The IMD AI update recently focused on artificial intelligence, showing how leaders use AI sensibly, responsibly and effectively – and how they actively shape the transformation.
The core question of the day turned out to be the following: How can AI transformation succeed in such a way that it creates real value and empowers people instead of unsettling them?
The framework was open and dialogue-oriented. On stage: CEOs, data and AI leads, a philosopher and practitioners from different industries – from finance to industry to media.
Despite this diversity, a clear common thread emerged:
Successful AI is built on value, data, and people.
Value AI only where it solves real problems
Several speakers described a development that many companies are likely to be familiar with: AI pilots are being launched because "you have to do something with AI" not because a clear problem is to be solved.
The contribution by José Parra Moyano, Professor of Digital Strategy, IMD, on the other hand, brought a clear order into play:
AI is to be used where a concrete, existing pain point lies – an inefficient process, a media break, a recurring task that ties up a lot of time and creates little added value.
The central message:
It is not the question "Where can we use AI?" that is decisive, but "Where do we demonstrably create more value for customers, employees or the business with AI?"
All images: © IMD KI-Update
Data Without a stable foundation, AI remains patchwork
Building on this value logic, the topic of data quickly became the focus. It was not enough to talk about models, parameters or platforms – almost all discussions sooner or later ended up with the database.
The tenor:
- High-quality, relevant data is needed, not just large amounts of data.
- Fragmented, historically grown system landscapes make the productive use of AI difficult.
- Legal and regulatory requirements require clear data governance.
This is also where the image of the "Data Orchestra" came in:
- The data is the actual sound material.
- Governance, security and legal framework structure the interaction.
- The business perspective defines the melody – in other words, what the whole thing is played for in the first place.
- Culture decides whether only familiar pieces are reproduced or whether new things are also dared.
Or in one sentence:
Data makes the music. AI is not a soloist. The conductor is the leader.
People The decisive lever of AI transformation
However, the human factor shaped the day most clearly.
The common insight across the contributions:
The most important success factor for a successful AI transformation is not technology – but the attitude, competence and acceptance of the people in the company.
Particular emphasis was placed:
- AI should take the horror out of monotonous, repetitive activities, not call jobs into question across the board.
- Employees need to understand that AI takes work off their hands, not takes them away – and gives them space for more complex, interesting tasks.
- Transformation is more successful when employees can actively shape it themselves instead of just being "affected".
A practical approach that has been discussed several times is agent construction kits:
- Employees can configure AI agents for their own tasks.
- In everyday life, natural, meaningful use cases are created directly from the store.
- Successful solutions can later be adopted by IT and data teams, hardened and rolled out to the entire organization.
- Governance frameworks can be helpful in implementing them to provide clear lines.
In this way, AI does not become a top-down regulation project, but a step-by-step, co-designed change.
Cornelia Diethelm, expert in digital ethics, HWZ, once again shed light on AI through ethical glasses. She showed how important the responsible use of AI is in order to keep our society in balance.
PwC shows AI in action Looking ahead to the PwC CEO Survey 2026
In the fourth session, Prafull Sharma's keynote, "AI in Action: Results Instead of Hype – with Agentic AI", focused on the perspective of CEOs. The basis for this was the PwC CEO Survey 2026, which shows how Swiss and international business leaders currently view AI.
The results paint a clear picture:
AI is at the top of the agenda. At the same time, the measurable ROI for many CEOs is still lacking. While expectations of AI as a growth driver are rising, uncertainty is palpable: How quickly will the use of AI actually be reflected in sales? What impact will AI have on junior jobs in particular? And how great is the risk of no longer being competitive in a few years without consistent transformation?
Against this background, the keynote made it clear:
It's not enough to just test AI – it must be implemented in such a way that it has an impact in the core business. Prafull showed how we, as an implementation partner, support companies in closing exactly this gap: on the basis of CEO insights, with concrete use cases, clear AI and data governance as well as agentic AI solutions such as the PwC Agent OS, which work in real processes.
To the CEO Survey
Discover the Swiss findings now
What remains of the IMD AI update
Over the course of the day, a clear picture emerged, which can be summarized in three core sentences:
- AI only makes sense where it solves real problems and creates value.
- Data is not an accessory, but a prerequisite – without it, AI remains theory.
- Humans are not "affected", but the central resource of any AI transformation.
This made one thing clear:
AI transformation is less a question of technology and more a question of leadership, organization and culture.
Where value, data and people are thought together, AI can turn from a buzzword into a real competitive factor – and potential uncertainty can lead to a boost in productivity and innovation.
About the IMD AI Update
At the IMD AI Update 2026, we bridged the gap between expertise, technology and effective implementation. The echo group's leadership congress, with IMD as a knowledge partner, showed how leadership and decision-making are changing in the age of AI. We at PwC Switzerland were implementation partners of the event and brought in concrete perspectives from the practical implementation of AI initiatives – with in-depth technology and transformation know-how.
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Partner Technology Strategy & Transformation and Technology & Data FS Leader, PwC Switzerland
+41 58 792 18 72
Fatih Sahin
Mark Meuldijk