On Today's Show:

In this finale, we look back on the conversations we've had throughout season three, with Robert Franceschini, Deputy Chief Technology Officer at Leidos. He'll walk us through the highlights from the season, how all of these separate mindsets work together to form an unstoppable ecosystem and gives us a look into Leidos' future.

Key Takeaways:

• Highlighting the various mindsets and technologies discussed in season three
• How these technologies come together in the ecosystem
• Looking ahead at what's next for Leidos

On Today's Show:

• "It will be a wonderful day when individuals come to work and can be their true whole selves and not worry about, “Do I fit in?” “Do I need to behave a certain way?”  People that are worried about being themselves authentically are expending so much energy on something other than being at work and being present.” - Liz Porter

Diversity in health tech will inevitably save lives. Having representation at all levels of development and implementation will ultimately lead to better service and success for everyone. That's something Liz Porter, President of Leidos Health Group and Kristin Gowers, Chief of Staff for Leidos Health Group, recognize and work hard to achieve.

Key Takeaways:

• Why diversity in tech is vital to success
• Why diversity needs to be at all levels
• The changing global workplace's impact on diversity

Links: https://leidos.com/diversity

On Today's Show:

• "If you're a firing battery, you have to move quickly and constantly. You cannot stay in the same location, and you have to expect there's gonna be periods of disconnection (but) you have to be able to operate in that and still deliver fires, still know where you are, still have the right information at your fingertips." - John George

In defense operations, there is no room for error. Decisions need to be made fast, but they also need to be the right decisions. To make the right decisions, the speed of vital communication and information can be the difference between a successful mission and a failed one. That's where Leidos comes in. 

Leidos is in partnership with the United States Department of Defense on JADC2, or Joint All-Domain Command Control and the Army’s version of JADC2 – Project Convergence – to ensure the most advanced tech and procedures are available. In this episode, John George, Vice President and Army Senior Account Executive and Dan McCormack, Program Manager of C4ISR Solutions, join to explain what JADC2 and Project Convergence are, how Leidos is involved, and why the initiatives are so vital to American defense.

Key Takeaways:

• What Joint All-Domain Command Control (JADC2) and Project Convergence are
• How the initiatives fit together and why they're so important
• How Leidos is involved

Links:

https://leidos.com/defense

On Today's Show:

• "I wanted to know how I could go into that space, how I could help, and I felt like my background being just a Black woman who is very interested in her own health, (meant) it would be a good area for me to go into and see how I can make a difference." - Gabby Thomas

Gabby Thomas is a two-time Olympic medalist, a Harvard graduate, and a former Leidos intern. She is now pursuing her master’s in public health at the University of Texas. While her life has taken her on multiple different paths, they all intersect with her love for health. 

Along the way in her journey to reach her own peak health, she discovered a passion for healthcare equity. Today she joins to share how her experience on the track has impacted her healthcare career and interests and how she balances it all.

Key Takeaways:

• Gabby's path to athletics and healthcare studies
• Gabby's experience as a Healthcare Innovation Analyst at Leidos
• How she manages her busy life and her advice to others

On Today's Show:

• "We tend to focus on technology, and so the soft touchy feely becomes secondary. We need to switch that around. We need to start thinking always about how the customers are going to use whatever we provide and then start designing to that." - Lakshmi Ashok

Far too often, organizations put tech first and user experience second. In doing so they build a digital foundation that will steer away users and inevitably lead to patchwork fixes down the line. Lakshmi Ashok is the Vice President of Enterprise Service Management at Leidos. She joins to tell us why focus on DUX is so crucial, where businesses are getting things wrong, and the approaches to take to get it right.

Key Takeaways:

• What DUX is and why it matters
• Why building out a good DUX early is cost effective
• How Leidos is applying their own recommendations

On Today's Show: 

• "I mean, we're basically looking at the transistor revolution (...) that took computers from the size of rooms to something you can put in your pocket. It's that kind of, you discover new technology, you apply it everywhere and see what you can do." - Elizabeth Iwasawa

A new frontier for technology is upon us. Quantum Technology is utilizing the fascinating world of quantum physics to revolutionize technology. The practical applications are abundant, and cybersecurity is one of the biggest sectors that stands to gain from this progression. The technology is already in use for quantum encryption, quantum computers, and more. Elizabeth Iwasawa is Leidos' Quantum Technology Lead and a Research Scientist. She joins to explain what Quantum Technology is, why it's revolutionary, and what it means for the future of cybersecurity.

Key Takeaways:

• What Quantum Technology is and how it's different
• How Cybersecurity will be revolutionized by Quantum Technology
• How it will change the future of computing

On Today's Show:

• "It's not that we don't invest enough, it's that an awful lot of people would say we don't get enough value for the money we spend. That's where our team and our opportunity comes to do more, better, faster to drive better resiliency in the system and to ultimately keep costs low so everybody benefits from a more resilient, clean energy." - Josh Wepman

The world relies on energy. It's integral to our way of life, and that reliance is only growing. But while the technology we use has advanced at a rapid pace, throwing us into the future, our energy grid supplying that power hasn't. It's full of outdated infrastructure, in need of desperate repair, and there just simply isn't enough human power to get it done. That's why Josh Wepman is finding solutions elsewhere like in automation and modern technologies. Josh Wepman is the Technology Officer for Commercial Energy Solutions at Leidos. He joins the show to explain some of the major issues our energy grid faces, and the solutions he and his team are working on keep America running.

Key Takeaways:

• What energy automation offers to our way of life
• How climate change is increasing the need to an update to our energy grid
• The strategies we're working on right now to fix our system

Links:

• Leidos.com/energysolutions

On Today's Show:  

• "The first step is realizing that the first decision you make won't be your last. There's not a perfect solution out there. There are a lot of variables to consider when we build a system or solution. We can't just pick the hot new thing because it might not be mature enough or it might not work in our customer space." - Paul Burnette. 

There's a lot of care and big decisions that go into successful software planning for an organization. Changes in the software world happen at an astounding pace. It's not only important to pick the right solutions for today, but also to think about resiliency in the future. Not to mention finding the right solutions that fit in with the tech landscape already present in an organization without sacrificing practicality or efficiency. Today, Paul Burnette, Vice President of the Software Accelerator, and Drew Formica, Software Architect at Leidos join to share why it's so important for organizations to keep up with software tech and how they can do it in a way that keeps workflows fast and ready for the future.  

Key Takeaways

• What Mission Software is
• The importance of keeping up to date with software
• Why looking to the future is crucial when finding solutions. 

Links

• www.leidos.com/software

On Today's Show:

• "The security is actually more stringent and more secure, even though from a practical sort of perception standpoint, it may not seem that way at, at first glance. But when you peel back the onion layers, you'll realize this way of operating, yeah, it's different, but it's actually much more secure and it gives the users a much better experience." -  David Chou

The modern digital landscape requires a new way of thinking about both cybersecurity and user experience. Cloud technology offers the solution for both of those things while not sacrificing efficiency. David Chou is the Director of Cloud Capabilities at Leidos. He joins to tell us about how the cloud works, why it's the safest option, and why it's crucial when working with Zero Trust or Beyond Compliant strategies.

Key Takeaways

• What Digital Modernization is and where the Cloud fits in
• The differences between the Cloud and on-site servers
• How the Cloud makes modern security approaches possible

Links

• www.leidos.com/cloud

On Today's Show:

• "There will always be incidents to respond to though. And that's part of this mindset too, is that you're assuming breach much like in zero trust. You're awaiting it, but you already have mechanisms in place to help you in that situation" - Meghan Good

As cyber threats continue to evolve, security is more important than ever. It is no longer effective to just meet basic requirements. In today's world, security needs to be proactive. It needs to look ahead and predict the future threats it may need to fend off. That's exactly what the Beyond Compliance approach is, and why it's such a game changer. Meghan Good is VP and Director of the Cyber Accelerator at Leidos. Today, she joins to explain what Beyond Compliance means, how it works, and the best way for organizations to begin with this modern-day approach to cybersecurity.

Key Takeaways

• How to think Beyond Compliance
• Overcoming the challenges involved in always looking ahead
• Why collective defence is the way forward

Links

• www.leidos.com/cyber

On Today's Show:

• "If you can get the trust relationship right, when humans and machines actually work together to solve problems you can really transform the way that business is done. If you build that relationship with intention based on trust, then humans actually really like working with AI-enabled capabilities traditionally." - Ron Keesing

Some of our best work in technology comes when humans and machines work together. That also applies to AI-enabled tech. But to see those rewards, like any relationship, trust needs to be present, and that means it needs to be built. Building that trust is a task the team at Leidos is heavily focused on. Today, Ron Keesing, Senior VP for technology integration at Leidos and Tifani O'Brien, Lead for the AI and Machine Learning Accelerator at Leidos join us to walk us through how they're doing that and the challenges they face.

Key Takeaways

• How trust in AI impacts the application of the technology
• Methods for evoking trust in AI
• How AI can help humans unlearn biases

Links

• www.leidos.com/ai