Maureen Davenport: Shifting from AI Experimentation to Orchestration

Maureen Davenport, Head of Corporate Affairs at KPMG, shares insights on navigating the operational shift of AI from isolated IT departments directly into the hands of the workforce. With a career dedicated to steering brand reputation and corporate communications at the highest levels, Maureen is currently helping anchor one of the world’s leading professional service firms through its most collaborative digital shift yet: moving from AI experimentation to full orchestration.In this episode, Maureen joins Andrew Bleeker to discuss why the most successful integration of AI relies on treating the technology as a sophisticated thought partner rather than a transactional tool. Together they explore what evaluated data from over a million organizational prompts reveals about workforce adoption, how custom AI "reporter agents" are revolutionizing executive prep, and why human EQ and judgment matter more than ever at the entry level.In this episode:The Sophisticated Prompter: Fascinating takeaways from KPMG’s research partnership with the University of Texas evaluating over a million user prompts, and why treating AI as a teammate accelerates expertise.Simulating the Media Landscape: How communications teams are using custom AI agents to mimic specific reporters' voices and tones to better prepare leadership for high-stakes speeches and interviews.The Trifecta of Work: A look into how AI fundamentally rewrites the workforce, the work itself, and the workplace—including how KPMG is embedding tools like Anthropic’s Claude into their digital gateway platform.The Return of EQ: Why automating routine tasks like baseline press release writing elevates the immediate demand for critical thinking, human connection, and liberal arts capabilities from day one.