Live from CES: Human-Led AI and Brand Creativity with Yannick Bolloré
Timestamps are as accurate as they can be but may be slightly off. We encourage you to listen to the full context.
Podcast Summary
In this special bonus episode of The CMO Podcast, recorded live at CES 2026 on the C Space stage, host Jim Stengel sits down with Yannick Bolloré, Chairman and CEO of Havas, one of the world's largest global communications groups. The conversation explores how Havas is navigating the most significant transformation the industry has ever faced: embedding AI deeply into the organization while keeping human creativity, judgment, and empathy at the center. (24:00) During their discussion, they conduct a live AI experiment where Havas's team creates a full movie trailer starring an audience volunteer in just 20 minutes, demonstrating the company's advanced production capabilities. (39:46) Yannick also unveils Havas's new global large language model portal, AVA, which provides secure, enterprise AI solutions designed to reinforce human-led creativity across their network.
Main Theme: How to scale AI-driven intelligence, creativity, and performance without losing the human connection that brands are built on.
Speakers
Yannick Bolloré
Yannick Bolloré is Chairman and CEO of Havas, one of the world's largest global communications groups with 23,000 employees. He began his career at Havas in advertising and has led the company through a significant AI transformation, investing €600 million in data, tech, and AI with another €400 million committed. Under his leadership, Havas has become the second-best performer in the industry and positioned itself as an "AI-first driven company" while maintaining focus on human creativity and client partnership.
Jim Stengel
Jim Stengel is a former Chief Marketing Officer of Procter & Gamble and host of The CMO Podcast. He has helped hundreds of major brands discover and activate their purpose, believing that when a brand's purpose is clear, compelling, and authentic, profit naturally follows. He currently hosts programs for aspiring CMOs and speaks globally on brand leadership and marketing transformation.
Key Takeaways
Start Early, Think Bold, and Shape the Rules
Yannick emphasizes the importance of taking early action on transformative technologies, even when outcomes are uncertain. Drawing from Havas's successful LVMH Paris Olympics collaboration, he explains that companies must be willing to take risks and invest significantly when they identify promising opportunities. (10:42) Havas has already invested €600 million in data, tech, and AI with another €400 million committed. The key is not waiting for perfect certainty but rather positioning your organization to shape industry standards rather than just respond to them.
Train Everyone to Become AI Experts
Rather than creating separate digital and traditional teams like the industry did 15-20 years ago, Havas is ensuring all 23,000 employees become proficient in AI. (14:45) The company has created comprehensive training programs and certifications, with leadership meetings requiring AI proficiency certification to attend. Yannick's goal is to have 100% of their people become AI experts, treating AI as a present reality rather than a future possibility. This approach prevents the internal divisions that plagued the digital transformation and ensures unified capabilities across the organization.
Use AI as a Thought Partner, Not Just an Assistant
Yannick discovered that the real power of AI comes when you move beyond using it for basic tasks like summarizing emails to using it as a thought partner for strategic thinking. (07:48) By learning to create comprehensive prompts and understanding how AI works, leaders can use it to articulate vision, develop strategic thinking, and even improve personal relationships. He shares how AI has helped him become a better father to his four daughters by providing insights into understanding teenagers, demonstrating AI's value extends beyond professional applications.
Maintain Human-Led Decision Making While Leveraging AI Capabilities
The key to successful AI integration is ensuring human expertise guides AI tools rather than replacing human judgment. (27:15) Yannick argues that experienced professionals with developed critical thinking capabilities are actually better positioned to use AI effectively than juniors who lack that foundation. AI-driven campaigns require strategic insights and human creativity to create desire for brands and build pricing power. The winning formula is having the best talent with the best tools, not choosing between them.
Address Security and Privacy as Fundamental Requirements
Data privacy and security concerns represent one of the biggest threats to AI adoption in agency work. (25:54) If client data ever becomes public through careless AI usage, it could be catastrophic for agencies. This is why Havas developed AVA (their enterprise AI portal) with built-in security, compliance, and privacy features. Companies must create secure AI environments that allow bold innovation while protecting sensitive client information, making enterprise-grade AI solutions essential rather than optional.
Statistics & Facts
- Havas has invested €600 million in data, tech, and AI over the past several years and has committed another €400 million in future investment. (11:51) This represents over €1 billion in total AI transformation investment by the global communications company.
- In the past 18 months, there has been a spread of almost 10% between the fastest growing industry player and the lowest declining player in the advertising industry. (13:26) This marks a significant change from the previous 10-15 years when organic growth differences were only 100-200 basis points.
- 53% of Generation Z identifies as neurodivergent, according to research presented in the episode. (30:27) This statistic was mentioned in the context of creating AI-powered personas to better understand and reach different audience segments.
