The Heller Report: How a New AI Value Framework and Stakeholder Focus Keep Zoetis Ahead of the Pack

Keith Sarbaugh, chief digital and technology officer at animal health provider Zoetis, tells Martha Heller in this interview for CIO.com that his company had to adopt a new value measurement method for its AI investments. “Measuring outcomes post-implementation has become even more important," he says. Sarbaugh also emphasizes the importance of managing employee change during the adoption of AI tools.

Southwire, a maker of cables for electricity providers, named Jeff Fleece, the former CIO of Baker Hughes, as its new chief digital information officer; Ally Financial chose Mark Mathewson, most recently the divisional CIO for Capital One’s retail and commercial banking units, as chief information and data officer for the financial services company; Battery maker Duracell appointed Patricia Pichardo, most recently head of IT at TE Connectivty and that company’s former Global CIO for its automotive sector as CIO; and global nonprofit Feed the Children announced Stephen R. Murray, most recently CIO at Cohere Beauty, as its new CIO.

Enterprises looking to hire a new IT leader need to sharpen their list of must-have capabilities given the expanding responsibilities and emergence of technologies like AI, and the lack of candidates who possess every quality, CIO Dive reported. In an interview, Charley Betzig, managing director at Heller, told the publication: “You can’t just go and find 20 people who have done this same thing in similar companies, because they don’t exist.” Hiring managers should assess their needs – whether it includes communication skills, business-first mindset, or change management experience – and decide what they need the most.

For kids who play the 3D building block game Minecraft, creating imaginary cities can have real-world applications. In 55 countries, facilitators from the Block by Block Foundation and the United Nations-Habitat agency have engaged children to reimagine urban spaces to benefit local neighborhoods, The New York Times reported. One example: a group of 46 children in Beirut redesigned two stairways cut into their neighborhood’s hills after they were damaged in a 2020 port explosion. With Minecraft, they designed “features like a big slide, handrails made from speaking tubes, and shaded seating areas, modeling everything out in the game to inform real blueprints.”