The CTO Perspective with Mario Paluzzi

Mario Paluzzi and Joe Lynch discuss the CTO perspective. Mario is the Chief Technical Officer at Reliance Partners, a commercial insurance agency specializing in risk management solutions for the transportation and logistics space.


About Mario Paluzzi

Mario Paluzzi is Chief Technology Officer of Reliance Partners, a top ranked commercial insurance agency specializing in Logistics and Transportation. Prior to joining Reliance Partners, Paluzzi established, led, and deployed industry leading technology teams and transformative innovations across high-growth startup environments as well as multi-billion dollar enterprises. Paluzzi spent 10 years at Coyote Logistics overseeing technology product strategy and delivery before joining Logistics Dynamics as Chief Information Officer. He joined Reliance Partners in 2021 and has been leading efforts to drive big data and Insurtech initiatives across the enterprise to deliver a smarter insurance experience. Mario is a graduate of Michigan State University.

About Reliance Partners

Reliance Partners is one of the nation’s fastest-growing commercial insurance agencies specializing in providing risk management solutions for the transportation and logistics space. Reliance Partners has been featured in Inc.com each year from 2016-2020 as one of the fastest growing privately-held companies in the US. The company is certified as a Great Place to Work®. In addition, Inc.com recognized Reliance Partners in 2018-2020 as one of the Top 50 Workplaces while Fortune also recognized Reliance Partners in 2017-2020 as a Top Workplace in America. In 2020, Reliance Partners was featured in Business Insurance as one of the ‘Best Places to Work in Insurance’​ for the fifth year in a row​. Reliance Partners Chattanooga location was recognized as Business of the Year in the large category by the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce in 2018. The company faces an emphasis around technology and has been the only insurance agency recognized on the Freight-Tech 100 list each year since its inception. Freight-Tech 100 recognizes the most innovative and disciplined companies in freight.

Key Takeaways: The CTO Perspective

  • Mario Paluzzi is the Chief Technical Officer at Reliance Partners, a commercial insurance agency specializing in risk management solutions for the transportation and logistics space.
  • In the podcast interview, Mario provides the CTO’s perspective on the transportation and logistics space.
  • Below are some of the insights that Mario shared:
  • PwC’s recent report from titled “Digital Trends in Supply Chain Survey 2022” suggests that not every company is getting a good ROI on their technology investments.
  • When making technology investments, companies need to avoid the hype of trendy tech (Blockchain, AI, ML, etc.) and fear of missing out (FOMO).
  • Instead focus on the actual business improvements the tech investment will bring to the business.
  • Before making a tech investment, have a clear vision of the project goals and fully understand which key performance indicators will improve.
  • Technology tends to simplify and automate routine or rote functions, which usually frees up people to focus on more complex problems.
  • Mario believes companies need to upskill their employees so they can add more value.
  • There will be less clerk work and more data science work so employees must be trained for their new role.
  • To add more value and become more competitive, knock down the silos and drive further collaboration with partners in technology, insurance, carriers, etc.
  • New partnerships, new data, and new ways of adding value should be the focus of transportation and logistics companies.
  • Mario also suggests partnering with a technology partner who has the expertise and experience required to support your company’s digital transformation.
  • Mario works closely with Emtec, a global technology services company providing digital software engineering and transformation solutions to clients in logistics, transportation, and warehousing.

Learn More About The CTO Perspective

Mario’s LinkedIn

Reliance Partners LinkedIn

Reliance Partners

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