
AI Fluency Over AI Tools: Kristie Grinnell on Transforming TD SYNNEX
Technovation with Peter High (CIO, CTO, CDO, CXO Interviews)Show Notes
The binding constraint on AI adoption is not access to tools. It is the organizational fear and mindset shift required to reimagine work entirely.
In this episode of Technovation, Peter High speaks with Kristie Grinnell, EVP and Chief Information Officer at TD SYNNEX, about building company-wide AI fluency across a global workforce of nearly 30,000 employees.
Grinnell joined TD SYNNEX roughly two years ago and holds executive sponsorship of its AI fluency strategy alongside full IT operational scope. She describes how TD SYNNEX structured fluency at three tiers, required every ELT member to produce an AI plan, and built Fluidworks.ai as an internal factory to scale governed AI across the organization.
Key Highlights:
Why AI adoption fails as a change management problem before it fails as a technology problem
How a tiered fluency certification gives every employee a concrete path to AI readiness
Why every AI agent at TD SYNNEX must carry a registered identity and a named human owner
How agentic SOC triage turned tier-1 analysts into threat hunters
Why TD SYNNEX policy holds employees accountable for the AI outputs they use
This episode is sponsored by Tines. This episode is presented by Tines: Freedom to build. Complete security. No compromises. Learn more at tines.io
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