The AI Report Live with Liam Lawson

In this engaging conversation, Ryan Gavin, CMO of Slack and a visionary in product-led growth, discusses the transformative impact of AI on team dynamics. He emphasizes the need for self-awareness in leadership to effectively manage digital coworkers. Ryan highlights the shift from employees as doers to orchestrators, and how embracing AI can supercharge productivity. He also shares insights on reducing anxiety around AI integration, the importance of curiosity in career development, and the power of focusing on mastering your current role.

Nick Johnston, Senior VP of Strategic Partnerships at Salesforce, shares insights on closing 12,500 Agentforce deals. He discusses the importance of low ego, high curiosity, and grit in hiring for partnership teams. Nick emphasizes building customer-driven partnerships with tech giants like OpenAI and highlights how living in Buenos Aires enriched his relationship skills. He reveals how AI tools help frame partnerships, and shares career advice for aspiring professionals to prioritize customer-facing roles. His passion for team success over individual accolades shines through.

Quinn Favret, co-founder of Tavus and expert in human computing, and Hassaan Raza, also a co-founder focusing on product and culture, explore the fascinating intersection of AI and human interaction. They discuss pioneering 'human computing,' teaching AI to understand human nuances like tone and body language. The duo introduces Tavus Pals, proactive AI companions designed for real-world applications in therapy and education. They also emphasize ethical AI design and the importance of hiring a culturally diverse team to enhance accessibility and reduce biases.

Join Nancy Xu, an AI leader at Salesforce and former startup founder, as she shares her innovative approach to building AI agents. She discusses her unique hiring methods that prioritize curiosity and passion. Nancy predicts a future where workers transition from producers to directors, utilizing AI for execution. She emphasizes the importance of collaboration between agents and the role of humans in shaping AI objectives. With a focus on trust and autonomy, Nancy paints an inspiring vision for how AI can redefine work and enhance customer experiences.

Rohit Khanna, Chief Customer Officer at Smarsh, discusses the transformative impact of AI in customer service, particularly through the Agentforce 360 Platform. He reveals how 'Archie,' the personalized AI agent, helped achieve a remarkable 56% deflection rate in customer support without increasing staff. Rohit dives into building proprietary compliance models for financial services, the importance of data governance, and the future where AI agents manage themselves. He also highlights strategies for fostering user trust and the essential shift towards upskilling human employees.

Subscribe to the newsletter — https://newsletter.theaireport.ai/subscribeBook Enterprise Training — https://www.upscaile.com/Salesforce CMO Ariel Kelman reveals how customer-centric marketing, AI agents, and trust shape the future of enterprise technology. Learn leadership lessons from Amazon, MicroStrategy, and building marketing teams that embrace AI innovation at scale.In this exclusive interview recorded at Dreamforce, Ariel Kelman—President and Chief Marketing Officer at Salesforce—shares his journey from data warehouse consultant to leading marketing at one of the world's most influential enterprise software companies. Discover how the "have you talked to customers" philosophy from Amazon's Andy Jassy transformed his approach to B2B marketing, and why trust has become the cornerstone of successful AI agent deployment.Ariel breaks down the evolution of AgentForce, Salesforce's AI agent platform, and explains why enterprise AI requires more than impressive demos—it demands accuracy, security, and customer success at scale. You'll learn practical insights about hiring for intellectual curiosity over technical skills, building transparent resource allocation systems, and why failure is "the inseparable twin sister of innovation."⏱️ TIMESTAMPS:0:00 - Introduction1:03 - From Data Warehouse Consultant to CMO: Career Journey2:50 - Andy Jassy's Customer-First Philosophy at Amazon4:08 - The Foundation of Customer Success in Marketing5:46 - Trust, CRM, AI, and Data: The Four Pillars7:20 - Building Trust as a Marketing Leader8:56 - Introducing AI Agents to Enterprise Customers10:31 - What Trust Really Means in AI12:02 - President + CMO: The Dual Role Explained13:11 - Training Teams Through Inspiration, Not Just Education14:52 - Hiring for Intellectual Curiosity and Humility17:04 - Creating a Culture Where Failure Leads to Innovation18:45 - How Leaders Use AI Daily at Salesforce20:09 - The Joy of Product Marketing20:50 - Why Do You Do What You Do?💡 KEY TAKEAWAYS:Why customer obsession beats technology-first marketing every timeHow to build trust in AI agents for enterprise deploymentThe hiring questions that reveal intellectual curiosity and low egoWhy 95% accuracy isn't good enough for customer-facing AIHow Salesforce uses 17 customer success stories to market AgentForceThe difference between consumer AI and enterprise AI grounded in dataWhy transparency in resource allocation builds team trust🎤 ABOUT ARIEL KELMAN:Ariel Kelman is the President and Chief Marketing Officer at Salesforce, where he leads global marketing strategy for CRM, AI, and enterprise technology solutions. Previously, he held leadership roles at Amazon Web Services, Oracle, and MicroStrategy, bringing over 20 years of experience in B2B technology marketing and sales engineering.📢 RELATED VIDEOS:Mia Jordan, GTM AI Executive at Salesforce (https://youtu.be/pFOAlZNL_U0?si=2BMuatBIpC0biXZ0)Saket Srivastava, Asana CIO (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TryfgNj3D4&t=1s)🏢 ABOUT THIS SERIES:This interview is part of our Dreamforce leadership series, featuring conversations with C-suite executives shaping the future of enterprise technology, AI innovation, and customer experience.#Salesforce #CMO #AIAgents #AgentForce #MarketingLeadership #EnterpriseAI #B2BMarketing #CustomerSuccess #TrustInAI #Dreamforce #TechLeadership #ProductMarketing #CRM #AIInnovation #MarketingStrategy

⚡️ Enterprise Training — upscaile.com🤝 Join the Newsletter — newsletter.theaireport.ai/subscribeIn this episode, we delve into AI in government transformation, digital innovation in the public sector, and the future of work in an AI-driven world. Our guest, Mia Jordan — a former Chief Information Officer (CIO) turned AI GTM Executive at Salesforce — reveals how artificial intelligence, automation, and data-driven decision-making are powering the next wave of digital transformation in government. She shares insights on how public-sector innovation, customer experience (CX), and platform thinking are redefining how agencies operate. You’ll learn how AI strategy, leadership, organizational culture, and AI skills training enable smarter, more connected systems — shaping the next generation of digital government, enterprise AI adoption, and citizen-centric service delivery.We dive into:1. How government can use AI to deliver citizen-first services and customer-like experiences2. Why CIOs are central to blending IT, business, and AI strategy across large organizations3. The “platform mindset” — building once and scaling across multiple departments4. How AI can shorten onboarding time and make training radically more efficient5. Practical steps for employees and leaders to upskill with free AI training (Trailhead)6. Building a learning culture where AI adoption starts from the top down7. Career advice for recent grads entering the AI-driven workforceChapters00:00:00 Intro – The art of authentic conversation00:01:00 How to design government systems that treat citizens like customers00:03:00 CIO insights: blending business, IT, and AI00:05:00 The future of work and how AI is changing employee roles00:06:30 How to learn AI fast – Trailhead and free upskilling00:07:40 The value of grunt work in the age of automation00:09:30 AI onboarding: training employees faster and smarter00:10:40 Culture and leadership in successful AI adoption00:12:10 AI learning cohorts: building confidence and curiosity00:14:30 Measuring AI success: education, engagement, and feedback loops00:15:30 Lessons from government and innovation inside Salesforce00:17:40 What new grads should learn from sales and relationship building00:19:10 Why she does what she does – being a catalyst for change📬 Get in TouchLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/not-the-f1-driver-liam-lawson/Mia Jordan — https://www.linkedin.com/in/mia-jordan-07192852/

Connect with Saket Srivastava: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saket-srivastava-84069711/👉 Asana CIO Saket Srivastava joins Liam Lawson to unpack why the future is about **collaboration over autonomy** in AI. He shares how Asana’s Work Graph underpins AI features like Smart Chat, AI Studio, and the new **AI Teammates** (with human-in-the-loop checkpoints and enterprise controls), and explains the evolving role of the CIO from back-office technologist to strategy co-creator. Saket gets specific on IT–HR partnership for AI transformation, surveying employee readiness, building an internal AI council, balancing experimentation with measurable impact, and coaching teams through change. They also tackle job displacement realistically, discuss building an AI-first culture, and end with Saket’s personal motivations, strengths, and where he’d improve.📚 Chapters00:00 Welcome & setup01:31 What Asana is & the CIO role04:39 How the CIO role changed from 2024 → 202506:11 What makes a great CIO (three-level framework)09:15 What are Asana AI Teammates?12:42 Why autonomy isn’t the goal; context, checkpoints, control14:48 Asana’s AI suite (Smart Chat, AI Studio, Teammates)15:04 The Work Graph model & “pyramid of clarity”18:31 Human-in-the-loop in practice (IT ticketing, campaign strategist)20:50 Natural-language collaboration & explainability22:01 Where AI Teammates underperform & the data hurdle25:30 Change management & the IT–HR partnership29:08 Baseline survey: excited-but-stuck employees32:14 Bottom-up innovation + top-down direction33:39 AI council, show-and-tells, and grassroots adoption36:12 Balancing innovation with impact (don’t kill experiments with ROI)37:24 Addressing fear vs. optimism; why leaning in matters40:08 Generational readiness & learning paths43:03 The future of work: augmentation over dystopia44:31 Saket beyond tech; problem-solving DNA46:45 Strengths & what he’d improve as a leader48:59 Why Saket does what he does📰 Join the Newsletter: [https://newsletter.theaireport.ai/subscribe]⭐️ Get Enterprise Training: [https://www.upscaile.com/corporate-training]

Josh Furstoss, founder of Spinout Studios and former CEO of Incued, shares a riveting journey from cleaning up in a grocery store to spearheading tech startups. He discusses the eye-opening lessons from his early corporate life and his passion for financial transparency in fintech. Josh explains the unique potential of the Midwest for robotics innovation, emphasizing niche markets and the importance of founders with deep knowledge. He also reflects on redefining success and how technology creation is his artistic expression.

Cory B, founder of BluMOSA and Linked Agency, specializes in scaling operations and virtual assistant teams. In this conversation, Cory shares his entrepreneurial journey, emphasizing the importance of personal branding and team culture. He discusses how he rapidly scaled to 36 virtual assistants using AI and efficient systems. Reflecting on risk management, he highlights the balance of being self-focused for effective leadership. Cory also expresses optimism about AI’s role in enhancing work efficiency and opening new entrepreneurial doors.