Making Data Simple

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Originally aired October 2025.
Exploring the intersection of creativity and innovation, Geoff Thatcher, Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Creative Principals and author of The CEO’s Time Machine, shares how AI is transforming live experiences, from personalized exhibits to universal storytelling. Geoff explores the possibilities and the pitfalls of AI, from his five rules for using it well to why “better” and “easier” aren’t the same thing, and how to keep AI from stealing the moments of inspiration that make us human.
01:39 Introducing Geoff Thatcher
02:48 Thinking about AI Differently
13:47 What Does it Mean to “Create” Now?
19:32 Augmented Intelligence
22:27 Death By PowerPoint
23:57 Five Rules for Using AI
24:47 Difference between Better and Easier?
30:16 Don’t Let AI Steal Moments of Inspiration
33:18 Always Use the Most Reliable Source
34:57 Use AI to Tell Stories
37:36 The Worry of Getting Lazy
39:48 Humanizing AI!
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geoffthatcher/
Website: https://www.creativeprincipals.com/
Want to be featured as a guest on Making Data Simple?  Reach out to us at almartintalksdata@gmail.com and tell us why you should be next.  The Making Data Simple Podcast is hosted by Al Martin, WW VP Technical Sales, IBM, where we explore trending technologies, business innovation, and leadership ... while keeping it simple & fun.

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Drowning in data but struggling to unlock its potential? Chris Rafter, Chief AI Officer at SIGNLD and COO of Inzata, shares his insights on navigating the complex world of analytics — exploring how businesses can leverage data for strategic growth, with discussions on governance, third-party data sets, and the emerging role of AI.
00:56 Meet Chris Rafter
 05:18 Why Inzata
 14:06 Analytics
 17:15 SIGNLD Tech
 19:08 Governance
 20:35 Why SIGNLD
 27:30 The Company Name
 28:43 Third-party Data Sets
 31:47 The Summary
 33:21 Monetization
 35:45 Where to Find Chris
 38:52 The AI Revolution
 40:52 Why Are Analytic Platforms Needed
 43:04 Rapid Fire
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopherrafter
Website: https://inzata.com/ · https://signld.ai/
Want to be featured as a guest on Making Data Simple?  Reach out to us at almartintalksdata@gmail.com and tell us why you should be next.  The Making Data Simple Podcast is hosted by Al Martin, WW VP Technical Sales, IBM, where we explore trending technologies, business innovation, and leadership ... while keeping it simple & fun.

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Today, I'm your host, Katherine Mayne, and we’re joined by Neil Katz, Chief Product Officer at Valantor and co-founder of EyeLevel AI, who is building AI designed to tackle complex, messy enterprise documents. Be sure to listen to the end — Neil shares valuable insights on the future of AI document understanding that you won’t want to miss.
01:31 Introducing Neil Katz
 07:09 RAG Before RAG
 12:39 Visual Intelligence
 15:19 Custom Workflows
 16:52 RAG Details
 24:44 AI and the Future of Work
 32:30 Our Imagination is the Limit
 37:04 Models for Animal Language
 39:44 AI Optimism
 42:57 Where to find Neil
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilkatz
Website: https://valantor.ai/
Send us your ideas for the AI Optimist!
Want to be featured as a guest on Making Data Simple? Reach out to us at almartintalksdata@gmail.com and tell us why you should be next. The Making Data Simple Podcast is hosted by Al Martin, WW VP Technical Sales, IBM, where we explore trending technologies, business innovation, and leadership — while keeping it simple & fun.
Want to be featured as a guest on Making Data Simple?  Reach out to us at almartintalksdata@gmail.com and tell us why you should be next.  The Making Data Simple Podcast is hosted by Al Martin, WW VP Technical Sales, IBM, where we explore trending technologies, business innovation, and leadership ... while keeping it simple & fun.

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Since this aired, Kumo has moved from GNNs to relational foundation models — the ‘secret sauce’ segment at 17:57 is where that story starts

Data’s everywhere, but so often it feels… stuck. Joining us today is Jure Leskovec, Co-Founder and Chief Scientist at Kumo and a Stanford Professor who pioneered Graph Neural Networks and fundamentally reshaped how we understand networks — from Pinterest’s recommendations to tracking the spread of disease. We unpack why structured data is lagging behind the AI revolution, how techniques like Graph Neural Networks are finally unlocking its potential, and how this all plays out in real-world applications.
00:57 Meet Jure Leskovec
 02:31 Knowing When to Move On
 04:01 Academia versus Industry
 07:30 Learnings from Pinterest
 10:28 The Kumo Pitch
 17:57 The Secret Sauce
 25:51 Monetization
 27:12 Only the Enterprise?
 29:49 The Sandbox to Try Before Buy
 31:42 The Best Use Cases
 35:00 Summarizing
 37:38 Predicting AI
 40:15 What’s True and No One Agrees
 41:19 Learning
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leskovec/
Website: https://kumo.ai/
Want to be featured as a guest on Making Data Simple?  Reach out to us at almartintalksdata@gmail.com and tell us why you should be next.  The Making Data Simple Podcast is hosted by Al Martin, WW VP Technical Sales, IBM, where we explore trending technologies, business innovation, and leadership ... while keeping it simple & fun.

Send us Fan Mail
Ever wondered why brilliant CEOs sometimes seem to stall? Andrea Petrone’s groundbreaking work reveals that success can actually become a trap, freezing leaders into outdated identities. In this episode we unpack Andrea’s 20+ years coaching over 250 CEOs – including those at Shell and Unilever – to understand how leaders can break free from pressure, rediscover their ‘throughline,’ and truly embody leadership.
01:20 Meet Andrea Petrone
05:54 Andrea's CEO Experience
09:25 Definition of a Leader
13:40 CEO Differentiation
22:29 Where to Start Coaching a CEO
25:47 Changes the Last 10 Years
30:32 First Tell of a Leader
33:15 Subtle, Great Leadership
38:13 Where CEOs Lie to Themselves
43:15 Ron Johnson
46:10 Reaching Andrea Petrone
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone/
Website: https://andreapetrone.com/
Want to be featured as a guest on Making Data Simple?  Reach out to us at almartintalksdata@gmail.com and tell us why you should be next.  The Making Data Simple Podcast is hosted by Al Martin, WW VP Technical Sales, IBM, where we explore trending technologies, business innovation, and leadership ... while keeping it simple & fun.