Speed, Ease, and Expertise With AI: Lenovo’s Linda Yao

Speed, Ease, and Expertise With AI: Lenovo’s Linda Yao

Author: MIT Sloan Management Review April 1, 2025 Duration: 31:59
Linda Yao, chief operating officer and head of strategy for Lenovo’s Strategy, Solutions, and Services Group and vice president of hybrid cloud and AI solutions, joins us to explain the organization’s transition from technology product company to managed services provider. It’s now helping organizations with the change management required to implement AI in the enterprise. She shares both a framework around speed, ease, and expertise to facilitate this adoption, as well as the four pillars of AI readiness that Lenovo guides its clients to achieve. Tune in to this episode, also, for Linda’s perspective on the role of human connection in what she calls the era of inference, a time when we should focus on the implementation of maturing AI tools. Read the episode transcript here. Guest Bio: Linda Yao serves as vice president of hybrid cloud and AI solutions at Lenovo. Yao recently also took on the role of chief operating officer and head of Lenovo’s Strategy, Solutions, and Services Group and established the company’s AI Center of Excellence. Previously, at Boeing, she incubated a data science practice in the U.S. and India, built an M&A team, and oversaw investments for one of the largest corporate retirement plans in the world. She earned her finance chops at IBM in New York and Shanghai. Yao earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Harvard University and an engineering certificate from MIT. She is an active liaison for the U.S. Presidential Scholars Foundation and the YoungArts, a national foundation. Me, Myself, and AI is a collaborative podcast from MIT Sloan Management Review and Boston Consulting Group and is hosted by Sam Ransbotham and Shervin Khodabandeh. Our engineer is David Lishansky, and the executive producer is Allison Ryder. Stay in touch with us by joining our LinkedIn group, AI for Leaders at mitsmr.com/AIforLeaders or by following Me, Myself, and AI on LinkedIn. We encourage you to rate and review our show. Your comments may be used in Me, Myself, and AI materials.

Ever wondered how some organizations manage to turn artificial intelligence from a buzzword into a genuine engine for growth, while others struggle to move beyond the pilot phase? Me, Myself, and AI, a production from MIT Sloan Management Review, goes straight to the source to find out. Instead of theoretical discussions, this podcast features candid conversations with the people who are actually building and implementing AI systems at scale. You'll hear directly from leaders at prominent companies like YouTube, Cisco, and Hugging Face as they recount their journeys-not just the polished successes, but the real-world challenges, strategic decisions, and sometimes surprising lessons learned along the way. Each episode digs into the practicalities of creating measurable business value, cutting through the noise to reveal what effective AI leadership and integration truly look like. It’s a focused exploration for anyone in technology, business, or education who wants to understand the human and operational stories behind the algorithms. Tune in for an unvarnished look at the future being built, one practical application at a time.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Me, Myself, and AI
Podcast Episodes
Driving Manufacturing Efficiency With AI: Pirelli’s Daniele Petecchi [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 25:30
Daniele Petecchi didn’t realize how complex the process of producing tires was until he joined Pirelli, a company that’s been in the business of manufacturing tires for more than 150 years. But now, as head of data manag…
Bonus Episode: Artificial Intelligence Podcasts With Jennifer Strong [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:58
While Me, Myself, and AI is on winter break, we hope you enjoy this episode. Jennifer Strong, longtime journalist and creator of the SHIFT podcast, joins Sam and Shervin to talk about their favorite Me, Myself, and AI ep…
Bonus Episode: Generative AI Trends for 2024 With Tom Davenport [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:49
While Me, Myself, and AI is on winter break, we hope you enjoy this episode. Tom Davenport, President’s Distinguished Professor of Information Technology and Management at Babson College, joins Sam and Shervin to talk ab…
Making Magic With Gen AI: Capital One’s Prem Natarajan [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:53
Growing up in a multilingual community, Prem Natarajan became interested in language at a young age. Eventually that interest, aptitude, and curiosity translated into an interest in machine learning and technical develop…
AI on Mars: NASA’s Vandi Verma [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:44
When Vandi Verma saw the Spirit and Opportunity rovers land on Mars while she was working toward a Ph.D. in robotics, it set her on a path toward working at NASA in space exploration., Perhaps unsurprisingly, today, as c…
Operational Safety With AI: Chevron's Ellen Nielsen [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:13
Ellen Nielsen, Chevron’s first chief data officer, sees data as the common thread throughout a career that has spanned systems, digital data, procurement, and supply chain. In her current role, she applies what she’s lea…