I had the incredible opportunity to travel to Chicago to deliver a keynote on the transformative power of AI and moderate a high-impact panel featuring leaders from Conagra, Mondelẽz, Baxter, and Microsoft.
Hosted at MxD and presented by The Executives’ Club of Chicago, the event brought together a dynamic group of executives, innovators, and change agents who are actively shaping the future of enterprise AI.
AI Keynote: AI in Action
In my keynote, I explored the evolution of AI — from early automation to today’s generative capabilities — and now toward agentic AI, where autonomous agents collaborate across systems to drive enterprise value and well beyond. I highlighted:
- 🔧 The shift from tool-based productivity to outcome-based intelligence
- 📊 The importance of AI-ready data and governance
- 🌍 Real-world use cases across industries
- 👩💻 Preparing your workforce for an AI-native future
AI is no longer just about efficiency — it’s about enabling exponential value creation through scalable intelligence, human-AI collaboration, and frictionless integration into core business processes.
Key Themes from the Panel Conversation:
Following the keynote, I had the honor of moderating a panel with key AI leaders from Conagra, Mondelẽz, Baxter, and Microsoft.
🔍 Integration in Action: Each organization shared practical ways they’re embedding AI into core workflows — from intelligent automation to customer personalization.
💡 Aha Moments: Panelists discussed inflection points where AI unlocked unforeseen value, from uncovering patterns in manufacturing data to reducing time-to-insight in clinical settings.
🚧 Overcoming Challenges: Talent gaps, data silos, and change resistance were top challenges — with a shared focus on education, clear use cases, and strong leadership as solutions.
📈 Drivers of Adoption: What’s driving AI forward? A combination of competitive pressure, cost efficiencies, and a growing belief in the strategic power of AI.
🔄 Managing Change: Change management surfaced as a critical success factor — building trust in AI, aligning cross-functional teams, and showing early wins to fuel momentum.
🔮 What’s Next: The future of AI, according to the panel, will be increasingly autonomous, collaborative, and embedded, with copilots and agents becoming integral to decision-making across every business function.
This experience underscored what I’ve long believed — the future of AI is not a technology discussion, it’s a leadership one. Organizations that lean into experimentation, invest in data maturity, and focus on cross-functional education are best positioned to lead.
A huge thank you to MxD and The Executives’ Club of Chicago for creating space for these important conversations.