Becoming a Technology-First Company with Wesco International EVP & CIO Akash Khurana

On the 18th episode of Enterprise Software Innovators, hosts Evan Reiser (Abnormal Security) and Saam Motamedi (Greylock Partners) talk with Akash Khurana, Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer of Wesco International. With over 18,000 employees and $20 billion of revenue, Wesco is a leading provider of electrical, industrial, and communications MRO and OEM products, supplying vital infrastructure in countries across the world. Today, Akash shares his insights on digital transformation, the role of data in optimizing customer experiences, and the importance of AI in driving business outcomes.Quick hits from Akash:On AI optimizing product recommendations: "One area that we have seen significant improvements is product recommendation. We have massive data from our end-to-end value chain. [In the past] as we responded to commercial proposals, it was all about how we go to the product set that is available, the product set that a sales rep is familiar with. And that was the past, right? It was very linear in terms of responses. Using AI, we are able to now provide not only one linear option to our sales representatives, but we are able to provide multiple recommendations with different profiles, and different availability metrics, which allow much better capability for our sales organization to deliver to our demands customer commitments.”On AI’s increasingly important role at Wesco: “​​We have something we call the ‘AI Factory.’ And every business model, every opportunity that we think of, we take a lens of ‘what can AI do in this area?’ You really need to make it part of your operating model so that it becomes the way you operate, the way you think about technology, the way you think about providing services and solutions.”On how Akash defines digital transformation: “The way I define it is in terms of leveraging digital to create new value channels for the organization, whether it's through new products, new services, new solutions, new ways of going to market, new ways of engaging with customers, new ways of doing business with our partner ecosystems, new ways of tapping into innovation capability of the organization.Recent Book Recommendation: Creative Construction by Gary Pisano--Like what you hear? Leave us a review and subscribe to the show on Apple, Google, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts.Enterprise Software Innovators is a show where top tech executives share how they innovate at scale. Each episode covers unique insights and stories that will help you succeed as a technology leader. Find more great lessons from tech leaders and enterprise software experts at https://www.enterprisesoftware.blog/ Enterprise Software Innovators is produced by Josh Meer and Luke Reiser.

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