Leading With Resilience: Crossing the Atlantic Ocean with Breno Gentil of C.I.KNOW
Disruptive Innovators: Champions of Digital Business - CIO & IT Leader Interviews, Digital Transformation, Digital InnovationShow Notes
David Wright is joined once more by Breno Gentil, Strategic Advisor of C.I.KNOW. In his second appearance on the podcast, Breno — a former CIO for Heineken and British American Tobacco — discusses his recent month-long journey racing across the Atlantic Ocean in the Clipper Race. He shares profound insights on leadership resilience, the psychological challenges of high-stakes environments and how the lessons learned at sea parallel the complexities of digital transformation. Breno offers a unique perspective on the future of the CIO role, arguing that as technology becomes the DNA of an organization, leadership must shift toward human change orchestration.
Key Takeaways:
00:00 Introduction. 04:12 Key leadership learnings in resilience from sailing adventures. 09:19 The Bay of Biscay presented the toughest sailing conditions. 11:51 Team won the first leg, arriving first in Spain. 15:13 Tropical rains became the only showering opportunity on the boat. 18:27 Sail damage led to self-doubt, requiring renewed confidence. 21:54 Many things in sailing remain outside of one’s control. 25:09 People, not technology, make the difference in transformation. 27:50 The CIO role is evolving into a change orchestrator role. 30:03 Technology roles may disappear as companies become digital.
Resources Mentioned:
Breno Gentil https://www.linkedin.com/in/bg-digital/
C.I.KNOW | LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/ciknow/
C.I.KNOW | Website https://www.ciknow.com/
Thanks for listening to the “Disruptive Innovators” podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, hit the subscribe button and never miss another insightful conversation. And be sure to leave a review to help get the word out about the Champions of Digital Business.
#DisruptiveInnovation #Innovation #DisruptiveTech
More from Disruptive Innovators: Champions of Digital Business - CIO & IT Leader Interviews, Digital Transformation, Digital Innovation
What does it take for new technology to stick inside a people-first business? David Wright speaks with Ankur Anand, Group CIO and Member of the Executive Council of Harvey Nash, about framing AI around real business problems and bringing people into every decision.
Luxury brands once sold themselves on product alone. Today, brand experience is the differentiator, and Chad Anderson, Head of Customer Care and Roadside Operations at Mercedes-Benz USA, sits at the center of that shift, turning service calls, dealership visits and customer data into a single view of loyalty.
Most patient experience data never becomes learning. It gets collected, filed, and forgotten, instead of turned into the improvement it was meant to drive. Claire Marshall, Founder of Improving Experiences Ltd, spent three decades inside the NHS closing that gap, and argues most organizations already have everything they need. They just aren't using it.
An executive carries a reputation built on credentials and results. David Wright talks with Tricia Gray, Chief Executive Officer of Aditus Partners, about what leadership actually requires, and turning personal loss into a legacy of storytelling and connection.
Boyden has spent decades building trust as the world's oldest executive search firm. Gary Pikul, its CTO, joins David Wright to break down the AI threat now testing that trust. He unpacks AI-driven impersonation scams in recruiting and the career risks that shaped his path to the C-suite. From a bike-riding analogy to a career-defining early mistake, Gary makes the case for why judgment, not just technology, is what will separate the firms that survive this shift from the ones that don't.