Now to Next: The Signal

As organizations everywhere race to adopt AI, what does it take to lead with humanity at the center?

In this episode of Now to Next, Jason Averbook sits down with Patricia Frost, Chief People and Places Officer at Seagate Technology, to discuss how leaders can build trust, courage, and connection in an era defined by technology.

Drawing from her 32-year career in the U.S. Army and her leadership of Seagate’s 30,000+ global employees, Patricia shares her lessons on leading with empathy through uncertainty — and how Seagate is helping every employee embrace the power of AI, without losing the human touch.

What happens when curiosity becomes the most powerful skill of the future?

In this episode of Now to Next, Jason sits down with Chris Maurio, Vice President of Solutions at Argano, to explore how AI is reshaping the way we work, parent, and think. From building his first database in HR to helping his six-year-old son design an app, Chris shares a deeply human perspective on innovation, digital literacy, and trust in an AI-powered world.

When the world changes faster than ever before — do we truly want exponential change, or are we still thinking in increments?

In this conversation, Jason Averbook sits down with Adam Holton, Chief People Officer at GE HealthCare, to explore what it really means to lead, coach, and stay human in an age defined by artificial intelligence. From his days as a Marine and basketball coach to his role leading one of the world’s most impactful healthcare organizations, Adam shares how curiosity, courage, and a willingness to “get dirty” with new technology are shaping the leaders of tomorrow.

How do we move from AI hype to real, useful change at work?

In this episode, Jason sits down with Johannes Sundlo, HR practitioner, speaker, and creator of FullStack HR, to unpack what “practical AI” really means for the future of work. A former HR leader at Spotify, Johannes shares how small, low-risk experiments can create big impact — and why curiosity is the most underrated skill for navigating constant change. From reskilling and automation to leading with experimentation, this episode offers a playbook for turning AI anxiety into action.

How do you lead with humanity when AI and automation are reshaping work?

What does belonging look like for frontline teams who rarely see HR?

In this episode Jason sits down with Mercedes Sullivan, Executive Vice President, People, Culture & Communications at McKinley Companies, to explore HR as a values-driven practice — not just tech. We talk about frontline workforce strategy, “projects → products” in HR, the ethical choice points of AI, and how leaders create belonging for people who’ve historically been left out of the HR conversation.

Mercedes brings a rare blend of front-line empathy and productized HR craft. A former touring tennis player turned HR transformation leader, she explains how HR can move from checkbox transactions to human-centered product thinking, why the frontline deserves a different technology playbook, and where AI helps — and where it must be restrained.

In this episode of Now to Next, Jason Averbook sits down with HR tech veteran Doug Berg, known as the “Kevin Bacon of HR Tech” for his deep connections across the industry. Doug shares his entrepreneurial journey—from building Techies.com during the dot-com boom, to founding Jobs2Web (later acquired by SAP/SuccessFactors), to creating ZapInfo (acquired by Indeed), and now his latest venture, Match 2, which aims to fix one of recruiting’s biggest problems: the broken candidate experience.

Doug and Jason dive into why candidates still face repetitive, siloed processes, how companies lose great talent through poor systems, and why the future of talent acquisition must flip from job-first to candidate-first.

In this episode, Jason sits down with Dr. Tomas Chamorro, psychologist, author, and Chief Innovation Officer at ManpowerGroup, to explore the provocative themes from his upcoming book Why Authenticity is Overrated. Tomas shares insights from decades of research on leadership, psychology, and human behavior—challenging the popular notion that “being yourself” is always the best advice.

From the dark side of authenticity to the impact of AI on human identity and trust, this conversation unpacks what authenticity really means in today’s workplace. Tomas argues that our obligation to others often outweighs our right to self-expression, and that the path to better leadership lies in self-control, perspective-taking, and compromise.

In this episode of Now to Next, host Jason Averbook sits down with Dr. Thomas Otter — General Partner at Acadian Ventures, longtime product leader, and one of the most outspoken thinkers in HR technology.

From his career at SAP and Gartner to co-founding a VC fund, Thomas has a unique vantage point on where HR tech has been and where it’s heading. Using golf bags, buffets, and a splash of wine metaphors, he and Jason break down acquisitions, AI, and the realities of building for the future of work.

This isn’t hype — it’s a candid look at what’s really happening inside the industry, who’s likely to thrive, and which players may become roadkill on the way to reinvention.

In this special solo episode of Now to Next, host Jason Averbook launches a new series — Questions from the Edge — where he takes on the toughest, most forward-looking questions from the community about HR, AI, and the future of work.

Throughout the episode, Jason makes it clear: this isn’t an incremental shift — it’s a collapse moment. The winners will be those who design for intent, agent, and workflow rather than clinging to platform, process, and user.

He leaves listeners with a powerful reminder: In the AI era, trust is the true competitive advantage. The technology can scale instantly, but belief and confidence cannot.

In this conversation with Shlomit, we cut past the surface of “AI in HR” and get to what really matters: wisdom, judgment, and the human side of transformation.