Fun prediction: Slow travel and Cortina 2026

In this season premiere of The Data Chief podcast, host Cindi Howson sits down with three industry leaders to unpack what’s next for AI, and the concrete moves data and AI leaders need to make in 2026—many of which are detailed in ThoughtSpot’s Top Data & AI Trends of 2026 ebook.

Get ready for a deep dive into:

• Agentic AI goes mainstream with Paul Baier, CEO and Co-Founder of GAI Insights
• AI-ready data and the rise of the AI manager with Jennifer Belissent, Principal Data Strategist at Snowflake
• Scaling agents with trust and control with Rory Blundell, CEO of Gravitee

Consider this your field guide to navigating AI in 2026.

Key Moments:

• Agentic AI Goes Mainstream with Paul Baier, GAI Insights (1:50): Paul Baier, CEO and Co-Founder of GAI Insights, explains why enterprises that already have GenAI in production are pulling decisively ahead, how agentic AI is reshaping enterprise operating models, and why leadership alignment and AI literacy will determine winners in 2026.
• AI-Ready Data and the Rise of the AI Manager, Jennifer Belissent, Snowflake (19:16): Dr. Jennifer Belissent, Principal Data Strategist at Snowflake, breaks down why data quality, transparency, and governance remain the foundation of AI success, and why the next critical enterprise skill is learning how to manage AI agents as part of the workforce.
• Scaling Agents with Trust and Control with Rory Blundell, Gravitee (35:11): Rory Blundell, CEO of Gravitee, shares how the agentic era is redefining API integration, why most enterprises are stuck at early AI maturity stages, and how agent management and security frameworks will unlock real action in 2026.

Key Quotes:

• “Yo u have to treat AI as a capability and not an IT project.” - Paul Baier
• “ Transparency as a requirement is not slowing down adoption. It's actually accelerating it.” - Jennifer Belissent
• “My prediction is that companies that adopt robust security frameworks in 2026 will be the companies that accelerate fastest.” - Rory Blundell 

Mentions

• GAI Insights’ Corporate Buyers Guide to Enterprise Intelligence Applications
• Harvard Business Review: GAI Insights’ WINS Framework
• Gravitee’s AI Readiness Curve
• ThoughtSpot’s Top Data & AI Trends of 2026 ebook

Guest Bios 

Paul Baier

Mr. Baier is the CEO and principal analyst at GAI Insights. Mr Baier co-authored 4 articles about enterprise GenAI that were featured in Harvard Business Review and MIT Sloan Management Review. He was appointed an Executive Fellow at Harvard Business School and is a Forbes contributor. He is a seasoned software entrepreneur with two decades of experience and multiple exits. Related to AI, he was VP of Product at First Fuel Software, an enterprise AI company for 5 years. He holds an MBA from Harvard and a BA from Kenyon College.

Jennifer Belissent

As Principal Data Strategist, Jennifer advises Snowflake customers on data and AI strategy and best practices in building world-class organizations. Previously, she spent over a decade as a Forrester Analyst, and has held management positions in tech sales and marketing, designed urban policy programs, taught secondary school math as a Peace Corps volunteer, and earned a Ph.D. in political science from Stanford University and a B.A. in econometrics from the University of Virginia.

Rory Blundell

Rory Blundell is the CEO of Gravitee. He joined the company in March 2020, first as Chief Revenue Officer, before becoming CEO in September 2020. Prior to Gravitee, Blundell led SnapLogic's EMEA expansion from a technical sales perspective, overseeing significant growth in EMEA revenues over three years. Prior to SnapLogic, he was the CEO and founder of Velinko, a UK software and consultancy company for the legal and accounting sectors.

Hear more from Cindi Howson here. Sponsored by ThoughtSpot.