AI Heroes: Jason Hauer on Agentic AI, Predictive Insight and Compounding Innovation ⚡

In this episode, Dave sits down with innovation veteran Jason Hauer, founder of The Garage Group and now builder of a portfolio of AI native companies, to unpack how enterprise teams can move beyond experiments and turn AI into real revenue, speed and market impact.

Jason shares what he looks for when backing AI products for modern enterprises: robust security and LLM agnostic builds, yes, but more importantly, predictive intelligence that surfaces cultural and category signals early, automation that removes the bottom 80% of manual work and execution engines that take ideas all the way to shelf.

We also dive into:
• Agentic AI as an outcomes engine, from always on search to hands free concepting, testing and go to market
• Why leadership mindset, curiosity, experimentation and fluency now outperforms classic process optimization
• Predictive insight in the wild, including cultural trend detection such as GLP 1, flavor and ingredient foresight and faster retail sell in
• Avoiding new bottlenecks by pairing AI acceleration with partners who can execute at the same speed
• Compounding advantage, capturing and connecting learnings so portfolios get smarter, Oura style feedback loops
• Rethinking ROI, start with use cases linked to the P&L, iterate in public and scale what works
• How answer engines and agentic shopping will change brand discovery and why marketers must adapt now

If you lead insights, innovation or brand growth and you’re ready to shift from pilots to pipelines, this conversation is a practical playbook for building AI systems that predict, decide and ship.

Connect with Jason on LinkedIn to learn more about his AI ventures and follow One Strategy Studio for new episodes.

AI Heroes: Didem Molay on AI, B2B Marketing, and Driving Innovation at Unilever Food Solutions 🎙️

In this episode of AI Heroes host Dave sits down with Didem Molay, Regional Marketing Director at Unilever Food Solutions, to explore how AI is transforming marketing in the B2B space and what it means for insights, innovation, and organisational change across global markets.

Didem shares her journey from leading iconic FMCG brands to overseeing marketing for the Greater Middle East & Africa region at Unilever Food Solutions, where she focuses on unlocking data-driven insights for chefs, restaurants, and catering businesses. She reveals how AI has become an everyday tool in her work from the personal “aha moment” of using ChatGPT to craft Instagram captions, to integrating One Strategy Studio’s AI-driven frameworks into regional innovation projects.

We also dive into:

• How AI is reshaping B2B marketing and customer insights at scale

• The balance between speed, cost savings, and human creativity in marketing research

• Why breaking down silos and cross functional collaboration is critical in the AI era

• The challenges of adoption in large organisations and how to bring skeptical stakeholders on board

• The role of synthetic personas and the evolving frontier of AI driven research in hard to reach audiences

• Practical strategies for training, experimentation, and building comfort with AI tools across teams

If you are navigating the intersection of AI, insights, and marketing whether in B2B, FMCG, or global enterprises this episode offers candid lessons, challenges, and real world takeaways from a leader pioneering AI adoption at scale.

⁠Connect with Didem on LinkedIn.

AI Heroes: Tina Tonielli on Growth Mindset, AI in Healthcare, and the Future of Insights

🎙️ AI Heroes Podcast

In this episode of AI Heroes, we sit down with Tina Tonielli, a legendary leader in consumer healthcare insights, to explore how AI is reshaping one of the world’s most regulated and high impact industries. With decades of experience on household brands like Advil and Centrum, Tina shares her perspective on adopting a growth mindset, navigating the promise and pitfalls of generative AI, and building the next generation of insights functions.

Tina dives into her journey from marketer to insights leader, her early decision to embrace AI head on, and what it means to balance efficiency with true business transformation. Together, we unpack the challenges unique to healthcare, the tension between internal vs. external AI strategies, and why effective communication may just be the ultimate AI superpower.

We also cover:
• Why a growth mindset is the number one driver of AI adoption
• How to balance efficiency vs. effectiveness when measuring AI’s impact
• The importance of internal vs. external AI strategies in highly regulated sectors
• What healthcare can teach other industries about cautious but bold adoption
• How to preserve the human element — critical thinking, creativity, and stewardship — in an AI powered insights world
• Why AI is less a roadmap and more a muscle to build and flex

If you’re leading insights, healthcare, or simply curious about how to embed AI responsibly and effectively into your organisation, this episode is packed with wisdom, practical advice, and candid reflections from a true industry pioneer.

Connect with Tina on Linkedin