The Generative Edge

Not every AI success story starts with Generative AI. Sometimes it starts with a business problem that demands a different approach.

In this episode of The Generative Edge, Donovan Spronk and Tara [title to verify] are joined by Ben [surname and title to verify], who leads platform and architecture at a technology company created to commercialize banking capabilities originally developed within KBC Group. Together, they explore how a highly regulated financial services environment shapes decisions about AI, innovation, governance, and product development.

At the center of the conversation is an anti-money laundering platform designed to help financial institutions identify suspicious transactions at scale. Rather than adopting Generative AI as the foundation of the solution, the team combined deterministic rules, machine learning, and human expertise to build a system that prioritizes explainability, regulatory confidence, and operational performance.

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What does it really take to scale AI across an enterprise?

At the AWS Hamburg Summit, Donovan Spronk sits down with Kevin Barbian, Head of IT & Program Owner Retail of the Future at Mercedes-Benz, and Sebastian Wolff, Senior Manager for Platform Engineering & AI at Deloitte Germany, to explore how one of the world's most iconic brands is turning AI ambition into business reality.

The conversation goes beyond today's excitement around generative and agentic AI to uncover a critical lesson many organizations overlook: successful AI transformation starts long before the first AI use case is deployed. Kevin shares how Mercedes-Benz made a bold decision to invest in a unified platform strategy, consolidate data, and break down organizational silos, creating the capabilities that now enable AI innovation at scale.

Together, they discuss:

• Why a value-centric approach beats a cost-centric mindset when investing in technology platforms • How democratizing access to trusted data unlocked new opportunities across the business • The role of AI in enhancing customer and sales experiences across a highly complex product portfolio • Lessons learned from driving adoption, change management, and AI fluency across the organization • Balancing innovation, governance, and risk in a rapidly evolving technology landscape • Why courage, ambition, and long-term thinking remain essential leadership traits in the age of AI

Whether you're leading technology, operations, data, or business transformation, this episode offers practical insights into what it takes to create the conditions for AI success.

The key takeaway? The organizations creating AI advantage today are often the ones that invested in the right capabilities long before the opportunity became obvious.

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Not long ago, many executive conversations focused on whether AI was viable at all. Today, the more pressing question is who owns scaling it — and how.

In this episode of The Generative Edge, Donovan Spronk is joined by Alison Kay, Vice President & Managing Director for AWS UK & Ireland, for a conversation about what leaders are actually facing as AI moves from experimentation into the core of the enterprise.

Drawing on her work with organizations across industries, Alison shares a clear-eyed view of where AI initiatives tend to stall, why incremental efficiency gains rarely deliver lasting value, and what distinguishes leaders who successfully scale AI across their businesses. The discussion explores why AI has become a CEO-level agenda, why leadership — not technology — is often the limiting factor, and how working backwards from the customer helps organizations reimagine processes end to end.

Recorded live at AWS re:Invent, this episode reflects a moment where many leaders are recognizing that the next phase of AI transformation is less about tools and more about ownership, courage, and how leadership teams show up.

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"Set it and forget it" may have worked for traditional IT — but it breaks down in the age of GenAI.

In this episode of The Generative Edge, Donovan is joined by Natali Delić, Chief Strategy and Digital Officer at Telekom Srbija, to explore why GenAI and Agentic AI require organizations to fundamentally rethink how they design, run, and evolve their processes.

Natali challenges the assumption that AI's primary value lies in automating what already exists. Instead, she argues that real impact comes from reinventing processes end to end, supported by strong data foundations, continuous governance, and sustained leadership engagement. We discuss why AI behaves less like a static system and more like a living one — and what that shift means for operating models, middle management, and long-term value creation.

A practical, executive-level conversation for leaders looking to move beyond AI hype and toward responsible, sustainable transformation.

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Before AI can transform your business, you have to trust your data—and your people have to trust the AI.

Live from AWS Cloud Day in Prague, Ataccama CTO Martin Zahumensky joins Donovan Spronk (DT CE) and Vyasaraj Kulkarni (AWS EMEA) to unpack how data quality, Agentic AI, and engineering culture are colliding to reshape the future of enterprise AI.

From wrangling unstructured data to training AI agents that can choose the right datasets themselves, Martin shares how Ataccama helps global companies move from AI experiments to AI at scale.

We explore:

• Why data trust is the true foundation of AI success

• How Ataccama is making 85% of unstructured enterprise data usable

• What happens when leaders use AI to build solutions—no coding required

• How generative AI is transforming engineering culture and leadership

If you care about data, innovation, or the future of work—this episode will change how you think about all three.

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"We generated 450 AI initiatives — and killed them all."

That's how Szymon Myslinski, VP of Enterprise Architecture & Technology Transformation at Philip Morris International (PMI), describes the company's journey out of "pilot purgatory" and toward scaling AI for real impact.

Historically rooted in the tobacco industry, PMI is now evolving its strategy toward wellness, pharma, and consumer goods — with AI playing a central role. Szymon explains how the company moved from scattered experiments to a set of 8–10 scalable AI capabilities, and now into enterprise-wide process reimagination delivering measurable value.

Highlights include how PMI:

• Cut product rollout cycles from months to days with AI-enabled compliance.
• Embedded AI as standard infrastructure across the workforce.
• Shifted the focus from technology to people, process, and measurable outcomes.
• Learned to pivot fast, scaling only when value is clear.

Tune in to hear how PMI is breaking the habit of endless pilots and building an AI-powered future with global impact.

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What do burst pipes, predictive AI, and flushing toilets all have in common?

More than you'd think.

Live from the AWS Summit in Katowice, hosts Don and Vyas sit down with Grzegorz Karlik, Manager at MPWiK S.A. (Wrocław WaterWorks), for a mind-opening conversation about how one Polish city is reengineering 100-year-old infrastructure with modern AI.

From using machine learning to prevent leaks in a 5,000km underground network, to piloting generative AI for technical documentation—and even rolling out city-wide smart water meters—this episode reveals how digital transformation is redefining public utilities.

Whether you're into AI, sustainability, smart cities, or just want to appreciate the engineering behind your morning shower, this one's for you.

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Enterprise AI isn't theoretical anymore. The questions are sharper, the stakes are higher—and the boardroom is listening.

In this special episode, recorded live at AWS Summit Stockholm, two senior enterprise leaders—Tanuja Randery (Vice President & Managing Director, AWS EMEA) and Nishita Henry (Global Chief Commercial Officer for the Amazon Alliance, Deloitte)—share what they're hearing in the boardroom, and how they're helping organizations move from exploration to execution.

We unpack: • What's really driving executive urgency around GenAI • Why productivity, trust, and regulation are shaping every conversation • Real-world use cases from supply chain to mining safety to public sector innovation • How enterprises are thinking about agents, industrial AI, and AI with purpose

If you're navigating AI at scale—or guiding others who are—this episode brings clarity on what's next, and how to lead through it.

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What do you get when you mix five decades of tech experience, a front-row seat to every major shift in computing, and one of the most recognizable voices at AWS? You get Jeff Barr — and in this special bonus episode, we dive deep into his journey from the dawn of personal computing to the fast-moving frontier of Generative AI.

Jeff shares how GenAI fits into the larger story of software evolution, why today's developers need to unlearn old habits, and how the next big innovation might come from a silly experiment — like turning 1,400 selfies into a perfectly aligned GIF.

Tune in to hear:

• Why deterministic thinking no longer serves developers in the GenAI era

• How AI is changing software development, data strategy, and even executive decision-making

• Why the "apps" of tomorrow might be disposable — but the data must endure

• Jeff's advice for developers and execs on how to stay relevant: "Just start. Do something."

Whether you're an engineer, a business leader, or just AI-curious, this episode is packed with practical wisdom, thoughtful provocations, and the kind of long-view insight only Jeff Barr can offer.

Additional Resources:

• AWS News Blog

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Six months ago, The Generative Edge launched with one goal: demystify generative AI and help business leaders understand what it really takes to go from pilot to production.

Now, in our Season 1 finale, we're taking a beat to reflect on how far the GenAI landscape has come — and where it's headed next.

Join our hosts Donovan Spronk (Deloitte Central Europe), Vyasaraj Kulkarni (AWS), Brandon Eychaner (Deloitte Central Europe) and Executive Producers Ian Masters (AWS) and Stephanie Cohen (Deloitte Central Europe) as they revisit standout moments from the season, reflect on real-world client stories, and unpack key themes like:

• Why GenAI isn't "just another IT project" — it's a culture shift

• The move from generative to agentic and autonomous AI

• The persistent challenge of proving value in a hype-heavy space

• The role of data strategy, trust, and middle management in scaling GenAI

• And why "generate responsibly" is more than a sign-off — it's a strategy

We're also sharing a glimpse into what's ahead for Season 2, including more on-the-ground insights from clients, live episodes from industry summits, and fresh perspectives on building GenAI into the day-to-day.

Whether you're tuning in for the first time or have been riding the (Generative) Edge with us since episode one — thank you for listening!

👉 Season 2 is coming this fall. But don't worry — we're not going totally dark. We'll be dropping a few bonus episodes throughout the summer — think of them as little surprises from The Generative Edge to keep the conversation (and the momentum) going.

Until then… generate responsibly!

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