Podcast

Executive Interview

Hosted by Bill Russell, Sarah Richardson, or Drex DeFord

One-on-one conversations with healthcare executives sharing their leadership journeys, strategic priorities, and insights on technology-driven transformation.

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Episodes (32)

May 6, 2026·Executive Interview

The Cyber Attack No One Can Survive Alone | Executive Interview with Josh Howell

May 5, 2026: What happens when attackers don't just break into your systems, they become you? Josh Howell , Healthcare CTO at Rubrik , joins Drex DeFord to unpack Rubrik's newly announced partnership with the American Hospital Association, a rigorous vetting process that signals a new standard in cyber risk validation. Josh draws on hundreds of ransomware recovery experiences to challenge how health systems think about resilience, recovery sequencing, and the identity control plane. Learn why th

Apr 29, 2026·Executive Interview

Data Liberation, Tech Debt, and the Road to AI-Ready | Executive Interview with Jim Jacobs

April 29, 2026: Bill Russell sits down with Jim Jacobs , President and CEO of MediQuant , to confront one of healthcare's most expensive and underappreciated problems: runaway application complexity. Jim makes the case that software rationalization isn't an IT to-do list item; it's a board-level imperative. With health systems carrying $60 million in unwanted software spend and cyber risks piling up in legacy systems that no one is maintaining, the urgency has never been higher. And with AI dema

Apr 8, 2026·Executive Interview

Executive Interview: Maximizing Security with the Tools You Already Have with Frank Duff

April 8, 2026: Frank Duff , Chief Innovation Officer at Tidal Cyber , and one of the original architects of the Mitre ATT&CK framework, joins Drex DeFord on UnHack to expose an uncomfortable truth: most organizations are sitting on powerful security tools they've never fully turned on. Drawing from 18 years at Mitre and deep experience running ATT&CK evaluations, Frank explains how Tidal Cyber bridges the gap between what vendors build and what customers actually deploy. Squeezing more o

Apr 1, 2026·Executive Interview

Executive Interview: Securing Healthcare's Hidden Attack Surface with James Winebrenner

April 1, 2026: James Winebrenner , CEO of Elisity , joins Drex DeFord to unpack one of healthcare cybersecurity's most persistent challenges, the sprawling, unseen attack surface hiding inside hospital networks. From unmanaged clinical devices to IoT systems running alongside regulated medical equipment, James breaks down how Elisity helps health systems move from visibility to control without re-engineering their networks. He also shares what The Pitt gets right about what really happens when a

Mar 27, 2026·Executive Interview

Executive Interview: The Healthcare Data Time Machine with Jonathan Cook and Jason Rose

March 27, 2026: Most healthcare organizations see legacy systems as technical debt—costly to maintain, risky to secure, and difficult to access. But what if that same data could become the foundation for your AI strategy? From the HIMSS floor, Bill Russell sits down with Jason Rose (CEO) and Jonathan Cook (CTO) of Clearsense to explore how health systems can rapidly retire legacy applications while transforming decades of archived data into actionable intelligence. With hundreds—even thousands—o

Mar 27, 2026·Executive Interview

Executive Interview: ROI or Bust - Why Emotions No Longer Cut It in Healthcare

March 27: 2026: Live from HIMSS 2026, Drex DeFord sits down with Eli Tarlow , Director of Industry Strategists at CDW , for a candid conversation about the state of AI in healthcare. Eli breaks down the evolution from AI curiosity to AI accountability, where gut feelings have been replaced by hard business plans, measurable ROI, and a closing-the-loop mentality that puts operational leaders on the hook for results. Key Points: 01:44 AI Maturity Shift 03:05 Proving ROI With AI 06:05 Accountabilit

Mar 25, 2026·Executive Interview

Executive Interview: How Carahsoft Connects Healthcare to What Works with Rob Courtney

March 25, 2026: How can healthcare organizations move faster on adopting new technology while navigating complex procurement processes? Rob Courtney , Healthcare CTO at Carahsoft , joins Sarah Richardson at HIMSS to share how Carahsoft is bridging that gap. By acting as a master aggregator, Carahsoft helps vendors access the healthcare market while giving providers vetted solutions that solve real problems. From driving demand through events and marketing to simplifying contracting with pre-buil

Mar 25, 2026·Executive Interview

Executive Interview Live at HIMSS 26’: Zero Breach Cloud Security with Gerry Miller

March 25, 2026: Gerry Miller , Founder and CEO of Cloudticity , has spent 15 years helping healthcare organizations harness the cloud securely. In this live conversation at HIMSS 2026, Gerry breaks down why health systems are accelerating their move to the cloud and how multi-cloud strategies are shifting from redundancy plays to service optimization. Key Points: 02:33 Multi Cloud Strategy 04:39 ROI and Security 08:24 Future Data and AI X : This Week Health LinkedIn: This Week Health Donat

Mar 20, 2026·Executive Interview

Executive Interview Live From HIMSS 2026: The Smart Hospital Room Is Becoming Real with Adam McMullin

March 20, 2026: Healthcare leaders have been talking about the “smart hospital room” for years. Now it is starting to become real. In this live conversation from the floor of HIMSS 2026, Bill Russell speaks with Adam McMullin , CEO of AvaSure , about how virtual care platforms are evolving beyond patient monitoring into a foundation for the hospital room of the future. With deployments across more than 1,200 hospitals, AvaSure built its footprint through virtual safety monitoring, helping health

Mar 18, 2026·Executive Interview

Executive Interview: Why Your Legacy Records Are an AI Goldmine with James Hammer

March 18, 2026: Most health systems treat EHR migrations as a checkbox, finish the project, move on. James Hammer , COO of Harmony Healthcare IT , says that mindset is costing organizations their most valuable future asset. With 19 years of experience and 715+ unique source applications migrated or archived, James reveals why legacy data is no longer just a compliance burden; it's an emerging source of AI fuel. From ambulatory practices to the nation's largest IDNs, Harmony is helping healthcare

Mar 18, 2026·Executive Interview

Executive Interview Live From HIMSS ‘26: From CapEx to Cloud with Tim Calahan

March 18, 2026: For years, healthcare leaders debated whether public cloud was ready for mission-critical platforms like Epic. Today, the question has shifted from if to when . Tim Calahan , Founder of EHC Consulting brings a rare perspective to the conversation, one shaped by actually running the migration from inside a major academic health system. After serving as CTO at Michigan Medicine and leading their move to Azure, Tim now helps health systems navigate the financial, operational, and se

Mar 18, 2026·Executive Interview

Executive Interview: Redefining the Data Platform for Healthcare with Chris Kopinski

March 18, 2026: Pure Storage just became Everpure , and the timing couldn't be more intentional. In this executive interview recorded live at HIMSS, Chris Kopinski , Head of Healthcare and Life Sciences at Everpure, unpacks what the rebrand really means and why it matters for health systems navigating AI acceleration, cybersecurity pressure, and relentless margin compression. Key Points: 01:12 EverPure Rebrand Explained 03:09 Healthcare Priorities AI Cyber Costs 05:15 Data Foundation for A