Artificial intelligence (AI) marks the next great crossroad for CEOs. Will they look at AI simply as a disruptive force that is overwhelming and overrated? Or will they see it as a powerful opportunity to reimagine and transform businesses and lives?
Two AI pioneers — YPO members Brandon Powell, CEO of HatchworksAI, and Rajeev Kapur, President and CEO at 1105 Media — are firmly based in the latter camp. Both are not only driving AI business strategies but also shaping conversations with executives, including speaking at YPO EDGE, the premier event of the world’s largest leadership community held in Sydney in February 2026.
Powell and Kapur recognize and emphasize that this digital revolution enables leaders and their teams to future-proof their businesses — unlocking more time, sharper focus and greater potential than ever before.
“AI has the power to transform not just businesses, but families and communities. The leaders who embrace it will be the ones who shape the future,” says Kapur, who recently was named No. 1 on Forbes’ Top 5 AI Leaders Bringing Artificial Intelligence to Everyone. Powell was No. 3 on the list.
This urgency to embrace AI into organizations is real, and the stakes are high. CEOs can’t wait on the sidelines — or they will fall far behind their competitors. Every industry has processes that can be enhanced by AI, Powell says. The difference between those who experiment now and those who wait “will define the competitive landscape in the years ahead,” he says.
Kapur believes many CEOs are at a beginner level when it comes to AI. They might have dabbled with ChatGPT, but they don’t yet understand how to weave AI into the core of their businesses. That’s where Kapur and Powell come in — they are helping CEOs address the most pressing decisions around AI, so they can lead with confidence and clarity.
Building a roadmap
Kapur calls AI “the greatest development for business and humanity since electricity.” But to benefit from it, CEOs must move from skepticism to experimentation and begin asking the questions: What should we do first? Where can AI create value in our company? How can we get buy-in from all of our employees?
Those questions can’t be answered by IT alone. The initiative must be led from the top, Kapur says. “AI isn’t an IT project,” he says. “It’s a business strategy.”
Roadmap is the key word for Powell, and he works directly with CEOs to design AI roadmaps tied to ROI and growth goals. “If you have a business plan, you should have an AI plan because AI is like water. It’s in every part of your business. It can impact every part of your business,” says Powell. The leaders who engage with AI, he says, will be the ones whose organizations thrive.
— Rajeev Kapur, President and CEO at 1105 Media share
Data is the fuel
When building that roadmap, Kapur says CEOs must focus on data, which he calls the “new oil” for AI success. “If your company doesn’t understand its data, it’s like building a skyscraper on sand,” he says. Businesses collect large amounts of information — on customers, supply chains, operations, etc. — but that data is often unorganized or underused. Cleaning it up and structuring it properly allows AI to provide meaningful insights, he says.
Once the data is ready, CEOs don’t need to understand coding or technical know-how to be successful with AI. Instead, they need to understand prompting — what to ask AI to do for you, Kapur says. Effective leaders will blend imagination and critical thinking to extract the best from AI systems. “The winners won’t be the ones who know the most about data science. They’ll be the ones who know how to ask the right questions,” he says.
Powell echoes the importance of data and prompting and recommends that when leaders begin building their roadmap, they should look for “low-hanging fruit” that yields quick ROI. Marketing automation, accounts payable or scheduling are the perfect places to start. “Quick wins build trust,” he says. “When employees see AI actually making their jobs easier rather than threatening them, they lean in instead of resisting.”
Distilling the fear
Kapur emphasizes that AI is not a replacement for humans, nor should it replace creativity, judgment or ethics. It’s a partner that amplifies. “AI won’t replace your intelligence,” he says. CEOs can’t outsource critical thinking to it and expect to be successful.
Powell said he’s seen organizations hesitate because they worry staff will push back, fearing job losses. But in practice, the opposite happens. “When employees see that automation relieves them of tedious tasks, they embrace it. They start asking, ‘What else can we automate?’”
The message CEOs need to share with their employees is: AI is not about cutting jobs. It’s about shifting human energy toward what humans do best.
The gift of time
With AI automation releasing people from mundane tasks, companies can focus their time and energy on customers and innovation. “It’s not about good versus bad with AI. It’s about how you use AI to accelerate both what you can do as a human and what you can do in your business,” Powell says.
Kapur calls AI “a multiplier. It multiplies your creativity, your strategic thinking, your leadership.”
Both pioneers are optimistic about what comes next — for themselves, AI and global businesses. “Every step you take builds capability for tomorrow. Start small; start now,” Powell says.
They emphasize one essential point — maybe the most important one: AI gives leaders and teams a powerful commodity and something no money can buy — time. It frees CEOs from spreadsheets, allowing them to focus on the bigger picture. It enables employees to replace repetitive chores for creative problem-solving. And it gives organizations the chance to channel their energy into what matters most — strategy, culture and growth.
And that is how organizations move forward and achieve lasting success.
YPO members can learn more about YPO EDGE 2026 and register here.
