Accelerating Microsoft’s AI Transformation – co-presented by ODF & CEO
An Org Design and Development Systems Approach
Friday, February 20th @ 12 – 1 PM (ET)
In partnership, The Center for Effective Organizations (CEO) & Organization Design Forum (ODF) welcome Ewa Kacewicz, Head of Organization Design at Microsoft. This Community Conversation will be moderated by Beth Gunderson, CEO Senior Affiliate Practitioner, both are ODF Advisory Board Members. Join us for the first CEO and ODF collaborative event, bringing together the expertise of both communities for shared learning and connection.
As organizations accelerate their use of AI, many leaders are discovering that technology alone does not drive transformation. Strategy, structure, workflows, management processes, and organizational systems must evolve together to translate experimentation into sustained impact. Ewa explains how Microsoft is approaching AI transformation through an organization design and development systems lens. The session offers a rare, practice-based perspective on how large, complex organizations can intentionally embed AI into the way work gets done, while strengthening trust, autonomy, and continuous learning.
Ewa will share how the company is accelerating its own internal adoption of AI tools. As “customer zero” in AI transformation, Microsoft is testing and refining AI-powered ways of working internally before scaling them externally. You will see what the company is calling “The AI-Powered Operating Model”, which builds on the work of Jay Galbraith, Amy Kates, and Greg Kesler to create a systems view of where AI can transform strategy setting, workflows, management processes, and organizational health monitoring. We’ll share
- An AI Maturity Diagnostic that is helping Microsoft units move from experimentation to measurable productivity gains, while fostering trust, autonomy, and continuous learning.
- A case study of Microsoft’s Data Centers organization will illustrate the practical application of these frameworks.
- Finally, you’ll also see how the HR team is using AI to augment their organization design and development work.
Ewa Kacewicz is an organizational development and operating model strategist at Microsoft, with a PhD in social and organizational psychology and a background in consulting at Bain and the broader tech industry (Oracle, Dell). She brings a systems-thinking lens to her work – bridging strategy, ways of working, and culture to enable sustainable growth. Ewa has recently led initiatives focused on AI operating model maturity, enterprise transformation, and workforce design in Microsoft.
Known for her ability to distill complex, ambiguous problems into clear, actionable insights and to foster strong partnerships across HR, business, and technical teams, she is a divergent thinker and synthesizer by nature, and thrives at the intersection of innovation, organizational design, and human behavior.
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