Photon Podcast: Spark Plugs and Smart Prompts - Infusion of Agentic AI in the Auto Industry

Chief Client Strategy Officer

Deepak Sharma is part of the executive leadership team at Photon, responsible for Strategy Consulting, Pre-Sales, and Customer Success. He plays an instrumental role in designing future consumer experiences and building transformation roadmaps by leading digital innovation for our clients.

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Executive Vice President & CFO at Tenneco

Manavendra Sial is the EVP & CFO at Tenneco, a global automotive supplier, where he leads financial planning, accounting, tax, and treasury. He has held CFO roles at Fluence, VECTRA, and SunPower, and began his career at GE, later serving in senior roles at SunEdison. Sial holds a commerce degree from the University of Delhi and an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.

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Chief Marketing Officer at Blue Yonder

Patricia Harris is the Chief Marketing Officer at Blue Yonder and has more than 25 years of experience in go-to-market strategy, marketing, and communications within the technology sector. She has held leadership positions at Workday, Hitachi Vantara, and SAP. She holds an MBA from the University of Colorado and a BBA from Truman State University in Missouri.

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Founder & CEO of Perspective AI

Guy Nirpaz, founder of Perspective AI and author of Farm Don't Hunt, is a visionary entrepreneur and the creator of Totango, the company that invented the customer success category. Guy is now leading Perspective AI to revolutionize customer engagement, enabling businesses to build meaningful partnerships through scalable, AI-driven conversations.

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VP & Chief Digital Officer at University of Cincinnati

Bharath, VP and Chief Digital Officer at the University of Cincinnati, is driving digital transformation. Formerly the Deputy CIO at the University of North Texas System, he has over 27 years of leadership experience in IT and has worked at start-ups and large private sector companies. He holds an MS in Computer Science from the University of Maryland and a BE from BITS Pilani, India.

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Director of Digital Commerce at PHOENIX

Sylvain Hanssen has held various positions in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industry – he was with the Zur Rose Group as Director, e-health ecosystem and spent 5 years with Walgreens Boots Alliance as Head of Healthcare innovation. He now leads the Digital Commerce Competence Center for PHOENIX Group, coordinating digital activities across Europe.

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VP of Digital Marketing, Strategy & Platforms at Avantor

Sunil serves as Vice President of Digital Strategy and Platforms at Avantor Inc., a life sciences and innovation company. Prior to Avantor, he spent more than 20 years in retail and logistics, spearheading transformation efforts at various large retailers. Sunil continues to be passionate about driving customer experience forward.

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Co-founder & CEO at Eltropy

Ashish Garg, a Wharton and UC Santa Barbara alumnus, founded Eltropy in 2013. An enterprise-wide unified conversation platform for community financial institutions, Eltropy empowers 600+ credit unions and community banks, enabling connections with members through text, video, voice, secure chat, and in-branch interactions, all powered by AI.

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Global Head of Digital Platforms and Transformation at L’Oréal

Anne Guichard has built a dynamic career across marketing, general management, and digital transformation at L’Oréal. She led e-commerce strategy, managed 500 websites, and oversaw digital programs. She is also the Digital representative to the L’OREAL Group Transformation Office, piloting L’Oréal transformation strategy.

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Chief Information Officer at Torani

Neeraj Agarwal is a strategic technology leader with 20+ years of experience in IT and consulting across high tech, retail, CPG, F&B, pharma, and software industries. He has driven digital transformation, leveraged AI, and driven business growth in both DTC and B2B markets through enhanced customer experience and operational efficiency.

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Global VP of Customer Experience at SAP

Tarun Luthra is a transformative Senior Product and Customer Success Executive with 22 years at SAP. He excels in global leadership, business acumen, and technical expertise in enterprise product domains and cloud delivery. Tarun drives growth in delivering SAP's next-gen cloud support models, leveraging success for customers, employees, and partners.

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Chief Strategy Officer, Workato

Markus Zirn is the Chief Strategy Officer at Workato and part of its founding executive team. He brings a wealth of experience in leading startups and major corporations within Big Data and Integrations. Having played pivotal roles at Splunk and Oracle, Markus has driven transformative product initiatives in integration, business processes, and event management.

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Former Chief Operating Officer, Ellucian

Martin Mrugal, Former Chief Operating Officer at Ellucian, is a transformational leader leading Global Professional Services, Managed Services, Global Support, Customer Success, Operations, and Centers of Excellence. He also excels in cloud migration, commercial leadership, and innovation, as evident from his roles at Citrix and SAP.

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Chief Customer Officer at EDB

Mary-Beth Donovan is an accomplished executive with extensive experience in revenue growth, customer-centric strategies, and scalable operations at companies like EDB, VMware, and PTC. Her strategic approach enhances customer engagement and value realization, and she mentors entrepreneurs in scaling and optimizing GTM.

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Chief Customer Officer at Skyhigh Security

Abhay is a transformative business and technology leader specializing in SaaS, IaaS, and PaaS, focusing on financial metrics. He drives business growth, global support, and customer success for corporations and startups alike. His innovative strategies enhance customer experiences, drive profitability, and reshape industry practices.

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SVP of Customer Success at Datasembly

Maranda is an accomplished expert with over two decades of experience optimizing world-class operations. She is working at her ninth startup and excels in startup team building. Driven by her passion for customer success, Maranda is a recurrent Top Customer Success Influencer, has received numerous CS and Leadership awards, and serves on various boards.

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North America Digital Lead at Bayer

Drew is a seasoned IT and digital professional with over two decades of experience, especially in CPG and retail. He currently serves as the North America Digital Lead at Bayer and has previously held key roles at Amazon and Babies R Us.

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Former Global CDO for Pret A Manger

Sarah is a world-class digital leader with experience in digital and technology transformation in hospitality, retail, travel and media. She led the digital transformation at Pret A Manger and previously held roles at the John Lewis Partnership and Heathrow Airport.

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Group Senior Vice President at Workday

Meenu is a skilled executive with extensive experience leading customer success, field operations, sales, and professional services organizations at companies including Workday, VMware, HubSpot, and IBM. She has a blueprint to scale and transform organizations. Meenu is passionate about customer-centricity and delivering exceptional customer experiences.

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Chief Digital Officer at Livinguard

Based in Silicon Valley since 1993, Dipesh has spent most of his time as a management and technology consultant. Dipesh is currently writing a book called ‘Of Firefighters and Gardeners’ which focuses on how critical it is to transform the organizational culture for companies to grow their digital economy-based business.

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Partner at JAB and Ex-Chief Digital Officer at L'Oréal

Lubomira Rochet is currently a Partner at Jab Holding Company and has formerly served seven years as the Chief Digital Officer at L'Oréal. Under her leadership, L'Oréal has achieved a profound business transformation leading to a massive upscale in Direct-to-Consumer engagement.

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Former Chief Information Officer, L'Oréal America's

Barry is an innovative IT and Business Executive who has transformed organizations on a global scale. He has directed the achievement of business goals and revenue growth through leadership, business comprehension, and consistent solution delivery. His colleagues describe Barry as a Change Catalyst, a Key Influencer, and a Trusted Partner.

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Business Advisor, Ex CIO of Walgreens Boots Alliance

Anthony Roberts is the former SVP and Global CIO of Walgreens Boots Alliance. With extensive experience in the IT landscape, Anthony has led operations for several Fortune 100 companies and is renowned globally for his expertise in digital transformation, strategy, and innovation. At present, he is a Member of the Advisory Board at Photon.

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