The CHRO Is the New CTO: Leading in the AI Era

Mar 11, 2026

Elise Neel, Global Head of Strategy & Strategic Partnerships at Panasonic Go, a leader in AI-driven business transformation and former CEO of MapQuest. She discusses leaders moving from using AI to collaborating with it. She highlights cultural hurdles in legacy firms, why CHROs may steer AI integration, and how products could self-diagnose and reshape after-sale services.

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ADVICE

Leaders Must Become Active AI Creators

Do move leaders from passive AI consumers to active AI contributors who create, edit, and collaborate with tools.
Elise Neel urges leaders to learn, interact, and co-create with AI so leadership magnetism and team participation increase.

INSIGHT

Transformation Requires An Organizational Imperative

Transformation needs a clear imperative that makes change unavoidable or people will choose the easier status quo.
Elise Neel looks for financial or competitive pain points that force organization-wide urgency before taking on transformation.

ANECDOTE

Kaizen Mindset Made Systems Thinking Harder

Elise Neel found Panasonic's deep Kaizen manufacturing culture resisted system-level redesign because individuals focus tightly on specialized tasks.
She was surprised shifting workers into systems thinking to redesign workflows for generative AI proved harder than expected.

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Elise Neel, Global Head of Strategy & Strategic Partnerships at Panasonic Go, shares lessons from leading innovation within large legacy companies and the cultural challenges of driving transformation. She explains how organizations should rethink AI governance and talent, and why roles like the CHRO may become central in the AI era.

Key Takeaways:

Why leaders must move from simply using AI tools to actively collaborating with them to drive meaningful transformation
How access to AI is leveling the playing field, making critical thinking the key differentiator for talent
Ways that non-technical professionals can quickly become powerful contributors with the right AI tools and training
Why the CHRO role may become one of the most influential positions as organizations integrate AI agents into their workforce
How AI could transform product ownership and customer support through intelligent systems that predict maintenance, optimize usage, and improve the overall customer experience

Guest Bio: Elise Neel is the Global Head of Strategy & Strategic Partnerships for Panasonic Go, driving business transformation through AI to expand AI-enabled software, hardware, and solutions to 30% of Panasonic's sales by 2035.

Previously, Elise was SVP of New Business Innovation at Verizon, where she built a portfolio of nine investment ventures spanning location technology, drones, robotics, and energy transformation while ushering in the 5G era. She also served as CEO of MapQuest and held leadership roles at PlaceIQ, comScore, and InsightExpress.

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