A.I.-enabled creative technology is evolving at an astonishing speed and becoming increasingly accessible to all. Chatbots, image processors and music generators are changing the way humans create, but they are also raising concerns around ethics, authorship and intellectual property. As a result, companies must stay ahead of this trend to avoid missing out on a wave of innovation. In this episode, we’ll learn how two A.I.-based companies have reimagined music and design. We’ll also hear from an Accenture thought leader on how A.I. can enable new ways of working for teams. This episode features Oleg Stavitsky, C.E.O. and Co-Founder of Endel; Nick Law, Global Lead for Design and Creative Tech at Accenture Song; and Joseph Reisinger, C.E.O. and Co-Founder of Facet.

How can businesses free up more time for their employees, reduce effort spent struggling with multiple applications and foster meaningful collaboration between teams? The key is interoperability. Accenture research shows that companies that achieve high interoperability grow revenue 6x faster than their more disconnected peers. So, in this episode we explore how the ability to quickly adapt to new circumstances, adopt new technologies and otherwise remain nimble allows companies to thrive. We’ll speak to Michelle Green, V.P. of Business Technology for Strategy, Transformation and Governance at Discover Financial Services, and Emma McGuigan, Global Lead for Enterprise and Industry Technologies at Accenture.

In an unstable world, communities of belonging are more important than ever. That’s why people are using technology to build new digital identities. The question is: Will brands find success online by treating people as customers, or as part of the brand? In this episode, we explore why companies should take a community-first approach to things like content, experiences, data and identity. We’ll speak with Tom Verrilli, Chief Product Officer at Twitch, an interactive livestreaming platform; Katie Burke, Global Thought Leadership Lead at Accenture Song; and Karyl Fowler, C.E.O. and Co-Founder of Transmute, a company empowering enterprises across industries with authentic data and traceable insights.

The energy industry is undergoing a huge transformation. Sustainability goals and the demand for a cleaner energy system are driving new investment across the entire sector. But recently, global challenges such as the pandemic, inflation and the war in Ukraine have shown that the need for secure energy resources also demands immediate attention. In this episode, we’ll explore how the global economy’s energy future depends on a balanced approach to both security and sustainability. We’ll speak to Ory Zik, C.E.O of Qnergy; Muqsit Ashraf, Chief Executive of Accenture Strategy; and Luis Cabra, Managing Director of Energy Transition Technology, Institutional Affairs and Deputy C.E.O. at Repsol.

Over the past several years, disruption has been the norm in the travel industry. But in 2022, customer demand for vacations, air travel and other forms of hospitality climbed back toward pre pandemic levels. In this episode, we’ll explore how the demands of the modern traveler are shifting – and how companies can reward their customers with new experiences, better service and seamless operations. We’ll speak to Claire Bennett, Global Chief Customer Officer at IHG Hotels and Resorts; Emily Weiss, Global Travel Industry Lead at Accenture; and Steven Zaat, Chief Financial Officer at Air France-KLM.

Soccer is the most popular sport in the world and a multibillion-dollar commercial industry. But as recently as the 2000s, most professional soccer teams did not prioritize — or even consider — data and analytics when making critical business and personnel decisions. That’s not the case anymore. The demand for accurate data, predictive analytics and A.I. in the world of soccer has exploded on both the business and sporting sides. And that growth is thanks, in part, to a popular video game. In this episode, we’ll speak to Miles Jacobson, Studio Director at Sports Interactive; Andy Hickl, Global Lead for Advanced A.I. at Accenture; and Dee Kundra, Managing Director (Americas) at F.C. Bayern Munich. 

Between inflation, upheaval from the pandemic, climate change and other forces out of our control, it can sometimes feel as if we’re navigating a world that’s turned upside down. So, it’s no surprise that our purchasing decisions don’t always look orderly and consistent. Accenture research has shown that while most customers want to shop in a way that matches their values — like sustainability and social responsibility — they are also dealing with practical realities, which can lead to contradictory decisions. In this episode, we’ll discuss how a shift from a customer-centric approach to a life-centric approach can offer a path forward for businesses. Our guests this week are Anthony Marino, President at thredUP, and Baiju Shah, Chief Strategist at Accenture Song. 

According to Accenture research, only 12 percent of companies are applying Artificial Intelligence-related capabilities in the right combination to achieve high performance. Organizations that have achieved success – and reached A.I. maturity – have mastered a set of data and A.I.-related skills, applying them across strategy, processes and people. In this episode, we’ll speak with Katica Roy, C.E.O. and Founder of Pipeline; Sanjeev Vohra, Global Lead of Applied Intelligence Business at Accenture; and William Ruh, C.E.O. at Lendlease Digital.

As the boundaries of the virtual world continue to shift, how can organizations work together to design a metaverse that’s enriching and welcoming for all? New technology has the potential to reshape how businesses interact with the world, but it’s time for leaders to commit to a responsible metaverse – one that’s built on the core principles of ethics, safety and inclusivity. In this episode, we’ll speak with Jessica Lindl, Vice President of Social Impact at Unity Technologies; Denise Zheng, Global Lead for Responsible Metaverse at Accenture; and Eli Sugarman, Fellow at Schmidt Futures. 

Even before the pandemic, many organizations struggled to foster strong and innovative working connections among their employees. And now – with technological, organizational and societal changes piling up – the pressure is on business leaders to listen to their employees and explore entirely new ways of working. In this episode, we’ll speak with Dominic Price, Work Futurist at Atlassian; Christie Smith, Global Lead, Talent and Organization/Human Potential at Accenture; and Sean Hinton, Founder and C.E.O. of SkyHive Technologies. 

Social commerce offers something radically different from the traditional e-commerce model. It blends social experiences and e-commerce transactions through a single path to purchase, all enabled by a single platform. And it’s already a hugely popular way of shopping in major markets around the globe, including China, Brazil, and India. In this episode, we’ll explore how brands can harness the power of social commerce to form stronger connections with their customers. We’ll be speaking with Robin Murdoch, Managing Director and Global Lead of Software and Platforms, Accenture; Neha Singh, Founder and C.E.O., Obsess; and Carolina Arguelles Navas, A.R. Product Strategy and Product Marketing Lead, Snapchat. 

Cyber attacks are on the rise – and companies face a constant battle to stay ahead. In 2021, breaches of data, networks, services and other assets climbed by 31%. In this episode, we’ll talk to a former hacker who, years ago, was responsible for one of the fastest-spreading computer viruses in history. We’ll also discuss the risks facing organizations that don’t prioritize the alignment of cybersecurity best practices with their overall business strategy. Our guests this week are Samy Kamkar, C.S.O. at Openpath, and Jacky Fox, the European Lead for Security at Accenture.

Companies are heading toward a future very different from the one they were designed to operate in. Inspired by Accenture’s “Technology Vision 2022” report, this episode explores several emerging trends that will affect the way we do business for years to come. Our hosts Josh Klein and Elise Hu discuss what it means to compute the impossible – and explore Web3 and the metaverse continuum. We speak with Marc Carrel-Billiard, Global Senior Managing Director for Technology Innovation at Accenture; Gregory Bowman, Ph.D., Director at the Folding@Home distributed computing project; and Sandra Ro, C.E.O. at the Global Blockchain Business Council (G.B.B.C.). 

Intelligent automation has the potential to improve the day-to-day experiences for employees, C.E.O.s and customers alike. But it’s also essential that businesses embrace a human-centric approach to artificial intelligence and process automation. In this episode, we’ll be discussing the new book “The Automation Advantage” with one of the authors, Bhaskar Ghosh, Chief Strategy Officer at Accenture. “The Automation Advantage” offers a helpful automation road map for businesses, including guiding principles for technology, governance, culture and leadership change. We’ll also speak with Raj Singh, C.M.O. at Revinate; and Blake Moret, C.E.O. at Rockwell Automation. 

This week’s episode is a special recording of Built for Change at the DealBook Online Summit, which took place on November 9, 2021.  Hosts Josh Klein and Elise Hu are joined in conversation by Jack Azagury, U.S. Northeast Market Lead, Accenture; Christie Smith, Global Lead of Talent and Organization/Human Potential, Accenture; and Leena Nair, former Chief Human Resources Officer, Unilever. Sponsor session by Accenture.

The past two years have been marked by disruptions on a scale never seen before, and it’s taking a toll on individuals and society as a whole. From “The Great Resignation” to global supply chain disruptions, businesses are grappling with huge shifts in people’s relationships with work and materialism. Each year, the Accenture Interactive team identifies the major emerging trends and challenges that will influence the year ahead. Last year’s trends spoke to how people and businesses needed to chart new territories as the shock of the initial waves of the pandemic subsided. This year, the dominant theme is about the need to respond to changes in all types of relationships – the threads that form the new fabric of life. In this episode, we’ll speak with Mark Curtis, Head of Innovation and Thought Leadership at Accenture Interactive; Martha Cotton, Managing Director and Fjord Global Co-Lead at Accenture Interactive; and Bailey Richardson, Head of Community at Substack. 

An executive at an energy firm based in Britain receives a call from his boss, asking him to transfer 220,000 euros to a Hungarian vendor. He transfers the money, only to find out later that it wasn’t his actual boss who called him. It was a sophisticated fake of his boss’s real voice. You may have heard of “deepfakes” in the media by now. But what about the underlying technologies that power them, called GANs (Generative Adversarial Networks)? While most people probably associate deepfakes with scams or viral social media videos, there’s enormous potential for using GAN technology in legitimate business applications — from product design, to synthetic data, to art and content creation. But these new technologies also present an abundance of ethical, privacy and security problems. In this episode, we’ll speak with Edy Liongosari, Chief Research Scientist at Accenture Labs; Cristóbal Valenzuela, Co-Founder and C.E.O. at Runway; and David Danks, Professor of Data Science and Philosophy at the University of California, San Diego.

To thrive in the future, companies must rethink their growth strategies. A select group of companies, that Accenture calls Forerunners, recognize that emerging lifestyle shifts among consumers and investors will impact business in the future. But Forerunners are not just reacting to change. They are taking real steps to seize opportunities. These companies are charting a better course into the future by prioritizing ethical usage of technology, environmental sustainability, human care and more. In this episode, we will speak with: Gianfranco Casati, C.E.O. of Growth Markets at Accenture; Will Griffin, Chief Ethics Officer at Hypergiant; and Barry Swartzberg, C.E.O. at Vitality Group Inc.

What is the cloud? Sure, it’s a place where photos and files can be stored for quick, easy and affordable access, but do companies understand what’s really possible in the cloud? In this episode, we learn that it can even help a brewery that has been in operation for more than 170 years pour the best possible pint of beer. We will discuss how companies can tap into the potential of the cloud today, so they are well-positioned to take advantage of the new opportunities that the cloud will offer in the future. We will speak with: Karthik Narain, Senior Managing Director and Lead for Accenture Cloud First; Sarah Haywood, Chief Information Officer at the Carlsberg Group; and Zoran Gojkovic, Director of Brewing Science and Technology at the Carlsberg Research Laboratory.

Business leaders have been under tremendous pressure to deliver financial value to stakeholders, while also committing to sustainability goals. The pandemic only increased the urgency many leaders feel to deliver benefits for all stakeholders. In this episode, we’ll explore how companies with strong “Sustainability DNA” are more likely to deliver financial value and a lasting positive impact for their people, society, and the environment. We’ll speak with: Erik Osmundsen, Former C.E.O. and Former Chairman of the Board of Directors, Norsk Gjenvinning (The NG Group); Peter Lacy, Global Sustainability Services Lead and Chief Responsibility Officer at Accenture; and Dan Harburg, VP, Global Head of Carbon Product and Technology, Indigo Agriculture.

If there’s one good thing that’s come from the pandemic, it’s this: Scientists and drug manufacturers came together in record time and with a shared purpose to create a safe and effective Covid-19 vaccine. In doing so, they set a precedent for medical advancements. So, where do we go from here? In this episode, we’ll talk about how biopharma companies can learn from last year’s disruption and harness what Accenture calls ‘New Science’ to rapidly discover and deliver revolutionary treatments and preparing for in the midst of regulatory and economic shifts. We’ll speak with Chris Gibson, C.E.O. and Co-Founder at Recursion; Stuart Henderson, Global Industry Lead — Life Sciences at Accenture; and David Coman, C.E.O at Science 37.

This week's guests: 

Chris Gibson, C.E.O. and Co-Founder at Recursion

Stuart Henderson, Global Industry Lead — Life Sciences at Accenture

David Coman, C.E.O at Science 37

The pandemic compelled consumers worldwide to drastically shift their views on what’s important, particularly with the businesses they patronize and the products they use. The majority of consumers are rethinking not only their purchasing habits but also what they prioritize in life, a recent Accenture survey of more than 25,000 consumers in 22 countries showed. How can companies contend with these shifting priorities and turn consumer uncertainty into consumer growth? In this episode, we’ll speak with Kevin Quiring, Managing Director and North America Customer Sales and Service Lead, Accenture Strategy; and Nevine El-Warraky, Managing Director, Accenture Interactive. We’ll also hear candid interviews from consumers about their recent experiences and shifting expectations. 

This week's guests: 

Kevin Quiring, Managing Director and North America Customer Sales and Service Lead, Accenture Strategy

Nevine El-Warraky, Managing Director, Accenture Interactive

Learn more and find the transcript at Accenture.com/BuiltForChange

In this episode, we ask the question: Where will the future of business take place? Companies are revolutionizing where and how we work, consume and meet up with friends. And the pandemic, which started a worldwide experiment in remote work, has made long-distance collaboration the new normal. We’ll learn how virtual worlds can redefine our sense of place and open up new possibilities for manufacturing, research and commerce. We’ll also explore the radical way business leaders can push decision-making to the “edge” of their organizations to empower global teams. Our hosts Elise Hu and Josh Klein are joined this week by Group Chief Executive - Strategy & Consulting at Accenture, Annette Rippert; Technical Fellow at Microsoft, Alex Kipman; and Co-Chief Executive of Gensler, Andy Cohen. To learn more about this year’s crucial signals of business change, read Accenture’s Business Futures 2021 report.

After 2020, many organizations faced a new imperative: To lean into technology and optimize business operations for agility, resilience and growth. But while many organizations are making incremental changes to their business operations, they’re not scaling fast enough. Only 7% of businesses are future-ready. How can others catch up? In this episode, Manish Sharma, group chief executive of Accenture Operations, shares his insights. Daragh Sibley, director of data science at Stitch Fix, and Jeffrey Rutherford, C.F.O. of Diebold-Nixdorf, reveal how their two very different companies have become future-ready.

This week's guests: 

Daragh Sibley, director of data science at Stitch Fix

Manish Sharma, group chief executive of Accenture Operations

Jeffrey Rutherford, C.F.O. of Diebold-Nixdorf

New business realities are fueling powerful opportunities that lie at the intersection of technology and sustainability. Accenture’s European C.E.O. Jean-Marc Ollagnier discusses how these two currents are playing out in Europe as well as the U.S., and explains that companies which are bold enough to attempt this twin transformation will be tomorrow’s leaders. Hosts Elise Hu and Josh Klein explore how UPS and Schneider Electric saw the true opportunity in the marriage of technology and sustainability. Their executives reveal lessons that can guide other business leaders, and which strategies will successfully propel a “Twin Transformation.”

This week's guests: 

Jack Levis, former senior director of process management at UPS

Jean-Marc Ollagnier, European C.E.O. at Accenture

Steve Wilhite, S.V.P. of energy and sustainability services at Schneider Electric

Can anything erase the historic tension between employers and workers, create trust and leave both parties better off? Groundbreaking new research from Accenture is paving the way for a new paradigm in modern business: Companies that help employees truly thrive, personally as well as professionally, are the ones that will win in the market of the future. While some leaders have long been sympathetic to this idea, the business case was harder to prove — until now. Ellyn Shook, Chief Leadership and Human Resources Officer of Accenture, and David Rodriguez, CHRO of Marriott, describe how they collaborated on Accenture’s “Care to Do Better” report, and explain its revolutionary stance: Caring for employees across personal and financial dimensions is not only the best way to unlock people’s true potential, it’s better for business.

This week's guests: 

Cameron Flowers - Founder and CEO, Floreo Labs

Dr. Kelly Monahan - Global Lead Talent Researcher, Principal Director, Accenture Research

Ellyn Shook - Chief Leadership and Human Resources Officer

Dr. David Rodriguez - Global Chief HR Officer, Marriott International

Fran Katsoudas - Chief People, Policy and Purpose Officer, Cisco

Until 2020, many companies believed they were further along in their digital evolution than they actually were. The pandemic revealed the truth about that technology gap — and also the immense opportunity it presents for organizations willing to change. In this conversation with Dr. Mona Flores, global head of medical A.I. at NVIDIA; Port of Rotterdam president and C.E.O. Allard Castelein and Accenture’s C.T.O. Paul Daugherty, we learn how some enterprises reimagined their systems to leverage technology, say good-bye to ‘the way we’ve always done things’ and meet the needs of the moment. The leaders who master change embody the trends outlined in Accenture’s Technology Vision 2021 report.

This week's guests: 

Dr. Mona Flores, global head of medical A.I. at NVIDIA

Paul Daugherty, C.T.O. at Accenture

Allard Castelein, president and C.E.O. at the Port of Rotterdam

User-friendly websites, well-designed billboards, chatbots and customer surveys — these standard customer experience touchpoints have grown so common, consumers are mired in a sea of sameness. How can businesses evolve their strategies to truly stand out? Welcome to what Accenture calls the Business of Experience. In this episode, we’ll meet C.E.O.s who have reoriented their entire organizations to focus on what their customers want, rather than trying to get customers to want their products. Making that shift is even more critical now, as businesses grapple with the fallout from the pandemic — and the rapidfire shifts in both technology, data and customer needs. In conversation with hosts Elise Hu and Josh Klein, business leaders learn how and why they must invest in new ways to keep up with evolving demands and identify customers’ unmet needs, big and small. 

This week's guests: 

Carrie SiuButt, C.E.O. of SimpleHealth

Brian Whipple, C.E.O. of Accenture Interactive

Mark Curtis, Head of Innovation and Thought Leadership at Accenture Interactive

Chris Milk, Co-Founder/C.E.O. of Supernatural & Within