Andrew delivered an impactful keynote titled: AI, from Curiosity to Capability to a group of Shell Licensees at the Licensee Summit 2025 in Istanbul.
What if you could spark an AI revolution in a room full of senior leaders… in just 20 minutes?
That was the challenge at the Shell Mobility & Convenience Licensee Summit in Istanbul last week — 150 senior leaders, a short keynote slot, and an urgent need to turn curiosity into capability.
Most AI talks explain the promise. Few provide a clear roadmap for action. Usually, I deliver powerful 45-minute keynotes followed by high-energy Q&A. This time, with only 20 minutes on stage, the mission was different: ignite a movement.
My keynote, “AI: From Curiosity to Capability”, distilled complex global shifts into actionable insights:
Global AI Trends – AI Goes Mainstream
AI in Action – Inspiring Use Cases from Retail & Beyond
From Curiosity to Capability – A Roadmap for Getting Started
The Power of Digital Curiosity – Leadership & Culture
Conclusion – Turning Curiosity into Capability
From there, we dived deeper in a 40-minute panel discussion chaired by Shell’s Global CMO Carol Chen, joined by Polly Hunt from Shell and Sahil Jhamb from Meta, making the conversation real, relatable and urgent.
But here’s what made this more than just another keynote:
Shell gifted every delegate a signed copy of my book Digitally Curious. That gesture turned ideas into tangible next steps. Instead of just hearing about AI, participants left with the practical guide to put it into motion — personal, actionable, and immediate.
The second ingredient? I was embedded in the event, available for dozens of 1:1 conversations to help leaders tailor these insights to their own organisations. By day two, delegates had already read chapters of the book and were inviting me to bring this spark directly into their companies.
As I do for every event, I shared a QR code with the delegates on my final slide, which provided links to all the tools I mentioned, podcasts to listen to, books to read, and other resources. It’s already been accessed hundreds of times.
🛠️ This approach from Shell ensured the impact continues far beyond Istanbul. Leaders left not only inspired, but also equipped.
⚡️ Adopting AI isn’t simple — it needs multi-touch engagement, cultural alignment, and the right spark to inspire action at scale.
If you want your leaders to move from curiosity to capability, let’s talk.
Flavia Pessanha, General Manager Licensed Markets & Director of Shell Brands International, said of Andrew’s keynote:
It was brilliant having you join us to share your expertise, forward-thinking and practical knowledge with our global licensee senior leaders. Wonderful to reconnect with you after many years in this context and be able to partner in the journey of moving AÍ from Curiosity to Capability.
