Real patterns. Real decisions. No hype.

Every organisation is under pressure to move on AI. The executives who get it right are not the ones moving fastest. They are the ones deciding most clearly. This session shares a practical framework for identifying where AI and automation create real value, where they do not, and how to make that call with confidence.

No slides. No pitch. Just a direct conversation with someone who has built and applied this framework across some of the world's most process-intensive organisations.

Youssef Hounat is a Chartered Accountant and product leader who has spent his career at the intersection of AI, automation, and professional services. He led product at DataSnipper, helping build it into the market-leading platform for AI-assisted audit and financial workflows used by major global accounting firms. Before that he ran AI and automation initiatives at EY, delivering £500,000 in cost savings across four projects inside one of the most risk-conscious organisations in the world. He is now at Adyen, developing agentic workflows and applying a structured framework for deciding where AI automation belongs and where it does not. That framework is what this session is about.

The conversation will cover:

• How to identify the value drivers where AI and automation should be deployed first
• How to design the right evaluations to ensure quality before you scale
• A practical framework for moving from current state to an agentic operating model, step by step
• Where organisations consistently over-invest in automation and what they miss as a result
• What the decision looks like at the executive level: who should own it, what information you need, and what questions to ask

The session runs as a moderated interview followed by open Q&A.

Who should attend

CEOs · COOs · CFOs · CTOs · Managing Directors · General Managers · Head of Transformation · Head of Finance · Head of Automation · Head of AI

Confirmation requires role verification for attendance. Limited space.

About the AI Collective Executive Track:

A global peer forum for senior leaders navigating AI strategy and investment decisions. Peer-led, operator-focused, no commercial agenda. Each session produces an Executive Decision Brief and a LinkedIn synthesis distributed globally. Attendance is free. The track runs monthly.

Speaker:

Youssef Hounat is a Chartered Accountant and product leader with a track record building AI and automation capabilities inside some of the world's most process-intensive organisations. He is currently developing agentic workflows at Adyen, one of Europe's leading financial infrastructure platforms, applying a structured framework for identifying, designing, and scaling AI automation that he has developed across multiple organisations and contexts.

Previously, Youssef was VP of Product at DataSnipper, where he led product strategy and development for a platform that has become the market standard for AI-assisted audit and financial document workflows, deployed across major global accounting firms. Before that, he led AI and automation initiatives at EY's UK financial services practice, delivering four projects generating £500,000 in cost savings.

He holds a BA in Accounting and Finance from the University of Strathclyde and a Product Manager Certificate from Product School.

Chris Parker is Executive Education Advisor at the AI Collective, where he leads the Executive Track, a global peer forum for C-suite leaders in traditional businesses navigating AI strategy and investment decisions. He also serves as Strategy Advisor at Datachef and works with senior leadership teams as an Interim and Fractional CPTO through his practice, Ebullient.

Event Details:

📅 Thursday, April 23rd

⏰ Time: 8 AM PDT | 11 AM EDT | 16:00 BST | 17:00 CEST

🚀 Live on Roam 

The AI Collective** **is a global non-profit building the human layer for the AI era. We unite 200,000+ leaders, builders, and stakeholders across 100+ forums worldwide to democratize the frontier, build trust, and coordinate how society navigates the rapid acceleration of technological progress.

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