Technology Is Not the Strategy: Digital Transformation in Aerospace Manufacturing with Chris Hinds

In this episode, Liam O’Neill speaks with Chris Hinds, VP of Digital Strategy Design and Implementation at one of the UK’s leading aerospace and defence manufacturers. Chris has spent nearly two decades working across operations, manufacturing, engineering, IT and enterprise transformation in highly complex, heavily regulated environments. What makes this conversation particularly interesting is that Chris approaches digital transformation from an operational perspective first. Before moving into enterprise architecture and digital strategy, he spent years leading teams on the shop floor, solving production problems in real time and learning how large organisations actually function under pressure. This is a thoughtful and highly practical conversation about why transformation succeeds or fails in complex organisations, and why technology on its own is never the answer. They discuss: - Why technology should be treated as an enabler rather than a silver bullet, and how Chris’s experience across operations, engineering and manufacturing shaped his approach to enterprise transformation - The tension between quality, cost and delivery in aerospace manufacturing, and how conflicting KPIs can unintentionally drive the wrong behaviours - What leading operational teams taught Chris about leadership, trust and the importance of protecting teams from organisational noise while removing barriers to delivery - Why manufacturing and assembly processes are often far more parallel than they appear on paper, and what organisations frequently miss when digitising them - The challenge of balancing global standardisation with local operational variation, and why enterprise software should be “as common as possible, as different as necessary” - How digital twins and AI are being applied across aerospace engineering and operations, and why trusted data, governance and human oversight remain critical - Why meaningful transformation takes years to realise, and why foundational operational systems knowledge may become one of the most valuable skills for the next generation Chris brings a rare combination of operational leadership, engineering understanding and enterprise technology experience. If you work in process, manufacturing, digital transformation or enterprise architecture, this episode offers a grounded and refreshingly honest perspective on what it really takes to make change work in large organisations. Host: Liam O’Neill, Managing Director at bpmd Guest: Chris Hinds, VP of Digital Strategy Design and Implementation