Tarun Chopra, Vice President of Product Management, Data and AI at IBM, sits down with Deidre to explore the power of OKRs to build strategic clarity and cross-functional alignment in product orgs tasked with continuous innovation, why leaders must model the right OKR behaviors to drive accountability across the org, and the opportunity to use OKRs as a collaborative coaching tool.
Tarun Chopra is a hybrid cloud integration master and IBM VP who orchestrated the full HashiCorp acquisition—fusing product, sales, marketing, and G&A to supercharge IBM Z, watsonx.ai, and multicloud dominance.
With 20+ years at IBM, he led Data & AI product strategy (P&L, roadmaps), Z Hybrid Cloud platforms, Confidential Computing, and global firmware/software teams across US, China, India—scaling billions in revenue via SRE, GTM, and bold execution.
From System z performance to India lab leadership, he drives worldwide teams that turn enterprise complexity into market-leading wins, now amplifying HashiCorp's Terraform/Vault in IBM's AI-cloud arsenal.
Deidre Paknad has founded and led three tech startups, acquired companies and been acquired, and led a high-growth business as an executive at IBM for several years; this affords her a unique perspective on using both speed and scale to drive growth. In her role as CEO at WorkBoard, she works with senior leadership teams at some of the world’s largest companies to clarify, align, and drive strategic priorities with greater speed and agility. She is a frequent speaker on Outcome Mindset™ and tapping into ambition.
Deidre has over a dozen patents and has twice been inducted into the Smithsonian Institution for innovation. Goldman Sachs named her one of the 100 most intriguing entrepreneurs of 2019. Deidre hosts The OKR Podcast, which focuses on accelerating outcomes and fostering an outcomes culture.