Todd Schiller is the co-founder and CEO of PixieBrix, a company empowering everyone to customize their web and desktop applications for their use. With their low code platform, you can add a new button that triggers the automation, makes an API call, or change the UI for the UX your employees and customers need.

In today's episode, it was my absolute pleasure and honor to host — the one and only — the Godfather of Process Mining. Prof.dr.ir. Wil van der Aalst is the Chief Scientist of Celonis and a full professor at RWTH Aachen University, leading the Process and Data Science (PADS) group. He coined the field of Process Mining, and his research interests include Process Mining, business process and workflow management, process modeling, and analysis. I took his course Process Mining: Data Science in Action in Coursera from the Eindhoven University of Technology a few years ago, which ignited my passion in the field.

As the professor noted in this episode, not many people and companies, including SAP and IBM, believed at the time what this technology could accomplish. They were surprised but did not implement it. There were skeptics and resistance to change. Many enterprises go back to old ways of doing things because it is easier. They denied the transformation that Process Mining could bring to them.

His students in his Process Mining courses branched out and built the Process Mining companies you see worldwide, including; ProcessGold, Celonis, and PAFNow. As the academic field of study transitioned into product companies that aim to sell and bring this unique technology to enterprises worldwide, Process Mining became a vital ingredient of the digital transformation initiatives.

Now, set your clocks to 2022 and watch the news — SAP acquires Signavio, Microsoft acquires Minit, UiPath acquired ProcessGold, and Appian acquired LanaLabs.

The acquisitions are a great testament to the customer’s ask to not focus only on the diagnostics but target execution and actions. By combining the rest of the platforms’ automation, execution, and process management capabilities, enterprises aim to improve their business performance.

Our guest does not need an introduction or marking — The professor is the undisputed Godfather of Process Mining.

In today's episode, we have Ian Barkin. Ian has a deep and decades of expertise in technology, outsourcing, and digital transformation. He is an entrepreneur, author of Intelligent Automation book, and influencer in the intelligent automation space. Ian co-founded Symphony Ventures, one of the earliest RPA (Robotic Process Automation) consultancy, later acquired by SYKES, where he then served as chief strategy and chief marketing officer.

In his career, Ian has partnered with major firms to drive value with intelligent automation and global talent sourcing across numerous industries, including insurance, healthcare, banking, and logistics. He is an active investor in companies shaping the future of work, and currently serves on the board of George Mason University’s RPA Initiative, as well as several disruptive B2B technology companies like Skan.ai.

In today's episode, we have Param Kahlon, the Chief Product Officer at UiPath. Param has been shaping the roadmap of platforms and the products for many years, previously at Microsoft and SAP before joining UiPath.

As the chief product officer, now he shapes the adoption of the future of work technologies like RPA, Process Mining, Test Automation, Analytics, AI, and beyond. The work we do and the processes we interact with during our daily jobs now change based on the work that Param and his team and colleagues at UiPath do. He is a true master of automation.