Moves Fast or Get Left Behind What if the CEOs of tomorrow don’t manage people at all — but fleets of AI agents?

Daniel Dines articulates a transformative vision where leadership evolves from managing human teams to orchestrating fleets of AI agents, signaling a fundamental shift in organizational dynamics. Central to this evolution is the foundational role of Robotic Process Automation (RPA), which set the stage for today’s sophisticated AI agents capable of end-to-end process orchestration. This trajectory illustrates how intelligent automation transcends discrete tasks to become a strategic enterprise capability, reshaping workflows and decision-making paradigms.

The session highlights the inherent tensions between adopting broad horizontal AI platforms and embracing domain-specific vertical specialization, emphasizing the strategic choices organizations and startups must navigate. Fast iteration and the willingness to embrace failure emerge as critical factors for startups aiming to capture value in the AI-driven economy. Moreover, a geopolitical dimension is spotlighted, with Europe facing the risk of lagging without a bolder stance on AI adoption. Leaders and policymakers are thus challenged to rethink traditional management frameworks and invest decisively in next-generation automation to maintain competitive advantage.

• RPA’s critical role as the precursor to current AI automation paradigms
• The emergence and strategic importance of AI agents for autonomous process orchestration
• Balancing horizontal AI platforms against vertical industry-specific solutions
• Startup innovation dynamics: speed and experimental agility as keys to AI success
• Geopolitical implications of AI adoption highlighting Europe’s strategic risks