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    Speaking

    Executive AI speaking for leaders who own the result

    Ramon Rodriguez speaks to executives about the AI decisions that reach the board, the operating model and the P&L. He tests each decision against 4 questions: which number moves, what work stops, whether you can measure the impact and who owns the change.

    Send a speaking enquiry

    Who it is for

    The keynotes and executive sessions are for boards, CEOs, CFOs, COOs, CIOs, general counsel, transformation leaders and P&L owners. Each session helps them turn AI activity into measurable business outcomes.

    Audience fit

    Sessions for AI conferences and executive audiences

    For AI conferences

    Ramon explains what a technical advance means once it enters a real organisation. He links advances in generative AI, automation and AI agents to the business decisions that determine their value. Those decisions cover funding, work redesign, governance, roles and capacity, measurement and accountability.

    He speaks from commercial experience about AI's effect on the business, its operations and its governance.

    For executive audiences

    Sessions start from the decisions leadership teams already face: which initiatives deserve capital, what work should change and where the value will appear. They also cover the evidence that would justify expansion and who owns the outcome when AI reaches customers, employees or operating decisions.

    Sessions are educational and practical. They do not include product demonstrations.

    Background

    Ramon's commercial background

    Ramon formed his view in Australian businesses where technology change affected revenue, customers, investment and work.

    Ramon Rodriguez speaking on stage

    A new digital division at 23

    When Ramon was 23, Yellow Pages asked him to set up and lead a new division. It helped Australian businesses move online through websites, data and digital services. Revenue continued to arrive and the existing model still looked viable. Leadership understood that the internet had arrived, and the organisation believed it had more time to respond.

    Customers had already moved online and the digital offer was credible, but the operating model had not changed.

    That gave Ramon an early view of how established organisations lose advantage. The first signs are changing customer behaviour, slower decisions and a widening gap between the market and how the business operates.

    Accountability for the commercial result

    Ramon then joined News Corp Australia. He reported at board level and worked through major commercial, investment and transformation decisions.

    Those decisions invested money in technology and organisational change. Some initiatives created measurable value. Others lost momentum when they met unclear ownership, existing incentives, approval structures and operating pressure.

    The experience showed Ramon that an AI initiative needs a commercial objective, a current baseline and a named owner. It also needs a budget line, a decision date and a measurable result.

    Generative AI inside live commercial work

    In 2020, a hiring freeze and reduced team capacity pushed Ramon to apply GPT-3 inside active commercial workflows. The first use created measurable value. Expansion then produced far more output and a slower team, because the approvals behind the work had not changed.

    Ramon rebuilt the workflow: he removed unnecessary steps, automated repeatable work and moved people to judgement, exceptions and conversion.

    These experiences produced the 4 questions Ramon now brings to conferences, boards and executive teams.

    Current market insight

    Podcast conversations with operators

    On the Applied AI Australia podcast, Ramon interviews executives and operators from organisations such as Notion, Podium, Pathfindr, PwC Australia, Fujitsu and Domain. He asks what leaders are funding, how work is changing and where it stalls. He also asks what returns are appearing, what happens to people and roles, and who is accountable.

    Ramon is also General Manager, Market Advisory at Acquire Intelligence™, which delivers client work. His speaking is educational and does not promote products.

    The organisations named are podcast guests' affiliations, including former roles. They are not presented as advisory clients or as endorsing Applied AI Australia.

    Keynotes

    Flagship and focused keynotes

    Select a keynote to read what it covers, what the audience takes away and who it suits.

    Flagship keynote

    Making AI work inside the business

    The 4 questions to answer before funding another AI initiative

    Many AI initiatives move forward without a commercial baseline, a redesigned workflow, an agreed measure or a named executive owner.

    Ramon opens with 2 stories from his background: the Yellow Pages digital division and his first use of GPT-3 in 2020.

    Ramon then gives the audience 4 questions to test any current or proposed AI initiative.

    • Which number moves?
    • What work stops?
    • Can you measure the impact?
    • Who owns the change?
    Audience takeaway
    A one-page Four-Question Executive Review for assessing a current or proposed AI initiative, challenging weak proposals and finding the next operating bottleneck.
    Best suited to
    AI conferences, business conferences, CEO forums, leadership events, transformation programs, industry associations and executive offsites.
    Available as
    30, 45 or 60-minute keynote with Q&A, leadership session or working session.

    Specialist sessions

    Specialist sessions on governance, workforce and agents

    Ramon also develops targeted sessions on AI governance, workforce redesign and AI agents.

    The decisions behind your software

    Turning your software list into a map of the decisions those systems influence

    Many organisations can list the software they have bought but cannot explain which customer or employee decisions those systems influence.

    The session helps boards, legal teams and risk leaders move from a vendor inventory to a decision-path map.

    Audience takeaway
    A Decision-Path Map
    Focus
    AI governance

    Before the next AI funding cycle

    Decision session for boards and executive teams

    Leadership teams often have a long list of AI activity and no shared standard for deciding what happens next. The session applies the 4 questions from the flagship keynote to that list.

    Ramon works with the organisation's own initiatives and current leadership concerns. Depending on the format, the session can review current initiatives, challenge weak business cases and expose gaps in workflow and ownership. It can also surface unresolved board decisions, set the next 90-day priority and give the leadership team a common language.

    Leadership team takeaway
    A view of the strongest and weakest current initiatives, the open workflow, measurement and ownership decisions, and an agreed next step for 90 days.
    Available as
    60-minute leadership session, 90-minute board or executive leadership team (ELT) session, half-day working session or a tailored contribution to a strategy day.

    In the room

    What the audience gets

    Commercial grounding
    Each discussion starts with business outcomes, the work and who is accountable.
    Plain language
    Sessions explain AI issues in plain language for senior leaders without a technical background.
    Direct questions
    Sessions test assumptions, ownership and investment against the 4 questions.
    Practical tools
    Every core session gives the audience a review, ledger, map or decision tool it can use after the event.
    Tailored depth
    Ramon adapts language, examples and depth to the responsibilities of each audience.

    Session formats

    Keynote
    A 30, 45 or 60-minute session built around one clear executive decision, practical stories and a tool the audience can use afterwards.
    Leadership session
    A focused session for leadership teams that need a common view of AI investment, operating-model change, governance and measurable value.
    Board or ELT session
    A facilitated boardroom discussion covering investment, oversight, risk appetite, management accountability and the questions to ask before the next funding cycle.
    Working session
    A practical session applying Ramon's 4 questions to the organisation's current AI initiatives, workflows and ownership structure.

    Ramon is also available for selected fireside conversations, panels, moderation and media appearances.

    Experience

    Speaker experience and credentials

    Commercial leadership

    • 15 years in commercial leadership
    • 9 years at News Corp Australia
    • Senior leadership and P&L accountability
    • Board-level reporting
    • Commercial, investment and transformation decisions
    • A Yellow Pages digital division, set up and led at 23

    Applied AI and advisory

    • Generative AI in live commercial work since 2020
    • Founder of Applied AI Australia
    • Host of the Applied AI Australia podcast

    Speaking and media

    • Speaker, Australian Cyber Conference, Melbourne, 14 to 16 October 2026
    • Keynotes, leadership sessions, board sessions and working sessions

    Speaking enquiry

    What to include in your enquiry

    Please include:

    • the event and audience
    • the date and location or delivery format
    • the preferred session type or length
    • what you want the audience to understand or do afterwards.

    A draft brief is fine. A simple outline is enough to assess fit.

    Ramon Rodriguez, Melbourne, Australia. Fees on application.