On this episode of the Enterprise Architecture Experience Podcast, we get into the benefits and challenges of running a large EA team. We focus on managing federated EA, being part of an organization that doesn't have all its Enterprise Architecture in one place, how to manage ever-changing operating models and discuss methods of working effectively in a large organisation.

Our discussion is with Gareth Lewis, Head of Architecture for Enterprise Infrastructure at AstraZeneca, a global Pharmaceutical company. Gareth gives us insight into his 20+ years in AstraZeneca, and the processes that they use and how they have developed over time..

Podcast Overview

Introduction - 00:00 - 01:33

Interview with Gareth Lewis - 01:40 - 46:29

Recap of key points - Jon and Hassan talk about some of the interesting points from the interview - 46:34 - 51:29

You can follow Gareth on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gareth-lewis-1876918/

Listen to other episodes of the EA Experience Podcast by searching for “Enterprise Architecture Experience” wherever you get your podcasts

Join our LinkedIn group for early notification of new episodes and some slide materials to summarise and accompany the podcast here: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13125822/

Jon Hill is currently doing IT Consultancy, mentoring and podcast creation having worked for 30 years in laboratory and scientific companies with a strong pharmaceutical focus, with 10+ years working in Enterprise Architecture - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jon-hill-it-leader/

Hassan Abba is the Head of Architecture for R&D in AstraZeneca having previously worked for Royal Mail, Vodaphone and Sky - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hassanabba/

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Welcome to our new occasional format: Field Notes. Rather than talking with a guest, Field Notes is a conversation between Jon and Hassan about a specific topic. These topics will be a deeper dive into the management of Architecture teams, and on this episode we're talking about Goal and Objective setting. We discuss the challenges associated with setting objectives for architects, about "soft skills" versus "hard skills", and discuss ways to cascade and monitor goals across the team.

Field notes is a slightly shorter, more conversational format - we hope you enjoy it!

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Hassan and Jon reflect on a year of the Enterprise Architecture Podcast, and go back over some of the topics covered in the six episodes that have been put out there.

Thank you to everyone who has listened through 2025 - wishing you a very happy and prosperous 2026!

Listen to other episodes of the EA Experience Podcast by searching for “Enterprise Architecture Experience” wherever you get your podcasts

Join our LinkedIn group for early notification of new episodes and some slide materials to summarise and accompany the podcast here: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13125822/

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This month we start on our journey around the four quadrants of Enterprise Architecture planning starting with Strategic Planning, in future episodes we will be covering Business Case Development, Solution Delivery and IT Operation and Optimisation.

We start by defining Strategy Planning, and then discuss good practice, and Hassan gives insight into how his team do it in AstraZeneca.

Our Interview is with Semra Kandemir, Chief Strategy Officer (Product Strategy, Aviation Solutions) at Hitit Computer Services, an Airline and Travel IT Solutions provider. Semra walks us through the important cornerstones of the planning activity, and talks about the planning cadence and processes.

Podcast Overview

Introduction and discussion about what Strategic Planning is, and how it works at AstraZeneca - 00:00 - 12:05

Interview with Semra Kandemir - 12:05 - 53:21

Recap of key points - Jon and Hassan talk about some of the interesting points from the interview - 53.21 - 58:47

You can follow Semra on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/semra-kandemir-b506211a/

Listen to other episodes of the EA Experience Podcast by searching for “Enterprise Architecture Experience” wherever you get your podcasts

Join our LinkedIn group for early notification of new episodes and some slide materials to summarise and accompany the podcast here: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13125822/

Wishing all our listeners a very happy holiday season!

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This month we are having a general chat about Enterprise Architecture leadership and re-visiting some topics that we’ve touched on previously.

APOLOGIES for the sound quality for the first half of the interview with Rubi!

We are joined by Rubi Kaur, Chief Enterprise Architect for Core Functions at Lloyds Banking Group, and we discuss several aspects of Enterprise Architecture such as how to start in a new role, how to spot commonalities between different businesses, becoming a trusted advisor, balancing an EA team’s skills and advice for people who want to move into Enterprise Architecture.

Podcast Overview:

Introduction and general discussion about some of the topics - 00:00 - 07:47

Discussion with Rubi Kaur - 07:47 - 50:45

Summary of the discussion and a deeper dive into some of the themes: 50:54 - 59:22

You can follow Rubi on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rubikaur/

Listen to other episodes of the EA Experience Podcast by searching for “Enterprise Architecture Experience” wherever you get your podcasts

Join our LinkedIn group for early notification of new episodes and some slide materials to summarise and accompany the podcast here: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13125822/

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This month we are talking about Architecture Tools - the pros and cons of an EA tool, ideas around making an implementation successful, things to consider when selecting a tool and how to embed an Enterprise Architecture tool into your organisation.

We are joined by Jason Baragry who is the Chief Architect at Ardoq (an Enterprise Architecture tool vendor) who talks us through how he got into working for an EA tool vendor, how how his team shape and form the product, and how Ardoq help their customers to ensure that their implementation is successful.

Podcast Overview:

Introduction and general discussion about Architecture Tooling - 00:00 - 13:45

Discussion with Jason Baragry, Chief Architect at Ardoq - 13:45 - 55:04

Summary of the discussion and a review of some of the themes: 55:04 - 1:02:26

You can find out more about Ardoq here: https://www.ardoq.com/

Listen to other episodes of the EA Experience Podcast by searching for “Enterprise Architecture Experience” wherever you get your podcasts

Join our LinkedIn group for early notification of new episodes and some slide materials to summarise and accompany the podcast here: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13125822/

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This month we talk about Architects and Architecture roles, and the way to design an architecture structure that can work in your organisation.

We have the second part of our interview with Svyatoslav Kotusev where he talks about the research he did for his second book, "Enterprise Architects - The Agents of Digital Transformation" and offers some excellent advice about growing your architecture skills and how to start out in the Architecture field!

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This month on the Enterprise Architecture Experience Podcast, we're discussing Enterprise Architecture frameworks and methodologies, how we've used them, the challenges associated with using them, and how to work effectively with them.

We're joined by Svyatoslav Kotusev, researcher and author of two books, "The Practice of Enterprise Architecture - A Modern Approach to Business and IT Alignment" and "Enterprise Architects - The Agents of DIgital Trasnformation". During that discussion, we talk about the framework that he put together, and his research talking to Enterprise Architecutre practitioners about frameworks.

You can find out more about Svyatoslav, his research and find some downloadable materials at his website (https://kotusev.com/).

In the podcast we mention two posts by Hassan which you can find here and here.

As always, there are materials available for download if you join our EA Experience Podcast LinkedIn group (https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13125822/) and you can interact with us there, or via our e-mail address: eaexperiencepodcast@gmail.com.

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