Podcast Summary: Marketing Beyond with Alan B. Hart

Episode 25: Leading People-Focused Tech Transformations – Insights from Marathon Petroleum Corporation Commercial IT Leader, Justin Schwartz
Date: November 14, 2025
Host: Alan B. Hart
Guest: Justin Schwartz, Commercial IT Leader, Marathon Petroleum

Episode Overview

Alan B. Hart sits down with Justin Schwartz to explore how Marathon Petroleum is leading technology transformation with a human-centered approach. The conversation delves into major digital change initiatives, the cultural keys to success, and how artificial intelligence and AI agents are being tested and adopted thoughtfully in a complex industry. Justin shares lessons from the front lines of transformation, offering candid insights that blend technology, leadership, and people-first strategies.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Justin Schwartz’s Background & Role at Marathon Petroleum

• Career Journey ([02:00]): Justin began at a consulting firm, which provided foundation in varied industries; discovered a passion for oil and gas, leading to Marathon Petroleum.
• Company Overview ([02:44]): Marathon is an integrated downstream oil and gas company with the largest refining footprint in the U.S., covering refining, midstream transport/logistics, and a coast-to-coast retail network.

2. Defining & Leading Transformation

• What is Transformation? ([03:38])
  • Focuses on operational change for greater value via digital uplift.
  • Includes ERP transformations and modern analytics/decision support projects.
  • Justin’s approach: “Work from what the business opportunity and the value pool really is and work your way backwards to the technologies and solutions.” ([04:56])
• Current Favorite Transformation ([06:06]):
  • Enhancing decision support across planning, trading, scheduling – unlocking value across the integrated system.
  • “This is probably my favorite time that I've had in my career.” ([06:49])

3. Tech’s Role as Connective Tissue

• Complex User Landscape ([07:13]):
  • Marathon supports field workers, truckers, traders, and retail staff.
  • “Technology...is really the connective tissue into how we operate.” ([07:13])
  • Goal: Provide better, faster data to enable optimal daily decisions.

4. Culture and People-First Transformation

• Ways of Working ([07:54]):
  • Radical transparency, involvement from analysts to senior leaders.
  • Fostering curiosity, questioning, and inclusivity at all levels.
  • “We believe in really radical kind of transparency and involvement of these teams...” ([08:14])
• Recent Example ([08:55]):
  • Deploying AI agents to uplift and support field personnel.
  • Iterative development with business-user involvement at every stage.

5. AI and Agents in Action

• Approach to AI Agents ([10:13]):
  • Early-stage, exploratory, lots of piloting and learning.
  • Recognition that this is not classic IT delivery; focuses on impacts to roles and change management.
  • “We want to put the human at the center of this... we want to make sure that it's really unlocking value and augmenting that human experience.” ([11:47])
• Employee Experience ([12:27]):
  • AI not just for business outcomes, but to improve day-to-day work for all employees.
  • “This technology has the opportunity to really... uplift the value proposition, but also the experience of work itself.” ([12:37])

6. Personal Leadership Philosophy

• Resilience Through Challenge ([13:35]):
  • Leadership style shaped more by challenges than successes.
  • “Are you resilient? Can you push through that? Can you rise to the opportunity and band together as a team?” ([13:51])
• Advice to Younger Self ([15:24]):
  • “Listen...all those things will come. I think you really want to focus on listening, understanding...and patience.” ([15:30])

7. Continuous Learning & Trends

• What Justin is Learning ([16:24]):
  • Reading more deeply; staying steeped in AI, tech, and leadership experimentation.
  • “The deeper you understand, the better you can help lead through transformation.” ([16:50])
• Current Areas of Interest ([17:15]):
  • Focused on digital transformation, especially the people and change angles.
  • Engaged in how organizations communicate and manage technological change.

8. Opportunities & Threats to Transformation

• The Speed of Change ([18:25]):
  • The pace of tech advancement is both a challenge and an imperative.
  • “Technology evolution is changing at a pace that we've never seen, right?...Tomorrow it's going to be faster.” ([18:34])
  • Organizations must figure out how to absorb and seize these rapid changes to maximize value.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Transformation Mindset:
  “Our viewpoint is you really have to work from what the business opportunity and the value pool really is and work your way backwards to the technologies and solutions...”
  — Justin Schwartz ([04:56])

• On Culture and Change:
  “Really pushing leaders to talk to their teams about being curious. Asking the hard questions... make it inclusive as we go along.”
  — Justin Schwartz ([08:14])

• On AI’s Purpose:
  “We want to put the human at the center of this... it's not the shiny object... We want to make sure that it's really unlocking value and augmenting that human experience.”
  — Justin Schwartz ([11:47])

• On Facing Adversity:
  “Are you resilient? Can you push through that? Can you rise to the opportunity and band together as a team?”
  — Justin Schwartz ([13:51])

• On the Speed of Change:
  “It's the slowest it's probably ever going to be in history now, right? Tomorrow it's going to be faster.”
  — Justin Schwartz ([18:34])

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Intro & Justin’s Background: [00:00]–[03:17]
• Transformation at Marathon: [03:17]–[06:49]
• Culture & Ways of Working: [07:42]–[08:48]
• Adoption of AI Agents: [09:55]–[11:47]
• Human-Centered Tech: [11:47]–[13:17]
• Leadership & Personal Growth: [13:17]–[15:30]
• Learning & Insights: [16:18]–[17:15]
• Speed as Threat/Opportunity: [18:25]–[19:19]

Final Thoughts

This episode offers a grounded, insightful look at transformation in a traditional industry context—blending technological ambition with an unwavering commitment to people and culture. Justin Schwartz’s perspective is pragmatic, focusing on aligning technology to real business value and ensuring the journey is inclusive, transparent, and as enriching for employees as for the business.

For leaders contemplating transformative journeys, this conversation highlights the importance of resilience, curiosity, and the power of putting humans first—even in the age of rapid AI adoption.