(US & Canada) VIDEO | Setting Your Pathway Correct Is Key to AI Success —  Cintas CIO

Matthew Hough, VP and Chief Information Officer at Cintas, speaks with Tracy Ring, Chief Data Officer and Global Generative Lead for Life Sciences at Accenture, in a video interview about change management and communication needed to manage AI disruption, ensuring AI adoption, and addressing the talent gap.

Headquartered in Cincinnati, Cintas designs, manufactures, and implements corporate identity uniform programs, and provides entrance mats, restroom cleaning and supplies, tile and carpet cleaning, promotional products, first-aid, safety, fire protection products, and services.

Hough mentions that Cintas is setting up a steering committee to help understand AI use cases, communicate how to use it effectively, and set up guidelines and training for employee partners to use generative AI outside the system. He adds that there are two sides to the situation - an internal aspect about using own data and an external aspect about people being more productive.

Elaborating further, Hough says that the organization is trying to balance both by putting the steering committee together to develop governance rules and education to handle the change.

Speaking on adoption he says that the first step is about having a model that can create value. Hough mentions a use case for getting better insights into security configurations. The next step is to come up with a way to see if people are using the technology and ensure that it is being used. An additional aspect here is to track drift within the models to avoid unintended results.

However, Hough stresses it is crucial to set the pathway correctly. The steering committee or AI board at Cintas has representation from all the stakeholders in the business. It ensures the best outcomes based on the best data.

When asked about the talent aspect of the transformation, he says that the organization divides it into different buckets.  Hough reveals that Cintas is creating a concept group called “business scientists” that addresses the gap between data scientists and business operations. Generative AI enables business scientists with curated models that don't have to be created from scratch.

The other aspect of developing talent with generative AI, Hough says, is accelerating the learning curve of the IT organization to gain experience faster.

CDO Magazine appreciates Matthew Hough for sharing his insights and data success stories with our global community.