In a forest near Nuremberg, Vedrana Miholić meets Martin Pluschke, Head of IT at Nürnberger Versicherung, for a conversation about AI, data, leadership and the role of technology partners. The setting is familiar to Martin, a passionate hunter and nature lover. It offers a different perspective on the decisions he faces at work.
Martin loves technology. As an IT leader, he is also responsible for systems that customers depend on. In insurance, he explains, stability, security and trust matter when deciding how and when to introduce something new. He looks for ways to balance new opportunities with the reliability of existing systems.
Data comes before agentic AI. Martin describes the challenge of bringing information together across systems that have grown over many years. When different teams use different sources, it becomes harder to work from a shared picture. He argues that organizations need to understand and manage their data landscape before they can use AI agents on it.
The conversation also turns to the people using these tools. Experienced developers can use AI to speed up routine work, but Martin wants junior developers to think through problems and learn from colleagues as well. He stresses the need to check AI-generated code, especially in a regulated business.
AI introduces another management question: how much does using it cost, and what does that spending produce? Martin discusses token budgets and governance as ways to manage AI resource use and costs. He wants teams to consider the results alongside the resources consumed.
The forest brings the discussion back to the importance of balance. Martin describes efforts to encourage a mix of tree species and explains that the results may take generations to become visible. Vedrana connects that long-term view to IT environments, where established systems and newer technologies must work together.
Martin expects external service providers to contribute to that transformation. He wants them to bring expertise into the organization and share it with internal teams. His metaphor is to dig new wells instead of bringing more water: a partner should leave the organization with more knowledge and less dependence.
Vedrana and Martin also discuss how partnerships might evolve towards shared responsibility for business outcomes. They explore what that could mean for contracts and the relationship between external providers and internal teams.
Finally, Martin returns to a German word: Zutrauen. For him, it means trusting people and believing they can do the work. Leaders can make that trust tangible by setting clear goals, providing resources and creating space for people to learn, ask questions and make mistakes.
Watch the full Walk Your Talk episode with Martin Pluschke on the CROZ YouTube channel. You can also listen to the episode on Substack.
For another perspective on creativity, technology and human connection, watch Walk Your Talk with Sara Glojnarić.
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