S4 E10: From Retail to Robotics: Reinventing Homebuilding with AI - Michon Williams | CXO Secrets

Technology transformation is moving beyond screens and software. In industries built around physical products, it is creating new ways to design, build and deliver - from robotics and prefabrication to AI-powered decision-making and more connected operations. In this episode of CXO Secrets, David McClelland sits down with Michon Williams, Chief Technology and Information Officer at Mattamy Homes, to explore how technology is helping reshape one of the world's most physical industries. Drawing on her experience across banking, retail and homebuilding, Michon shares how she is bringing lessons from previous waves of digital transformation into a new era of innovation at Mattamy. Michon discusses the move towards prefabricated and modular homebuilding, the role of robotics in creating greater speed and affordability, and how AI is being used to identify opportunities, support operations and bring together knowledge across a highly decentralised business. She also explores the challenge of balancing local autonomy with consistency, why organisations need to understand what they know and what they don't know before deploying AI, and why curiosity has remained one of her most important leadership traits. Topics include: Bringing technology transformation into the physical world of homebuilding Using robotics and prefabrication to improve speed and affordability What homebuilding can learn from banking and retail transformation The role of AI in land buying, scheduling, trades and operations Balancing local autonomy with central technology consistency Creating the data and process foundations needed for effective AI Turning tacit organisational knowledge into usable insights Building Mattamy's AI-powered "alignment engine" Using AI to connect people, processes and knowledge across the organisation Understanding what you know - and what you don't know - before deploying AI Why technology transformation is ultimately a business transformation The changing role of technology in physical products and spaces Managing the opportunities and economics of AI Staying curious through successive waves of technology Building trust around AI and the future of work Why the next generation of technology leadership will require both technical understanding and business context