“It’s not cost-cutting,” Bill Winters, the chief executive of Standard Chartered, insistedduring a recent panel discussion. “It’s replacing lower-value human capital with the financial capital and the investment capitalwe’re putting in.”
The words created a flurry of protests—“replacinglower value human capital” hitting a nerve for those nervous about an approachingAI“jobs apocalypse”.Winters was obliged to apologize, pointing out that Standard Chartered was investing heavilyin retraining teams.
How company leadersrespond to the AI wave–and take their colleagues with them—is one of the mostimportant issuesfor C-Suite leaders as they contemplate the year ahead.At Fortune’s CEO Forum this week on September 16, AI, workforceplanningand return on investment will be a centerpiece debate. Andthat’sbefore any discussionon the factthat AI might kill us all in any case.
“It’s fundamentally changing the way we work and our timescales and getting products to market quickly,” Kate Dohaney, the CEO of the U.K. mobile network,Giffgaff, part of theVirgin Media Group,tellsme. “The question is not necessarily how do we bring down our human capital, but how do we train our people to do more,strategically,across the business?I’mnot a CEO sitting back saying cut, cut, cut.
“I’mnot saying wedon’tbecome more efficient as a business.But just like with any revolution that has happened in the history of humankind, we have to understand whatare the next generation of skill sets?AndI’mtrying to get ahead of that and bringpeopleon the journey and keep them excited and keep them curious as we navigate.”
Dohaney is in a competitive market, not just with other mobile providers but with new entrants as well. Octopus(energy) and Revolut (banking)are both looking at offering mobileproductsas mass-to-consumer brandspush towards“super-apps”whichoffer multiple services.Nubank, a U.S. neo-bank, nowprovidestheNuCelmobilenetworkin Brazil.
“The question is not necessarily how do we bring down our human capital, but how do we train our people to do more strategically, across the business?”
Kate Dohaney, CEO of Giffgaff
“There’s a massive opportunity for telcos to get ahead andthinkabout revenue diversification,” Dohaney says. “We have all these competitors getting into telco. We see Revolut, we see Monzo, wesee Klarna.Thatdoes allow telcos to sit back and say:I can get a lot more creative,I already have this massive, amazing foundation with thisgreat brand.”
Earlier this year,I interviewed Erik Severinson, the Chief Commercial OfficeratVolvo Cars,who spoke about brands needing to stand out in a world of noise. In a stadium full of white t-shirts, how doesacompany make sureit’sthe red t-shirt that people notice?
Dohaneyhas focused theGiffgaffbrand onlow cost andsustainability. It is acertifiedB-Corp, supports a number ofcharities,and three-quarters of the phones it sells are refurbished.“Giffgaff” is a saying in Scotland meaning “mutual giving”.
“So how can we outmaneuver and capitalize?” Dohaneysaysabout the new entrants inthe mobilemarket. “We’reexperimenting in fintech.Our strategy is focused on ‘fair play’,giving the next generation fair access and a leg up in life. So how do we enable new and different capital risk assessors for a young personwho’sentering the workforce and having trouble finding ajob, orwants to start their own business and has no idea where tostart?”
Service wars are coming–the mobile phone companythat’safinancialtrading and advice platform; the neo-bank that does telco; the table booking app that canfind you flights to your next holiday destination.Human capital will bethevitalcomponentin winning the battle for the future, with a good dollop of AI thrown in.
For the latest coverage and updates from Fortune CEO Forum, as well as insights into the companies on our list,visit this page.
The opinions expressed in Fortune.com commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Fortune.
English (United States) 
Chinese