[AI Week] Startup to Enterprise Day Panel: What AI Investments Are Worth Funding?

Every company is under pressure to spend on AI. Far fewer can say which of those projects will pay back. Operators and leaders talk about how they decide which AI investments are worth funding, and how to tell a real business case from a pilot that stalls. Featuring Whitney McDaniel (Moderator), Fractional Product Strategist Whitney McDaniel is a fractional product strategist who bridges business development and experience strategy. Over nine years, from user research at Microsoft to cofounding an agency to strategy work with startups, she’s helped companies define what sets them apart and make sure customers see it. Arul Elumalai, President of Gordian and Group President of Facilities and Asset Lifecycle Group at Fortive Carmela Fortin, Founder of Seattle Startup Coaches and AI Organizational Change Coach at Mento Carmela Fortin brings a rare, dual-sided perspective to enterprise AI adoption: seven years on the customer side implementing and operationalizing enterprise technologies, followed by years on the vendor side bringing AI solutions to market. With more than 16 years of experience in enterprise technology, growth, and transformation, Carmela has worked across organizations including GLG, Fluke/Fortive, and Singularity University, before leading go-to-market strategies for unsupervised AI, managed AI, and multimodal AI solutions, including leadership roles at Unsupervised AI and SightCall.