Dr. Elouise Epstein on the Future of AI in Procurement

Episode notes

In this episode, Sagi Eliyahu welcomes back Dr. Elouise Epstein , Partner at Kearney, to explore how AI is reshaping enterprise functions, procurement and the future of work. The conversation moves from personal AI-skepticism-to-believer journeys to radically new mindsets around black-box corporate functions, personal AI productivity and governance for an agent-driven enterprise. Listeners in operations, procurement and technology leadership gain a forward-looking view of how to navigate the next decade of AI-driven transformation. Key Takeaways: 00:00 Introduction. 05:05 Education systems face an impending AI-driven learning crisis. 09:20 Personal AI productivity is mandatory, not optional, for professionals. 13:55 AI job disruption creates a painful lag before new roles emerge. 17:18 Corporate functions evolve into AI black boxes managed by specialists. 18:10 Procurement shifts from transactional tasks to embedded business partnership. 27:44 New mindset favors highly personalized tools over standardized platforms. 30:56 Governance must enable experimentation while protecting core enterprise data.