Gayle Sheppard | Industrial Impact Podcast | Momenta

Good day, listeners, and welcome back to another exciting episode of our Momenta Industrial Impact podcast series. We are thrilled to bring you Episode 229, featuring Gayle Sheppard, Global Board Director at Astroscale.

Gayle Sheppard brings with her a wealth of experience and expertise in the tech industry. Before her role at Astroscale, Gayle was the Chief Executive Officer of Bright Machines, Inc., a pioneering software-defined factory automation company. Before that, she held the prestigious position of Corporate Vice President and Chief Technology Officer for Microsoft Asia, where she spearheaded visionary strategies and execution programs for customer and partner co-innovation and digital transformation.

But Gayle's illustrious career doesn't stop there. She has also served as the Head of Global Expansion and Digital Transformation for Microsoft Cloud and AI and the Corporate Vice President of Azure Data at Microsoft. Earlier ventures include her role as CEO at Saffron Technology and her tenure as Vice President and General Manager of the Saffron AI/ML Division at Intel.

Throughout her career, Gayle has been at the forefront of groundbreaking initiatives, contributing to the growth and evolution of start-ups and Fortune 100 companies alike. Her expertise spans artificial intelligence platforms, business, and consumer market solutions, and the digitization of businesses across various industries.

Tune in: In this episode, Gayle shares invaluable insights gleaned from her extensive experience in the tech world, offering listeners a glimpse into the future of industrial impact and innovation.

 Discussion Points:

• What would you consider to be your digital thread (the defining interests and experiences that brought you to this point in life)?
• You’ve been at the forefront of key enterprise and AI platforms for several decades. With that perspective, what has surprised you most and least about the proliferation of AI today?
• Let’s drill down a bit into Saffron, one of the first cognitive computing systems companies. Their “natural intelligence” platform was used across manufacturing, energy, defense, and healthcare to help decision-makers manage risks, identify opportunities and anticipate future outcomes. This was quite the high-flier, with the former National Security Advisor John Poindexter on the board and ultimately competing with IBM Watson. Tell us a bit about the company and what you are most proud of as its CEO.
• You exited the company to Intel in 2015, which unceremoniously shuttered it three years later. Going back to that time and knowing what you do about the renewed interest in AI, would you have done anything differently?
• Let’s fast-forward to your time at Microsoft. You served as a key leader in Japan (which you had also done for J.D. Edwards). What attracted you to Japan, and what were some of your key achievements?
• Does Microsoft’s recent headlong move into AI surprise you?
• You were most recently CEO of Bright Machines, a software-defined factory automation company. Tell us about the company and your factory automation focus.
• I noted you are a director at Nutanix and Astroscale, so you are truly taking your leadership to both the edge and space. What are some of the key trends you are watching these days?
• So, what is next for you?