At the Panoramai AI Summit, Yannick Hauser from Centre Patronal provided practical insights into enterprise AI implementation that contrast sharply with vendor promises and Silicon Valley timelines. His experience transforming insurance operations revealed critical lessons about AI project management and organizational adoption.

The Eight-Month Learning Curve

Hauser's journey from ChatGPT enthusiasm to production deployment took significantly longer than anticipated: « An AI project. It's not like an IT project or it's not like a standard IT project. It's a little bit more difficult ». What seemed like a simple chatbot implementation required eight months, teaching valuable lessons about AI project complexity and organizational readiness requirements.

Stakeholder Engagement Strategy

Rather than pursuing technology-first implementation, Hauser's team engaged stakeholders representing all business units in structured problem identification sessions. This two-day workshop generated 20 ideas, refined to 10, then evaluated through framework analysis considering data sufficiency, compliance requirements, security implications, and technology maturity—ultimately selecting three viable use cases.

Digital Divide Warning

Hauser identified a critical challenge in AI democratization: « You will have more disconnect between people that use it and know how to use it and people that don't use it and don't know how to use it ». While noting AI's accessibility across age groups—his 7-year-old daughter and 75-year-old father both use ChatGPT—he warned that organizational adoption could create new inequalities rather than bridging existing ones.

Change Management Imperative

Recognizing employee concerns about AI replacing jobs, Hauser invested in comprehensive communication and training programs. His approach emphasized transparency about AI limitations and benefits, helping staff understand practical applications rather than feeding into « hyperbites about AI » that create unnecessary anxiety.

Continuous Learning Framework

To maintain connection with rapidly evolving AI technology, Hauser established a coaching relationship with startup sector experts, meeting every six to seven weeks. This ensures strategic awareness of new developments and use cases without requiring full-time AI specialization, providing a scalable model for other executives.

Partnership Strategy

Acknowledging his team's expertise gaps in AI implementation, Hauser developed partnerships with specialized firms like Novatix. This collaboration model allowed Centre Patronal to access AI capabilities while building internal competency gradually, suggesting effective approaches for organizations lacking immediate AI expertise.

Key Achievement: Hauser demonstrated how insurance sector leaders can navigate AI implementation complexity while managing organizational change, establishing frameworks for stakeholder engagement and partnership development that could guide other traditional industries.