AI is rapidly transforming the way companies and CEOs approach business and the strategies that drive it forward. In this rapid transformation, Adtalem Global Education CEO Steve Beard said there are “threshold questions” he keeps coming back to.
“The question is: Is AI a complement to what you’re doing or is it a replacement for what you’re doing?” Beard said. “I think the answer to that question will inform our strategy on how to best utilize technology. For us, we have a high degree of confidence that it is complementary to what we do.”
Medical education providers are currently “experimenting with a number of use cases,” he said.
From AI tutors to help students learn, to automating registration tasks to take more pain out of processes like transferring credits and finding financial aid, to piloting tools to help employees be more productive, Beard is passionate about working with businesses. At the same time, Beard is thinking about how AI will change the healthcare environment and how new tools can prepare students for an industry that is rapidly changing.
Utilizing AI comes with several challenges. Beard noted that teachers at the school were initially hesitant to implement the technology because they feared it would replace what they were already doing for students. He’s also wary of promoting “AI for AI’s sake,” saying instead that the company is “rather than just throwing AI into everything and seeing what happens, we take a step back and ask ourselves, ‘What business problem are we trying to solve?’ and design an AI-enabled solution to that problem.”
“We want to make investments that have sustainable returns over the long term, because the AI solutions of today are significantly different than the AI solutions of five years from now,” he said.
Since being named CEO of Adtalem just over four years ago, Mr. Beard has focused on transformation, including integrating major acquisitions, refocusing the company on healthcare education, and finding critical synergies to drive results across the company’s five educational institutions. And there are many lessons he learned along the way that he now applies to the company’s approach to AI.
“Everyone likes change if it’s for someone else,” he said. “Taking on large-scale change is extremely difficult. In my experience, the place to start that journey is to develop a vision for the future state of the business that is truly compelling to the community, on an emotional level with your stakeholders.”
But to ensure everyone is included in the journey, Beard said he focused on what he called a “middle-down approach.”
“What we believe is that most people want their direct manager to have an emotional touchpoint on how to think about what’s going on across the organization,” he said. “We focus on the first two or three tiers of management, not only captivating customers with a compelling vision for the future, but also giving them the tools to confidently communicate that vision and strategy.”
“You can meet the CEO at the town hall, or the CEO can come to your place, but you’ll immediately turn to your direct boss and say, ‘What do you think about that?'” he said. “I think being able to say, ‘We’re all here for the following reasons’ is really how you move your organization forward.”
As Adtalem continues its AI transformation journey, Beard said he will continue to lead with a focus on how these tools can foster student success, a policy that runs through all of the company’s efforts.
“We are focused on AI where we believe the highest revenue opportunities exist, so even as investments in AI increase as part of overall technology spending, this is where we believe the most valuable economic returns will be found,” he said. “We can defend the increased spending because of the expected increased benefits for both us and our students.”
Beard also said he has seen several uses for AI in his own life, including helping his son with his math homework, speeding up his own writing, and using it as a brainstorming assistant when coming up with counter-arguments to ideas.
“I think this is a great resource,” he said. “I haven’t done any regular search engine searches in the last six or seven months, and I’m not sure if I’ll ever use those tools.”
