Industry 4.0 & Digital Transformation Enthusiast | Business Strategist | Avid Storyteller | Tech Geek | Public Speaker

My passion is helping manufacturers digitally transform in innovative ways through Industry 4.0 technologies.  Doing so requires a unique ability to bridge the gap between business strategy, industry trends, technology implementation, and change management.  

I enjoy building collaborative relationships with clients, partners, coworkers, and industry evangelists to help empower manufacturers to achieve more.  

I am very active within the industry as a thought leader to help inspire companies, professionals, and students to be excited about the future created by the fourth industrial revolution.  I write, speak, and share content on LinkedIn to foster a conversational environment and build meaningful connections. 

Where do I spend my time?
• Driving customer success through deep industry and technical expertise
• Developing senior-level industry and client relationships
• Defining and shaping business and go-to-market strategies
• Acting as a company ambassador, technology evangelist, and industry influencer
• Challenging the status quo and continually driving innovation
• Developing & implementing sales enablement strategies
• Finding innovative ways to leverage new technology to provide unique value
• Building, mentoring, and inspiring high-power teams

Jeff Winter

Forgive me, CIO, for I have sinned…
I’ve witnessed the 𝐒𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐬 of Digital Transformation more times than I can count.

Different companies. Different technologies. Same mistakes.

𝐅𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞: While technology is certainly an important aspect of digital transformation, it’s arguably more important to consider how the changes will impact employees. Strong leadership and good change management will help ensure employees are inspired, motivated, and aligned with the digital strategy. 

𝐍𝐞𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞: Customer experience must be at the heart of digital transformation. Process optimization and cost reduction will help improve the business, but they won’t change the game. Leveraging high-quality product, customer, and market data allows companies to create new business models that provide better product/service performance, customer experience, and business outcomes for customers. 

𝐃𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞: Adopting and implementing a variety of new technologies that need to cohesively work together while simultaneously modifying processes and managing cultural changes is a tough undertaking. Very few companies, if any, have the expertise and experience in-house to pull it off. Partner with experts you trust!

𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲: As organizations adopt new technologies, it's important to consider the security implications, both for the organization and for the customers. Cybersecurity is too important to be considered an afterthought in the digital transformation process. 

𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐥𝐞: Very few large-scale transformations go exactly as planned. In addition, technological advancements and market conditions are changing so fast that failure to react and adapt quickly can be catastrophic. Embrace digital and cultural agility to foster an environment of continual innovation. 

𝐋𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 & 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲: A good digital transformation strategy should describe what success looks like, how it will be graded, and how the combination of technologies will be integrated across all systems and processes to transform the business. 

𝐋𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 & 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: Digital transformations are designed to be disruptive and can often be costly. Company leaders not only need to agree on the digital strategy, but they also must be fully committed. Otherwise, digital initiatives will run the risk of goal and priority misalignment, high levels of resistance, and loss of funding. 

Commit one and you learn a lesson.
Commit all seven and you repeat the same program in three years.

𝐅𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞: https://lnkd.in/e4pP2B6Z

Jeff Winter 

A product’s true worth isn’t just in how it’s made, but in what happens after it’s used.
 
Manufacturing has come a long way. What started as a race for mass production has evolved into a deliberate effort to reduce harm, rethink processes, and create lasting value. Today, we’re at a crossroads where the best factories in the world don’t just make products, they see waste as a resource and sustainability as a core strategy. Here’s a quick breakdown of this evolution:
 
𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐲𝐜𝐥𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬:
• 𝐏𝐫𝐞-𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: Think sustainable sourcing and eco-friendly extraction.
• 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: Precision, automation, and waste reduction reign.
• 𝐔𝐬𝐞: Products now last longer, adapt better, and consume less.
• 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭-𝐔𝐬𝐞: The 6Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Recover, Redesign, Remanufacture) are the new MVPs of the manufacturing world.
 
𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐬:
• 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: Scale was king, but waste was an afterthought.
• 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: Eliminating inefficiencies while boosting quality.
• 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: Taking emissions and waste seriously.
• 𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: Closing the loop and designing for the future.
 
𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞? 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞: https://lnkd.in/e4ehkGcX

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• Visit www.jeffwinterinsights.com for access to all my content and to stay current on Industry 4.0 and other cool tech trends
• Ring the 🔔 for notifications!

Andreas Welsch

Andreas Welsch is an internationally recognized top 10 Agentic AI leader and one of today’s most sought-after thought leaders and keynote speakers for business and technology audiences. With over two decades of global leadership experience, previously as Vice President at SAP, Andreas has helped Fortune 500 companies cut through AI hype to deliver measurable business outcomes.

He is the Founder and Chief Human Agentic AI Officer of AI consulting firm Intelligence Briefing, the best-selling author of the AI Leadership Handbook and The HUMAN Agentic AI Edge, and a leading voice on AI strategy, adoption, and transformation. 

At the heart of Andreas’s work lies a clear value proposition: he helps business leaders understand how to apply AI responsibly, effectively, and profitably by addressing the questions that decision-makers face:

• How do we turn AI into business value, not just experimentation?
• How can we prepare our workforce for AI-driven transformation?
• How can we empower our teams to use AI without creating AI workslop?
• What practical steps can we take to avoid ethical, operational, or financial pitfalls?

Andreas’s keynotes and workshops are known for their clarity, strategic relevance, and deep insight. Drawing from more than two decades in the software industry, he offers real-world frameworks and practical steps tailored to leadership audiences. He introduces leaders to AI agents, leading hybrid teams of humans and AI, and AI-driven business models, explaining not only what’s next, but what matters most and why.

During his tenure at SAP, Andreas accelerated the integration of AI across enterprise applications and positioned SAP as an AI leader. He brings first-hand experience and a global perspective to every business and has been named a LinkedIn Top Voice, Thinkers360's Top 10 Thought Leader in AI, Generative AI, and Agentic AI, The Futurum Group's Top 14 AI Influencer, PEX Network’s Top 30 AI Leader, and SwissCognitive’s Top 50 Global AI Ambassador.

His work has appeared in CIO.com, VentureBeat, InformationWeek, and the American Management Association. He serves on the Editorial Board of the Journal of AI, Robotics and Workplace Automation and as an adjunct professor at West Chester University of Pennsylvania.

For leaders looking for clarity, action, and strategy, Andreas delivers a transformative experience beyond the hype. Follow his “What’s the BUZZ?” podcast and newsletter, “The AI MEMO”, and work with Andreas to turn hype into outcome for your business.

Vice President & Head of Marketing & Solution Management — Artificial Intelligence

Defined GTM and product marketing for Artificial Intelligence (AI) across SAP’s product portfolio, incl. AI Business Services on SAP Business Technology Platform in the context of embedded AI capabilities and intelligent process automation via Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and low-code/ no-code offering. Led global team of product marketers and solution managers

“Is your hand getting tired?” attendees asked.
“You should have a stamp,” others joked. 
But that would circumvent the HUMAN aspect and authenticity. 

For two hours straight, attendees waited in line to receive their signed copy of The HUMAN Agentic AI Edge on launch day yesterday.

I signed each one of the 300 books with:
Stay HUMAN. 
Get AI-Ready.

Sounds great, doesn’t it? But it was the little chats here and there, the feedback on my closing keynote, and talking about the good old days with former colleagues, that added the HUMAN touch.


If you haven’t gotten your copy yet, you can get it on Amazon for a 90% launch discount!


A special shout-out to Paul Kurchina, the mastermind behind the annual “Next Generation SAP Enterprise Architect Community Learning Forum,” master connector, and extraordinary supporter!

#ArtificialIntelligence #AgenticAI #IntelligenceBriefing

I signed 300 books at the big launch this week, but this interaction made an impression on me:

Jade was running the bar and serving customers. When the book line was short, she came over, and I signed a copy for her. She asked about my self-publishing process and mentioned that she has published three books on Amazon. As I was breaking down the banners and stowed them away at the end of the event, Jade came over again. 

“Can I say something?” she asked. 

I was curious, but wasn’t quite sure what was on her mind. 

“Successful people need to hear this, too: I am proud of you!”

I didn’t expect to hear these words.

A dozen thoughts rushed through my head: 
How nice of her to come over to say that. Successful? Proud of ME?

All I could think to say was: “Thank you so much.”

But I’ve been thinking about that interaction and her words for the rest of the week.


Let’s all be a little more like Jade, and be a little more HUMAN. 


PS: Read or listen to the best-selling The HUMAN Agentic AI Edge on Amazon or Spotify.

#ArtificialIntelligence #AgenticAI #IntelligenceBriefing

📘 NOW AVAILABLE: The HUMAN Agentic AI Edge! 
When AI becomes the next “easy button,” leaders need to set expectations with their teams early. 

Otherwise, low-quality, sloppy results creep in, and performance, skills, and reputation degrade.

Between the triad of standards, guardrails, and readiness lies the real work that leaders need to do now, beyond “giving everyone Copilot etc.”

Let’s face it: team members are not off the hook doing their best work. They never were.

Like a senior manager recently shared with me: “Now, I’m getting all these meeting summaries and action items from my team members. I don’t have time to go through all of them.”

Creating is easy. Filtering and prioritizing are the new bottleneck for most leaders.

In the book, you will find the frameworks, anecdotes, and examples that help you empower and encourage your team to use AI responsibly while remaining accountable and high-performing.


Today is the official book launch together with 500 IT leaders at the Next Generation SAP Enterprise Architect Community Learning Forum—keynote and book signing included.


In case you are not on-site, you can get your copy on Amazon for the special launch offer!


Stay HUMAN. Become AI-ready.

And celebrate the big launch with me!

#ArtificialIntelligence #AgenticAI #Leadership

How do you measure the success of a launch?
Whatever your answer, launch day is intense. 
Whatever your product or service, you prep and prep, and prep…and hope for the best. 

Once the launch is on, market reception and feedback are largely out of your hands.

What applies to software and category launches applies to book launches, too. 

On Wednesday, I was checking the category rankings to see how The HUMAN Agentic AI Edge was moving up in the three categories I selected for the launch. 

But it wasn’t. 

It sat at rank #76 all morning and afternoon.
I was getting nervous. Had I missed to activate even more parts of my network? Was everyone just too busy during the day (or had forgotten about buying the book)?

Was the number of sales not enough to make even a slight dent?

Then, one of my friends texted me. 
“Your book is #3 in the charts!”

I was relieved. At least a little. Viewing the category instead of the book showed the correct ranking. But the question of how many more sales I’d need to make it to #1 was nagging. You just don’t know. 

At dinner, we celebrated the launch together with the other speakers of the Next Generation SAP Enterprise Architect Community Learning Forum. 

By then, the book had moved to #2. Soooo close. So close. 

4 minutes past midnight, it hit the top spot in the “Hot Releases” list on Amazon in Germany—just not in a category. 

I decided to go to sleep and check whenever I’d wake up. #2 wasn’t so bad for launch day. But would other books overtake it tomorrow?

I briefly woke up just before 4am and grabbed my phone. Had anything changed in the past 4 hours??

Yes, it had! #1 in Management Skills…a best-seller!! Satisfaction. Screenshot. Sleep. In that order.

Since then, it has hit #1 in all three categories!
A super successful launch. 


But it’s one of these things that you can’t do alone. Thank you so much for your support and readership! I’m deeply grateful!


(Don’t miss to get the launch promo of $0.99 for the ebook for the next 24 hours: https://lnkd.in/dcKY6biC)


Next up: Keynotes, workshops, and podcasts!

#ArtificialIntelligence #AgenticAI #Leadership

Earlier this week, we had a special pre-launch book signing for members of the Chief Architect Network (CAN) that Grant Ecker leads.

Grant and the CAN community connect Chief Architects and senior IT executives to discuss and learn about new topics (such as Agentic AI) and how IT organizations can both prepare themselves and implement these technologies. Since 2021, the community has grown to over 620 members globally.

I’ve been following Grant on LinkedIn for a few years now. So, I was super excited when we first hosted our first event together in December, and when we finally got to meet in person this week.

When AI-generated news and the AI hype make it harder to discern what's real and what's actually working, being part of a community of trusted, human leaders and experts is the way to go.

So here’s a special Friday shout-out Grant and the network!
Give him a follow and maybe we'll see each other at a future event, too.


Love the red tumbler, btw. It goes so well with The HUMAN Agentic AI Edge and the launch-week promo of a symbolic Dollar (or Euro) over on Amazon.


Happy Friday, everyone!


#ArtificialIntelligence #Leadership #Community

“I hadn’t thought about agents as digital employees, yet,” shared a leader with me after attending yesterday workshop, “but it makes sense!”

Let’s get this out of the way for context:
- Approaching agents as digital employees is a helpful metaphor as you define guidelines, guardrails, add processes, but…
- They are still “just software” when it comes to the accountability for their decisions incl legal or ethical aspects (accountability stays with you)

I call it the “Dual-Lens Principle.”

Another attendee rightfully asked who creates the majority of agents in a business today?—IT. 

HR is not at the table. Yet, it’s a major workforce shift and HR can contribute wit that experience. Job descriptions, codes of conduct, rewards, org charts included. IT and HR need to collaborate.

That’s a central point in The HUMAN Agentic AI Edge which participants learned about. Tomorrow is the official book launch, which means you can learn about it, too!


How do you view AI agents?—As digital employees or just another piece of software?


#ArtificialIntelligence #AgenticAI #IntelligenceBriefing

The HUMAN Agentic AI Edge was just covered on Forbes!! Coverage includes the 6 dimensions of the Operating Model you will find in the book.  

When work is no longer a matter of effort, purpose moves into focus.

When AI generates outcomes on par with human results, quality and delivery speed become the differentiating factors.

Ultimately, the question is how you define your value at work when AI can eventually do more tasks that humans do.

The key lies in elevating what makes us unique.
And that’s a core role any leader needs to play. 

How do you define your value at work?


Thank you, Joe McKendrick, for covering a key message of the book in this article!

Don’t miss to get your copy of the best-selling ebook, paperback, or audiobook wherever you get your books!

#ArtificialIntelligence #AgenticAi #IntelligenceBriefing

You've heard me say it time and again:
Your AI agents need high-quality data to deliver high-quality results.

But what does Agentic-Ready Data look like?
And where does that high-quality data even come from when data is rarely current, correct, enriched, or governed.

I can't wait to learn about it from the Precisely team at the Gartner Data & Analytics Summit in Orlando next week at booth # 727. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/dXhPcGiS

If you're on site, don't forget to join this session:

How a Global Gaming Leader Is Closing the Agentic AI Data Integrity Gap
Monday, March 09, 2026 / 03:30 PM - 04:00 PM EDT (Osceola D)
Paul Bell, Global Head Of Data Trust & Integrity, Entain
Cam Ogden, SVP of Product Management, Precisely

One thing is clear, the highest quality data that is integrated, governed, and enriched is needed for successful AI, automation, and analytics initiatives across the enterprise.

It better be. It has to be.


See you in Orlando!


#ArtificialIntelligence #AgenticAI #Sponsored

If you haven’t gotten your copy, yet, there’s still time to snag the launch price of $0.99 on Amazon today! The HUMAN Agentic AI Edge

graphical user interface, text, application

“What’s new, and what’s real with Agentic AI?” is the big question I’m getting answers to next week in Orlando.

I’ll cover the latest news on site, interview top executives, and talk to customers to get information straight from the source.

One thing is clear:
Large organizations are innovating with Agentic AI. They just don’t talk about it publicly (out of fear to get bad press or backlash). But we need more transparency (not less!), so everyone can avoid the costly mistakes. 

Join me in Orlando for the Gartner Data & Analytics Summit! Leave a comment if you’re going, too.


Still need to register? Use code ‘JOINMEINORLANDO’ to save $450 off registration: https://lnkd.in/duUD-re3
 

PS: Looking forward to catching up with Kate Strachnyi, SCOTT TAYLOR, George Firican, and Ravit Jain.

#GartnerDA #DataCommunity #DataSummit #ArtificialIntelligence #AgenticAI

Anthropic calls it: Theoretical capability.
You might also call it: Market potential. 

Keep in mind that these are the key industries and occupations that Anthropic is selling to!

So, it’s not surprising for a vendor to picture their product as covering close to 100%(!) of tasks in management, finance, programming, legal, life sciences, and office admin.

The bigger questions are about how to turn theoretical into actual capability:
1) Why is there so much untapped potential?
2) How can organizations close that gap?

Yet, the cause is all around you in your business:
Leaders are asking “We’ve given everyone access to Copilot, Claude & Co., now what?”

Tools have theoretical capabilities.
Humans need actual capabilities. 


Since the summer, I’ve been running cohorts of my “Certified AI Leader” upskilling program.

The four levels of the learning journey cover the basics of using AI assistants, applying advanced prompting techniques, building your first AI agents, and leading your teams through AI-driven change: https://lnkd.in/dq4ayVWX


Prepare your teams expand their actual capabilities. DM me for the details. 


PS: In the meantime, learn how to shape the next generation of AI-ready teams with my new book, The HUMAN Agentic AI Edge.

#ArtificialIntelligence #Upskilling #IntelligenceBriefing

Your biggest AI advantage is a repeatable way for people to use it.

Start a tiered champion program: basic membership and sandbox access, short role-based courses, hands-on prototyping, and named local contacts who connect teams to deployment support. 

Curate short learning paths, keep playgrounds safe, and push pilots that show clear deployment paths so adoption comes from informed users, not guesses.  

Stop confusing speed with scale. Quick experiments teach a lot, but without structure they create waste. Require a simple pilot template (goal, expected benefit, data needs, security checklist, deployment path), run short cycles, and measure outcomes you can act on. Keep governance light but consistent so teams don’t reinvent the same work.  


This is just an excerpt of my weekly newsletter—subscribe to read the latest issue via the link under my name.

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