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This episode features Lorraine Spadaro, Chief Information Officer at Global Partners. Lorraine shares how Global Partners completed a cloud migration in seven waves, consolidating nearly 700 servers down to 238 after an extensive discovery process. She discusses the challenges of supporting two very different operational environments, the importance of referenced architecture and governance in managing change, and how she brought her team through the transition through upskilling and constant communication. Looking ahead, Lorraine shares how Global Partners is building out data pipelines, an integration engineering team, and a microservices and API strategy to enable AI and agentic applications across terminals, retail locations, and digital channels.
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Guest Bio:
Lorraine Spadaro is the Chief Information Officer at Global Partners, a role she has excelled in since joining the company in December 2021. In this strategic position, Lorraine has been instrumental in spearheading the company’s digital transformation, advancing cloudification, driving modernization, and optimization.
Before joining Global Partners, she was a key player in the technology landscape at Boston’s TD Garden and Boston Bruins, a premier venue under Delaware North. There, she managed the arena’s technology infrastructure and spearheaded numerous technological innovations. Her consulting work for Delaware North across major MLB, NFL, NHL, and NBA venues solidified her reputation as a leading national expert. She was also a trailblazer in sports technology, standing out as one of the few women working in the NHL. Now, she aims to make a significant impact in the energy and retail sectors, striving to deliver exceptional customer experiences through innovative solutions.
Lorraine’s distinguished career began with Delaware North Companies in 1992, where she started as Information Systems Manager for the original Boston Garden. Her visionary work in developing technology for the new Garden, later known as the FleetCenter, marked the beginning of her remarkable journey in the technology sector. Prior to her tenure with Delaware North, she gained valuable experience as a Programmer/Systems Analyst with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Lorraine holds a BA in Computer Science from Boston College and lives in the Boston area. She is a dedicated mother of three and enjoys golfing and tennis. She finds joy and relaxation at her coastal Maine home, where she cherishes her time away from the hectic professional sphere.
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Guest Quote
“It took every bit of my being to not wanna be like, ‘we've gotta be through this in six months because we’ve got a long way to go here.’ When I look back on it, just taking this in seven waves of migration, and then the network and infrastructure transition taking sort of the next six months, it was really the right way to do it, and it took a lot of the risk out."
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Time stamps:
- *(00:00) Episode Start
- *(01:10) Modernizing IT Across a Complex, Asset-Heavy Business
- *(05:15) Best Practices for Building Resilience in Energy and Retail
- *(08:46) Enabling AI Strategy Through Core Infrastructure
- *(10:42) Strengthening Customer Experience and Omnichannel Engagement
- *(17:50) Pivotal Moments in Tech Leadership
- *(22:20) Keeping Playbooks and Blueprints Current
- *(27:26) Transitioning to Cloud-Native, Software-Defined Networking
- *(29:01) Upskilling Teams and Building a Culture of Change
- *(33:09) What Separates Companies That Sustain Momentum
- *(39:04) Designing an AI-Ready Digital Backbone
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Links:
- Connect with Lorraine on LinkedIn
- Learn more about Global Partners
- Connect with Sunny on LinkedIn
- Connect with Raj on LinkedIn
- Visit Tata Communications’ website
- Follow Tata Communications on LinkedIn
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