The Government Huddle with Brian Chidester

The One with the City of Buffalo CSO

Oswaldo Mestre Jr., Chief Service Officer for the City of Buffalo, NY joins the show to discuss how the pandemic impacted citizen service delivery in the new normal. We also explore how he is looking to prioritize resilience as he builds out his future CX strategies, what collaboration looks like with his CIO and CTO at City Hall, and how data is playing a pivotal role in bringing inclusion and digital equity to the citizens of Buffalo.

The One with the U.S. Navy Seal Author

Leif Babin, former U.S. Navy Seal and the author of the best-selling book, “Extreme Ownership” joins the show to discuss the importance of leadership to public and private sector organizations. We also explore how to leverage ‘The Laws of Combat’ and a ‘Mindset for Victory’ while balancing potential leadership dichotomies, plus tactical ways to implement some of these principles into your own organizations.

The One with the New America Fellow

Ayushi Roy, a Fellow at the New America Foundation and Director, State & Local Technology at 18F joins the show to discuss how technology is supporting digital equity in citizen service deployment. We also discuss how governments are prioritizing CX, where organizational leadership should focus when deploying a digital transformation strategy, and lessons she has learned throughout the pandemic.

The One with the Veteran’s Affairs CX Chief

Dr. Lynda Davis, former Chief Experience Officer for the Department of Veteran’s Affairs joins the show to discuss some of her strategies and priorities as she rolled out CX programs for her stakeholders. We also discuss how the CX landscape is shifting, some of her predictions moving forward, and how the pandemic drove a focus on digital equity in her department.

The One with the Sony Pictures Entertainment CSO

Stevan Bernard, former Chief Security Officer at Sony Pictures Entertainment joins the show to take us behind the scenes of the infamous nation-state attack perpetrated by North Korea in 2014. We also discuss the pervasiveness of ransomware attacks in the public sector, ways governments can mitigate future attacks, and what the cyber battlefield looks like in the post-SolarWinds era.

The One with the Army Futures Command CIO

Hannah Hunt, Chief Innovation and Product Officer for the Army Futures Command, and a recent Forbes 30 Under 30 award recipient joins the show to discuss how the US Army is driving digital transformation efforts through internal software development. We also discuss her role at the US Air Force as Chief of Staff for their Kessel Run program, how digital transformation is changing the landscape of workforce recruitment and development, and how vulnerability has helped her as a leader.

The One with the Former NFL Wide Receiver

Austin Collie, former NFL wide receiver and current business development executive at JOLT Advantage Group joins the show to discuss what playing in the NFL taught him about becoming better in his role as an IT professional. We also discuss why RPA is bringing so much value to enterprise organizations, his secret to learning complex playbooks, and gives listeners a first-hand glimpse at what it is like to play in the Super Bowl.

The One with the Merritt Group Federal SVP

Matt Donovan, Senior Vice President for Government at Merritt Group joins the show to discuss the importance of developing agency-based marketing programs as part of your GTM strategy. We also discuss tactical steps to begin to building your messaging platform, new digital marketing technologies in the market you can take advantage of today, and best practices in delivering strategic value to your sales leaders.

The One with the UiPath Federal CTO

Jim Walker, Federal Chief Technology Officer at UiPath and former Deputy Chief Information Officer at NASA joins the show to discuss the evolution of robotic process automation in government. We also discuss the many ways that RPA has been vital to the public sector’s shift to a hybrid work environment, how the technology is supporting the future of work, and how it has become an important tool in a CIO’s toolbox.

The One with the City of Chattanooga CIO

Brent Messer, Chief Information Officer for the City of Chattanooga joins the show to discuss the city’s selection into the G20 Global Smart Cities program. We also discuss their move to completely remove paper from their enterprise environment and what he went through when the pandemic first kicked-off.