Chad Hartzell on Building AI Competency While Scaling a Culture-First Business

In this episode of the Future Proof HR podcast, Jim Kanichirayil sits down with Chad Hartzell, VP of HR at Barletta Boats, to talk about what happens when an organization sees AI potential before it has a formal AI role, job description, or project plan.Chad shares how Barletta, part of the Winnebago Industries brand portfolio, approached an opportunistic AI hire by starting with values alignment, letting the candidate help shape the interview, and mapping the role to the areas where it could create the most immediate business impact.The conversation moves beyond AI as an HR-only story. Chad explains why Barletta first placed AI talent near customer experience and sales, how dealer feedback shaped the decision, and why improving service delivery can become part of a broader revenue and retention strategy.Chad also talks about building AI as an organizational competency. From ChatGPT and Copilot to data integration, predictive analytics, and workflow automation, he makes the case that HR can help people understand where AI fits, how to apply it responsibly, and how to create real bandwidth for higher-value work.Topics Discussed:Why Barletta hired AI talent before it had a formal AI job descriptionHow values alignment shaped the interview process for a nontraditional roleWhy the candidate led parts of the interview with Barletta's executive teamHow to co-create a role when the organization does not have a playbook yetWhy customer experience became the first focus area for Barletta's AI workHow AI can help connect warranty, service, technical, sales, and customer dataWhy AI strategy needs to tie back to people, innovation, differentiation, and scalingHow HR can build AI competency across back-office teams like marketing, finance, HR, and ITWhy repetitive tactical workflows are good starting points for automationWhat HR leaders can learn from early AI use cases in recruiting and operationsIf you are an HR leader trying to move AI from a loose idea into practical organizational capability, this episode offers a grounded look at how to evaluate talent, build trust, and connect AI work to the business problems that matter most.Additional Resources:Cleary's AI-powered HR ChatbotFuture Proof HR CommunityConnect with Chad Hartzell on LinkedIn