373- AI Saves Five Million w/ Benny Zhang

You've Been Heard

Philip Howard

Technology, Tech News, Management, News, Business

5 • 49 Ratings

🗓️ 11 September 2025

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

ON THIS EPISODE ➤ How to transition IT from cost center to business enabler ➤ Building stakeholder relationships through lunch and learn programs ➤ AI implementation strategy that balances innovation with security ➤ Transforming reactive “car mechanic” mindset to proactive business partner ➤ Earning executive respect through consistent value demonstration What happens when a chemical engineer becomes an AI-driven IT leader who saves companies millions? At a major energy company, Benny Zhang serves as VP of Information Technology, transforming how IT departments prove their strategic value. Starting his career as a chemical engineer in China—where his father brought him a...

Transcript

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0:00.0	All right.
0:09.5	Everyone in the world, I would like to introduce you to Benny Zhang.
0:14.2	So welcome to dissecting popular IT nerds.
0:17.0	Benny, we had such a really fun conversation last time.
0:22.1	I'm really hoping that I can do it justice this time.
0:26.4	But why would you just start with give us your story, man?
0:30.5	How did you get into IT?
0:31.6	How did you get started?
0:32.3	What was your first computer?
0:34.7	How are you changing the world or making a difference in the world right now?
0:38.9	So my first computer was a Commodore 64.
0:41.9	So my dad was a visiting scholar for Cornell University.
0:47.1	When he came back to China, he actually bought me a Commodore 64.
0:52.5	So that was the computer I played video games and also learned how to code.
0:59.0	Okay, so let me get this straight.
1:01.0	Dad came back from the United States with a Commodore 64 box as a gift.
1:07.0	Corrupt.
1:08.0	Yes.
1:09.0	That has got to be one of the most pivotal, most memorable moments in your life.
1:15.7	I mean, that's like probably one of the coolest things a dad could ever do.
1:21.2	Actually, it was pretty complicated at the time because it took him a while to figure out
1:26.4	how to put it together. Then it took him a while to figure out how to put it together,
	...

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