Snowflake co-founders on data and AI in the future of business

Why do 70-80% of AI projects fail? These two reasons jumped out at me: ! AI requires a radical mind shift: it’s not another version of Excel, it’s a teammate. ! AI without strategy doesn’t fix problems, it amplifies them. Are you leveraging AI to solve problems in your business?

Last Week I had the privilege of joining a panel at the MacKay CEO Forums AI Innovation Mastery Masterclass on driving AI innovation. I shared a story from my university days, when a mentor of mine was struggling through his master's research, failing experiment after experiment. He joked he deserved a degree for documenting all his failures, but he eventually succeeded and attributed it to the collaborative culture in his lab. That story shaped how I built Metrized. Five years ago, when I started hiring students and recent graduates, I saw the same pattern: innovation comes from creating an environment where people genuinely want to help each other progress. Here's what changed after 2022: The barrier to building useful tools essentially disappeared. A junior employee with four months of experience can now create a functional prototype in days, not months. Our co-op students built an internal tool that summarizes previous research projects they have worked on. It now saves redundant communication and significant training hours per new hire. That single small innovation created enough efficiency to open permanent positions. The lesson for companies exploring AI: You don't need a R&D lab. You need clear ambitious goals, leadership that champions experimentation, and a culture where sharing your work is rewarded. https://lnkd.in/gn5qTFtm

In our most recent Leadership Roundtable, we brought together a group of Data Governance leaders to tackle a big question: How do we shift the perception that governance slows innovation, especially with AI moving at full speed? Some of the key takeaways: -We have to position governance as guardrails that empower experimentation not red tape that slows things down -As DG leaders we should be auditing and mapping where AI is being used including unofficial stuff because we can't govern what we don't know about -Our language needs to shift from policy to what resonates in the boardroom sunch as talking risk, return on investment and reputation to get buy-in -We have to be flexible. There is no one size fits all. The teams working collaboratively and thinking ahead are setting themselves up for long-term success -If we can’t get investment for data governance we need to get better at telling the story. Our starting point should be that governance gives us a competitive advantage -We can’t just say no. We need to ask how we make things work responsibly and safely. Our next round table will be a topic for CDO's. If you would like to be part of these meaningful conversations, drop me a message and I’ll make sure you are kept in the loop. #konnexus #Executiveroundtables #Datagovernance

Thrilled to have attended the SheTO 2025 Summit: Ignite!—a high-impact gathering focused on advancing engineering leadership! 🚀 It was inspiring to hear from trailblazing speakers like Ann Curry (on the art of storytelling in leadership) and Kim Scott (on Radical Candor). It was reassuring and energizing to hear exec leadership talk candidly on AI. Some discussion points that stuck a chord with me  • Adoption rate and AI generated LoC are vanity metrics. We need to move beyond them and start using real KPIs to measure success. For instance, #AI assisted customer cases vs time to case resolution.  • Acknowledgement that we are not yet in a cushy place with AI developer journeys and productivity may be negatively impacted in the interim. Think code bloat and additional time being spent on reviewing the code.  • Everyone will have to do more with less - the baseline expectation on what can be achieved without a head count change will continue to reset. As a lead, it is now part of your role expectation to leverage AI to create more capacity on your team. #SheTOSummit #EngineeringLeadership #WomenInTech #Ignite2025 #TechLeadership

📊 Data Without Action = Dead Weight Today, every company has data — but few know how to truly use it. Forrester reports that only 32% of organizations can effectively extract actionable insights from the data they collect. Without a clear data activation strategy, even the most sophisticated analytics platforms turn into nothing more than dead weight. At Silicon Valley Innovation Center (SVIC), we help executives transform raw data into business outcomes through our Data-Driven Leadership Labs, which: ✅ Teach leaders how to turn analytics into smarter, faster decisions ✅ Showcase real-world case studies of AI and data-driven transformation ✅ Equip organizations to move from “data collection” to data activation that drives measurable growth 💭 Ask yourself: Is your data just stored… or is it truly activated?https://hubs.ly/Q03MSyXq0 #SVIC #DataDrivenLeadership #AnalyticsForGrowth #CorporateTransformation #FutureOfWork #AIForBusiness #InnovationLeadership

$584.86 BILLION. That's the projected value of the global data center market by 2032. And the power demands of data centers are expected to grow to about three times current capacity by 2030. This explosive growth, fueled by AI, is driving massive investment—and a leadership talent gap. Our interviews with three leaders who are approaching this challenge from different angles suggest considerations for companies across the ecosystem that need to bolster their leadership ranks. Read more: https://bit.ly/4pNqwg8 #AI #Leadership #DataCenters #Innovation #Energy

$584.86 BILLION. That's the projected value of the global data center market by 2032. And the power demands of data centers are expected to grow to about three times current capacity by 2030. This explosive growth, fueled by AI, is driving massive investment—and a leadership talent gap. Our interviews with three leaders who are approaching this challenge from different angles suggest considerations for companies across the ecosystem that need to bolster their leadership ranks. Read more: https://bit.ly/4pNqwg8 #AI #Leadership #DataCenters #Innovation #Energy

$584.86 BILLION. That's the projected value of the global data center market by 2032. And the power demands of data centers are expected to grow to about three times current capacity by 2030. This explosive growth, fueled by AI, is driving massive investment—and a leadership talent gap. Our interviews with three leaders who are approaching this challenge from different angles suggest considerations for companies across the ecosystem that need to bolster their leadership ranks. Read more: https://bit.ly/4pNqwg8 #AI #Leadership #DataCenters #Innovation #Energy

Shipping data doesn't mean you're shifting behaviour. More dashboards doesn't necessarily mean more advantage. If you want to lead real change, you have to go upstream of the dashboard. You have to start where the decision is being framed, not where it's being measured. #futureofwork #leadership #generativeai #futureofai

Adaptive Analytics: When CEOs Pivot, Technology Must Evolve In today’s dynamic world, CEOs and business leaders pivot constantly, redefining goals, shifting strategies, and realigning priorities to stay ahead. The business layer never stands still. So why should your technology? Traditional dashboards and analytics systems remain static, built for yesterday’s realities. They struggle to adapt as KPIs, markets, and leadership visions evolve, leaving critical decisions unsupported by real-time insights. Adaptive Analytics is the answer. With platforms like SmartCard AI, your analytics evolve in sync with your business, instantly adjusting to new strategies, metrics, and market directions. Empower your organization with real-time, generative dashboards that think, adapt, and grow alongside your leadership vision. Because when your CEO pivots, your technology layer should pivot too. #AdaptiveAnalytics #SmartCardAI #DynamicDashboards #DataDriven #AI #BusinessIntelligence #Leadership