Transforming Enterprises for AI: Operating Models and Talent at Stake

The evolving global economic landscape is profoundly reshaping corporate human resource management. At the same time, the rapid rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is not only transforming business operations but also redefining talent development, organizational structures, and employee experience. Faced with these shifts, how should HR leaders respond?

In November and December, approximately 30 HR executives from China and the Asia-Pacific financial services industry joined exchange sessions hosted by Egon Zehnder in Shanghai and Hong Kong. Discussions focused on two critical dimensions: AI’s impact on operating models and its influence on talent development.

AI is fundamentally altering how businesses operate across industries. Key pain points and areas of exploration include:

1. Ambitions to achieve full lifecycle employee management through AI face hurdles in transitioning from offline to online, requiring significant upskilling and complex system development.
2. Global systems often fail to meet local needs, prompting firms to build in-house AI capabilities. Misalignment between business requirements and technical development underscores HR’s technology adoption challenges.
3. Accelerating AI implementation is critical.
4. ROI from AI in underwriting, claims, and customer experience remains limited.

1. AI is deployed to track bad debt, positioning it as a key tool for risk management amid digital transformation pressures.
2. In retail and wealth management, AI enhances customer experience and drives innovation.
3. Banks are embedding AI deeply into operations—company-wide GPT adoption, AI centers in China, and redesigned workflows.

As AI adoption expands, data security and privacy compliance become paramount. These are not merely technical issues—they are central to corporate reputation and risk management.

AI is reshaping skill requirements and career pathways:

1. Entry-Level Roles at Risk: Tasks like research and data collection can be automated, requiring junior employees to rotate across functions to broaden skills.
2. Leadership Pipeline Challenges: If foundational tasks disappear, how will future leaders gain experience?
3. Demand for “π-Shaped” Talent: Professionals must combine deep expertise with AI fluency and cross-disciplinary integration.
4. Human-Centric Skills Gain Value: Communication, empathy, and client engagement will become core differentiators.
5. Strategic Workforce Planning: As some participants noted, “In the next five years, companies will embed AI learning into roles and gradually reduce positions easily replaced by AI.”
6. Systematic AI Training: Some participants shared, “Next year will be our full-scale AI implementation year—every employee must complete 40 hours of AI training.”

The critical question: How do we develop talent that leverages AI while retaining human strengths? The answer lies in freeing employees from routine tasks, exposing them to client interactions earlier, and building judgment and communication skills—making AI a partner, not a competitor. This shift is as much cultural as technological. HR must lead the change.

1. Banking: Hiring global AI leaders, promoting AI tool training, focusing on early talent development, and using AI for assessment.
2. Insurance industry: Some players are exploring full-lifecycle AI applications and systematic training programs for all employees.
3. Asset Management: Declining demand for traditional research roles; fund managers increasingly conduct research by themselves.

These examples demonstrate that AI is not replacing employees—it is a catalyst for progress. HR leaders must build trust and establish clear pathways that enable teams to leverage AI effectively, transforming it into a strategic advantage.

Under the dual forces of AI and global economic shifts, HR leaders must go beyond solving immediate pain points to actively embrace technology and drive organizational innovation. The HR role of the future will evolve from “human resource manager” to digital transformation leader, cultural architect, and talent strategist. AI brings opportunity, not crisis. The challenge is to lead change, embrace technology, and reshape culture—building resilient, innovative organizations in an era of uncertainty.