Meet the Leader

How to Lead People Through AI Change: Questions to Ask from a Transformation Expert

May 18, 2026

 • 30 mins

Are you building game-changing AI solutions? Or just automating low-stakes work that makes the “irrelevant efficient"? Nigel Vaz, Publicis Sapient’s CEO and a digital transformation expert, talked to Meet The Leader to explain why many AI strategies fall short and what's needed to lead teams through technological change. In this episode, Vaz shares the questions that can refine your strategic discussions on AI and help close the gap between AI expectations and results. He also shares why the hardest part of AI transformation is often people — not technology – and what helps teams transition.

Are you building game-changing AI solutions? Or just automating low-stakes work that makes the “irrelevant efficient"? Nigel Vaz, Publicis Sapient’s CEO and a digital transformation expert, talked to Meet The Leader to explain why many AI strategies fall short and what's needed to lead teams through technological change. In this episode, Vaz shares the questions that can refine your strategic discussions on AI and help close the gap between AI expectations and results. He also shares why the hardest part of AI transformation is often people — not technology – and what helps teams transition.

How leaders can fix focus and happiness in an AI Era: Psychologist Jonathan Haidt

May 4, 2026

 • 22 mins

As tech and AI transform productivity and free us from rote work, will humanity finally crack happiness? Maybe not, warns Jonathan Haidt. This social psychologist, NYU professor and bestselling author of The Anxious Generation has spent years studying the links between happiness, technology, and societal change. Unless key steps are taken, he says, the technologies transforming work and communication could pull humans further from a sense of meaning, connection and purpose, taking happiness even further from our grasps. Success in tackling any big challenge ahead will depend on restoring focus, trust, and purpose. Haidt warns that AI and social media may be weakening all three—making intentional leadership more critical than ever. He shares research-backed insights that can help us better understand a fragmented, distracted world and the challenge this brings to leaders running teams in a changing AI era.

As tech and AI transform productivity and free us from rote work, will humanity finally crack happiness? Maybe not, warns Jonathan Haidt. This social psychologist, NYU professor and bestselling author of The Anxious Generation has spent years studying the links between happiness, technology, and societal change. Unless key steps are taken, he says, the technologies transforming work and communication could pull humans further from a sense of meaning, connection and purpose, taking happiness even further from our grasps. Success in tackling any big challenge ahead will depend on restoring focus, trust, and purpose. Haidt warns that AI and social media may be weakening all three—making intentional leadership more critical than ever. He shares research-backed insights that can help us better understand a fragmented, distracted world and the challenge this brings to leaders running teams in a changing AI era.

What women’s sports reveals about building future leaders: Deloitte’s Lara Abrash

Apr 24, 2026

 • 23 mins

How can we strengthen leadership pipelines? One overlooked answer: Invest in women’s sports. Data shows that investment in women’s sports creates a powerful yet under-appreciated talent pipeline, building future leaders, closing the gender gap and driving high-performing teams. Deloitte US Chair Lara Abrash shares insights from the firm’s research on women’s sports – both the billion-dollar economic opportunity it represents and the unsung way sports strengthens the leadership talent pipeline. Abrash, active in a range of sports since her youth, will also break down the leadership skills, mindsets, and team dynamics sports uniquely cultivates. She’ll share the personal experiences that shaped how she leads and the way she approaches talent and capability. Her personal lessons learned can help anyone understand what’s needed to develop future leaders, improve team performance and build talent pipelines that last.

How can we strengthen leadership pipelines? One overlooked answer: Invest in women’s sports. Data shows that investment in women’s sports creates a powerful yet under-appreciated talent pipeline, building future leaders, closing the gender gap and driving high-performing teams. Deloitte US Chair Lara Abrash shares insights from the firm’s research on women’s sports – both the billion-dollar economic opportunity it represents and the unsung way sports strengthens the leadership talent pipeline. Abrash, active in a range of sports since her youth, will also break down the leadership skills, mindsets, and team dynamics sports uniquely cultivates. She’ll share the personal experiences that shaped how she leads and the way she approaches talent and capability. Her personal lessons learned can help anyone understand what’s needed to develop future leaders, improve team performance and build talent pipelines that last.

How mentoring is changing in an AI world - and real ways it’s shaped top leaders

Apr 22, 2026

 • 26 mins

As more professionals turn to AI for career guidance, is human mentorship extinct? Not by a long shot, according to our experts. Mentors will continue to be critical in shaping talent, but will make their mark not by sharing expertise but by leveraging truly human skills --  by meeting changing needs in time and by being a champion that unlocks potential, not just directs it. Key insights: - Mentorship is moving from expertise to emotional intelligence - The best leaders will continue to prioritize people over output alone In this moment of change, learn how the top minds of our time have been changed by their own mentors and how an AI era will reshape how mentors guide teams and drive potential.

As more professionals turn to AI for career guidance, is human mentorship extinct? Not by a long shot, according to our experts. Mentors will continue to be critical in shaping talent, but will make their mark not by sharing expertise but by leveraging truly human skills --  by meeting changing needs in time and by being a champion that unlocks potential, not just directs it. Key insights: - Mentorship is moving from expertise to emotional intelligence - The best leaders will continue to prioritize people over output alone In this moment of change, learn how the top minds of our time have been changed by their own mentors and how an AI era will reshape how mentors guide teams and drive potential.

Why Great Teamwork Outperforms Raw Talent: An Astronaut Explains

Apr 7, 2026

 • 30 mins

Teamwork beats raw talent. It’s a fact astronauts know well but one that Earthbound teams can sometimes overlook. European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti shares what space crews understand about building teams that work well together – and the shift preparation undertook to make that happen. She shares what mentors taught her about being a great team member and why the ‘experience’ of the work day is as important as the task at hand. She also details what’s next for space sovereignty and the capabilities ESA is working to strengthen as agencies like hers become partners, not just customers, in the space ecosystem of the future. The first European female astronaut to do a spacewalk will also explain why the gender gap in space is finally closing—and what other sectors can learn from long-term changes in STEM pipelines. This interview was recorded in January 2026 at the Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

Teamwork beats raw talent. It’s a fact astronauts know well but one that Earthbound teams can sometimes overlook. European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti shares what space crews understand about building teams that work well together – and the shift preparation undertook to make that happen. She shares what mentors taught her about being a great team member and why the ‘experience’ of the work day is as important as the task at hand. She also details what’s next for space sovereignty and the capabilities ESA is working to strengthen as agencies like hers become partners, not just customers, in the space ecosystem of the future. The first European female astronaut to do a spacewalk will also explain why the gender gap in space is finally closing—and what other sectors can learn from long-term changes in STEM pipelines. This interview was recorded in January 2026 at the Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland.