Live from Nexus 2025: A Catalyst conversation with UPS’ Sean Jantzen

For the first time ever, Catalyst hits the stage! In this special episode recorded in front of a live audience at Nexus 2025, Tammy is joined by Sean Jantzen, VP of Software Engineering at UPS. Sean brings over 24 years of experience at UPS, where he’s risen from intern to leader, helping transform one of the world’s largest logistics companies into a digital powerhouse. Tammy and Sean discuss his coaching mindset, AI adoption strategies and the challenges of innovating with legacy systems.

Highlights from the episode include:

• Coaching beats control. Sean doesn’t see vendors and UPS employees as separate teams — they’re one unit. Accountability means working together to deliver value, not finger-pointing when things go wrong.
• Partner is a verb. For Sean, partnership with the business side is nonnegotiable. IT leaders need to care about the business problem as much as their business partners do. Sometimes more.
• Start small. Stay curious. The only way to understand new technology is to experiment with it. By naming their AI tools — Chet for Tammy, Co-Sean for Sean — they show that curiosity and experimentation come before scale.

Check out the full episode to learn more about balancing innovation with reliability in business-critical systems and what it takes to lead big change inside an even bigger company.

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Please note that the views expressed in this episode may not necessarily be those of NTT DATA.