Episode Summary:
In this episode of Bettertech on AI Transformation, host Umair Javed sits down with Emanuele de Santis , a management consultant at AlixPartners with a decade of experience leading large-scale cost and digital transformations. Lele breaks down why most enterprise AI initiatives stall long before they create real value, and why the real blockers are rarely technical. He explains how fragmented organizations lose sight of their own inefficiencies, why data governance has to come before any serious AI rollout, and how change management determines whether a transformation actually sticks. From semantic layers and digital twins to what enterprises get wrong about agentic AI, Lele offers a grounded, experience-based view of what real transformation takes.
Show Notes:
- Emanuele de Santis walks through AI Transformation on how large, acquisition-driven organizations often can’t see their own inefficiencies until leadership brings in outside help.
- The conversation covers why data governance and a clean semantic layer are the real prerequisite for any AI transformation, not an afterthought.
- Emanuele explains why change management, not the technology itself, is usually the hardest and most overlooked part of digital transformation.
- Discussion touches on why most companies run dozens of AI pilots but only manage to scale something modest, like a copilot tool.
- Emanuele shares how tools like Palantir Foundry and Databricks are letting business users bypass IT bottlenecks and query enterprise data in plain language.
This episode is hosted by Umair Javed, Host, BetterTech