AI Change Puts Executive Power Under Scrutiny

Companies shouldn’t chase every new technology just to keep up, Irvine-area business leaders said. They should identify concrete business problems and decide what might solve them. The panel also pointed to a familiar fault line inside growing organizations: when one person keeps decision-making power, the company’s structure may no longer fit its scale.

Who Gets to Decide

Eric Gallagher, Partner at Withum, said the hard part isn’t change itself but its speed. Leaders and decision-makers must choose where to place their bets. “I don't see that people are struggling with change itself. Change has always existed, but I think what's different now is the pace of change and leaders and decision-makers are trying to navigate that as they try to make decisions on where to place their bets.”

Gallagher cautioned companies against choosing AI tools out of fear of missing out. “Instead of asking yourself which AI tool should we be investing in, perhaps the better question to ask is: 'What business problems are we trying to solve here?'” Businesses should consider solutions that could include AI and help meet those objectives, he said, rather than letting the technology dictate the question.

Growth can reveal who holds authority. Gallagher said, “One of the surefire signs of this is when you have decision-making that's still concentrated in one individual.” As complexity grows, “the scalability will not really match the decision-making power of a single individual.” The panel framed that mismatch as a structural problem, not simply a matter of choosing the right software.

Colin Fraser, Shareholder at Greenberg Traurig, said core principles and values can persist through market changes, while organizations may need to rethink their structures. “Core principles and core values persist even as the market changes. Integrity at a law firm, judgment at a law firm – those are things that we prize. It doesn't matter that it's an AI world now ... [but] things that need rethinking are the hierarchical structure of your organization.”

The Costs Hidden in the Reports

Financial results arrive late, Fraser warned. Executives should watch newer customers and consider where strong employees may be headed, rather than relying only on loyal core customers or past performance. “Financial results are necessarily a lagging indicator,” he said. Customer behavior at the margins and employee prospects, he explained, may signal a shift before financial reports capture it.

Old contracts can expose growing companies to disputes involving intellectual-property protection, liability and data security, Fraser said. “If you're still using contracts that were designed when you were a small company and now you've scaled ... you're going to be encountering problems and that's where we see lawsuits arise.” He urged companies to review and refine contracts periodically, rather than wait until the last minute.

David Coffaro, President & CEO of the Greater Irvine Chamber of Commerce, moderated the panel discussion. He opened by pointing to a divide between strong Wall Street economic indicators and uncertainty on Main Street. Gallagher said waiting for complete information can leave decision-makers too late: “The goal is not to eliminate uncertainty. What you really need to do is take the best available information that you have and make a decision with it and then evaluate the result afterwards.”

AI, Employees and the Hierarchy

AI can amplify existing talent or become “a substitute for thinking,” Fraser warned. When people present AI’s ideas as their own, he said, “everyone else already has them because they're all using the same AI tools.” He called AI a central strategic priority that needs executive direction and ongoing company-wide education, not just attention from IT.

For major changes, Fraser urged broad participation and transparency. “Keeping everyone involved in the decision-making process about how it works is probably the most important way ... [and] don't fake it till you make it. Be transparent about what you don't know and what you do know.” Employee turnover can offer an early warning about where an organization is headed, he said.

Gallagher advised people to try using AI on a time-consuming task and see whether automation could make it faster or better. Fraser urged leaders to question an assumption, preferably a structural one, rather than keep believing it blindly. Coffaro closed: “Change is not an event. It's an ongoing process.”