Albrecht is a Managing Director at Accenture, where he helps lead their AI and Data practice, and runs their Pittsburgh Office. He is also a Adjunct Faculty in AI and Analytics and an Executive in Residence at Pitt’s Katz Business School. “Advice from the Board”, is a HAIL series where we ask advisory board members the three questions students care about most: what skills to build, how to stand out, and what to go try. Here’s what Albrecht had to say.
Albrecht has seen a lot of change in his 37 year career at Accenture, and he says this is the fastest and most transformational impact to business this century. His advice starts by flipping the fear most students have about AI.
“It’s not that AI is going to take over your job. But people that know how to leverage the power of AI are going to be able to do their job better, more effectively, higher quality, and they’re the people that are going to take over your job.”
The skill to build - whatever your major - is data, analytics, and AI literacy, along with the human side of it: telling a story, communicating, knowing how to pitch an idea. The people who do well are the ones who put AI to work for them rather than the ones who worry about losing their jobs to it.
Standing out, he says, comes down to understanding both the business and the technology. A pure technologist who doesn’t get the business side is at a disadvantage, and someone who only knows the business has the opposite problem. Add problem-solving and a curiosity that doesn’t stop the day you graduate.
When it comes to what to seek out, he points to people more than any specific tool. He believes everyone is a leader from day one, and that the strongest teams come from different perspectives: “When I’m putting together a team, I’m looking for as many people that don’t look like me or think like me as I can get, because I want different perspectives, opinions, and different ways of approaching problems.”
For Albrecht, the goal is to learn to use AI well instead of fearing it, and to surround yourself with people who don’t think the way you do.
Want more? Explore the rest of the Advice from the Board series.