𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆’𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺.

On True North 🧭, I sat down with Stijn for a sharp conversation about strategy, AI, and long-term advantage.
We go way back, school friends, and today he’s one of the builders behind a Belgian unicorn in data governance.

What made this conversation special is where our worlds meet: OT and IT data quality and governance.
The point where operational reality meets enterprise decision-making, and where trust in data becomes non-negotiable.

𝗙𝘂𝗻 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁: Amazon reportedly uses Wardley Mapping to support strategic decisions, even M&A thinking.

We talked about:
🧭 Wardley Mapping to see what’s truly strategic vs already commoditized
🏗️ Why solving today’s pain often creates tomorrow’s constraints
📊 How OT and IT data architectures converge in the age of AI
🤖 The road from today’s AI toward AGI, and what that means for builders
⚖️ Balancing execution speed with strategic clarity

Big thanks to Hans de Leenheer for educating us on Wardley Mapping, and to Simon Wardley for inventing this powerful strategic lens.
If you’re new to it, start here: https://learnwardleymapping.com

𝗔 𝗺𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆, inspired by Gaurav’s new book Data Quality ROI.
On this True North 🧭, I sat down with Gaurav Patole to explore how IT and OT finally meet when it comes to one universal truth: you can’t automate, govern, or trust what you can’t rely on.
We talked about how data governance can move from a checklist to a strategic advantage, and why data quality must evolve from IT policy to enterprise culture.

𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀:
🌐 Where IT Data Quality meets OT Data Quality, and how trust has different meanings in each world
👥 Who truly owns DQ, and why the technical DQ ≠ business DQ
⚙️ PPT model (People, Process, Technology) — aligning teams and turning strategy into results
🧠 Newton’s Laws of Data Quality, a creative analogy for inertia, force, and acceleration in data programs
🧩 DIY vs set-and-forget tooling — finding the balance between control and scalability
🤖 AI needs DQ, and DQ needs AI, the two-way loop that defines the future
🔁 Closing the loop — using customer feedback to improve trust and reliability continuously
📈 Data Quality trends shaping the next 5–10 years

This episode bridges the digital divide between business systems and industrial data — a conversation for anyone building the foundation of trusted AI.

🎧 The Laws of Data Quality — A Fireside Chat with Gaurav Patole

💬 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀: Where did data trust (or the lack of it) impact your business outcomes? The most insightful replies will receive a free copy of Gaurav’s book.

🎧 From IoT Hype to AIoT Reality — The Cumulocity Story with Bernd Gross
Some conversations aren’t just about technology; they’re about vision coming full circle.

On True North 🧭, I sat down with Bernd Gross, co-founder and CEO of Cumulocity, for an honest talk about the evolution of IoT — from the early hype to today’s AI-powered reality.

Bernd built Cumulocity back in 2012, long before IoT was fashionable, with a bold but straightforward mission: Connect anything, analyze everything, and bring intelligence to the physical world.

Fast-forward to 2024 — the team repurchased the company in a management buy-out, and it now stands as a leader in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Industrial IoT platforms.

A few stories we touch:

💡 The real reason behind the TrendMiner acquisition

🏢 Lessons from the Software AG years and the MBO that followed

📈 What it takes to land in Gartner’s top-right quadrant

🕸️ How to partner with hyperscalers who are also competitors

🤖 And Bernd’s bold AIoT predictions for the decade ahead

🎧 From Historian to Infrastructure: The OSIsoft Story with Richard Beeson

Some conversations aren’t just interviews; they’re tributes.

On True North, I sat down with Richard Beeson, former CTO of OSIsoft, for an honest talk about the company — and the man — that changed both our lives: Pat Kennedy.

Richard spent 32 years at OSIsoft. Before AVEVA, OSIsoft quietly built the nervous system of industry with the PI System, and it still runs the world’s plants today.

A few stories we touch, without giving it all away:

• 🏢 The dentist's office in San Leandro that set PI’s culture in motion
• 🧩 Why AF didn’t originally mean “Asset Framework”
• ☎️ The rule about answering the phone before the 3rd ring
• 💾 How PI v1 was shipped…
• 🕰️ The moment Pat realized people valued history more than the project itself
• 🔁 The quiet design decision that made PI 3 a runaway success
• 🔓 Pat’s licensing ethos

It’s a candid conversation and a small tribute to a founder who built for engineers first and built something that kept working.