The Heller Report: Exploring Abbott’s Mission-led AI Strategy

Abbott, a medical technology company that has been using AI for many years for such applications as patient glucose monitoring, has always seen the technology as a means to help people live better lives, Sabina Ewing, CIO at the medical technology company, tells Martha Heller in this article for CIO.com. “Our role is not to deploy technology; it is to unlock what technology and people can do together, in service of the mission,” Ewing says.

When AI makes software easier to create, the IT operating model has to change. Circles CIO Kai Chuang explains how CIOs can experiment with AI tools, work with teams to find high-value use cases, and rethink how IT operates. “The CIO’s job is not simply to add AI tools to the current operating model. It is to rewire how the organization identifies and creates value,” Chuang writes.

Japan’s AI spending boom has lifted three firms that on the surface have nothing to do with machine learning algorithms. Toto (primarily a high-end toilet maker), Nittobo (main product: glass fiber) and Ajinomoto (food seasonings like monosodium glutamate) all have secondary product lines that saw the companies’ stock soar by at least 61 percent this year, CNBC reported. Each firm sells supplies to semiconductor makers: Toto makes ceramic parts used in chip making; Nittobo’s glass fibers go into semiconductor package substrates; and Ajinomoto’s “build-up film” products are included in semiconductor packaging for data-center servers.

Heller was recently retained by Feed the Children to recruit a Chief Information Officer. Feed the Children is a global movement focused on ending childhood hunger in the U.S. and around the world. Working alongside communities, they provide food, essentials, and opportunities to children and families who need them most so every child can survive and thrive. For this role, we identified Stephen Murray, who most recently served as Chief Information Officer for Cohere Beauty. Prior to that, he was Senior Director, Digital Workplace for Atos. Murray holds a B.S. from SMC University, a CIO MBA from Boston University, and an Executive MBA from Rutgers University. Congratulations, Stephen!