General Managers must own AI, not CIOs or CTOs. A new report from Bain & Company reveals a sharp divide: while most companies are stuck in "pilot purgatory," a small group of AI leaders are securing 10–25% gains in EBITDA. The difference isn't the software, it's the strategy.

Shazrul Asari and Dhruva Murugasu, Partners at Bain & Company, join us to explain why scaling AI requires a fundamental business transformation rather than just "sprinkling AI on top" (like adding extra sambal to Nasi Lemak). We explore why plugging AI into old workflows is like driving a supercar in a traffic jam, and why the rise of "Agentic AI" demands a total rethink of the organisational chart.

We discuss:

• The Divide: Why leaders achieve scale while others get stuck in sheltered pilots.

• Workflow Redesign: Why you must decommission old processes, not just layer AI on top.

• Agentic AI: The structural shift from "digital helpers" to "digital workers" that act autonomously.

• The Talent Trap: How to prevent the "hollowing out" of junior roles via augmented apprenticeships.

• CEO Advice: Why momentum matters more than perfection in the race to scale.

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As the year winds down, cyber attackers are gearing up. Semperis’ 2025 Ransomware Holiday Risk Report reveals that over half of ransomware attacks hit during weekends or holidays, when most organisations sharply reduce monitoring and response capability. With identity systems at the heart of almost every major breach, and with global cybercrime costs set to reach USD 10.5 trillion, the stakes have never been higher.

Jeff Wichman, Director of Incident Response at Semperis, discusses what really happens when attackers strike, why identity weaknesses amplify the damage, and what frontline ransomware negotiations can teach business leaders. A grounded, visual, and highly practical conversation on how every organisation – from SMEs to large enterprises – can strengthen resilience before the next holiday season.

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By 2026, cybercrime will no longer just be a service, it will be a fully automated industry . Trend Micro predicts a seismic shift where autonomous AI agents can scout targets, infiltrate systems, steal data, and even negotiate ransoms without a single human finger on the keyboard .

Sage Khor, Technical Lead at Trend Micro, joins us to break down this AI-fication of cybercrime . He explains the dangers of "machine-speed" attacks hitting organizations that still respond at "human speed" , the rise of "poisoned" AI models that trick systems into ignoring threats , and why Malaysia saw a 29% spike in data breaches in early 2025.

We discuss:

• The 2026 Prediction: How cybercrime moves from "as-a-service" to fully automated factories .

• Machine Speed vs. Human Speed: Why traditional defenses can't keep up with AI agents .

• Poisoned AI Models: How attackers "teach" AI to ignore dangerous threats

• The Cloud Risk: Why simple misconfigurations are often more dangerous than zero-day exploits .

• Resilience Strategy: Why the focus must shift from blocking every attack to rapid containment and "cyber risk exposure management"

Related & Mentioned Podcasts

• Rise of the Agentic Enterprise: AI That Plans & Act

• The 7 Sins of Enterprise AI Investment

• Handling the Hack: The 4 Rules of Crisis Comms 

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AI is changing how businesses operate and how they get attacked. Palo Alto Networks’ 2026 New Rules of Cybersecurity Report highlights six major shifts that will redefine cyber risk, from deepfake identity deception, rogue autonomous agents to data poisoning, quantum threats and even the browser becoming the new workspace.

We speak with Sarene Lee, Country Director for Malaysia at Palo Alto Networks, about what these predictions mean for Malaysian businesses, where the blind spots are, and how leaders can prepare to stay secure in the AI economy.

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We are in the middle of an AI gold rush, driven by FOMO and massive capital expenditure. Yet, a recent MIT report reveals a startling statistic: 95% of Generative AI pilots fail to deliver measurable business impact. Why is the failure rate so high?

Prashant Kumar, Founder of Entermind, joins us to discuss his new white paper, "The Seven Original Sins of AI Investment."

He argues that the problem isn't the technology, it's the lack of "orchestration" between people, workflows, and data. We unpack why companies are failing to scale their AI pilots and why the next competitive moat won't be data, but human instinct and creativity.

We discuss:

• The 95% Failure Rate: Why most AI pilots are built for demos, not the "messy reality" of the work floor.

• Sin #1: The danger of forcing AI into legacy workflows instead of redesigning them.

• Sin #4: "If you own the house, you are owned by the house", the trap of building everything in-house.

• Sin #7: "Training brains you don't own", the risk of feeding proprietary data into public models.

• The Future Moat: Why "Human Deviation" and empathy will matter more than data.

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We’ve spent the last two years learning to talk to AI. Now, we’re entering the era of "Agentic AI", systems that can plan, execute, and act on their own. But are we ready to manage digital employees and what happens if they make mistakes?

Huy Nguyen-Tuong, Managing Director at BCG, joins us to discuss the "Agentic Turn." He explains why adding AI to old workflows ("paving the cow path") is a recipe for disaster, how to balance supervision with autonomy, and why leaders must bring the "shadow workforce" of secret AI use into the light.

We discuss:

• Agentic AI: The shift from AI that talks to AI that does.

• The "Shadow Workforce": Managing the risk of employees using AI in secret.

• Governance: Why humans must remain liable for agent actions.

• Workflow Redesign: Why you need to rethink processes from scratch, not just automate them.

• The Talent Trap: How to prevent the hollowing out of junior skills.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

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For decades, Malaysia’s progress has been measured by GDP and economic data. But a new study by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) flips the lens to focus on what Malaysians actually dream of. The findings? Financial freedom and mental well-being are now prioritised almost equally, signaling a shift in national sentiment.

Nurlin Mohd Salleh, Head of BCG Malaysia, joins us to unpack the "MY Impian" report. 

She discusses the four key Malaysian archetypes, (from "Harmony Seekers" to "Go-Getters"), the surprisingly humble definition of financial freedom, and why the dominance of well-being-focused aspirations might create a gap with the nation's high-growth economic goals.

We discuss:

• Why financial freedom and mental well-being are neck-and-neck as top priorities.

• The 4 Malaysian archetypes: Harmony Seekers, Providers, Legacy Makers, & Go-Getters.

• Why 60% of the population prioritising well-being could impact national innovation.

• The "Go-Getter" Gen Z: Are we doing enough to nurture their ambition?

• The gig worker's dilemma: balancing flexibility with a lack of safety nets.

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Asia is no longer rising in unison. According to Nomura’s latest Asia Macro Outlook 2026: Mind the Gap, a sharp "North-South divide" is emerging, driven by the AI supercycle and shifting supply chains. While tech-heavy economies ride the wave, others risk being left behind.

Euben Paracuelles, Chief ASEAN Economist at Nomura, joins us to unpack this bifurcation. 

He explains why Malaysia is positioned as a clear "winner" with a forecasted 5.2% GDP growth, the potential impact of US transshipment tariffs, and his contrarian prediction that Bank Negara Malaysia may be the only central bank in the region (outside Japan) to hike rates in 2026.

We discuss:

• The North-South Divide: Why Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia are decoupling from laggards like Thailand and Indonesia.

• The AI Supercycle: Why Nomura believes this is a sustainable structural shift, not a bubble.

• The 'Second China Shock': How overcapacity in China is flooding markets with cheap goods and who is most vulnerable.

• Malaysia’s Outlook: The catalysts behind the 5.2% growth forecast, including the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone.

• A Contrarian Call: Why financial imbalances could trigger a Bank Negara rate hike in late 2026.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

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For years, many companies have treated Southeast Asia as a single, monolithic consumer market. But new research from Milieu Insight reveals a more complex reality: the region is actually split into three distinct "consumer economies," each with its own unique mindset, pressures, and motivations.

CEO Sundip Chahal joins us to unpack the findings of their latest consumer outlook report. He explains the "stressed digital" behavior in markets like Indonesia and Vietnam, the disciplined "strategic comfort" of Singapore and Malaysia, and how a simple question about spending $100 can reveal the financial pulse of an entire nation.

We discuss:

• Why Southeast Asia is fragmented into three distinct consumer economies.

• The "Stressed Digital" segment: why inflation isn't stopping spending in Indonesia and Vietnam.

• The "Strategic Comfort" segment: how Malaysians balance optimism with disciplined value-hunting.

• The "$100 Question": a simple pressure test that reveals consumer sentiment.

• Why a uniform regional pricing or promotional strategy is destined to fail.

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When we talk about global success stories, BYD stands out as the classic underdog. Once dismissed by Elon Musk as “not even in the same league,” it’s now the world’s largest EV maker, a brand that’s not just selling cars, but reshaping how Chinese innovation is perceived around the world. Yet its rise wasn’t only about technology or pricing; it was a masterclass in storytelling. According to new research by CARMA, the global media narrative around BYD was driven by its credibility, its leadership, and its sense of purpose. So what can Asian brands learn from China’s global underdog? Jeremiah Rodrigues, General Manager at CARMA Malaysia joins us to explore all that and more.

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