Building an AI-first company: What these two business leaders learned from top experts in the field episode artwork

EPISODE · Aug 16, 2025 · 48 MIN

Building an AI-first company: What these two business leaders learned from top experts in the field

from GeekWire · host GeekWire

Our guests this week: Adam Brotman and Andy Sack, co-authors of the book AI First: The Playbook for a Future-Proof Business and Brand.  Brotman was Starbucks’ chief digital officer and later co-CEO of J.Crew. Sack is a founder, investor, and longtime advisor to tech leaders. Together, they run Forum3, a company that helps brands rethink loyalty and customer engagement. For their book, they interviewed experts including Bill Gates, Sam Altman, Reid Hoffman and Ethan Mollick, and spent time with companies that have had early success with AI implementation. We talk about their "holy sh*t" moment with Sam Altman, how Moderna achieved 80% employee participation through AI contests, the CEO who supercharged sales by using AI to analyze call transcripts, and what leaders should actually be doing to roll out AI within their organizations. With GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Building an AI-first company: What these two business leaders learned from top experts in the field

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This episode was published on August 16, 2025.

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Our guests this week: Adam Brotman and Andy Sack, co-authors of the book AI First: The Playbook for a Future-Proof Business and Brand.  Brotman was Starbucks’ chief digital officer and later co-CEO of J.Crew. Sack is a founder, investor, and...

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