The So What from BCG

AI innovation no longer flows in one direction. Jeff Walters, who leads the AI topic in Asia Pacific, explains why companies across China, India, and Southeast Asia are moving at speed—and in some cases pulling ahead. For CEOs, the real differentiator isn’t geography. It’s leadership ambition, organizational change, and the willingness to rethink knowledge work from the ground up.
Learn more: Jeff Walters, Managing Director & Senior Partner, https://www.bcg.com/about/people/experts/jeff-walters
AI at Work: Is Asia Pacific Leading the Way? https://www.bcg.com/publications/2025/ai-at-work-is-asia-pacific-leading-the-way
The Widening AI Value Gap, https://www.bcg.com/publications/2025/are-you-generating-value-from-ai-the-widening-gap
Latest Thinking on AI, https://www.bcg.com/capabilities/artificial-intelligence/insights
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
00:59 AI Evolution Across Asia
03:15 Factors Driving AI Adoption in Asia
04:20 How Do AI Attitudes Differ Globally?
06:00 CEOs’ Priorities to Unlock Value from AI
08:45 Asia’s AI Role vs. Silicon Valley
10:03 Information Asymmetry in AI: East vs. West
10:58 What to Learn from Asia’s AI Ecosystems
11:49 Which Asian Sectors Are Deploying AI Fastest?
13:36 What Are Dark Factories–and Why Do They Matter?
14:04 Who Will Lead AI Transformation over the Next Decade?
15:35 Why Is AI Adoption Slower in Some Asia Pacific Markets?
16:26 Asia Pacific Innovation by Region
17:30 Which Sectors Lead AI Transformation?
19:52 What Steps Should Leaders Take to Accelerate AI Impact?
21:47 The "Now What"
22:35 Outro (edited)
Subscribe to BCG’s YouTube channel: https://goo.gl/hsFsVT Visit us at https://www.bcg.com

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

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AI is no longer a technology experiment—it’s a business imperative. Val Elbert, a member of BCG’s Technology, Media & Telecommunications practice, explains why CEOs must shift from AI pilots to profit, demand quarterly results from all AI initiatives, and lead cross-functional AI transformations that deliver real bottom-line impact. The winners will scale fast. The rest will be left explaining themselves to investors.
Learn More
Val Elbert, BCG Managing Director and Senior Partner, https://www.bcg.com/about/people/experts/val-elbert
As AI Investments Surge, CEOs Take the Lead, https://www.bcg.com/publications/2026/as-ai-investments-surge-ceos-take-the-lead
Turning AI Disruption into a Telco's Growth Engine, https://www.bcg.com/publications/2026/turning-ai-disruption-into-telcos-growth-engine
Driving Growth and Innovation at Verizon Consumer Group, https://www.bcg.com/publications/2025/driving-growth-innovation-leading-telco

Chapters
00:00 Introduction 00:44 Where TMT companies stand on AI adoption
02:32 The boardroom shift from AI pilots to scale
03:11 Building AI into business agendas
03:49 AI adoption patterns across industries 0
4:37 Leaders need to see quarterly results
05:22 Why AI can't run as a three-year program
05:59 What separates AI winners
07:22 Why structure needs to change
07:52 Where friction blocks AI value creation
09:19 How to focus amid technology noise
10:00 The mindset shift to move from AI pilots to P&L
10:30 What scaling AI in telecom looks like
12:08 The role of humans in an AI-driven operating model
13:28 What the next 18 months will look like
13:55 Will AI drive mergers?
15:10 Is It harder for legacy companies to compete in AI?
15:36 How AI-driven change will impact consumers
16:44 If you're stuck in the pilot phase
17:45 Physical AI at MWC Barcelona
18:11 Outro
Subscribe to BCG’s YouTube channel: https://goo.gl/hsFsVT Visit us at https://www.bcg.com

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp

What makes a leadership team truly high performing, and why does it matter for the entire organization? Judith Wallenstein, CEO Advisory Global Lead of BCG, and Khadija Ben Hammada, Chief People Officer of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, explore this topic and more. They share how CEOs can build executive teams grounded in trust, purpose, and psychological safety. When the top team clicks, the whole company moves faster and with more clarity.
Learn more: https://lnk.to/so-what-general-show32
Learn More:
Judith Wallenstein, Managing Director & Senior Partner, Global Lead, CEO Advisory
https://www.bcg.com/about/people/experts/judith-wallenstein
Khadija Ben Hammada, Member of the Executive Board and Chief People Officer for Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany
https://www.emdgroup.com/en/company/management/executive-board/khadija-ben-hammada.html
Subscribe to BCG’s YouTube channel: https://goo.gl/hsFsVT
Visit us at https://www.bcg.com
Chapters
(00:00) Intro
(00:17) How do you build a high-performing leadership team?
(01:36) What makes a team work?
(02:12) What does a high-performing team feel like?
(03:45) How much of team success depends on the CEO’s behavior and decisions?
(05:55) When hiring, what are you looking for — what’s the secret sauce?
(08:47) What should the CEO–Chief People Officer relationship look like?
(09:50) What did you learn as chief of staff that you apply on an executive team?
(11:42) How do team members to elevate collective performance?
(13:01) How should leadership adapt in an era of uncertainty?
(16:35) How do you keep a team successful when key people move on?
(19:27) What's steps should leaders take now to create a top-performing team?
(21:03) Outro

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp

The global energy transition is growing in complexity with shifting economics, soaring electricity demand, and competing national priorities. Maurice Berns and Asheesh Sastry from BCG’s Center for Energy Impact lay out how leaders can keep up by focusing on the economics, creating strategies for individual markets, and staying ahead of policy shifts.
Learn More:
Maurice Berns, Chair, BCG Center for Energy Impact https://www.bcg.com/about/people/experts/maurice-berns
Asheesh Sastry, Managing Director & Senior Partner https://www.bcg.com/about/people/experts/asheesh-sastry
The Energy Transition’s Next Chapter https://www.bcg.com/publications/2025/global-energy-landscape-next-chapter
BCG Center for Energy Impact https://www.bcg.com/industries/energy/center-for-energy-impact/default
About the Energy Transition https://www.bcg.com/industries/energy/energy-transition

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp

Join several BCG senior partners as they share their insights from their time on the ground at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos. BCG invites you to an exclusive look at the forces shaping the CEO agenda in 2026.
BCG’s Judith Wallenstein, Aparna Bharadwaj, and Vlad Lukic discuss what they learned from their personal conversations with CEOs and global leaders at Davos. They share practical guidance for organizations preparing for the year ahead in AI, geopolitics, and other areas.
Chapters

Learn more:
BCG at Davos, https://www.bcg.com/about/partner-ecosystem/world-economic-forum/davos
BCG’s CEO Agenda, https://www.bcg.com/executives/ceo-agenda
Judith Wallenstein, Global Leader, CEO Advisory https://www.bcg.com/about/people/experts/judith-wallenstein
Aparna Bharadwaj, Global Leader, Global Advantage Practice https://www.bcg.com/about/people/experts/aparna-bharadwaj
Vlad Lukic, Global Leader, Tech and Digital Advantage https://www.bcg.com/about/people/experts/vladimir-lukic

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp