#542 Human First Technology: Wesley Eugene on AI, Leadership, and the New Experience Era

In this powerful conversation, Wesley Eugene, SVP North America at HIT Global, joins Mehmet to explore a new framework for technology leadership. They go deep into human centered design, why digital transformations fail, how AI forces us to rethink what it means to work, and why empathy is now a competitive advantage.

Wesley draws from years of experience in digital transformation, design thinking, and ITIL modernization. He shares the hidden gaps in traditional IT practices, the philosophical questions AI forces us to ask, and the skills leaders must build to stay relevant in the coming decade.

This episode is a thoughtful, practical, and timely reminder that technology is at its best when it elevates people.

👤 About Wesley Eugene

Wesley Eugene is the SVP North America at HIT Global, an organization focused on humanizing IT through integrated human centered design. Wesley has led major digital transformation programs, advised global enterprises, and worked alongside design pioneers including Ideal’s leadership team. He champions a future where technology is designed around people, not processes, and where AI augments human potential instead of replacing it.

🔥 Key Takeaways

• Most digital transformations fail because leaders lose sight of purpose and experience.

• True transformation is a business transformation, not a tech project.

• Technology without humanity becomes vanity and often leads to harm.

• The experience layer is becoming the most important layer in the tech stack.

• AI should serve as human augmentation rather than human replacement.

• Leaders must invest in empathy, storytelling, creativity, and curiosity.

• Regulation is not the enemy of innovation. It is the brake that lets innovation go fast safely.

• The rise of AI forces society to rethink work, value, consciousness, and what it means to be human.

• Creativity still happens when we disconnect. Nature remains the best CPU upgrade.

🎧 What You Will Learn

• Why human centered design is the missing link in IT and AI.

• The root causes of failed digital transformations across industries.

• How to build a purpose driven technology strategy that unites the whole company.

• Why every tech leader must become a storyteller.

• How to prepare your teams for the AI era.

• The ethical, environmental, and human considerations AI leaders must prioritize.

• Why curiosity is the most underrated leadership skill in tech today.

⏱️ Episode Highlights (Timestamps)

00:00 Welcome and intro

01:00 The mission behind HIT Global and humanizing IT

04:00 Lessons from IDEO, design thinking, and rapid prototyping

07:00 Why technology needs to be humanized now

10:00 The experience layer and the future of value creation

13:00 Why digital transformations fail

16:00 The story of buy in and the NASA janitor

18:00 Chasing tech vs transforming the business

21:00 Why IT is misunderstood and how to fix it

27:00 TBM and the importance of storytelling in tech

30:00 The promise of AI and the threat of losing the human

33:00 The seatbelt metaphor for responsible innovation

38:00 AI leaders, risk, and accountability

45:00 What AI forces us to confront about humanity

50:00 AI as human augmentation, not replacement

56:00 The skills leaders need for the next decade

59:00 Creativity, nature, and switching off screens

01:03 Final advice and how to learn more from HIT Global

📚 Resources Mentioned

• HIT Global Services: https://www.hitglobal.services/

• Human Centered Design for IT Service Management by Katrina McDermott

• IDEO and the history of the Apple Mouse

• TBM Council (Technology Business Management Framework)

• Humanizing AI Certification at HIT Global

• LinkedIn profile of Wesley Eugene: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wesleyeugene/