Audigent began in 2015 as “Predictive Pop”, a predictive analytics concept designed to help music artists better monetize their audiences beyond traditional music sales and streaming. We brought together historical music data from Nielsen—including sales, streaming, and radio airplay—with social media data from top artists to create a unified view of audience behavior. The idea was to give artists and their management teams actionable intelligence they could use to build brand partnerships, secure advertising opportunities and unlock new revenue streams.

We quickly recognized that the greater opportunity wasn’t selling software, but using our proprietary technology to transform programmatic advertising. We pivoted and renamed the company Audigent. and built it into a market leading, first-party audience data platform that captures and organizes insights directly from owned digital properties. Our approach was different because we leveraged relationships with C-Suite executives to deploy our technology across their digital environments. Then built an ecosystem that incentivized our partners through revenue sharing, rather than simply extracting value from their existing data. We started in music, then expanded into media, fashion, sports and lifestyle, and ultimately built a platform spanning billions of devices. Warner Music Group became an early strategic investor and exclusive data partner, and Audigent was acquired by Experian in 2024. What differentiated us was the combination of proprietary technology, strategic partnerships, and a business model that created shared value.

Following Audigent’s acquisition by Experian in 2024 in a mid-nine figure deal, I’ve been able to focus more deeply on my other ventures, including Mercer Innovation Group and ACTIV-8:™ Summits. I’ve also launched the $25 million Mercer Outcomes & Innovation Fund, a long-term initiative designed to invest in innovative organizations and leaders driving measurable outcomes and transformative community impact.Today, much of my new business comes from relationships cultivated through bringing together C-suite executives, entrepreneurs and influential leaders around ideas that will shape the future of business and society. Through ACTIV-8:™ I’ve been convening senior executives in cities around the world. Since 2025; we’ve focused on the 2026 FIFA World Cup host cities, for highly curated, one-day gatherings. These aren’t traditional networking events. They’re opportunities to envision, ideate and activate transformational outcomes around the economic, technological, and societal opportunities facing these communities. Those summits frequently translate into consulting engagements, strategic partnerships, speaking opportunities and new business relationships.

I’m fortunate that much of my business is relationship-driven. I continue to expand that reach, particularly among organizations and leaders who are looking beyond incremental growth and are interested in building businesses and initiatives that deliver tangible impact and transformational outcomes.

I am what’s considered an “AI-OG.” I was deploying machine learning technology for Fortune 500 companies in the 90’s. We embedded AI and machine learning into Audigent’s tech. I’ve deployed an agentic AI team to support a significant portion of my back-office operations, including project management, calendaring, scheduling, travel and communication workflows. The ability to automate and coordinate these functions has dramatically improved efficiency and freed up time to focus on higher-value work, strategic thinking, and relationships. AI is particularly powerful when it comes to accelerating processes that historically required multiple steps and significant administrative time.

Where I’ve pulled back is video content production. We initially experimented with generative AI tools to create video content, thinking we could automate much of that process. Ultimately, we brought in a full human production team because we recognized that AI, while incredibly effective at accelerating productivity, still has limitations when it comes to the things that make content compelling: style, taste, creativity and storytelling.

My experience has reinforced an important distinction: AI is an extraordinary tool for execution and efficiency, but it doesn’t eliminate the need for human judgment and creative leadership. The best outcomes happen when technology enhances human capabilities rather than attempting to replace them.

Absolutely. My business development model is increasingly driven by public speaking, live events and thought leadership. People hear me speak, encounter my ideas through video or other content, and then reach out to explore potential business opportunities. Those interactions create a level of familiarity and credibility before the first conversation even happens.

We’re also seeing the impact of AI-assisted discovery. I receive a substantial volume of inbound inquiries through both traditional search and AI-driven channels. Across those channels, I estimate we’re seeing approximately 100 to 200 messages a week from legitimate entities exploring everything from investment and capital opportunities to potential partnerships, services and business relationships. Not every inquiry is qualified, but the volume demonstrates how dramatically discovery is changing.

What’s particularly interesting is that people are no longer relying exclusively on traditional search engines to identify companies, executives or potential partners. AI assistants are becoming another entry point into the discovery process, and businesses need to understand how their expertise, content and digital presence are represented across these emerging platforms.

First, embrace AI. It is not a passing trend or a nice-to-have technology. I believe it will have a transformative impact on society comparable to the internet, television and aviation. Business leaders need to recognize that AI is becoming a fundamental part of how we work, communicate and operate. The opportunity is to identify where it can meaningfully accelerate productivity, improve efficiency and create new capabilities within your organization. Start experimenting, identify practical applications and build the infrastructure to use it effectively.

At the same time, authenticity, cybersecurity and intellectual property protection have never been more important. We are entering an environment where it is increasingly difficult to distinguish what is real, who created something and who owns it. Businesses need clear standards around data security, compliance, attribution and the protection of their intellectual property.

I’d also encourage leaders to pay attention to how AI is transforming content amplification and search. Traditional SEO is changing, and organizations need to rethink how they make their expertise and content discoverable. What I’d tell them to ignore is the temptation to chase every new platform, product or feature. Pick one or two AI platforms that serve your organization’s needs, establish clear security and compliance standards, and focus on meaningful integration. The winners won’t necessarily be the companies using the most AI; they’ll be the ones using it most strategically.