Imagine This...

Andrej Levin, a BCG Managing Director and Partner, shares insights on how large language models (LLMs) will revolutionize car buying. He discusses the challenge of finding unbiased product recommendations amidst sponsored content and how AI can empower consumers to make informed decisions. Levin highlights the importance of automakers maintaining accessible data for LLMs and warns legacy brands of their need to adapt to avoid losing customer loyalty. He also explores the potential of vehicle sensors for personalized recommendations and how AI is reshaping financing in the automotive industry.

AI is creating greater customer personalization, but a far more fundamental change is coming. Over the next decade, it will break down silos across organizations and give CMOs always-on access to better, deeper, and far more comprehensive information. In this episode, BCG’s Janet Balis explores how this will fundamentally change CMOs’ decision making. They will no longer focus exclusively on marketing campaigns; rather, they’ll broaden their oversight to delivering business outcomes—and they’ll do it by leading a holistic, company-wide transformation.  Learn More: Janet Balis: https://on.bcg.com/46NNawp BCG’s Latest Thinking on Marketing and Sales: https://on.bcg.com/4pJwe2u BCG on the Media and Entertainment Industry: https://on.bcg.com/4mBDECp Chapters: 00:00-02:14 The scenario: AI in marketing 02:15-03:59 How are marketing departments currently using AI? 04:00-05:36 How can AI drive personalization? 05:37-08:10 How will companies use AI to create content? 08:11-11:35 How will AI change the way the C-suite makes decisions? 11:36-13:32 Who owns the customer experience in the future? 13:33-15:15 Should the CMO lead AI transformations? 15:15-15:43 Break 15:43-19:35 How will AI change the way data is presented? 19:36-21:23 What cultural and structural changes are holding companies back? 21:24-23:06 What skills will be needed to succeed in the future? 23:07-24:47 Will companies need to rethink incentives? 24:48-26:23 What can CEOs do today to prepare? 26:24-29:49 Bill and GENE: Creating a vibe marketing campaign 29:50-30:33 Outro This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp

Phillip Andersen, a BCG Managing Director and Senior Partner, shares his insights on the future of sales with AI agents. He discusses how these agents could transform sales strategies, enabling firms to reach previously untapped customers. Andersen highlights the potential for AI to negotiate transactions autonomously and build relationships by understanding client needs. He emphasizes the need for human oversight in AI negotiations while exploring the evolution of sales roles and skills required to manage AI effectively.

Who Wants to Be a CEO? The role of the CEO is both powerful and punishing. Christine Barton, BCG’s CEO Advisory lead in North America, explores how to make the job more fulfilling. It starts with clarity of purpose, building the right leadership team, and minimizing activities that are time and energy sinkholes.  Learn More: The So What from BCG: https://lnk.to/so-what-general-show10Christine Barton: https://on.bcg.com/4n4CyAk BCG’s Insights for CEOs: https://on.bcg.com/4l6jujg Moves Only a CEO Can Make: https://on.bcg.com/4kUtpJ2 Balancing a Dynamic Career and a Rewarding Personal Life: https://on.bcg.com/3TfaYTz This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp

Quantum computers harness the almost mystical properties of subatomic particles to solve problems that are beyond even the most powerful “classical” computers available today. Will these computers usher in a new generation of custom pharmaceuticals and sustainable materials—or will they be used to crack every password and create global chaos? BCG’s Antoine Gourévitch imagines the coming age of quantum computers and dives deep into ways they could supercharge the discovery of new materials. But the quantum age comes with huge risks as well; governments around the world are already racing to develop quantum-safe passwords that will keep our data secure. Learn More: Antoine Gourévitch: https://on.bcg.com/4hMrXaQ BCG on Quantum Computing: https://on.bcg.com/3AGK415  GenAI on GenAI: https://link.chtbl.com/bcg-genai-on-genai?sid=IT CEO Digest: https://link.chtbl.com/ceo-digest-bcg-show?sid=IT CEO Moments of Truth: https://on.bcg.com/ITMoT This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp

While discussions of US tariff policies dominated Q2 earnings calls to an unprecedented degree, another equally important trend is bubbling just under the surface in C-suites and on trading floors: concern that the economic uncertainty caused by tariff turmoil may lead to a downturn. That’s the conclusion of the third edition of the CEO Radar—a tool to help CEOs determine which issues truly deserve their time and attention. It unpacks the leading topics discussed on more than 4,500 earnings calls worldwide in Q2 2025, enabling chief executives to compare their agendas to those of their peers, and to the market’s expectations. On this episode of the CEO Radar Podcast, Edward Adams of Bloomberg Media Studios is joined by BCG Global Chair Rich Lesser and Mai-Britt Poulsen, Global Leader of BCGs Consumer & Retail Practice, to discuss how CEOs can build their resilience. Listen to CEO Radar: https://sponsored.bloomberg.com/immersive-story/bcg/the-ceo-radar-q3-2025 This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp

By the year 2035, we will likely be able to utilize AI to crunch complex data sets and produce far more accurate predictions of the future, for everything from stock market fluctuations to consumer trends. Already, meteorologists are using AI to improve weather forecasting—for instance, by more accurately predicting when a hurricane will make landfall. But BCG’s Alan Iny says this does not mean that business leaders will be able to dispense with planning for multiple scenarios. Predictions will never be perfect—and everyone will have access to the same tools—so strategic planning will remain critical even as it evolves in new ways. Learn More: Alan Iny: https://on.bcg.com/4fCNDo5Are Leaders as Prepared for Strategic Risks as They Think They Are?: https://on.bcg.com/3AXqw8J BCG on Corporate Finance and Strategy: https://on.bcg.com/496c3Ek CEO Moments of Truth: https://on.bcg.com/ITMoT GenAI on GenAI: https://link.chtbl.com/bcg-genai-on-genai?sid=IT CEO Digest: https://link.chtbl.com/ceo-digest-bcg-show?sid=IT This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp

What can ancient Greek myths teach us about modern leadership? Kirsten Rulf has spent her career at the intersection of tech, policy, and public service. In this episode, Kirsten shares how she found clarity in moments of uncertainty, why AI presents a major opportunity for the public good, and what it was like helping shape the EU’s landmark tech legislation. Kirsten is a Partner and Associate Director at BCG. Before joining BCG, she advised German Chancellor Angela Merkel and served as head of digital policy in the German government, playing a key role in negotiating Europe’s AI and data laws.  Listen to In Her Ellement: https://lnk.to/bcg-in-her-ellement-series-link04  [1:26] A Big Win, Then The Hard Work Follows [05:21] Potential of AI in Public Sector [08:56] Roots In Ovid’s Metamorphosis [12:09] From Journalism to CyberSecurity [14:14] A Phone Call from Angela Merkel [13:48] Navigating Career Changes and Mentorship [19:23] “Hope is not a strategy” [22:16] Reflections This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp

Apps were supposed to make life easier to navigate, but they often create more complexity. Planning a trip can involve hundreds of digital touchpoints over several months. But new advances–especially the growth of AI agents–coupled with ambient and voice-recognition technology, could make apps obsolete. BCG’s Dutch MacDonald imagines a world where, for example, we could just have a conversation with our personal AI assistant about our dream vacation and it could do all the planning and booking for us. Learn More: Dutch:https://on.bcg.com/4k3Hy5s How AI Agents Are Opening the Golden Era of Customer Experience: https://on.bcg.com/4ndwK7K BCG’s Latest Thinking on AI: https://on.bcg.com/3ZMzmj0 This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp

The pharmaceutical industry has yet to develop highly effective treatments for common chronic and neurological issues, like Alzheimer’s and cardiovascular disease. But GenAI promises to accelerate the discovery and development of breakthrough treatments. BCG’s Priya Chandran explores possible new approaches and how breakthrough drugs can be made more affordable and more available to the patients who need them. Learn More: Priya Chandran: https://on.bcg.com/3ZZO5ad BCG’s Latest Thinking on the Health Care Industry: https://on.bcg.com/4kFxhxH Biopharma Trends 2025: https://on.bcg.com/4mX6CxN  This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp