AI and the Executive Table

Kenza Ait Si Abbou
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The Podcast where AI meets real world decisions Kenza Ait Si Abbou Lyadini | Scailers GmbH AI and the Executive Table is the podcast for C-suite leaders and board members navigating the real decisions of AI transformation. Hosted by AI strategist and Spiegel bestselling author Kenza Ait Si Abbou, each episode unpacks the human, organizational, and technological shifts that turn AI from boardroom pressure into lasting business value. No hype. No theory. Just the conversations that matter at the top. ------- About Kenza Kenza Ait Si Abbou-Lyadini is one of Germany’s most sought-after voices on AI transformation and leadership in uncertain times. Born in Morocco, she studied electrical engineering in Spain and industrial engineering in Berlin. As a former CTO and board member at Fiege Logistik, as well as a senior manager at IBM and Deutsche Telekom, she brings operational credibility across all scales, from global technology conglomerates to complex family-run businesses. Today, she is the founder and CEO of Scailers, an AI consultancy focused on sustainable transformation. Her work combines AI strategy, leadership and governance. Kenza is the author of three Spiegel bestsellers, including 'Keine Panik, ist nur Technik' (, 'Menschenversteher' nominated for the German Business Book Award and 'Meine Freundin Roxy', which was adapted into a fulldome film. She regularly appears on TV, radio and in print as a sought-after expert on AI and digital transformation. In 2020, 'Capital' magazine named her one of the Top 40 Under 40 in Germany, and in 2021, the 'Handelsblatt' named her a “pioneer of transformation”. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. 4d ago

    Data Is Organizational Memory

    "Data is the new oil." It's one of the most repeated phrases in every AI conversation - and one of the most misleading. Data is not valuable in itself. It is dead storage space until it is connected, trusted, contextualized, and governed in a way that actually improves decisions. In this episode, Kenza and Pascal move from technology foundations into the data layer and make the case that most data problems are not technical problems at all. They are cultural, political, and leadership problems. And often, they are the result of organizations not knowing what they actually want to know. Key topics: the DIKW pyramid (Data, Information, Knowledge, Wisdom) as a framework for understanding where companies get stuck, why data silos are political artifacts rather than technical accidents, how to move from raw data to decisions that actually change something. Data silos are rarely technical accidents. They are political artifacts,  fiefdoms inside organizations that protect data as a source of power. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Data Is Organizational Memory

  2. Sep 8

    Architecture & Legacy

    Legacy systems are not just old technology. They are the accumulated result of past decisions — many of them made for good reasons at the time — that now constrain everything a company wants to do with AI. In this episode, Kenza and Pascal go one layer deeper than IT image and strategy, into the structural reality of architecture, integration, infrastructure, and cybersecurity. They explore why legacy modernization is a leadership decision, not an IT backlog item, and what executives need to understand about the infrastructure gap between a successful AI pilot and production at scale. Key topics: - architecture choices that enable or constrain AI at scale, - why disconnected systems create AI blind spots, - the infrastructure investment needed for production-grade AI - why cybersecurity is now an expanded executive responsibility. Pascal's provocation: Legacy architecture is frozen decision history. The question for every board is which decisions are you still living with, and are they still the right ones? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Architecture & Legacy

  3. Sep 1

    No AI Without IT

    Most companies talk about AI strategy. Far fewer ask the more uncomfortable question: is our technology foundation actually ready for it? In this first episode of Season 3, Kenza and her new co-host Pascal challenge the persistent view of IT as a cost center with no seat at the table. They make the case that in an AI-driven company, IT is not the basement, it defines the strategic degrees of freedom a company actually has. And underinvesting in it is not a budget decision. It is a leadership decision. Key topics: why IT perception inside the organization determines AI success, process clarity as a precondition for automation,how to make the investment case for technology readiness when boards are focused on short-term efficiency. AI does not repair broken processes. It industrializes them. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    No AI Without IT

  4. Jul 28

    From Regulation to Ambition

    The Middle East is not just a market to expand into; for the right founders, it may be the best place to build. Countries like the UAE and Saudi Arabia are making AI a national strategic priority, moving faster, investing bigger, and building governance frameworks designed to attract tech talent. In this episode, Kenza continues her conversation with Dr. Abir Haddad, who works extensively in the region, for a ground-level view of what is actually happening. They explore what Europe can learn from the Gulf's approach to AI and why the region is uniquely attractive for startup founders and growth-stage CEOs: direct access to governments as first customers, national AI strategies that actively seek technology partners, and an innovation culture that moves at a speed most European ecosystems simply cannot match. KEY TAKEAWAYS The Gulf is investing heavily in AI ecosystems and talent.Start-ups gain easier access to funding and government projects.Regulation relies more on guidelines, sandboxes and experimentation.Central AI governance coordinates activities across institutions.Human oversight and continuous upskilling remain essential.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    From Regulation to Ambition

  5. Jul 21

    Beyond the EU AI Act

    In this episode, Kenza speaks with Dr. Abir Haddad, legal futurist and advisor to governments and regulators across multiple jurisdictions, for a clear-eyed view of what the global regulatory landscape actually looks like and what it demands from leadership. From the EU's risk-based AI Act to the US sector-specific approach, China's state-led model, and emerging frameworks in the Gulf, this episode gives global executives the map they need to navigate regulatory fragmentation without losing competitive agility. KEY TAKEAWAYS AI regulation is becoming global.EU, US and China follow different models.The use case determines the actual risk.Clear governance enables faster AI adoption.Executives must know how AI is governed, documented and controlled. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Beyond the EU AI Act

  6. Jul 14

    AI Risk Management

    When executives talk about AI risk, the conversation usually starts with regulation. But many of the real risks appear much earlier — inside everyday decisions, inside teams experimenting with new tools, inside the quiet accumulation of trust in AI outputs that nobody formally approved. In this episode, Kenza and Naureen explore the full spectrum of AI risk beyond legal exposure: bias, unreliable outputs, data privacy, reputational consequences, and the risk that receives the least attention — gradual, unnoticed reliance. They introduce a practical framework for building risk awareness across the organization, and discuss why silence from employees is often the biggest risk signal of all. This is also the final episode of Season 2. Kenza thanks Naureen for bringing her perspective to the podcast, and previews what is coming in Season 3: what it actually takes to scale AI inside organizations, and how AI capabilities eventually lead to entirely new business models. KEY TAKEAWAYS •      AI rarely creates risk through dramatic failures. It creates risk through gradual trust — outputs that quietly shape decisions before anyone formally validated the model. •      The risk leaders most often underestimate: AI becoming embedded in decision-making without clear oversight or accountability. •      A practical framework for managing AI trust: Visible (everyone knows where AI is used), Questioned (outputs are open to challenge), Verified (systems are regularly reviewed). •      Responsible AI is not just about frameworks. It is about how people act within them. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    AI Risk Management

  7. Jul 7

    Compliance by Design

    When compliance enters an AI initiative at the end of the process, it becomes friction. When it is built in from the beginning, it creates clarity — and clarity allows organizations to move faster. That shift, from compliance as checkpoint to compliance as capability, is what this episode is about. Kenza and Naureen explore why traditional compliance models struggle with AI, what compliance by design looks like in practice, and how the EU AI Act changes what organizations need to prepare for. They challenge the most common misunderstanding: that regulation is designed to stop AI. It is designed to create trust in AI adoption — and companies that prepare early usually find that good compliance is simply good governance. KEY TAKEAWAYS •      Compliance works best when legal and compliance teams participate in shaping AI initiatives — not when they review them at the end. •      The EU AI Act uses a risk-based approach: not all AI systems carry the same obligations. Classification is the first step. •      High-risk AI systems require documented governance, human oversight, and clear accountability — not just a privacy policy. •      Organizations that treat the AI Act as a trust-building exercise rather than a penalty-avoidance exercise gain a competitive advantage. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Compliance by Design

  8. Jun 30

    AI Governance by Design

    AI responsibility is quietly moving up the executive agenda. The question is no longer whether to use AI — but how to govern it properly while still moving fast. And that is where many organizations hesitate: they assume governance will slow them down. In this episode, Kenza is joined by Naureen, a governance and compliance expert with over twenty years of experience in complex regulated environments. Together they explore what AI governance actually looks like when it is designed to enable innovation rather than block it — and why organizations that introduce governance early consistently move faster later, because teams already know the boundaries. They also discuss the CEO's personal role in making governance work, and why conflicting signals from leadership are often the biggest compliance risk of all. KEY TAKEAWAYS •      Governance creates confidence to move. Without it, people slow down because nobody is sure where the boundaries are. •      The right moment to introduce AI governance is when AI starts influencing real business decisions — not when regulation forces you to. •      Introduce governance one step before you scale AI, not one step after. •      CEOs who treat compliance as part of how the company operates — not as a side function — are the ones whose organizations actually adopt it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    AI Governance by Design
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About

The Podcast where AI meets real world decisions Kenza Ait Si Abbou Lyadini | Scailers GmbH AI and the Executive Table is the podcast for C-suite leaders and board members navigating the real decisions of AI transformation. Hosted by AI strategist and Spiegel bestselling author Kenza Ait Si Abbou, each episode unpacks the human, organizational, and technological shifts that turn AI from boardroom pressure into lasting business value. No hype. No theory. Just the conversations that matter at the top. ------- About Kenza Kenza Ait Si Abbou-Lyadini is one of Germany’s most sought-after voices on AI transformation and leadership in uncertain times. Born in Morocco, she studied electrical engineering in Spain and industrial engineering in Berlin. As a former CTO and board member at Fiege Logistik, as well as a senior manager at IBM and Deutsche Telekom, she brings operational credibility across all scales, from global technology conglomerates to complex family-run businesses. Today, she is the founder and CEO of Scailers, an AI consultancy focused on sustainable transformation. Her work combines AI strategy, leadership and governance. Kenza is the author of three Spiegel bestsellers, including 'Keine Panik, ist nur Technik' (, 'Menschenversteher' nominated for the German Business Book Award and 'Meine Freundin Roxy', which was adapted into a fulldome film. She regularly appears on TV, radio and in print as a sought-after expert on AI and digital transformation. In 2020, 'Capital' magazine named her one of the Top 40 Under 40 in Germany, and in 2021, the 'Handelsblatt' named her a “pioneer of transformation”. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Information

  • Creator
    Kenza Ait Si Abbou
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    13
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Kenza Ait Si Abbou
  • Show Website
    AI and the Executive Table