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

AI Heroes: Nendra‑Van Wielink on Media, AI & the Future of Integrated Insights
🎙️ Live from Cannes – AI Heroes Live

In this episode of AI Heroes Live, recorded at Insights Lighthouse during the 2025 Cannes Lions Festival, we sit down with Nendra‑Van Wielink, a media leader with over 20 years of experience and currently shaping media insights at Decathlon. Join us as she unpacks how the worlds of media, AI, and insight must converge to empower smarter decision-making.

Nendra offers a unique insider lens—from helping organise the inaugural Insights Lighthouse to actively participating in the mentorship program, in which she’s both a mentee and a mentor. She reflects on why collaboration is essential, the growing influence of AI in media operations, and how humanity must remain central amidst data expansion and automation.

We also dive into:

• Why media and insight teams must move beyond silos, and how to start the work of co-creation

• AI as an enabler, not a replacement—and how it’s reshaping media strategy while keeping humans at the helm

• The fragmentation of data—and a forward-thinking “magic button” vision for seamless insight delivery

• Building inclusive media strategies, informed by interdisciplinary collaboration and stakeholder empathy

• The power of community, mentorship, and learning firsthand via events like Insights Lighthouse

• Balancing data growth with clarity—how to stay grounded as intelligence systems multiply

If you're at the intersection of media, analytics, and AI—or just working to align your teams for a smarter future—this episode blends candor, clarity, and confidence to help you move forward with purpose.

⁠Connect with Nendra‑Van Wielink on LinkedIn.

AI Heroes: Dawn Cummins on Organisational Clarity, AI-Driven Productivity & the Power of Transparent Insights
🎙️ Live from Cannes – AI Heroes Live

In this episode of AI Heroes Live, recorded at Insights Lighthouse during the Cannes Lions Festival, we sit down with Dawn Cummins, former Unilever and Mars Wrigley insights leader and now a strategic consultant, to unpack how AI is reshaping organisational design, media analytics, and stakeholder alignment.

Dawn shares how she’s embraced AI both in client-side leadership roles and as a consultant—harnessing tools like intelligent scheduling, image recognition, and NLP to boost productivity, clarify stakeholder needs, and drive high-impact insight strategies across global teams.

We also dive into:

• How AI-powered productivity tools like Motion are reshaping the way consultants and teams operate

• The challenge of algorithmic competition within organisations—and why transparency is key

• A real-world case study of implementing "addressable audiences" at Mars Wrigley

• Why empathy and cross-functional collaboration are non-negotiable for landing complex analytics projects

• How to humanise the "black box" of AI and build trust in model-driven decision-making

• The danger of organisational silos—and how AI may be accelerating rather than solving this issue

If you’re building, scaling, or transforming insights and analytics teams, or navigating the complexity of deploying AI across functions, this episode delivers raw honesty, practical strategies, and deep foresight from one of the industry’s most candid voices.

⁠Connect with Dawn on Linkedin

AI Heroes: Rodrigo Milanez on GenAI, Digital Behavior & Embracing the Unexpected in Consumer Insights
🎙️ Live from Cannes – AI Heroes Live

In this episode of AI Heroes Live, recorded at Insights Lighthouse during the Cannes Lions Festival, we sit down with Rodrigo Milanez, Director of Consumer Insights at PVH (home to Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger), to explore how generative AI is transforming the way global brands understand and act on consumer behavior across the digital landscape.

Rodrigo shares his unique perspective on integrating traditional market research with emerging data from search, social, and influencer ecosystems—giving brands a more dynamic and predictive view of their consumers. He also dives into how AI has helped his small team scale insights operations while staying focused on strategic thinking, creativity, and brand alignment.

We also dive into:

• Why search and generative AI are rapidly converging—and what that means for brand visibility

• How PVH uses GenAI to supercharge talent and influencer assessments

• The limitations of AI for hard data vs. behavioral insights

• Why creative workflows need humans at the helm—and where AI can amplify rather than replace

• How COVID redefined the value of insights and what it taught us about separating trend from truth

• The role of insights teams in helping brands pivot during fast-moving, unpredictable change

If you’re working at the intersection of AI, consumer behavior, and digital transformation—or trying to do more with less in a lean insights team—this episode offers practical examples and sharp reflections from one of the industry’s most digitally fluent voices.

AI Heroes: Dawn Farren on Being Comfortably Uncomfortable, Democratising Data & Shaping the Future of Insights

🎙️ Live from Cannes – AI Heroes Live

In this episode of AI Heroes Live, recorded at Insights Lighthouse during the Cannes Lions Festival, we sit down with Dawn Farren, Head of Insights and Analytics at Pepsi Lipton, a joint venture between Unilever and PepsiCo. Dawn offers a candid and forward-looking perspective on navigating AI adoption in a large-scale, end-to-end business—where the balance between experimentation and caution is critical.

Dawn shares her philosophy of being “comfortably uncomfortable,” and what it really means to build momentum with AI in a risk-managed, business-integrated way. From reshaping stakeholder relationships to unlocking data ecosystems, she lays out what it takes to embed AI while staying human-centered and purpose-driven.

We also dive into:

• Why experimentation needs structure—and why not all pilots should fly

• How Dawn’s team is leveraging AI across category visioning, mix development, and data democratisation

• The real risks of shiny object syndrome in enterprise AI

• What it means to “stack data” effectively across silos, functions, and global teams

• How to build trust, curiosity, and applied insight into every corner of the organisation

• What’s next for in-house insights teams—and the critical traits leaders should hire for now

If you’re navigating AI implementation in a large, matrixed organisation—or just want to hear how a seasoned insights leader stays sharp in the face of constant change—this episode offers grounded wisdom and real-world reflections from one of the best in the business.

AI Heroes: Thor Olof Philogène on Infrastructure, Insight, and the Future of AI-Powered Decision Making
🎙️ Live from Cannes – AI Heroes Live

In this episode of AI Heroes Live, recorded at Insights Lighthouse during the Cannes Lions Festival, we sit down with Thor Olof Philogène, CEO and co-founder of Stravito, to explore how enterprise knowledge management is evolving in the age of generative AI—and what it means for the future of insights, strategy, and organizational design.

Thor shares his perspective on building resilience in startups, the critical importance of infrastructure in powering AI systems, and how leaders must now develop a new kind of organizational agility—one rooted in clarity, orchestration, and cross-functional collaboration.

We also dive into:

• Why infrastructure is the foundation for any meaningful AI adoption

• How AI can liberate teams from grunt work and unlock space for critical thinking

• What Stravito is seeing in real-world usage patterns of generative AI among Fortune 500 clients

• How to design insights ecosystems that scale—and actually influence decision-making

• The three key principles for building an effective, future-proof insights tech stack

• Why organizations need to rethink job roles, workflows, and collaboration in light of AI’s unique capabilities

If you're building, scaling, or reshaping an insights function—or simply looking to make sense of how to structure your organization around AI—this episode is packed with sharp insights and real-world takeaways from one of the leading voices in enterprise AI transformation.

Connect with Thor on LinkedIn