The Alldus Podcast - AI in Action

Today's guest is Barbara Middelkoop - Meijsen, ServiceNow Solution Architect at Aramco Europe. Founded in 1933, Aramco is one of the world’s largest integrated energy and chemicals companies. With over 90 years of history, Aramco play a central role in global energy supply, producing oil, gas and petrochemicals at scale. The company focuses on reliable energy delivery while investing in lower-carbon technologies and innovation to support a more sustainable energy future.
Barbara is an experienced consultant who bridges the gap between users, organizations and technology. She excels at translating functional user requirements into reliable technical solutions, while keeping organizational goals and process integrity in focus. Barbara can clearly communicate complex ideas and also turn them into practical implementation. She works well with a wide range of stakeholders and approaches challenges creatively, finding solutions when obstacles arise to ensure successful outcomes.
In the episode, Barbara talks about:
Her journey from Watchmaker to tech, finding passion for ServiceNow
With teams like gears, digital work offers flexible solutions
Her belief that leaders learn from all and help others grow
Her day-to-day-role bridging technical and functional sides to improve processes
Why people often cling to old habits instead of embracing new solutions
Advice to practice in a personal ServiceNow instance to learn effectively
Learning from others and attending events in the ServiceNow community
How Community involvement broadens perspective and offers supportive learning
Why she’s excited to implement AI in ServiceNow to improve efficiency

Today's guest is Simon Collins, Managing Director, Head of Security & Resilience (CISO) at Allianz Global Investors. Founded in 1998, Allianz Global Investors is a leading active investment manager. As part of the Allianz Group,  the firm provides investment solutions across equities, fixed income, multi-asset and private markets for institutional and retail clients worldwide. Through research-driven strategies, a commitment to sustainability and global expertise, they helps clients achieve their long-term investment objectives.
Simon is an experienced cybersecurity and operational resilience leader with more than 25 years in IT, specializing in information security, cybercrime investigation, fraud prevention, and cyber resilience. He has worked with organizations, boards and regulators to strengthen security frameworks and drive industry standards. Passionate about collaboration and knowledge-sharing, Simon regularly engages with cross-industry groups and conferences to promote best practices in cybersecurity and resilience.
In the episode, Simon discusses:
His journey from IT support to cybersecurity resilience leadership
Bridging technical cybersecurity risks with clear business storytelling
Why AI cyber threats demand adaptation, not panic or restart
How AI accelerates vulnerability exploitation, increasing cyberattack speed and scale
A demand for faster patching and stronger cyber hygiene in the AI era
How AI adoption is accelerating a real-time cyber arms race
Why AI resilience risks are overlooked amid rapid adoption pressure
The need to reshape resilient teams with AI literacy and gradual adoption

Today's guest is Howard Shortt, Cybersecurity & Data Privacy Partner at Grant Thornton Ireland. Founded in 1924, Grant Thornton Ireland is a leading professional services firm providing audit, tax and advisory services to businesses. Combining global reach with local expertise, it helps clients navigate complex financial, regulatory and strategic challenges. Its teams work across a wide range of industries, delivering practical insights and solutions that support growth, improve performance and strengthen governance.
Howard is an experienced business leader specialising in cybersecurity, governance and cyber threat risk management. He applies leading practices in security operations, forensic investigation and team leadership to address incident response, critical infrastructure protection, threat mitigation and regulatory compliance. Howard also delivers cyber security advisory services across multiple countries and sectors, and is a trusted advisor to senior leaders, translating complex technical issues into clear, actionable insight.
In the episode, Howard discusses:
His journey from retail jobs to cybersecurity and digital forensics expert
How a childhood curiosity sparked lifelong passion for cybersecurity and forensics
Shaping a lifelong consulting career with a customer-focused mindset
How AI is accelerating cyber threats and strengthening defences simultaneously
Why Irish businesses remain underprepared for evolving AI-driven cyber threats
Cyber resilience requires leadership preparation, communication and realistic exercises
Cybersecurity demands constant learning, adaptation and mastering fundamentals
His advice to start with cybersecurity fundamentals and build knowledge step by step
To find out more about all the great work happening at Grant Thornton Ireland, check out the website www.grantthornton.ie

Today's guest is Kedar Mate, Founder and CMO at Qualified Health. Founded in 2023, Qualified Health AI is a healthcare-native enterprise AI platform helping health systems deploy, govern and scale artificial intelligence safely across clinical, operational and financial workflows. The company provides the infrastructure, governance and expertise needed to turn AI pilots into enterprise-wide transformation, delivering measurable outcomes while maintaining compliance, trust and patient-centered care.Kedar is a recognized leader in healthcare quality, patient safety and health system transformation. He previously served as President and CEO of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and is currently a Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine and a Senior Scholar at Stanford University. His career spans healthcare delivery, global public health and policy, including leadership roles with Partners In Health, Brigham and Women's Hospital and the World Health Organization.In the episode, Kedar discusses:
0:00 His journey from driven by inequity to founding Qualified Health
4:57 An insight into the company’s expert, multidisciplinary team
8:33 Building an AI platform to solve healthcare adoption barriers with data, apps and governance
13:05 How AI deployment improved workflows, revenue and saves heart patients
17:17 Data and governance is key to successful healthcare AI adoption
19:58 Why AI healthcare needs cross-disciplinary talent through fast-paced, mission-driven work
23:56 How Qualified Health’s culture is shaped by leaders’ actions, not words

Today's guest is Chandra Sekhar Chappa, Global Head, Co-Innovation - ServiceNow at Google Cloud. Founded in 2016, Google Cloud is Google’s enterprise cloud computing platform, providing organizations with scalable infrastructure, data analytics, AI, machine learning, security and application development services. Google Cloud helps businesses modernize operations, accelerate innovation, and securely build, deploy and manage applications and data at scale across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.
Chandra is a technology leader with over 16 years of experience across product management, cloud operations, IT service management, infrastructure, and governance, risk and compliance. He specializes in ServiceNow, hyperscaler partnerships, cloud marketplace integrations, and enterprise service management. Chandra has led large-scale technology initiatives that have generated significant revenue growth and cost savings, while helping more than 1,100 enterprise customers improve cloud governance and operational efficiency.

In the episode, Chandra talks about:
0:00 His journey from IT tutor to leader in ServiceNow innovation at Google
2:08 The importance of mentors in his career and giving back
4:31 How the Google Cloud - ServiceNow integration/partnership combines AI with workflow transformation
5:26 Enabling enterprise-scale workflows, execution and governance
8:01 How their AI control tower provides full agent visibility and governance
10:26 How the Google Cloud - ServiceNow integration/partnership enables real-time data and AI-driven CRM gains
13:29 His advice to leverage AI ecosystems, avoid POCs and build faster
15:51 The need to use trusted partners, align leadership and balance decision-making
17:58 How mentorship, self-belief and persistence through uncertainty leads growth
To find out more about all the great work happening at Google Cloud, check out the website cloud.google.com