How to Embed AI in Your Organisational DNA: 5 Insights for 2025 (Part 2)

Explore the speaker decks from Malaysia Leadership Summit 2025.

In the second part of our Malaysia Leadership Summit 2025 series, we dive deeper into one of the biggest questions leaders are asking right now: how do we make sense of AI and use it responsibly?

AI isn’t something you just plug in and run with. It raises real challenges from mindset shifts to ethical decision-making. That’s why we’ve invited experts and thought leaders to share practical insights on starting small, building confidence, and preparing leaders to navigate AI with purpose and care.

In case you missed Part 1, read here.

1. Face Radical Change with What You Have

Jamie Andrew, Global Motivational Speaker

For many of us, change doesn’t feel exciting. It feels threatening. 

Whether the change is personal, organisational, or technological—it often arrives before we feel ready. But Jamie Andrew reminded us at the Malaysia Leadership Summit 2025, “You’re rarely as unprepared as you think you are.”

As someone who had gone through a radical change in his life, Jamie knew a thing or two about the human capacity to adapt. He recounted the harrowing details of his accident in the French Alps, where he and his best friend, also named Jamie, were trapped for five days and five nights in a severe storm. His friend tragically succumbed to hypothermia, while Jamie was miraculously rescued but soon faced amputation due to severe frostbite and septicemia.

He spoke candidly about the grief, guilt, and helplessness that followed. Everything familiar had disappeared. Nothing about the future looked possible. And yet, over time, things began to shift. Not because the situation improved, but because his mindset did.

It wasn’t easy, but he was determined by a new addiction to setting and achieving challenges. His rehabilitation taught him crucial lessons applicable to any significant change:

• Embrace support systems – He realized he was surrounded by willing professionals, friends, and family. A realization that taught him to accept their help, transforming overwhelming challenges into shared endeavors.
• Break down the impossible into small steps – Rather than focusing on the daunting entirety of his new reality, he set small, achievable daily goals (e.g., brushing his teeth independently). Each small victory fueled his motivation and built self-esteem. 

So what does this mean for the rest of us?

Jamie’s story isn’t about AI. It’s about transformation and how to move through it when it feels like the ground beneath us has shifted.

And in many ways, that’s what we’re all facing. Technological change. Organisational shifts. New ways of working. The future is being rewritten and we don’t get to opt out.

But we do get to choose how we face it.

Not with fear. Not with the belief that we have to have it all figured out. 

But by starting with what we have: our teams, our curiosity, our willingness to learn, and taking the next small step forward.

Read: Culture Drift: When AI Moves Faster Than Trust

2. The Algorithm Can’t Feel for You

Dr. Jerome Joseph, Global Thought Leader & Strategist

It's natural to feel apprehension about AI. Dr. Jerome openly addressed three core anxieties in the world right now: job displacement, the rise of deepfakes, and an increasingly competitive market. Regardless of our role, at least one of these disruptive forces is likely to impact us.

As humans, we’re uniquely capable of holding two opposing truths at once. We may fear AI’s potential to automate our jobs, yet still appreciate its ability to produce critical proposals in minutes. This emotional complexity is a strength. It allows us to navigate uncertainty with awareness and intention. Fear, while uncomfortable, urges us to stay agile, challenge assumptions, and grow beyond our perceived limits. Just as every great leap in human history has required.

But not all progress is worth pursuing. There are innovations that harm the planet or disconnect us from our values.

As Dr. Joseph emphasized, we must never lose sight of our most powerful assets: our human gifts. Our capacity to care, to empathize, and to connect on an emotional level. These extend far beyond data or logic. Algorithms can mimic intelligence, but they can’t replicate compassion.

There was a time where Dr. Joseph's unconditional support helped bring his newborn daughter, Elizabeth, back from a life-threatening state. His presence was a powerful reminder that:

• Human gifts are irreplaceable –  AI cannot replicate the depth of our empathy, the strength of our support, or the moral clarity that guides us to do what’s right.
• Technology must serve a greater purpose – In an AI-driven world, our true strength lies not just in what we can build, but in why we build it and who we’re building it for.

It’s not enough to accept what’s coming, we must shape it with intention. The future we want depends on our courage to center purpose, protect what matters, and ensure that technology uplifts rather than undermines our shared humanity.

3. Future-Proof Your People Strategy

Panel Discussion

This panel discussion brought together industry leaders including Jonathan Low (Global Conference Keynote Speaker), Wei-Chuan Chew (Co-founder & CEO of KitaHQ and KitaLulus), Naziatul Shafeenaz (Chief People Officer at Boost), Anjali Menon (Global HRBP & APAC Director of Sibelco Group), and Dr. Avnesh Ratnanesan (Founder of Dr Avi Global).

Moderated by Jonathan Low, the conversation centered on how organisations are leveraging technology and AI to redefine people management. 

The panel highlighted several important points:

• Integrate AI strategically
  Avoid deploying AI in silos. Anjali shared how Sibelco, a mining and minerals company, took a business value stream approach. Rather than limiting AI to functions like HR or IT, they embedded it across geological exploration and commercial operations. This holistic strategy helped surface valuable employee data, enabling talent prediction and reducing attrition.
• Automate mundane tasks to free up HR for meaningful work
  Wei-Chuan highlighted how KitaHQ uses AI to streamline recruitment. After automated resume screening, candidates complete AI interviews that generate scores, allowing hiring managers to focus on the most relevant applicants. Similarly, Boost’s Boba AI onboarding assistant helps new hires settle in quickly by answering common HR questions, freeing up HR teams for higher-impact interactions.
• Prioritise mindset and problem-solving skills
  As technology evolves, adaptability and critical thinking matter more than specific tools. Anjali emphasized hiring people with high learning agility, especially in traditional industries like Sibelco, where the workforce is older but transformation is accelerating. Dr. Avi reinforced this by coaching leaders to adopt an "AI-first" mindset, approaching problems by asking how AI can help solve them before defaulting to traditional methods.
• Role model AI adoption from the top
  Dr. Avi shared how his own company uses an AI clone to provide coaching for CEOs, encouraging them to make faster and more informed decisions. His message was clear: leadership must actively use AI themselves to set the tone and inspire confidence across the organisation.
• Address employee fears and communicate a positive future
  Naziatul shared that AI and HR can go hand in hand in addressing employee concerns. At Boost, they use tools like Happily to gain deeper insights into employee well-being and retention risks.
• Start with small, quick-ROI pilots
  Whether it’s Boost’s Boba onboarding tool or KitaHQ’s AI interviews, these companies all started with projects that showed quick results. These quick wins help build momentum and trust in AI adoption.
• Encourage personal use of AI
  Whether it’s generating content or summarizing notes, helping employees explore AI tools for everyday use builds familiarity. This personal comfort can ease broader workplace adoption.
• Feed AI with “nutritious” data
  High-quality data is essential for effective AI. Ensure data is accurate, relevant, and continuously updated.

Read: To Use AI Tools Smartly, Think Like a Strategist

4. Lead at the Speed of Technology

Roshan Thiran, Founder of Leaderonomics

Roshan Thiran, a business and tech leader at heart, challenges organisations to move beyond simply discussing AI to truly embedding it in their organisational DNA. It takes visionary leaders to do so: those who understand that AI is not just a trend, but a force for 10x transformation.

To illustrate AI’s impact, Roshan brought us back to the time when cars replaced horses. It took us 55 years to transition due to a lack of infrastructure and standardization.

However, we are currently in a unique period marked by three converging revolutions: physical (robotics, 3D printing), digital (blockchain, generative AI), and biological (genomics). This convergence creates unprecedented possibilities and demands a new kind of leadership:

• Operational intelligence – Boosting productivity through automation and reducing friction in processes.
• Hyper-personalization – Tailoring experiences for both customers and employees.
• Business model innovation – Creating entirely new revenue streams and industry structures.
• Product innovation – Redefining existing products and services.

Just like our devices, our organisations too need their moment of “refresh”. Often, the biggest hurdle to AI adoption is the inability to connect the dots. Roshan cites reports indicating that while employees are ready, senior leaders often lack the vision and literacy to drive AI initiatives. The penalty for inaction is significant, with AI frontrunners projected to have 20-30% higher EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization).

He warns that organisations don’t have all the luxury of just talking about AI. Many are sprinting forward as AI agents evolve from being simple copilots:

• Autonomous Systems – Robotics in warehouses as the "hands and legs."
• AI Agents – Digital assistants automating multiple tasks as the "right-hand assistant."
• Multimodal AI – Integrating diverse data types as the "brain and sensors."
• Enterprise AI – The organisation's entire “nervous system.”

As Roshan reminded us, technology sets the speed limit but leadership sets the actual speed of AI adoption. 

Where is your organisation right now?

5. Enhance Trust-Building Conversations

Tareef Jafferi, Founder of Happily.ai

Imagine trying to move through a pitch-black room that’s constantly shifting. Even if we keep our eyes open, we can’t predict exactly where we’re heading. 

That’s how Tareef illustrates our struggle in navigating AI. The complexity we face now isn’t just about dealing with the “unknown” that can be mapped with blueprints, but also “uncertainty”, where the environment itself is dynamic. 

This new reality demands a fundamental shift in leadership:

• From optimizing predictability to embracing uncertainty.
• From planning in advance to experimenting in real-time.
• From enforcing control and compliance to empowering responsiveness.
• From following fixed roadmaps to responding to live signals.

So how do leaders create a bridge that allows vulnerability and enables navigation? 

The answer is trust.

Often overlooked, Tareef highlights the common misconceptions about trust. Transparency and vulnerability don't always equal trust. Trust relies on both character (good intent) and competency (ability to deliver). Leaders should aspire to be guides rather than politicians or cheerleaders.

Far from replacing human connection, Tareef shows how AI can become powerful ally in building trust:

• Encouraging Conversations – AI can prompt and scale crucial, seemingly small conversations (validation, recognition, feedback) that build trust over time, which are often neglected in busy workplaces.
• Live Listening – AI can analyze vast amounts of data to detect patterns and provide early warning signs about employee sentiment or emerging problems. This is especially vital in remote or hybrid work environments where “natural biological sensors” for empathy are diminished.
• Informing Navigation – AI can help leaders understand the real-time impact of decisions, providing crucial feedback loops that enable quicker course corrections in uncertain environments.

If we return to that dark room, we begin to see that the real challenge now is not incompetence. It’s a lack of trust. And when trust is absent, people move slowly and fearfully.

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