Catalyst

This week on Catalyst, Tammy is joined by Rita Soni, a social entrepreneur and one of the leading voices on impact sourcing, an intentional, inclusive talent strategy she's helped shape since the term was coined during her time as CEO of Nasscom Foundation. She later brought that expertise to Everest Group as a principal analyst, and is now building Grand Resolve, a nonprofit that's co-creating standards to make digital services more responsible and inclusive. Tammy and Rita dig into what impact sourcing actually looks like on the ground, from Televerde's outbound call centers inside a women's prison to Vindhya Info Media in Bangalore, where a workforce built around people with disabilities has outpaced expectations on retention and quality. The throughline: "good for people" and "good for business" aren't competing goals.
Please note that the views expressed may not necessarily be those of NTT DATA
Links:
Rita Soni
Nasscom Foundation
Everest Group's Impact Sourcing
Learn more about Launch by NTT DATA
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Catalyst, Tammy is joined by Tanarra Schneider, founder of Rebel 75, for a conversation about building healthier, more human workplace cultures in the age of AI. Tanarra's path here wasn't linear, she led design at Fjord and Accenture, helped shape culture at Activision Blizzard, built one of the first streaming cooking school platforms, and even detoured through culinary school. She traces her drive to push back on broken systems to her mother, who always stood up for other people, and to her own instincts as a risk-taker who has never fit neatly into one box. She and Tammy dig into the sharp difference between a "chaos monster," who knocks things over out of ego, and a true rebel, who acts from a broader sense of "we." That same distinction shapes her read on AI's arrival in the workplace, which she sees as having been inserted squarely in the middle of human relationships, quietly replacing the context and conversation that used to happen between people. She makes the case that organizations need to slow down for the right reasons, not just to cut costs, if they want to rebuild trust, and that service design has become the discipline this moment badly needs.
Please note that the views expressed may not necessarily be those of NTT DATA
Links:
Tanarra Schneider
Rebel75
Learn more about Launch by NTT DATA
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Catalyst, Tammy is joined by not just any executive coach — she's welcoming her very own executive coach onto the podcast. Anna Pool is an executive coach, author, and President of Executive Savvy, and has been working with Tammy for years. Anna shares her non-traditional background: 20 years living and working in an ashram, where she devoted her life to yoga, meditation, and enlightenment. She explains how this experience informs her practical approach to presence, nervous system regulation, and resilient leadership. She and Tammy also discuss why so many leaders are stuck in chronic stress today. Anna introduces the concept of the red, green, and blue zones, and teaches simple ways to return to the green zone before reactive decisions take over.
Please note that the views expressed may not necessarily be those of NTT DATA
Links:
Anna Pool
Daniel Goleman - Emotional Intelligence
A ten-minute meditation on reconnecting with the Green Zone led by Anna
Anna’s latest Linked In article on the Red Zone
Let Go - Sanskrit/English chanting written and produced by Anna
Learn more about Launch by NTT DATA
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Catalyst, Tammy is joined by Tucker Burhans, Data Engineering Supervisor at Corning and a finalist for the Next Generation Leadership Award at the Manufacturing Leadership Council Awards Gala. Tucker traces his journey from competitive swimming and pre-med to data engineering, with a love of problem-solving serving as a common thread throughout. He shares his leadership philosophy in an era of rapid technological change and AI: success means championing others and helping them succeed. Having entered the workforce just as AI was beginning to take hold, Tucker offers a unique perspective on both the challenges and opportunities it presents. He discusses the importance of critical thinking and domain expertise when implementing AI, as well as the need to balance new technologies with human judgment. Tucker also shares his personal AI story and how he’s using it to support his newfound passion for gardening.
Please note that the views expressed may not necessarily be those of NTT DATA
Links:
Tucker Burhans
Corning
Learn more about Launch by NTT DATA
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Catalyst, Tammy is joined by Adam Zaouague, Automation & Data Specialist at Reata Engineering & Machine Works and a finalist for the Next Generation Leadership Award at the Manufacturing Leadership Council Awards Gala. Adam traces his path from a high school CNC machining program to being recruited by Reata's owner (at the age of 17!) and eventually leading the company's engineering department. He reflects on why trust and emotional intelligence matter as much as technical skill when leading others, then turns to AI, arguing that as machines take on more of the workload, intention and focus become the real differentiators. He shares Reata's philosophy of slowing down to speed up, the internal AI tool the company is building to let subject matter experts create their own solutions, and how integrity and teamwork remain the values that hold it all together.
Please note that the views expressed may not necessarily be those of NTT DATA
Links:
Adam Zaouague
Great CEOs are Lazy
Tomo
Learn more about Launch by NTT DATA

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.