immediate mental health support for those in crisis. Throughout the episode, hosts Chris and Mike raise thoughtful questions about the ethical implications, privacy concerns, and potential benefits of these emerging surveillance technologies, creating a balanced exploration of how AI might transform public safety and security in the coming years.

In this insightful episode of Data Hurdles, hosts Chris Detzel and Michael Burke sit down with Nishith Trivedi, Enterprise Data Governance and Global MDM Lead at Pfizer. Nishith shares his journey from chemical engineering to becoming a data expert, and details how his team is transforming Pfizer's data landscape to support AI initiatives.Nishith provides a fascinating look at how a pharmaceutical giant manages data across multiple verticals—from supply chain to R&D—while explaining the challenges of making data "AI-ready." He discusses the evolution from vector-based RAG to graph-based approaches, the importance of ontologies in preventing AI hallucinations, and how knowledge graphs help connect unstructured data.The conversation explores how Pfizer is navigating complex regulatory requirements across 150+ countries, the shift toward patient-centric approaches, and the vision for creating FAIR data (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable). Listeners will gain valuable insights into enterprise data governance, the future of agentic AI, and practical strategies for breaking down data silos in large organizations.