In this conversation, Marcelina outlines a practical roadmap for AI transformation within life sciences organizations, emphasizing that real progress begins with leadership alignment and people-centric change management.

She explains that senior leaders must first gain a foundational understanding of AI—ideally becoming super users—to communicate vision, reduce uncertainty, and guide their teams effectively.

People leaders then play a crucial role in translating strategy into day-to-day meaning for employees, influencing priorities, workflows, and professional development.

Marcelina also highlights the importance of governance, data readiness, and collaboration between C-suite leaders and boards, many of whom acknowledge the need for AI upskilling.

She stresses that successful AI adoption requires tailored training, not generic programs, referencing research that shows customized learning dramatically increases the number of super users and hours saved weekly.

Throughout the discussion, she shares insights from her book It Starts With Vision, including interviews with senior leaders across pharma, data science, IT security, and organizational transformation.

She encourages leaders to begin with curiosity, assess their organization’s current maturity, and use surveys and strategic sparring to design transformations that avoid wasted investment and maximize impact.

Key Topics Covered:

00:32:38 Why messaging from senior leadership and people leaders matters most in AI transformation.

00:34:00 Building the AI roadmap: upskilling senior leaders, creating super users, and enabling informed conversations.

00:35:32 The role of boards in guiding AI strategy and the increasing need for board-level AI literacy.

00:36:53 Training leaders, preparing for employee concerns, and aligning grassroots initiatives with strategy.

00:38:32 Why organizations start at different points in their AI journey and how to avoid siloed efforts.

00:40:15 Introduction to Marcelina’s book and why AI must be treated as a human-centered transformation.

00:42:21 Interviews inside the book: data science, pharma innovation, IT security, and change leadership.

00:46:02 Where to buy the book and why it’s a limited-edition release.

00:47:31 Why generic AI guidance fails—and how job-specific training changes adoption outcomes.

00:49:20 How Marcelina uses surveys to diagnose readiness and provide targeted leadership support.

00:51:29 Final call to action: read the book, take the survey, and seek tailored support.

Notable Quotes:

“This is a people-centric transformation—employees deserve to be led well through it.”

“Senior leaders don’t need to be specialists, but they must understand AI well enough to speak its language.”

“Tailored, job-specific training creates super users—generic AI training does not.”

“We need governance that can say yes and no to grassroots AI initiatives with confidence.”

“Once employees understand AI, they become drivers of process optimization instead of blockers.”

CTA:

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