Why “Wait-And-See” Can’t Be Your AI Strategy ft. Steve Brown
February 26, 2026
Waiting to invest in AI could cost you everything, and yet, leaders are weary of taking the leap. In this episode of Bringing Data and AI to Life, host Amy Horowitz, GVP Solutions Sales and Business Development at Informatica, welcomes Steve Brown, AI futurist, innovation advisor and author of “The AI Ultimatum”, to explore why the "wait and see" approach to AI is no longer viable, how to avoid critical missteps in your AI transformation (starting with getting your data house in order) and the leadership behaviors that define success in the intelligence age. Tune in to see how AI can become the engine that drives your business, backed by real-world examples - from Starbucks to Fortune 500 companies.
Waiting to invest in AI could cost you everything, and yet, leaders are weary of taking the leap. In this episode of Bringing Data and AI to Life, host Amy Horowitz, GVP Solutions Sales and Business Development at Informatica, welcomes Steve Brown, AI futurist, innovation advisor and author of “The AI Ultimatum”, to explore how leaders can ensure they’re using AI the right way.
What You’ll Learn
- Why waiting to adopt AI is a guaranteed competitive disadvantage
- How to avoid the #1 mistake early adopters made - the data cleanup problem
- The critical change management imperative that most leaders overlook
- Why treating AI as just another technology is a catastrophic strategic error
- How to shift your leadership posture from "sage expert" to "philosopher explorer"
- The three-stage AI maturity model for sustained AI excellence
- How Starbucks' DeepBrew demonstrates the power of thoughtful data strategy
- The imperative for AI governance and guardrails in today’s day and age
- Why your "next hire works for electrons, not dollars"
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This podcast is brought to you by Informatica, the leader in enterprise cloud data management.
Links:
Steve Brown on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/futuresteve/
Steve Brown’s Website: https://www.stevebrown.ai/
Steve’s Book, The AI Ultimatum: https://www.amazon.in/AI-Ultimatum-Preparing-Intelligent-Transformation/dp/B0FXVM8VFV
Informatica: https://www.informatica.com/
Amy Horowitz LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amyhorowitz/
Informatica Website: https://www.informatica.com/
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Bringing Data and AI to Life Guest and Audience Feedback
Leave us a voice note!
Previous guests include:
Salema Rice host of Data Governance and Data Integration Solution Sales, Willem Koenders of ZS Associates, Tanja Ubert of Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, Graeme Thompson of Informatica
Check out our Top episodes:
- Why Do We Still Struggle to Trust AI? with Graeme Thompson from Informatica
- Data Quality Over Quantity and the Human Element, with Tanja Ubert from Rotterdam University
- The Power of Data Governance and Responsible AI with Salema Rice, Chief Executive Officer at CDO Today