AI Literacy Starts in the C-Suite

Most AI playbooks are built for a workforce tethered to a desk, but many workers are not near a keyboard. In this episode, Beth Miles, Chief AI Officer at Advantage Solutions, breaks down how she's building an AI-ready culture across a distributed workforce of more than 60,000 teammates. She shares why AI literacy has to start with leadership, why redesigning a broken process matters more than simply automating it, and how she measures AI success well beyond adoption metrics.Key Moments:From Chief of Staff to Chief AI Officer (05:00): Beth explains how her chief of staff role gave her the cross-functional view needed to build Advantage's AI office.Hands-On Keyboards: AI Training in the C-Suite (11:00): Beth breaks down 10+ hours of executive AI training, including a CEO who sat down for a coding workshop.Inside the AI Champions Build Summit (22:00): Over 40 teammates spent five hours building AI use cases together, breaking down silos across functions.Why You Shouldn't Optimize a Bad Process (26:00): Redesigning broken processes before automating them matters more than speed.Adoption Is Step One, Not the Finish Line (31:00): Usage is only step one. Beth points to service excellence and time to complete as the metrics that matter.Key Quotes:“AI can be an accelerant, but you have to have all the mechanics and the process and the data to actually make it run really well.” - Beth Miles“It may require moving slower now to move faster later, to actually redesign and rethink work so you’re not optimizing a bad process.” - Beth Miles“ To lead a change, we need to understand it.” - Beth MilesMentions:AI Transformation Requires Redesigning Work, Not Cutting RolesEast of Eden by John SteinbeckShoe Dog by Phil KnightGuest Bio:Beth Miles leads Advantage Solutions’ AI strategy, enablement, and governance to drive value for the company’s clients and teammates. She drives AI deployment across the enterprise, alongside the Data Office and Growth & Strategy Office. Beth joined Advantage in early 2024 and has served the last year as Chief of Staff, leading the company’s AI workstreams from diagnostic through scaled execution, driving enterprise transformation initiatives, and overseeing CEO Office operations.Before Advantage, Beth spent more than a decade leading technology and corporate transformation at global software firms, including senior roles at Sage and Cerner (now Oracle Health). At Cerner, she drove the redesign of Cerner’s portfolio management process for their $400m R&D investment. At Sage, she led GTM execution across new revenue streams and managed a large cloud partnership, leading cross-functional teams across governance and delivery.Beth is a proud graduate of Kansas State University. Outside of work, she is interested in park preservation and community development and is a co-founder of the North Kansas City Parks and Recreation Foundation. She is also passionate about cultivating and mentoring early-career talent. Hear more from Cindi Howson here. Sponsored by ThoughtSpot.