In this episode of The New Automation Mindset, Markus Zirn is joined by Aviad Almagor, VP of Technology Innovation at Trimble, to speak about how the nearly 50-year-old company is integrating predictive and generative AI into its global operations. They explore how Trimble went from using ML for infrastructure analysis to deploying GenAI-powered agents across design, product development, and internal workflows. Aviad shares real-world examples of some of the innovations his team leads and discusses what makes AI pilots succeed or fail.

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Guest Bio

Aviad Almagor is a product and technology innovation leader with more than 25 years of experience at the intersection of industrial sectors—spanning Architecture, Engineering, Construction & Operations (AECO), transportation, agriculture, and geospatial—and cutting-edge technologies. Trained as an architect, Aviad transitioned early into 3D design and disruptive digital tools, eventually pioneering large-scale adoption of mixed reality, robotics, and AI in these industries.

Today, as Vice President of Technology Innovation at Trimble, Aviad leads global initiatives that connect the physical and digital worlds—helping these industries become more productive, efficient, and sustainable.

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Guest Quote

"The big value is not in doing what we do today more efficiently or faster. The big value is in the redefinition of the work. The way we’re working with an agent, this is something that will evolve, and we need to design for that." – Aviad Almagor

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Time Stamps

00:00 Episode Start

02:50 The history of Trimble

05:00 Setting higher standards for your data

08:05 Building trust in your data

11:20 Embrace complexity, reduce friction

16:00 The importance of IT / Business collaboration

20:15 Trimble's journey implementing AI efforts

23:55 Overcoming resistance to new tools

27:20 Specific examples of AI transformations

31:10 What stands in the way of AI adoption

38:10 The future for both predictive and generative AI

44:45 Aviad's advice for other CIOs

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Episode Key Takeaways

• Culture accelerates transformation: Trimble's collaborative, innovation-first culture enables bottom-up AI exploration, leading to enterprise-wide adoption. Executive support, psychological safety, and shared outcomes are essential to scale cross-functional AI teams.
• Think beyond productivity: AI’s value isn’t just in speeding up tasks, it’s in transforming how work gets done. GenAI can open creative workflows, reimagine design collaboration, and personalize user experiences.
• Predictive AI and GenAI work best together: Predictive models offer consistent, domain-specific analysis where GenAI adds creativity, natural interaction, and automation. When integrated, they can power end-to-end, intelligent workflows.

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In this episode of The New Automation Mindset, Markus Zirn speaks with Siroui Mushegian, CIO of Barracuda, about how to scale GenAI across your enterprise without losing control or clarity. Siroui discusses Barracuda’s agent-led transformation efforts, from a customer support bot nearing production, to AI-assisted onboarding tools in HR, to internal frameworks for guiding responsible AI experimentation. The two also address why AI pilots often fail, how to support hesitant departments like finance and legal, and what it means to think with a true “scale mindset.”

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Guest Bio

Siroui Mushegian, CIO, Barracuda

Siroui Mushegian is the Chief Information Officer (CIO) at Barracuda. Siroui joined Barracuda most recently from BlackLine, where she was responsible for all aspects of BlackLine’s internal corporate IT.

Before BlackLine, she held executive IT leadership roles at PBS’s WNET New York Public Media, the NBA, Ralph Lauren, and Time, Inc. Bringing more than 20 years of executive and IT leadership experience,

Siroui has successfully built strong operational environments that eliminate technology silos, elevated the maturity and impact of technology within her enterprises and delivered measurable and scalable business outcomes.

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Guest Quote

"Every day I ask myself: will this scale? Am I adding snowflakes or standardizing? With GenAI, we have a real chance to democratize scale. But scale isn’t just technical, it’s cultural. We need to make it easy for people to participate in transformation, not gatekeep it behind specialized roles or departments. GenAI gives us the platform to do that if we’re intentional about how we use it." – Siroui Mushegian

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Time Stamps

00:00 Episode Start

03:20 How Gen AI transformation compares to previous technological evolutions

08:00 Enabling AI initiatives across the business

12:40 Increasing AI confidence within risk-averse functions

20:25 Making sense of the MIT study

26:05 Broader implications of democritized Gen AI access

29:55 The future of process automation with AI Agents

36:30 The scale mindset

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Episode Key Takeaways

• GenAI is an enterprise transformation, not an IT project: Unlike past tech waves, GenAI is driven from the top and embraced across every function from HR and legal to customer support. This shift requires IT to act as a partner and enabler, not just a solution provider.
• Governance should actually enable speed: AI pilots often fail due to lack of alignment, tooling chaos, or shadow projects that miss the mark. A clear framework for experimentation and governance helps avoid rework while accelerating safe, scalable deployment.
• A scale mindset is foundational to AI success: Scaling AI isn’t just about technology, it’s about designing solutions that avoid single points of failure and can be adopted company-wide. GenAI provides a rare opportunity to democratize innovation, but only if systems and processes are built with growth in mind.

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In this episode of The New Automation Mindset, Markus Zirn speaks with Helena Nimmo, CIO of IFS, about the next wave of enterprise transformation. With three decades of experience leading IT across diverse industries, Helena reflects on the evolution of digital transformation from internet and SaaS to today’s AI-powered platforms. The conversation unpacks how AI is redefining workflows, organizational design, and even workplace culture. From AI agents as coworkers to rethinking process outcomes, this episode offers a strategic perspective for IT leaders preparing for AI transformation.

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Guest Bio

Helena brings a wealth of expertise to the technology sector, with a career spanning over three decades across international markets. Her approach integrates technology as a catalyst for business enhancement, focusing on transformative strategies that bolster both revenue and profitability.

As CIO of IFS, Helena engages CIOs and tech leaders to help them with their strategic transformation journeys, as well as drives the effective application of technology within IFS to deliver better products and services to customers.

Helena's professional narrative includes pivotal roles where she has crafted technology and data blueprints, pioneered new revenue channels within the tech space, and devised comprehensive compliance strategies. Her leadership has been instrumental in orchestrating company-wide transformations, developing core technology infrastructures, and implementing robust security measures.

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Guest Quote

"We still have it in our language: IT, and the business. The reality is IT is the business. There are no businesses in the world effectively anymore that can operate without IT, and it's disappointing that we’ve ingrained this division so deeply in our thinking." – Helena Nimmo

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Time Stamps

00:00 Episode Start

02:15 Helena's big learnings over her career

05:55 Technology is not soley software

12:20 IT and business functions need to find harmony

16:05 What will AI transformation look like?

19:35 The human side of AI

25:20 How to prepare your organization for Agentic AI

32:25 Take your first step to AI transformation today

35:25 Where Gen AI can have the most impact on your enteprise

41:35 Final thoughts

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Episode Key Takeaways

• IT is no longer a support function: Organizations must move past the outdated language of “IT and the business.” Success with AI requires fully integrated, cross-functional thinking where technology and business outcomes are inseparable.
• Treat AI as a platform, not a collection of tools: Generative AI isn’t just another productivity tool. CIOs must architect enterprise-wide platforms that enable safe experimentation, scale adoption, and embed AI into workflows across the business.
• Knowledge sharing is key to agentic success: AI agents can’t operate effectively in siloed organizations. To unlock their full value, enterprises must surface institutional knowledge, foster collaboration, and overcome information hoarding.

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