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Raj Kalahasthi, CIO at The Baldwin Group — Building trust, culture and digital speed in the age of AI
Raj Kalahasthi
CIO at The Baldwin Group
38:10
October 31, 2025

How one of the fastest-growing US insurance brokerages built a single digital ecosystem across 35 partner firms without losing the trust the industry runs on.

About the guest
Raj Kalahasthi
CIO at The Baldwin Group

Raj Kalahasthi is Chief Digital and Information Officer at The Baldwin Group, the firm's first, hired in 2021. He previously ran technology for Comerica's retail and wealth divisions and held leadership roles at HSBC, Citibank and GE across the US, Latin America and India. He holds an MBA from Michigan Ross.

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In this episode
00:00 Building Trust in a Fast-Growing Industry 01:00 From GE Research to CIO: The Power of Problem Solving 04:30 Why Baldwin: Building from the Ground Up 06:00 The Challenge of Unifying 35 Firms 08:00 Growth, Efficiency, and the Role of AI 10:45 The Leapfrog Moment for Legacy Industries 11:30 Above the Surface vs. Below the Surface Tech 13:40 Trust and Transparency: The Two Pillars of Tech Strategy 15:50 Integrating New Teams and Cultures 17:45 Leadership Alignment and Culture at Baldwin 20:10 Turning IT from Gatekeeper to Partner 23:15 Automation with a Human Touch 26:00 Designing for Clients vs. Colleagues 29:00 Staying Close to the "Why" Behind the Work 32:00 The Future of Work Is Being Rewritten 34:30 Advice for Aspiring IT Leaders 36:30 Books That Shaped Raj's Leadership

Episode transcript

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