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Episode 108 · Oct 7, 2026

AI Is a Contact Sport: Andy Baldwin on Leading Through the AI Shift

AI Is a Contact Sport: Andy Baldwin on Leading Through the AI Shift
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AI is a contact sport: you learn it by playing with it, not by watching. Andy Baldwin, Senior Vice President of Offerings and Growth at IBM Consulting and Chair of the IBM UK Board, explains why this technology shift is bigger than any he has seen in 30 years of consulting.

Garrick Jones and Paul Ashcroft talk with Andy, formerly Global Managing Partner at EY, about what AI is really changing for organisations, for consulting firms and for the people inside them. He explains why most companies are "using a Ferrari to fetch the milk", how outcome-based pricing and digital labour are reshaping professional services, and why IBM expects everyone, from graduates to board members, to build real AI literacy. He also shares why he now has a 25-year-old coach who teaches him the latest AI tools every week.

In this episode:

  • Why AI is a bigger shift than the internet or cloud waves
  • Moving from AI pilots to scale, and the right model for the right task
  • Show, don't tell: how a software culture changes consulting
  • Leading people through AI change with curiosity and play
  • Quantum computing, agent-versus-agent cybersecurity and data sovereignty

The new book from Paul Ashcroft, Simon Brown and Garrick Jones titled "The Curious Imperative" will be available for pre order shortly. Find out more here

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