1 00:00:05,880 --> 00:00:08,600 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Fear and Greed Business Interview. I'm Sean Almer. 2 00:00:08,760 --> 00:00:14,040 Speaker 1: Boardrooms and c suites are evolving across ASX listed companies. 3 00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:17,119 Speaker 1: New faces are joining the executive table not just for 4 00:00:17,160 --> 00:00:21,760 Speaker 1: their seniority, but for their specialist expertise. Roles like chief 5 00:00:21,800 --> 00:00:25,760 Speaker 1: AI Officer, chief trust Officer, and chief automation Officer are 6 00:00:25,800 --> 00:00:28,640 Speaker 1: becoming more common as companies grapple with a major shift 7 00:00:28,640 --> 00:00:32,920 Speaker 1: in technology as well as client and shareholder expectations. David 8 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:36,479 Speaker 1: Areski is the Chief Technology Officer for Asia Pacific and 9 00:00:36,600 --> 00:00:40,839 Speaker 1: Japan at Boomey BWM I Boomy a global company that 10 00:00:40,960 --> 00:00:44,520 Speaker 1: works with businesses navigating digital change. David, Welcome to Fear 11 00:00:44,560 --> 00:00:44,880 Speaker 1: and Greed. 12 00:00:45,159 --> 00:00:45,680 Speaker 2: Thank Spading. 13 00:00:45,760 --> 00:00:48,800 Speaker 1: On the show, Shan so I mentioned things like chief 14 00:00:48,880 --> 00:00:52,519 Speaker 1: AI Officer, chief trust officer, chief automation officers. Are they 15 00:00:52,560 --> 00:00:55,720 Speaker 1: buzzwords or are they real gaps in corporate leadership? 16 00:00:56,480 --> 00:00:59,600 Speaker 2: Definitely not buzzwords. So I mean we're seeing a shift 17 00:00:59,640 --> 00:01:03,240 Speaker 2: and moor droom design across companies, as you said in 18 00:01:03,320 --> 00:01:07,520 Speaker 2: your introduction, But it's not about overhauling the C suite, 19 00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:10,399 Speaker 2: as many of those traditional functions still bring a lot 20 00:01:10,440 --> 00:01:14,160 Speaker 2: of value. But to your point, it's around revolutionizing it 21 00:01:14,280 --> 00:01:17,240 Speaker 2: for a modern and changing world. So the new sweet 22 00:01:17,240 --> 00:01:21,039 Speaker 2: Swee roles that you mentioned, they're reflecting a change in 23 00:01:21,160 --> 00:01:26,520 Speaker 2: focus and priorities within organization and new fields that require 24 00:01:27,240 --> 00:01:32,680 Speaker 2: specialized oversight, depth of expertise that will drive the next 25 00:01:32,800 --> 00:01:35,440 Speaker 2: level of innovation and success in a business. 26 00:01:36,400 --> 00:01:39,080 Speaker 1: Okay, so maybe fifteen years ago we went from the 27 00:01:39,080 --> 00:01:42,280 Speaker 1: head of human resources to the chief people officer, but 28 00:01:42,400 --> 00:01:46,679 Speaker 1: to me, that was just a job title change. What 29 00:01:46,800 --> 00:01:50,480 Speaker 1: we're talking about is actually a real change in functions 30 00:01:50,920 --> 00:01:53,520 Speaker 1: needed at that top level. Is that right? 31 00:01:54,120 --> 00:01:56,680 Speaker 2: That's correct, because you know, to your point, we've had 32 00:01:56,720 --> 00:01:59,840 Speaker 2: about the last ten to fifteen years many of these 33 00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:05,960 Speaker 2: businesses on digital transformation journeys. They've been using integration and 34 00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:10,920 Speaker 2: automation technologies, data management technologies and other tools to digitize 35 00:02:10,960 --> 00:02:14,560 Speaker 2: a lot of their processes. But the last three years, 36 00:02:14,760 --> 00:02:19,200 Speaker 2: especially since chet GPT exploded onto the scene, we're seeing 37 00:02:19,240 --> 00:02:25,079 Speaker 2: the shift from digital transformation to agentic transformation, and boards 38 00:02:25,080 --> 00:02:28,120 Speaker 2: and c suites are trying to understand how do I 39 00:02:28,200 --> 00:02:31,920 Speaker 2: bring in roles and expertise and other capabilities and would 40 00:02:32,280 --> 00:02:34,840 Speaker 2: to not be able to meet this new world of 41 00:02:34,919 --> 00:02:39,200 Speaker 2: a GENTERKI but use those tools and technologies to actually 42 00:02:39,240 --> 00:02:41,760 Speaker 2: pull ahead of the competition in the market. 43 00:02:42,120 --> 00:02:44,880 Speaker 1: Now. I think agentic is the word of the year 44 00:02:44,919 --> 00:02:49,800 Speaker 1: for mine Gentic. When we're talking about agentic, it's about 45 00:02:49,960 --> 00:02:53,480 Speaker 1: using technology and AI almost as the digital employee. Am 46 00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:54,000 Speaker 1: I right in. 47 00:02:53,960 --> 00:02:58,639 Speaker 2: That, that's right. The AI agents represent essentially a new 48 00:02:58,720 --> 00:03:03,200 Speaker 2: digital labor force, so using them to automate complex and 49 00:03:03,240 --> 00:03:08,280 Speaker 2: cross functional work across your organization, potentially at scale. 50 00:03:08,760 --> 00:03:12,959 Speaker 1: Okay, so AI has driven the shift in the last 51 00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:16,440 Speaker 1: three years or so, or chat GPT specifically, is there 52 00:03:16,440 --> 00:03:19,519 Speaker 1: anything outside AI that's driving I mean, is it a 53 00:03:19,600 --> 00:03:23,280 Speaker 1: natural evolution? I suppose I'm saying parking AI for a moment. 54 00:03:23,600 --> 00:03:26,760 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a natural evolution around where technology is going 55 00:03:26,840 --> 00:03:30,240 Speaker 2: because you know that change in C suite structure. It's 56 00:03:30,280 --> 00:03:34,600 Speaker 2: a quiet shift, but it's an important one. And some companies, 57 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:39,240 Speaker 2: as they're trading in that operational pedigree for domain fluency 58 00:03:39,840 --> 00:03:42,920 Speaker 2: in those areas like AI and other capabilities that are 59 00:03:42,960 --> 00:03:46,680 Speaker 2: shaping the future of their organization, they're looking at it 60 00:03:46,840 --> 00:03:52,560 Speaker 2: from not necessarily taking a bold approach and formally appointing 61 00:03:53,120 --> 00:03:57,280 Speaker 2: these special executives, but sometimes opting for a more flexible approach, 62 00:03:57,360 --> 00:04:02,360 Speaker 2: so inviting specialist advice is to provide that strategic council 63 00:04:02,440 --> 00:04:05,760 Speaker 2: without completely altering at full c SUREAE and that to 64 00:04:05,760 --> 00:04:08,320 Speaker 2: give you an example, that's something we've done at Booming. 65 00:04:09,240 --> 00:04:13,320 Speaker 2: So we've brought in a Head of Enterprise AI as 66 00:04:13,360 --> 00:04:17,719 Speaker 2: an example, So not necessarily a C suite role, but 67 00:04:17,880 --> 00:04:22,360 Speaker 2: Luke Hagstrand and our team his primary responsibilities are to 68 00:04:22,960 --> 00:04:26,760 Speaker 2: lead any AI initiatives as he sees it across the business, 69 00:04:27,680 --> 00:04:30,880 Speaker 2: ensure these governance compliance because a lot of these new 70 00:04:30,920 --> 00:04:35,240 Speaker 2: things that are coming up, especially around technology, require legal 71 00:04:35,360 --> 00:04:40,240 Speaker 2: and privacy considerations. He focuses on innovation and how these 72 00:04:40,279 --> 00:04:43,080 Speaker 2: technologies are going to create value for the business, and 73 00:04:43,120 --> 00:04:46,440 Speaker 2: sort of the last pieces around employee activation and adoption. 74 00:04:46,600 --> 00:04:49,720 Speaker 2: How do we engage with the employees in an organization 75 00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:53,359 Speaker 2: to bring them along on this new journey. 76 00:04:53,600 --> 00:04:56,839 Speaker 1: Do these roles class with some of those other roles, 77 00:04:56,839 --> 00:05:02,160 Speaker 1: So the traditional CEO, C you know, chief marketing officer, 78 00:05:02,360 --> 00:05:06,760 Speaker 1: chief information officer, is there clashing or do we need 79 00:05:06,800 --> 00:05:08,240 Speaker 1: all these people around the table. 80 00:05:08,640 --> 00:05:11,600 Speaker 2: I think we still need them all. Everybody provides a 81 00:05:11,760 --> 00:05:15,279 Speaker 2: unique perspective and you know when I look at some 82 00:05:15,360 --> 00:05:18,600 Speaker 2: of those roles, you know they might provide a perspective. 83 00:05:18,880 --> 00:05:22,159 Speaker 2: If you're thinking about c suite roles around say HR 84 00:05:22,320 --> 00:05:25,400 Speaker 2: or diversity, they still may be part of some of 85 00:05:25,400 --> 00:05:29,360 Speaker 2: the technological discussions because they have to understand, you know, 86 00:05:29,400 --> 00:05:32,680 Speaker 2: how does ethics and bias and some of our data 87 00:05:33,040 --> 00:05:37,960 Speaker 2: and approaches have a part to play. Again in AI, 88 00:05:38,240 --> 00:05:43,760 Speaker 2: as an example, you have chief enterprise officers or customer officers. 89 00:05:44,040 --> 00:05:46,279 Speaker 2: Especially that second one we're seeing a lot of because 90 00:05:46,279 --> 00:05:49,680 Speaker 2: there's a lot more around customer attention. What do we 91 00:05:49,800 --> 00:05:53,120 Speaker 2: do more for our customers? How to increase the value 92 00:05:53,160 --> 00:05:56,479 Speaker 2: there we're seeing out of our organization, whether that's through 93 00:05:56,480 --> 00:05:59,960 Speaker 2: a technological means or some other means. So everybody has 94 00:06:00,200 --> 00:06:03,039 Speaker 2: a part to play here. And yes, as part of 95 00:06:03,040 --> 00:06:05,279 Speaker 2: the example, I gave a far ahead of Enterprise AI. 96 00:06:05,680 --> 00:06:08,680 Speaker 2: It may not officially be a sea level title, but 97 00:06:08,720 --> 00:06:11,600 Speaker 2: it does roll up under the CIO and feeds into 98 00:06:11,640 --> 00:06:13,240 Speaker 2: the broader sea level discussion. 99 00:06:13,800 --> 00:06:20,880 Speaker 1: Okay, stay with me, David, we'll be back in a minute. 100 00:06:23,960 --> 00:06:28,520 Speaker 1: My guest this morning is David Eriski from BURME. You 101 00:06:28,560 --> 00:06:33,599 Speaker 1: would gave the example of your organization introducing these new roles. 102 00:06:33,640 --> 00:06:37,680 Speaker 1: Are we seeing ASX listed companies formally embed these roles 103 00:06:37,720 --> 00:06:40,760 Speaker 1: into their executive teams. Are they moving quickly enough? I 104 00:06:40,800 --> 00:06:41,839 Speaker 1: suppose it's my question. 105 00:06:42,680 --> 00:06:46,359 Speaker 2: It's definitely a mixed bag. I hosted around Table recently 106 00:06:46,640 --> 00:06:49,760 Speaker 2: for a number of senior leaders from some of the 107 00:06:49,920 --> 00:06:54,560 Speaker 2: said businesses, and some have plowed ahead with these roles 108 00:06:54,920 --> 00:06:59,039 Speaker 2: or they have transition roles. So a great example of 109 00:06:59,120 --> 00:07:02,520 Speaker 2: that is taking what was typically the chief Data and 110 00:07:02,640 --> 00:07:07,400 Speaker 2: analytics officer and giving them the title of Chief AI Officer. 111 00:07:07,960 --> 00:07:09,960 Speaker 2: And you know, you take a step back and think 112 00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:13,040 Speaker 2: about that and go, you know, on the forefront, that 113 00:07:13,120 --> 00:07:15,920 Speaker 2: makes sense. You know, something like AI has a lot 114 00:07:15,960 --> 00:07:19,120 Speaker 2: to do with data. You neque good data liquidity and quality, 115 00:07:19,520 --> 00:07:21,840 Speaker 2: so it makes sense to put someone in who was 116 00:07:21,880 --> 00:07:24,600 Speaker 2: in the data space in that role. But sometimes a 117 00:07:24,720 --> 00:07:28,040 Speaker 2: full goes that. You know, that discussion also requires a 118 00:07:28,040 --> 00:07:30,880 Speaker 2: lot of allrorimation on the front end. So some of 119 00:07:30,920 --> 00:07:33,840 Speaker 2: those roles are abe evolving, some of them need to 120 00:07:33,880 --> 00:07:37,160 Speaker 2: be still rescored up. But it's definitely an emerging space 121 00:07:37,160 --> 00:07:40,640 Speaker 2: because even other businesses at that particular luncheon around Table 122 00:07:41,240 --> 00:07:46,000 Speaker 2: were still grappling with traditional digital transformation and things that 123 00:07:46,120 --> 00:07:48,600 Speaker 2: some of the other businesses that sold five or ten 124 00:07:48,680 --> 00:07:49,120 Speaker 2: years ago. 125 00:07:49,880 --> 00:07:52,000 Speaker 1: Do we have enough talent in this jailia to fill 126 00:07:52,040 --> 00:07:54,000 Speaker 1: some of these specialized positions. 127 00:07:54,680 --> 00:07:58,600 Speaker 2: It's a really interesting question because it's something even we 128 00:07:58,640 --> 00:08:03,640 Speaker 2: look at within Boomy, you know, where we're looking at 129 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:07,360 Speaker 2: the workforce going forward. They're definitely putting a focus on 130 00:08:07,640 --> 00:08:13,480 Speaker 2: leveraging new technology as part of their role to increase productivity. 131 00:08:13,720 --> 00:08:16,280 Speaker 2: And so it's more so to a lot of these 132 00:08:16,320 --> 00:08:20,400 Speaker 2: corporations around understanding how do we train staff up, how 133 00:08:20,440 --> 00:08:23,000 Speaker 2: do we reskill them, how do we take the initiative 134 00:08:23,680 --> 00:08:27,520 Speaker 2: to make these skills that replaceable in our team. But equally, 135 00:08:28,120 --> 00:08:30,920 Speaker 2: when you look at young workers, they need to be 136 00:08:31,040 --> 00:08:34,480 Speaker 2: ready to work in two more strategic level roles, which 137 00:08:34,520 --> 00:08:36,720 Speaker 2: means we potentially need a shift in the way we 138 00:08:36,960 --> 00:08:42,079 Speaker 2: educate our younger workface, how we do workforce development, how 139 00:08:42,120 --> 00:08:46,679 Speaker 2: we focus on things like critical thinking, emotional intelligence, digital literacy, 140 00:08:47,600 --> 00:08:50,720 Speaker 2: decision making problems solving. All of those come to the 141 00:08:50,840 --> 00:08:53,320 Speaker 2: fore in this technological shift as well. 142 00:08:54,080 --> 00:08:56,000 Speaker 1: I dare say that there needs to be a cultural 143 00:08:56,040 --> 00:08:58,040 Speaker 1: shift then for this to work. 144 00:08:58,800 --> 00:09:01,520 Speaker 2: It does indeed, because obviously there's a lot of concern 145 00:09:01,800 --> 00:09:06,160 Speaker 2: around things like AI potentially replacing people, but we see 146 00:09:06,280 --> 00:09:09,199 Speaker 2: more that AI is going to make you superhuman and 147 00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:12,640 Speaker 2: a lot of the businesses we talk to to talk 148 00:09:12,679 --> 00:09:16,000 Speaker 2: to when they go through that cultural shift, they see 149 00:09:16,040 --> 00:09:21,840 Speaker 2: that these new technological capabilities are actually enhancing your role 150 00:09:22,040 --> 00:09:25,480 Speaker 2: and you're actually freeing yourselves from some of that lower 151 00:09:25,600 --> 00:09:29,679 Speaker 2: level work and giving yourself time to focus on higher 152 00:09:29,800 --> 00:09:33,439 Speaker 2: value tasks for the business, which will hopefully provide new 153 00:09:33,480 --> 00:09:37,040 Speaker 2: routes to revenue, allow the business to be more innovative 154 00:09:37,080 --> 00:09:39,800 Speaker 2: and more competitive as they move forward in this new world. 155 00:09:40,360 --> 00:09:42,360 Speaker 1: So what's the benefit of doing it, or perhaps I 156 00:09:42,440 --> 00:09:45,080 Speaker 1: should say what's the cost of not doing it? You 157 00:09:45,120 --> 00:09:47,200 Speaker 1: will fall behind as a business if you don't. 158 00:09:46,960 --> 00:09:50,360 Speaker 2: Do it, That's right. I think we're moving into this 159 00:09:50,400 --> 00:09:54,240 Speaker 2: new agenda era where it's the next wave of growth, 160 00:09:54,800 --> 00:09:58,800 Speaker 2: margin and innovation that's going to come from AI agents 161 00:09:58,920 --> 00:10:03,280 Speaker 2: acting on our behalf, and if you don't join that journey, 162 00:10:03,280 --> 00:10:05,720 Speaker 2: you are going to be left behind. But it's okay 163 00:10:05,920 --> 00:10:08,800 Speaker 2: as well to say I'm just starting that today because 164 00:10:08,880 --> 00:10:12,360 Speaker 2: many businesses are still looking around going it's not just AI. 165 00:10:12,480 --> 00:10:15,400 Speaker 2: There's a wide range of other technological capabilities. Where do 166 00:10:15,480 --> 00:10:18,160 Speaker 2: I start? How do I incorporate these into my business? 167 00:10:18,440 --> 00:10:22,120 Speaker 2: Because honestly, I'm still grappling with digital transformation I'm still 168 00:10:22,120 --> 00:10:26,880 Speaker 2: doing legacy application modernization. I'm still trying to understand where 169 00:10:26,920 --> 00:10:30,960 Speaker 2: my data is let alone do something like AI. So 170 00:10:31,040 --> 00:10:33,920 Speaker 2: it's okay to understand that. But that's where it's really 171 00:10:33,960 --> 00:10:37,360 Speaker 2: good for businesses to not only look at their peers 172 00:10:37,840 --> 00:10:40,280 Speaker 2: and see where they are going with technology and what 173 00:10:40,360 --> 00:10:44,760 Speaker 2: they are doing, but also look at partners and government 174 00:10:44,880 --> 00:10:46,360 Speaker 2: as well. You know, some of the things that are 175 00:10:46,400 --> 00:10:49,880 Speaker 2: happening not just in Australia but throughout the Asia Pacific 176 00:10:50,600 --> 00:10:55,400 Speaker 2: region around roadmaps and legislation and upskinning of workforces is 177 00:10:55,440 --> 00:10:57,120 Speaker 2: really exciting to see as well. 178 00:10:57,480 --> 00:10:59,640 Speaker 1: Fantastic David, thank you for talking to Fearing Greed. 179 00:11:00,080 --> 00:11:01,400 Speaker 2: Thank you very much for your industry. 180 00:11:01,840 --> 00:11:05,640 Speaker 1: That was David Ereski, chief Technology Officer for Asia Pacific 181 00:11:05,640 --> 00:11:08,000 Speaker 1: and Japan at Boome. This is a Fear and Greed 182 00:11:08,000 --> 00:11:10,840 Speaker 1: business interview. Join us every morning for the full episode 183 00:11:10,880 --> 00:11:13,880 Speaker 1: of Fear and Greed Business news you can use. I'm 184 00:11:13,880 --> 00:11:15,400 Speaker 1: Sean elmar Enjoy your day.