CXOTalk

What is the future of work? It’s a question that’s important to Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of SHRM, the Society for Human Resource Management. Today's workforce is more mobile, transparent, collaborative, and inclusive than ever before, making leadership a challenging and crucial priority for HR professionals.Subscribe to our newsletter: https://www.cxotalk.com/subscribeRead the complete transcript: https://www.cxotalk.com/episode/how-prepare-future-workIn episode #720 of CXOTalk, Taylor discusses how business leaders, government policymakers, and HR professionals can navigate the evolving future of work.We discuss the following topics:-- SHRM and the book “Reset”-- Future of work trends: What are the key issues?-- HR, innovation culture, and talent strategy-- How to create a culture of innovation?-- Who can be an organizational change agent?-- How to create a culture of empathy?-- Equality, equity, and fairness-- Diversity and inclusionAbout Johnny C. Taylor. With over 300,000 members in 165 countries, SHRM is the largest HR professional association in the world, impacting the lives of 115 million workers every day.Mr. Taylor's career spans over 20 years as a lawyer, human resources executive and CEO in both the not-for-profit and for-profit space. He has held senior and chief executive roles at IAC/Interactive Corp, Viacom's Paramount Pictures, Blockbuster Entertainment Group, the McGuireWoods law firm, and Compass Group USA. Most recently, Mr. Taylor was President and Chief Executive Officer of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. He was appointed chairman of the President's Advisory Board on Historically Black Colleges and Universities and served as a member of the White House American Workforce Policy Advisory Board during the Trump Administration. He is a Trustee of the University of Miami, Governor of the American Red Cross, and member of the corporate boards of Guild Education and iCIMS. He is author of the book Reset: A Leader’s Guide to Work in an Age of Upheaval.

Professional sports organizations are transforming as customer and fan expectations evolve, all enabled by digital technologies. To learn more about customer experience, we speak with Jonathan Becher, president of Sharks Sports & Entertainment LLC, the parent organization of the NHL’s San Jose Sharks hockey team and three ice sport facilities in Silicon Valley.Subscribe to our newsletters: https://www.cxotalk.com/subscribeRead the complete transcript: https://www.cxotalk.com/episode/customer-experience-professional-sports-entertainmentThe conversation includes these topics:-- What are customer experience and fan experience?-- Problems with transactional customer experience-- How to build and measure customer loyalty-- Managing budget constraints and customer experience-- Business goals of Sharks Sports & Entertainment-- The home team advantage and customer experience-- Managing difficult strategic objectives-- How to create a community and build customer engagementPrior to joining Sharks Sports & Entertainment, Becher spent a decade at SAP in a variety of senior roles, including Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Digital Officer. A three-time CEO, Becher is a frequent speaker at technology industry events, and is a regularly published author on a variety of topics, including the popular blog Manage By Walking Around http://jonathanbecher.com.

We’re in the middle of a healthcare revolution – and artificial intelligence is going to make the difference. AI can help us diagnose diseases faster, deliver care more effectively, improve outcomes, and increase accountability.To learn more, we speak with Kimberly Powell, vice president of healthcare at NVIDIA, and Daniel Kraft, a Stanford and Harvard trained physician-scientist, inventor, entrepreneur, and innovator serving as Chair of the XPRIZE Pandemic Alliance Task Force.The conversation covers topics including the impact of AI and natural language processing (NLP) for healthcare organizations, electronic medical records, healthcare AI startups, and much more:-- AI and machine learning in healthcare-- AI in drug discovery and development-- Why AI is important in healthcare-- Obstacles to adoption of AI in healthcare-- How to democratize healthcare data and healthcare ai-- Managing security and privacy of healthcare data-- Data science and bioinformatics-- Educational resources for healthcare AI startups-- Clinical decision support and trusted AI systems-- How AI will change healthcare and medical practiceRead the complete transcript: https://www.cxotalk.com/episode/how-can-ai-improve-healthcareSubscribe to our newsletter to learn more from the world's top innovators: https://www.cxotalk.com/subscribeNominate a guest to appear on CXOTalk: https://www.cxotalk.com/nominate

Modern drug discovery relies heavily on predictive analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. As a result, many large pharma and biotech companies are using data science to drive innovation in drug discovery. We speak with Dr. Bülent Kızıltan, Head of Causal & Predictive Analytics • Data Science & AI at the Novartis AI Innovation Center to learn more about the pharmaceutical industry.Read the complete transcript and see other CXOTalk interviews: https://www.cxotalk.com/episode/data-science-predictive-analytics-ai-drug-discovery-novartisSubscribe to our newsletter: https://www.cxotalk.com/subscribe The conversation includes a discussion of these topics:-- AI and data science in pharma-- Talent management and diverse teams in pharma-- Using AI and data science in drug discovery and precision medicine-- Challenges in drug discovery and precision medicine-- How Novartis engages community around AI awareness-- Managing bias in data science and AI-- What are the differences between lab-based and AI-based approaches to drug discovery?-- Advice to business leaders on managing AI teamsDr. Bülent Kızıltan is a scientist and an executive who drives innovation by combining an entrepreneurial mindset with scientific excellence. Currently, he is leading innovation efforts focused on Causal and Predictive Analytics at Novartis. Dr. Kızıltan holds a PhD in astrophysics with a focus on applied mathematics, two MSc degrees in astronomy and astrophysics with a focus on statistics, and graduated summa cum laude as valedictorian with a BSc in physics.

Scott O’Neil is one of the top sports and entertainment CEO's in the world. In this episode of CXOTalk, he shares practical and personal lessons on how to lead and grow a team. Scott's new book is called Be Where Your Feet Are.The conversation covers these topics:-- About Scott O'Neil and the book: “Be Where Your Feet Are”-- The struggle for authenticity-- Lessons from a sports and entertainment CEO-- Managing high-performing talent-- Impact of negative social media on high performers-- “My true love is building teams and developing talent”-- How to manage psychological well-being for high-performance and professional athletes?-- What is a purpose-driven enterprise?-- Scott O’Neil on blockchain-- How does a company develop its ethics and corporate culture?Scott O’Neil is the former Chief Executive Officer of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment. A decade-long Alternate Governor for the NBA and NHL, O’Neil was acting CEO over all properties in HBSE’s dynamic, global portfolio, including marquee teams, the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and NHL’s New Jersey Devils. He is also the Co-Managing Partner and Founding Board Member of Elevate Sports Ventures, a best-in-class sports and entertainment consultancy founded in partnership between HBSE, the San Francisco 49ers, Live Nation, Ticketmaster and Oak View Group. A former President of Madison Square Garden Sports, O’Neil was the key architect in some of the largest venue sponsorship deals in history, while overseeing the iconic New York Knicks (NBA) and New York Rangers (NHL).

Workday’s Chano Fernandez is in a unique position to discuss the changing landscape of our workforce, remote work, and the future of work. As co-CEO of Workday, Fernandez leads the company’s journey to provide software that helps organizations manage and grow their workforce.The wide-ranging conversation with Chano covered these topics:-- What do customers expect from Workday?-- Hybrid work and work from home-- How Workday builds corporate culture despite hybrid work and work from home-- Importance of culture to Workday’s CEO-- How important is employee experience to Workday?-- What is a purpose-driven enterprise?-- How does Workday measure achieving cultural goals?-- Diversity and inclusion at WorkdayChano Fernandez is co-CEO at Workday and is responsible for the entire customer relationship, which spans acquisition, services, customer success, and customer support. He is also a member of the company’s board of directors.

#DigitalTransformation #CIO #ChiefDigitalOfficerPhilip Morris International is going through a digital transformation and wants to become a digital leader. The large tobacco company, with over $76 billion in revenue, believes the industry cannot continue with its current business model. Instead, the company has embraced technology to drive efficiency and change how it develops and markets new products.Subscribe to the CXOTalk newsletter: https://www.cxotalk.com/subscribeRead the complete transcript: https://www.cxotalk.com/episode/digital-transformation-philip-morrisWe speak with Michael Voegele, the company's Chief Digital & Information Officer to explore the technology and business dimensions of this significant business transformation. In this role, he serves as both Chief Digital Officer and Chief Information Officer.Here are key topics we discuss:-- About the CIO and Chief Digital Officer roles-- Culture change and change agents-- What are key skills that innovative CIOs must possess?-- Digital transformation and customer-centricity-- How to build a digital business?-- Using data to become customer-centric?-- Advice for Chief Information Officers-- Is the digital transformation journey ever complete?Michael Voegele became Chief Digital & Information Officer in March 2021. Mr. Voegele joined Philip Morris International in 2019 as Chief Technology Officer. Before joining PMI, he worked for Adidas from 2011 to 2018. There, he first served as Vice President, Group Functions, and Head of Enterprise Architecture and went on to become Senior Vice President, IT Sales. Since 2015, Mr. Voegele served as Global Chief Information Officer and was appointed to the core leadership team in January 2017.=========FROM THE EPISODE:Digital transformation and customer-centricityMichael Krigsman: Can you relate this back to PMI and to your work at PMI in terms of how you think about transformation and the connection back to customers and to the changes going on in society around you?Michael Voegele: The more internal classic things of looking at this, so how do we simplify our legacy world? How do we standardize around the processes and maybe adjust or change the way we have been doing things for many, many years?Then you talk about digitizing certain aspects of the business, but then also moving into automation, utilizing AI and ML to help us to do things more automated or even a better way in version and quality. Those things we can do in finance, you can do those things in P&C. You can do those things in the supply chain, in the manufacturing area.When we talk about, for instance, a very simple example in our manufacturing environments, the manufacturing of our products is very sensitive to climate change within the manufacturing environment. How do we use AI and ML to optimize the quality of our products by providing the right conditions via the HVAC in those factories? Very simple examples how technology can help us to produce better products in a way that we have never been able to do it before because we have been monitoring more manually and adjusting the air conditions and the air humidity.On the other side, with our smoke-free products, have now a little bit more freedom in the context of how we can create awareness about the category and the benefits of the category. Now we are moving, like many companies, more and more into a direct engagement with our consumers to show them the scientific substantiation behind it that our 500 scientists have created in our Neuchatel research facility.We can show them how it impacts their personal health. We can actually go...

The San Francisco Opera is one of the world’s leading performing arts organizations, with an annual operating budget of $30 million. How did this renowned company use digital technology to adapt its business models and performances during the last year? Matthew Shilvock, General Director of the San Francisco Opera, describes the digital transformation strategy and technologies the company has used during this last year of rapid change.We discussed these topics during the conversation:-- About the San Francisco Opera-- Digital transformation and the SF Opera-- Impact of the pandemic on performing artists-- Customer experience and audience expectations at the San Francisco Opera-- What does innovation mean to the SF Opera?-- Creating authenticity and spontaneity at the SF Opera-- How does digital transformation impact performance?-- Musician’s perspective on digital transformation-- Advice on how to listen to operaMatthew Shilvock is the Tad and Dianne Taube General Director of San Francisco Opera. Now in his fifth season as general director, Shilvock is responsible for all artistic and business aspects of the organization, overseeing a repertory season of mainstage opera productions and concerts, education and community programming, new digital initiatives, and young artist training programs.

The Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) role has evolved dramatically since the late ’90s, when marketers were focused on closing business deals with customers. While some of the fundamentals have remained constant over the years — for example, customer-facing teams need to connect marketing efforts back to sales goals –the way CMOs execute their jobs is fundamentally different from when they started out decades ago. Marketing has become data-driven and, as a result, CMOs now play larger roles in key corporate functions such as HR, finance, and IT.The conversation covers these topics:-- What is a Chief Marketing Officer?-- How to plan and allocate marketing investments?-- Customer experience and the CMO-- What is a purpose-driven business?-- CMO and marketing executives as change agentsWe explore the CMO role with two prominent marketing leaders: Suzanne Kounkel, Chief Marketing Officer of Deloitte, and Norman de Greve, the Chief Marketing Officer for CVS Health.

Sustainability is an important goal for many business leaders and organizations, but what does it mean and where should we start? The Chief Sustainability Officer of Dassault Systèmes, Alice Steenland, answers these questions and shares the leadership skills needed to be successful with sustainability.The conversation includes these topics:-- What is the Chief Sustainability Officer's role?-- What is sustainable development?-- What are the components of sustainability in business?-- Sustainable business practices: social development and economic development-- Sustainability and ethical leadership-- What is the impact of Bitcoin on sustainability?-- Sustainability principles and data centers-- Culture change and sustainable practices-- How to get started with sustainable developmentAlice Steenland joined Dassault Systèmes in 2020 as the company’s first Chief Sustainability Officer. Previously, she was the founding Chief Corporate Responsibility Officer at AXA Group, where she helped the company rise to a leading position in global sustainability rankings, thanks in part to a pioneering responsible investment strategy including the landmark decision to divest from coal and, later, tobacco.Subscribe to the CXOTalk newsletter: https://www.cxotalk.com/subscribeRead the complete transcript: https://www.cxotalk.com/episode/sustainability-executive-playbook===Read the excerpt from the conversation:Michael Krigsman: There's a kind of rising tide of interest in sustainability. What does it actually mean? In the press, it's kind of used in a very loose way.Alice Steenland: I've been in this space, as I mentioned, for a long time. I have seen, in very different parts of the world, it actually has different connotations.It's not only a word that can be used very differently in English. So, I'm an American. I've used this word for a long time.Not only does it have different interpretations here, but different interpretations across the world. I'll give you one definition – actually, two, if I can.The first one is the actual meaning of the word sustainability, the original meaning, which was to say, if I am a sustainable company or sustainable organization, it means I will be here in 20, 30, 40 years. I can sustain my activity.That's where the original concept came from, which is that if you are not taking into account environmental issues, social issues; if you are not in sync with the society in which you're living in or you're operating in; your company is probably not going to be there in a long time. That's actually, from an investment perspective or financial perspective, what we've seen. We've seen, for many years, sustainable or ESG high performers basically outperforming the market over long periods of time.I think that's one way to think of it. It really is about the sustainability, the viability of the organization over time.The second way of thinking about it is this ESG terminology: environmental, social, and governance issues. This is the definition used by the investment community to talk about sustainability. It just gives you an idea of what are some of the things that they're looking at.In fact, a funny fact is that they used to call this extra-financial or non-financial information, which essentially meant that any indicator, any process, or any information about the organization that is not purely about revenues and sales can be considered material from an ESG perspective. So, it is a very broad topic.What are the components of sustainability in business?Michael Krigsman: When you, as a sustainability professional,...

Despite the importance of data and analytics, managing data science teams present a range of opportunities and challenges. We speak with Sol Rashidi, Chief Analytics Officer at Estee Lauder, who explains various types of data and offers advice on managing analytics teams.The conversation covers these topics:-- What does a chief analytics officer do?-- Data acquisition and data gathering-- How to align data science and analytics with Finance?-- Data and analytics vs. opinion and intuition-- How to reduce bias in data science?-- What are critical aspects of organizational maturity in data science and analytics?-- How to encourage organizational cooperation?-- Advice for business leaders========Read the full transcript: https://www.cxotalk.com/episode/how-manage-data-analytics-teamsSubscribe to the CXOTalk newsletter: https://www.cxotalk.com/subscribe========Sol Rashidi currently holds 7 patents, with 21 filed in the Data & Analytics space and is a keynote speaker at several technology conferences speaking on various topics such as Machine Learning, Data & Analytics, and Emerging Operating Models for organizations taking on transformations in the D&A space. Prior to joining Estee Lauder as their Chief Analytics Officer, Sol was the Chief Data & Analytics Officer for Merck, EVP and CDO for Sony Music, and Chief Data & Cognitive officer for Royal Caribbean.

How does the CEO of Zoom, Eric S. Yuan, manage the company's massive growth while retaining a focus on customer experience and customer delight? In this episode, one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the world explains his customer experience strategy, the importance of meeting customer expectations, and the impact of organizational culture. This episode includes a discussion of the following topics:-- What does customer happiness mean for Zoom?-- Why is company culture important?-- How does company culture affect product development?-- How fast has Zoom grown?-- How to balance customer experience and business profitability?-- How to overcome the difficulties in the remote working period?-- How does Zoom encourage employee well-being?-- How does Zoom balance profitability against innovation?-- What is the post-pandemic future of work?-- Advice to business leaders from Eric Yuan, Zoom CEOEric S. Yuan founded Zoom in 2011 to deliver happiness and bring teams together to get more done in a frictionless video environment. Zoom’s video-first unified communications platform continues to dramatically transform the way leading global enterprise companies communicate. Under Eric’s leadership, Zoom was one of the highest-performing tech IPOs of 2019.===Read the complete transcript: https://www.cxotalk.com/episode/zoom-ceo-eric-s-yuan-how-manage-customer-experienceSubscribe to the CXOTalk newsletter: https://www.cxotalk.com/subscribe===From the episode:What does customer happiness mean for Zoom?Michael Krigsman: Eric, we met about – what, now – I guess about five years ago. Since that time, Zoom has entered the language as a verb. So much has changed, and so tell us very briefly what's going on with Zoom right now.Eric Yuan: Thank you, Michael. You are so right. Since we met (five or six years ago) I think a lot of things have changed. Three years ago, we became a public company while working so hard, the folks, on innovation.Last year, on many fronts, that was extremely challenging. But the good news is, finally, I think, our dream is coming true to leverage our technology to truly have the world, have the people, stay connected during the pandemic crisis time.I can tell you we're very excited about our future. But again, I think one thing that has not changed is the amount of work. It's still a lot.Michael Krigsman: I remember when we first met. You spoke a lot about customer happiness. How do you think about customer happiness today at the size, the scale that Zoom is at?Eric Yuan: Customer happiness is still our core value. That has not changed at all. Actually, we do feel more responsibility. We needed to do more because, prior to the pandemic crisis, Zoom was built to serve for enterprise, business, or government customers.But since last year, we had so many new users, consumers, new use cases, we feel like we've had more responsibility. Not only do we deliver happiness to the enterprise customers, but also we would like to embrace all those new use cases and do more to care about them.

How can modern Chief Financial Officers drive innovation and business transformation? The CFO of cloud computing enterprise software company, ServiceNow, Gina Mastantuono, explains CFO transformation, including how she collaborates with other business leaders such as the company’s Chief Information Officer.Aside from discussing Chief Financial Officer responsibilities, the conversation includes:-- What does a Chief Financial Officer do?-- What is the CFO leadership role?-- Why is the CFO / CIO relationship important?-- Why is the CFO the Chief Transformation Officer?-- Cross-team collaboration and the CFO-- Balancing short-term needs vs. long-term investment-- Talent management, human resources, and the CFO-- Advice to Chief Information Officers-- Women in technology and business-- Advice for women on joining boards of directorsAt ServiceNow, Gina Mastantuono is developing and leading world-class teams focused on driving customer success. As Chief Financial Officer, her global organization spans all aspects of Finance, including Accounting, Risk & Compliance, Payroll, Tax, Investor Relations & Treasury, Real Estate & Workplace Services, and more.==== Read the complete transcript: https://www.cxotalk.com/episode/what-cfo-servicenow-chief-financial-officer-explainsSubscribe to the CXOTalk newsletter: https://www.cxotalk.com/subscribe====From the conversation:What does a Chief Financial Officer do?Michael Krigsman: We have this image of the historical, traditional CIO as kind of like an advanced accountant bean counter, you know, with the green eyeshade. Yet, you're talking about digital transformation. I know that there is the innovation role as well. What's going on with the CIO role, and how accurate does that green eyeshade image?Gina Mastantuono: The CFO is the image that you are talking about as the bean counter, right? It's definitely an outdated image. I'm definitely not the typical image of a CFO.We are really no longer just bean counters with the fierce grip on the checkbook. Right now, a major growth driver for many companies is digital transformation and CFOs are playing a key role in not just enabling that transformation but driving it. Being a CFO today is all about strategy, understanding those growth levers that drive the business, and the investments that are needed to get us where we need to go.It's also about leadership. Gone are the days when all leaders needed was a strong IQ. Today's leaders really need to have a high level of EQ as well. They need to lead with compassion and empathy. Especially in today's COVID-19 environment, leaders must ask every day how they're helping employees navigate the new normal.What is the CFO leadership role?Michael Krigsman: I'm slightly taken aback, in a way, to hear you talk about leadership, empathy, driving digital transformation, again because I have, in the back of my mind, the stereotype of a traditional CFO. I guess we could say your role, it's a leadership role with an emphasis on the finances and investing? Is that an accurate way to say it?Gina Mastantuono: Absolutely. I think the leadership piece is so important and the role of the CFO really has evolved over the last five, ten years. Even in the last year, COVID-19 has really elevated the CFO role.We're playing a pivotal role in guiding organizations through the crisis. We're essential to the strategic decisions that are going to help our companies not only survive the current climate but come out stronger on the other side.What I think is especially interesting is that we now must have a...

#BusinessTransformation #DigitalTransformationHow can a large organization apply purpose-driven principles to create meaningful business transformation? The former CEO of Best Buy, Hubert Joly, explains purpose-driven, digital business transformation by presenting the Best Buy company strategy he created.The discussion includes these topics:-- About Hubert Joly's book: The Heart of Business-- Why did Best Buy have trouble in 2012?-- Driving efficiency with respect for people-- What is purpose-driven transformation?-- Efficiency vs. cultural transformation-- Importance of customer experience at Best Buy-- Customer experience and corporate culture-- How do you balance staff and management?=======Watch the video and read the complete transcript: https://www.cxotalk.com/episode/former-best-buy-ceo-purpose-driven-business-transformationSubscribe to our newsletter to be notified of upcoming live shows: https://www.cxotalk.com/subscribe=======Hubert Joly is the author of THE HEART OF BUSINESS: Leadership Principles for the Next Era of Capitalism. He is the former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Best Buy and is now a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School. He is also a member of the board of directors of Johnson & Johnson and Ralph Lauren Corporation, a member of the International Advisory Board of HEC Paris, and a Trustee of the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Joly has been recognized as one of the top 100 CEOs in the world by the Harvard Business Review, one of the top 30 CEOs in the world by Barron’s and one of the top 10 CEOs in the U.S. by Glassdoor.=======From the conversation:What is purpose-driven transformation?Michael Krigsman: Let's talk about purpose for a moment. We do hear this term kind of popping up everywhere. I think very often it's a good, politically correct, motherhood and apple pie kind of, you know, it feels good, but there is no real substance. How do we convert that into something substantive and meaningful?Hubert Joly: Yeah, so let me make it really concrete and share some of the lessons learned along the way. I'll tell you that it was challenging. This was not a walk in the park. As a result, we've learned a lot [laughter], frankly, during that time.Back in 2016, as we were looking to accelerate our growth, we did the good work around market research, segmentation, targeting, positioning – what I teach my students at Harvard Business School in the marketing course. Then we also wanted to go beyond that and started to think about our why – maybe influenced by Simon Sinek – why do we exist?That's where we came up with the concept, actually said it, "We are not a retailer. We are not a retailer. We are a company that's in the business of enriching lives through technology by addressing key human needs."Defining your purpose, I think you find a company purpose at the intersection between four circles:What the world needs. What are the human needs you're trying to address?What you are uniquely good at.What you are passionate about.Then, of course, how you can make money.This is real substantive. This is not philanthropy. This is not CSR or OESG. This is a business discussion.The benefit of defining the business in terms of its purpose is that, number one, it vastly expands the addressable market. There are a couple of examples of that.That's how, at Best Buy, we went into the healthcare space helping aging seniors live and stay in their home independently longer by placing sensors under their bed, under their sofa, in the kitchen, in the bathroom. Fall...

How should Chief Information Officers manage AI in the enterprise, and what challenges may arise? Every CIO must consider these questions from both enterprise technology and business leadership perspectives.Author and AI investor Ash Fontana explains the CIO role and CIO responsibilities when developing organizational capabilities for AI, which he calls the AI-first company.The conversation covers these essential topics:-- What are the CIO’s first steps to adopting enterprise AI?-- How should CIOs start with enterprise AI?-- How much technical knowledge about machine learning models should business leaders possess?-- What are “data learning effects”?-- What is Lean AI?-- Should the CIO or CTO be responsible for investments in AI?-- Culture change and AI adoption-- Enterprise AI investment and financial return-- How to overcome obstacles to AI adoption in the enterprise?====Read the full transcript and watch other videos: https://www.cxotalk.com/episode/chief-information-officer-enterprise-ai-cioSubscribe to our newsletter: https://www.cxotalk.com/subscribe====Ash Fontana is author of the book The AI-First Company. He is an investor focused on AI-first companies at Zetta Venture Partners since 2014. Before Zetta, Ash launched syndicates at AngelList - the biggest startup investing platform in the world that now manages over $2B. Simultaneously, Ash made investments in Canva, Mixmax and others.====A few excerpts from the conversation:Michael Krigsman: In effect, what you're saying is this part of the company that's focused around AI, ideally, it would be the entire company, but let's just start small. This part of the company is using the delivery, using the use of AI tools, and then the delivery of outcomes relating to those tools as its kind of organizing principle. Is that an accurate way to summarize it?Ash Fontana: Yeah, I think that's a good way to summarize it. But again, there's so much nuance across the board here around the degree to which you focus on this, depending on where you're at in your journey, depending on whether you're at the phase where you're just experimenting with a few models to sort of test, like, can we actually make this prediction about the demand of the thing we're selling, the demand of the apparel we're selling next season? Can we make a prediction about a trend in this industry with our consumers, whether they're going to buy this or that color next season? Can we actually make a prediction around this delivery time in our supply chain? Can we do that?Are you at this stage where you're experimenting with that and really trying to discover from the data that you have whether you can do that? If so, the degree to which you invest in data collection, data infrastructure, and the degree to which you jump in the deep end of machine learning different models is very different to the point at which you've done those experiments, you're sure that you can make these predictions, and you want to really double down.This is where I introduce this concept of latent AI. But again, I think that's a good way to put it. There's a lot of nuance depending on the phase you're at. Different parts of your organization can mean different parts of the journey.The part of your organization that is on the marketing side can be really far ahead on the AI journey because there's a lot of data available to survey customers and run predictive models around what different segments will do and how they behave, whereas the part of the organization that's responsible for production might be a bit further back or earlier in the journey because fully...