Show Notes
In this interview on the Targeting AI podcast from AI Business, Amy Lenander of financial services giant Capital One discusses the critical role of talent in building AI-ready data ecosystems. She explores how organizations can cultivate the right skills, develop foundational data platforms and use AI to drive business value. The interview was recorded on-site at the Gartner Data & Analytics Summit 2026 in Orlando. Featuring Amy Lenander, chief data officer, Capital One In this episode, we cover how:
Talent agility outweighs technical experience in AI success. Organizations that develop learning agility and curiosity foster talent capable of navigating rapidly evolving AI landscapes. Instead of hiring for a specific toolset, focus on candidates who demonstrate rapid learning, problem-solving, and collaboration—traits that enable mastery of new AI methods as they emerge. Building a unified data ecosystem creates a competitive moat. A well-designed data ecosystem, prioritized over immediate AI application, provides a robust foundation that supports all future data and AI initiatives. Investing in governance, data trustworthiness, and accessibility shields organizations from fragmentation, enabling scalable innovation regardless of future technological shifts. AI adoption is a cultural shift, not just a technology implementation. Domain-specific data products enhance AI interpretability and trust. Specialized data teams responsible for understanding business nuances ensure AI systems interpret data context correctly for strategic use.
To learn more about generative and agentic AI and AI-ready data ecosystems, check out AI Business from Informa TechTarget, and please subscribe to our newsletter to keep up to date on the most important AI news. To watch video clips from our podcast, subscribe to our YouTube channel, @EyeonTech. References:
The Shift Toward AI Data Quality as a Core Product Data Quality in AI: 9 Common Issues and Best Practices Data and AI Governance Must Team Up for AI to Succeed
More from Targeting AI
From internal enablement and training to product features such as MCP and Smart Assist, work management vendor Smartsheet is using AI across its company. Marcus McKay Fleisch, the project management and work collaboration platform’s professional services enablement director, joins TechTarget’s Targeting AI podcast to discuss how his team is moving beyond basic adoption metrics to focus on workflow-level impact, security guardrails, and measurable business outcomes. He dives into how AI is changing daily work for Smartsheet users, why shadow AI shows up when internal tooling is missing, and how IT, product, security, and enablement must work together to make AI useful without introducing new risks. In this episode, we discuss:
On Targeting AI in the Moment (AIM), the weekly news podcast from TechTarget.com, this week’s co-hosts chat about the latest developments in the turbulent world of generative AI. AI news writer Esther Shittu and her editor, Shaun Sutner, report the news on the sites and offer more analysis, perspective and context on recent AI developments in this short-form news podcast series. Check out these new stories:
On Targeting AI in the Moment (AIM), the weekly news podcast from TechTarget, the three co-hosts chat about the latest developments in the turbulent world of generative AI. AI news writer and podcaster Esther Shittu, AI news and features writer Kinza Yasar and their editor, Shaun Sutner, report the news on the sites and offer more analysis, perspective and context on recent AI developments in the new podcast series. Check out these new stories on TechTarget.com:
Context is critical in AI, according to Celonis CEO and co-founder Alex Rinke. The enterprise software development vendor specializes in process mining and process intelligence. On this Targeting AI episode, Rinke argues that process intelligence needs context, particularly business context, so that AI agents can understand workflows, operate more effectively and deliver measurable ROI. In this episode, we discuss:
AI is abuzz with talk of self-regulation or some form of federal oversight; President Trump renaming AI as "superintelligence"; and open vs. closed AI amid the AI slowdown. On the debut episode of Targeting AI in the Moment (AIM), the new weekly news podcast from AI Business and TechTarget.com, the three co-hosts chat about the latest developments in the fast-churning world of generative AI. AI news writer and podcaster Esther Shittu, AI news and features writer Kinza Yasar and their editor, Shaun Sutner, report the news on the sites and offer more analysis, perspective and context in the new podcast series.