Industry insights from an AI leader
What does it mean to be an AI leader? This emergent term is a catch-all for roles such as chief AI officer, AI strategy lead, and head of AI transformation. Essentially, an AI leader guides a business's AI initiatives, whether in a single department or in a broader, big-picture way.
We interviewed Tony Navarro, founder of Guide*, an AI-powered travel platform, to learn more about AI leadership. Read on for details on Navarro's day-to-day life and his thoughts on the future of AI.
Meet Tony Navarro
Tony Navarro is the executive vice president of Red Ventures Puerto Rico, a tech and digital marketing company. He is also the founding CEO of Nave Bank, Puerto Rico’s first digital bank, and the founder of the AI-powered travel tool Guide.
Formerly a corporate development leader at IMAX Corporation, Navarro holds dual master’s degrees from the Wharton School of Business (MBA) and the Harvard Kennedy School (MPA).
A typical workday in AI
What does a typical workday look like for you?
My typical workday depends a lot on function, and my function internally is a little bit of a strategist, but also a builder and a founder with all the different ventures that we have.
AI education
I will probably spend two or three hours on AI education [per day].
Product deep dives
I spend 4–6 hours with the product teams going into deep dives, understanding what's happening on performance, and understanding what the roadmaps are looking like.
AI projects
I probably spend maybe two hours on AI-related projects that I may not own, but I'm helping provide stimuli to the rest of the organization or advising others as to how to think about what's happening in the space and also how they should think about the business.
How is AI incorporated into your day-to-day work?
At Guide, everything we do is AI-enabled. We were born out of a strategic need for the organization to learn how AI can empower the next generation of experiences, as well as how AI internally can empower our teams to develop our value proposition.
As an AI leader, what aspects of your role do you find most rewarding?
The ability to create is incredible. Creation can be anything. It can be literal, from a physical sense where you're creating images or content, or it can be an application or a business strategy. The notion of empowering yourself to create something and unleashing your creativity is fantastic.
Getting into AI
What essential skills are necessary for success in AI leadership roles?
I would say three things:
We all need to become hackers. And by hackers, I mean it's a definition of doing, rolling our sleeves up, working with the technology, and learning what the limits are and what it's capable of. This is a show-me world and a do-me world. It's no longer an only-thinking world.
The technology seems intimidating; there's a bit of a learning curve. But that learning curve is coming down quickly, and the tools are becoming much friendlier than they used to be. So I think being a hacker — and not in a nefarious way, but being hacky, meaning you get into it, you roll your sleeves up and get things done — is a must.
I think curiosity is another huge one. It's all about education, being up-to-date on what is happening.
The last point is comfort with ambiguity and change. It is a moment where a lot of things are going to be changing, and I think resistance is not going to be something necessarily positive.
I think it's good to have a healthy and cautious optimism. I'm the first one to tell you I am gung-ho about the technology, but I think we need to learn that it's still maturing. It can make mistakes — but don't write it off simply because, in one particular instance, it didn't get it right.
Navigating the future of AI
How will AI impact job markets in the future?
The technology is as expensive and as bad as it'll ever be, and from here on, it's going to keep getting better and cheaper and more proliferated. And then, knowing that we ourselves are going to have to reinvent — the world of highly specialized professionals may be disappearing, and we need to have range.
But the beauty of it is that this technology enables us to have that range. I do think we need to be comfortable with the degree of change, the degree of ambiguity and knowing that we should not constrain ourselves.
We have the opportunity of infinite knowledge and expertise. We all have a tutor in our pocket to learn any aspect across any field, across any discipline. While we may not be the subject matter expert, we should not shy away from diving into a particular area simply because it's not what we learned initially.
I also think roles will change. My role certainly didn't exist 20 years ago. So I do think AI is going to enable many different types of roles.
With AI, I have more time to work on things that I truly enjoy, that add value, versus rote processes where I'm not really adding a lot of value. For example, if an AI tool can guarantee I send an email with proper spelling, it allows me to spend a lot more time elsewhere on things that are strategic or creative in nature.
Many of these AI tools will have great output, but it will come down to human discernment about what should be used and what strategy should be pursued. And that will require human creativity and insight. Ultimately, organizations are still going to be powered by humans, at least for the foreseeable future. I don't think it's going to be an overnight [thing] that everybody's suddenly automated away.
How do you stay updated on the latest trends and advancements in AI as a leader in the field?
Explore formal channels
There are formal channels that all have their official blogs, where they post a lot of the literature:
- AI labs
- Google Anthropic
- OpenAI
- Meta Llama
Review academic research
A really important aspect of AI is that it was born in academia. Academics love to publish and share research. Prior to AI becoming a thing, I would actually look there. Cornell has something called arXiv, and that's where all the papers are. Even today, any one of the labs that publishes a paper will post their paper on the archive. I would scour that website for new developments.
Read foundational books
- The Coming Wave by Mustafa Suleyman and Michael Bhaskar
- Superintelligence by Nick Bostrom
- The Master Algorithm by Pedro Domingosli
Listen to podcasts
Another format that is also great for keeping or staying aware weekly is podcasts. There are a few podcasts that are really good, and they come out weekly and provide a really good recap of what's happening. Some [of the podcasters] are amateurs that just pick up all the research that's happening, because a lot of it is open. Others are real publishers and real news organizations. And then others are more venture capitalist-led and often talk to entrepreneurs and founders who provide a lot of insight regarding the technology.
Leverage social media
Then you get into the Wild West, which is where things become really dynamic. If you want to be up to date, you need to be looking at what's happening on X, formerly Twitter, and Bluesky. That's where a lot of the action happens.
Reskill regularly with online training
There is also a layer of re-skilling. Google has some short-form courses you can take. Andrew Ng, who is probably one of the fathers of AI, has DeepLearning.ai, and he also puts out a lot of videos and training on this.
What comes next: Gain expertise in AI with edX
Take an introductory course
Enroll in a program that fits your career plans
- Business leaders who want to implement AI into their organizations may consider executive education programs in AI, such as AI for business strategy.
- If you want to become a computer science professional, explore online master's in computer science programs.
- Newcomers who want to become AI experts but are unsure about a specific career may find the 12-week HarvardX: CS50's Introduction to Computer Science program an ideal starting point.
Stay up-to-date with continuing education
If you're new to AI, consider a fundamentals course that caters to beginners. Once you know more about AI and careers within the industry, you can define your goals and advance your knowledge strategically.
There is a wealth of specialized AI courses, AI professional certificates, and online AI master's degree programs available — look for options that make sense for your objectives.
Examples of potential pathways:
As AI evolves, so should your knowledge. When new developments emerge, take courses or enroll in programs that support your growth in the field. Explore AI online programs and courses and AI executive education training.