Accelerating Digital Adoption

About Accelerating Digital Adoption

What gets digital adoption out of stagnation and across the finish line fast? Intro Mars Blackman, "Is it the technology?" No Mars. "Is it the budget?" No Mars. "Is it competing priorities?" No Mars. Listen in on digital adoption pro tips from leaders who are getting easier buy-in, faster implementation, and better results than everyone else.

Publisher

ValueAdd group

Category

business

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

21 May 2025

Latest episode

6 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

20 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   6 Oct 2026

   AI and The Mindset Shift in Pharma: featuring Benjamin Kaeser

   In this episode of the Digital Adoption Accelerator Podcast, I sat down with Benjamin Kaiser, Head of Operations for Pharma Sciences at Roche, to talk about what it really takes to move from digital awareness to meaningful adoption. Benjamin reflects on his experience in the Digital Adoption Accelerator and how stepping outside the usual corporate environment helped create space for deeper thinking, stronger industry collaboration, and a new perspective on the role leaders play in shaping digital transformation. We explore why the biggest challenge in digital adoption is often not the technology itself, but the mindset around it. Benjamin shares how curiosity, ownership, and a willingness to act have changed the way he approaches leadership, AI, and his own impact. Rather than seeing AI as a replacement for human work, he sees it as a partner that can handle repetitive tasks and create more room for empathy, creative thinking, and complex problem-solving. Benjamin also shares his mission to enable scientists to focus more of their time on science by improving operations, using data more effectively, and creating systems that help teams move from understanding what happened to predicting what will happen next. Key Takeaways: - Digital adoption is not just about keeping up with new technology. It requires curiosity, ownership, and the willingness to actively shape change. - AI should be viewed as a partner to human capability, not a replacement for it. - A digital mindset does not require becoming a technology expert. It requires understanding how people and technology can work together more effectively. - Ownership creates freedom. When people truly own the work, they gain the freedom to shape it and create greater impact. - Data can help organizations separate facts from assumptions and make better decisions about where resources create the most value. - Scientists increasingly need to combine scientific expertise with data and digital capabilities to deliver solutions faster for patients. - Implementation beats knowledge. Instead of spending years continually scoping and planning, leaders should implement something useful, learn from it, capture the value, and keep moving. - The leaders who create the most impact are willing to get off the sidelines, act before everything is perfect, and continuously add value. Connect with Benjamin Kaeser: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminkaeser Connect with Jake Herway: LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakeherway/ Follow ValueAdd Group: Website: https://www.valueaddgroup.com/ LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/company/valueadd-group Follow the Podcast: YouTube:   https://www.youtube.com/@valueaddgroup Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1v4xjAZstZYqocvmpU7ZRL?si=7a6a7703415c4ab8&nd=1&dlsi=a596dcb014a54f5b Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/accelerating-digital-adoption-in-healthcare/id1815823125

2. 

   6 Oct 2026

   Transforming Biopharma with AI: featuring Cenk Ündey

   In this episode of the Digital Adoption Accelerator Podcast, I sat down with Cenk Ündey, Integrated CMC Global Digital Transformation Lead at Sanofi, to discuss what it really takes to drive digital transformation in biopharma. He comes with nearly 30 years of experience in biopharma, data, digital, computational technologies, process development, and manufacturing! Cenk shares his experience from the Digital Adoption Accelerator immersion in Moab and how the lessons around mindset, leadership, and identity have carried directly into his current work. We explore why transformation is not just about installing new software, but about changing how teams think, work, and lead. Key Takeaways: -Digital transformation is not just about technology. It requires a shift in mindset, leadership, and ways of working. -AI-ready data is foundational. Without structured, connected, high-quality data, AI cannot deliver its full value. -Biopharma has a major opportunity to connect the full value chain, from research and development to manufacturing, suppliers, care providers, and patients. -Bringing “the future to the present” can help teams align around a shared vision and work backward toward meaningful transformation. -Leaders must create other leaders, not just deploy tools, if they want digital adoption to scale. Connect with Cenk Ündey : LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cenkundey Connect with Jake Herway: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakeherway/ Follow ValueAdd Group: Website: https://www.valueaddgroup.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/valueadd-group Follow the Podcast: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@valueaddgroup Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1v4xjAZ...

3. 

   15 Sept 2026

   The Human Factor in AI: featuring Valeria Runza

   In this episode of the Digital Adoption Accelerator Podcast for Life Sciences, host Jake Herway sits down with Valeria Runza, who leads a biochemistry department within Analytics in Pharma Technical Development at Roche in Penzberg, Germany. Valeria shares her journey from studying biotechnology in Argentina to moving to Germany for her PhD in genetics and immunology, despite not speaking German at the time. She reflects on how her courage, curiosity, and constant need to learn have shaped her leadership path across research, biologics, analytics, and enterprise-wide digital initiatives. The conversation explores Valeria’s experience with the Digital Adoption Accelerator immersion in Moab, where she began seeing AI not only as something to implement, but as something to actively adopt. She discusses how AI has helped her think differently, challenge her own assumptions, and engage with her “digital self” as a tool for reflection and better decision-making. Valeria and Jake also discuss the human side of AI adoption, including why leaders need to communicate the “so what” behind efficiency gains, how teams can avoid creating a “nicely automated mess,” and why AI should help people become better humans rather than simply add more complexity to already busy systems. Valeria Runza has spent more than 17 years at Roche, including 12 years in research and the last five years leading a biochemistry team within analytics in pharma technical development. Her work focuses on biologics, leadership, digital adoption, and helping teams navigate change with curiosity, courage, and purpose. Key Takeaways: - AI adoption is not the same as simply going with the flow. True adoption requires personal involvement, ownership, and a willingness to rethink how work gets done. - Leaders need to clearly communicate why AI is being adopted and what efficiency gains are meant to enable. - Without intention, AI can add complexity to complexity and create what Valeria calls a “nicely automated mess.” - AI can help people think better, reflect more deeply, and make stronger value judgments when used with purpose. - The human factor remains one of the biggest challenges in scaling AI because people need clarity, trust, and context. - Teams thrive when leaders create freedom, avoid micromanagement, and allow people to take initiative. - AI has the potential to help pharma use decades of data to reduce trial and error, increase confidence, and bring safer, more effective medicines to patients faster. - Courage and continuous learning remain essential leadership traits in a world where digital transformation is moving faster than ever. Connect with Valeria Runza: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/valeria-runza-a4087035 Connect with Jake Herway: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakeherway Follow ValueAdd Group: Website: https://www.valueaddgroup.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/valueadd-group/ Follow the Podcast: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzWMc22gSBAsDQ9EX3nqb5Q/podcasts/podcasts Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/accelerating-digital-adoption-in-healthcare/id1815823125 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1v4xjAZstZYqocvmpU7ZRL?si=7a6a7703415c4ab8&nd=1&dlsi=5b5a5984295b44fb

Who has been a guest on Accelerating Digital Adoption

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Benjamin Kaeser
• Teresa Eastwood-Kiefer
• Ruma
• Diego the Amazing
• Lorraine

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YouTube views

120

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Podcast Authority Score: 33 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

39

Social presence

0

YouTube

64

Engagement

0

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