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Experts discuss scaling AI, overlooked opportunities, key risks, and policies shaping the region’s future.
Across industries, companies in the Middle East region are moving from experimentation to execution, integrating AI into their operations to enhance efficiency, drive innovation, and open new revenue streams. But scaling AI successfully requires more than just enthusiasm; it demands strategic investment, upskilling, and a clear-eyed approach to risk.
To explore what it takes to operationalize AI at scale, MIT Sloan Management Review Middle East Editor Liji Varghese spoke with three industry leaders: Luc Dammann, President EMEA at Adobe; Moussa Beidas, Ideation Lead at PwC; and David Parry-Jones, Chief Revenue Officer at DeepL. We asked them:
- What is the one critical leap companies in the Middle East should take today to operationalize AI at scale?
- What’s the biggest AI opportunity that companies in the region are overlooking?
- What’s the most underestimated risk of AI adoption in the Middle East?
- If you had to implement one AI-driven policy today that would radically transform governance in the next five years, what would it be?
Their answers shed light on the immediate actions businesses should take—from workforce upskilling and AI-driven content creation to overlooked market opportunities and governance policies that can shape the region’s AI future.
The interviews were conducted on the sidelines of LEAP 2025 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
