Why Most AI Strategies Fail Before They Even Start ft. Zoher Karu

AI is everywhere but many organizations are still getting it wrong. In this episode of Bringing Data and AI to Life, hosts Amy Horowitz and Nick Dobbins sit down with Zoher, a seasoned data and AI leader. From his experience across banking, healthcare, and retail, Zoher explains why data is the true foundation of AI success and why most organizations underestimate the complexity of organizing, and governing it. He also dives into the common traps companies fall into, from chasing AI use cases without clear business problems to optimizing processes that shouldn’t exist in the first place. What You’ll Learn: Why AI is just another tool and not the strategy The biggest mistake companies make when starting their AI journey How poor data foundations lead to faster bad decisions Why redefining business processes matters more than automating them Challenges of scaling AI across industries like healthcare and retail What aspiring professionals should focus on to succeed in the AI space If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe, rate, and review it on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Instructions on how to do this are here. This podcast is brought to you by Informatica, the leader in enterprise cloud data management. Links: Zoher LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/zzkaru Informatica: https://www.informatica.com/ Amy Horowitz LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amyhorowitz/ Episode Highlights: 00:00 Introduction 01:30 Zoher’s Journey Across Data & AI Leadership 03:57 The “Brake Pedal” Analogy for AI 06:00 Why Data Is the Real Foundation 09:30 The Biggest AI Mistakes Companies Make 12:00 Why AI Should Reinvent, Not Just Optimize 13:30 AI in Healthcare: Challenges & Opportunities 17:00 Personalization and AI in Retail 20:30 Advice for Breaking into AI