In this episode, Ian Kahn, PwC partner and global leader for its Customer and Commercial Excellence platform, joins Liam to discuss what AI adoption actually looks like inside large organizations. Ian has spent 27 years at PwC and leads a global team of almost 10,000 practitioners focused on helping clients build stronger customer relationships and drive growth.
Ian explains why the biggest challenge with AI is not access to the technology, but getting people and business models to change with it. He shares why PwC sees a small group of companies capturing most of the value from AI, how leaders can reduce resistance to change, and why the number of agents deployed matters less than how the business itself evolves.
They also get into how Ian uses his own portfolio of AI agents, the shift toward voice-based interaction, and how agents can take over routine administrative work so teams can spend more time on higher-value customer relationships.
Key Topics Covered
Why Ian calls AI the biggest change of his 27-year career
Why 20% of companies are capturing 75% of the value from AI deployment
How leaders can overcome resistance to AI adoption
How PwC is embedding AI into its business model
How Ian uses his own portfolio of AI agents
Why AI agents should free people for higher-value work
The role of voice in the future of work
Why leaders need to explain the "why" behind AI transformation
Episode Timestamps
00:00 - Introduction and Ian's 27 years at PwC
02:15 - Why AI is the biggest change Ian has seen in his career
02:56 - Ian's role leading almost 10,000 practitioners at PwC
04:44 - Why continuous learning matters in a 175-year-old firm
06:08 - Why 20% of companies are capturing 75% of AI's value
07:57 - The role of culture and leadership in AI adoption
10:08 - Why Ian spends most of his time with clients and teams
11:06 - How PwC is embedding AI into its business model
12:55 - Using agents to free up higher-value capacity
14:17 - How Ian uses his own portfolio of AI agents
16:29 - Why leaders need to explain the "why" behind AI
18:28 - Career advice, mentorship and leading high-performing teams
Where to find Ian:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ianwkahn/
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