In this inaugural episode of The Savvy CIO, host Bradd Busick speaks with Dr. Radha Plumb, IBM’s VP of AI-first transformation and former Pentagon chief digital and AI officer, about making real-world AI deployments audit ready. She breaks down the tough questions, like: How does your LLM differ from the legacy systems your auditor is used to looking at? Which amorphous risks do you need to be on the lookout for if you want to keep up the pace of progress? Can ensuring your systems are doing what you want them to do actually enable speed in your AI governance?

They also discuss end-to-end compliance hurdles: role-based access control and data access decisions; the need for an orchestration layer to route data between LLM and deterministic methods; and why many failures occur at this intersection between technology and process.

Using the IBM model, where they’re “taste testing their own cooking”, Dr. Plumb emphasizes model transparency, the importance of bounded data for regulated decisions, why early CISO involvement is critical in designing for security, and why documenting enterprise workflows allows for not just a faster AI deployment - but one that can actually withstand an audit.

Highlights:

02:53 Meet Dr Radha Plumb

06:17 Why are auditors & LLMs fundamentally at odds?

14:07 What’s the difference between governing the data versus governing the LLM itself?

18:40 Is it possible to have speed and security in AI?

Links:

Park Place Technologies: https://www.parkplacetechnologies.com/

The Savvy CIO podcast page: https://www.parkplacetechnologies.com/the-savvy-cio/

Bradd Busick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bbusick/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ParkPlaceTech

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/park-place-technologies/

X: https://www.linkedin.com/company/park-place-technologies/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/parkplacetechnologies

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/parkplacetechnologies/

Being a CIO can be a tough gig in today’s world: it’s a big task to find the time, skillsets, and budgets necessary to maintain legacy IT infrastructures…all while simultaneously transforming operations and making high-stakes decisions that will shape the future of the business.

From getting your LLM audit-ready, to figuring out which liquid cooling option is the right choice, to planning what you hope isn’t your first-and-last AI buildout, these days modern tech leadership feels more and more like you’re navigating an obstacle course of critical inflection points. Luckily, you don’t have to make these decisions alone.

Each episode of The Savvy CIO, we unpack these challenges, explore what’s next, and help you make smarter decisions with confidence. Come along with host and CIO himself, Bradd Busick, as he sits down with fellow leaders focused on modernizing, staying resilient, and keeping on top of technology that moves faster than budget cycles.

Brought to you by Park Place Technologies, helping enterprises fuel innovation by reducing the time and money spent on IT infrastructure management - all while boosting performance and uptime.

Subscribe now to listen to season one, debuting July 22nd, 2026, wherever you get your podcasts.