#55: AI and small businesses with Aparna Khurjekar, Verizon Business

We're seeing a fascinating paradox: while everyone's talking about AI's impact on Big Tech, it's quietly revolutionizing small businesses. Is this a sign that SMBs are more agile and adaptable than their enterprise counterparts, or is something else at play?

Agility requires not just adopting new technologies, but understanding how they fundamentally reshape your business operations, customer relationships, and even your competitive landscape. It's about being proactive, not reactive, in the face of rapid change. Verizon's sixth annual State of Small Business Survey - based on responses from 600 U.S. small and midsize business (SMBs) - reveals that SMBs are quickly emerging as real AI adopters, not just for marketing and chatbots, but for cybersecurity, employee retention, and customer experience (CX). Today, we're going to talk about the surprising ways that small and midsize businesses are embracing AI, and what larger enterprises can learn from their agility and innovative approaches.

To help me discuss this topic, I'd like to welcome, Aparna Khurjekar, Chief Revenue Officer, Business Markets and SaaS at Verizon Business. Aparna, welcome to the show!

About Aparna Khurjekar Aparna Khurjekar brings more than two decades' worth of experience in the telecommunications industry. As Chief Revenue Officer, Business Markets and SaaS for Verizon Business, she is responsible for the accelerating growth, revenue, go-to-market and business strategy, and helping to support mid-market wireless and wireline offerings, including Connect. She leads 6000 sales professionals, who guide customers through digitally transformed journeys with innovative managed solutions for total connectivity, communications, and collaboration. She and her Verizon team are focused on helping to accelerate the recovery of businesses throughout America leveraging the company's portfolio of technologies and connectivity solutions—from 5G, OneTalk, VerizonConnect, Fios and more.

Over the course of her 15-year tenure at Verizon, Aparna has held various leadership roles, most recently having served as SVP and President for Verizon Business Markets, and prior to that Chief Customer Officer for Verizon Consumer Group, which included guiding AI-led business transformations, omni-channel consumer experience and the digital P&l. She also brings extensive product development experience from both her work at Verizon and her previous position at Motorola Mobility, where she served as the Director of Portfolio & Technology Strategy.

She holds an MS in Electrical Engineering from Temple University and a B.S. in Electronics and Telecom from Savitribai Phule Pune University. Aparna Khurjekar on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aparna-khurjekar/ Resources Verizon Business: https://www.verizon.com/business/ https://www.verizon.com/business/ Catch the future of e-commerce at eTail Boston, August 11-14, 2025. Register now: https://bit.ly/etailboston and use code PARTNER20 for 20% off for retailers and brands

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