How Amtrak’s Hackathons Drive Timely and Transformative Ideas with Giovanna Martosella

“Innovation is not just about technology; it can involve changes in services, design, and foresight.”

Giovanna Martosella is a Senior Program Manager on the innovation team at Amtrak. She sits down with hosts Matt Greeley and Margaret Kelsey to share her experiences with technology and innovation across different countries and organizations.

Giovanna shares Amtrak’s future plans for creating a culture of innovation, including a formalized process for idea submission and review. She discusses the challenges of organizing hackathons in a large corporation and the strategies employed to overcome them. Giovanna also outlines the structure of Amtrak’s digital technology group and its collaboration with the innovation team, highlighting the diverse skill sets that contribute to the company’s innovation initiatives.

In this episode, you’ll learn about:

Building an Innovation Culture in Large Organizations: Giovanna emphasizes the importance of cultural change within large organizations like Amtrak. By hosting quarterly hackathons and pitch events that encourage creativity and cross-functional collaboration, Amtrak is creating a culture of innovation. This approach not only democratizes innovation but also ensures that the generated ideas are grounded in real-world operational challenges.

Challenges and Strategies in Organizing Hackathons: Giovanna explains the necessity of understanding the organization’s culture and being patient with the time it takes to see cultural change. This structured yet inclusive approach ensures that hackathons are not just about coding but are broad focus events aimed at finding creative solutions to business problems.

The Role and Impact of Digital Technology and Sustainability Efforts: Amtrak’s digital technology group plays a critical role in enhancing both employee and customer experiences through various projects related to the app, website, and operational systems. These initiatives prove how innovation at Amtrak goes beyond mere technology to include service design and foresight, aiming for a holistic improvement in operations and customer satisfaction.

Jump into the conversation: 

00:00 Introduction to The Synthesize Pod with hosts Matt and Margaret, and special guest Giovanna Martosella 
07:08 Amtrak’s Innovation Team and Role 
12:27 Innovation Programs at Amtrak
14:49 Hackathons at Amtrak 
17:26 Challenges and Evolution of Hackathons
 17:36 Role of Digital Technology Team in Hackathons
18:34 Operational Challenges and PI Planning
 21:22 Involving Frontline Employees
 26:49 Importance of Diversity of Thought in Innovation
 32:02 Future Goals for Amtrak’s Innovation Program 
47:14 Advice for New Innovation Teams for their first hackathons 
51:24 Cultural Change and Persistence in Innovation 
59:24 Rail Trips and Recommendations
 1:03:23 Closing