Nick: My name is Nick Villani, and I’m the CEO of Edifai. We’re an AI skills training company focused purely on education. We often work with companies that have deployed AI tools but are struggling to drive adoption. There’s a lot of fear around AI, and we come in to teach people how to use it confidently and responsibly.

My background is in learning. I’ve spent about two decades working in learning and development, and I’m deeply interested in the intersection between technology and people. I’m not highly technical, but I’m fascinated by how new technologies change behaviour, and we’re passionate about helping teams navigate that change.

Interviewer: Over the last couple of days there’s been a lot of discussion about investing in people and learning. From a training point of view, how important is it to upskill people and teams in AI capabilities?

Nick: The wave is arriving now. Over the last few years we’ve seen rapid technological innovation, and many companies raced to deploy tools. Almost every CEO has mandated being “AI-first.” The realization setting in is that there’s a people challenge to solve. I often think back to digital transformation and the principle that change is roughly 10% technology and 90% people. Organizations are waking up to that. The ones pulling ahead are investing in their people as much as they invest in the tools.

Interviewer: From a C‑suite perspective, what’s the one takeaway you want leaders to consider when implementing AI?

Nick: Given the exponential pace of change, leaders need to set clear direction and governance while creating safe space for experimentation. The technology is evolving faster than policies and frameworks can be rolled out, so executives should actively use the tools themselves and signal that thoughtful experimentation is encouraged. Often, the higher up you go, the more time‑poor leaders are, and the less they’ve actually used tools like Claude, Copilot, or Gemini — the tool du jour changes quickly. Leaders should mandate and model usage, govern without stifling innovation, and enable grassroots experimentation to flourish.

Interviewer: Looking ahead 12 months, what are you watching most closely when it comes to AI trends and the impact AI is having on business adoption?

Nick: As of 2026, we’re clearly in the era of agents and agentic frameworks. Looking toward 2030, there’s a lot of discussion about increasingly autonomous operations. Whether that’s utopian or dystopian is up for debate, but the pace of change is unlike anything we’ve seen in previous technology cycles.

Interviewer: You were on stage earlier here at The AI Summit London. What’s been your experience, and what’s your biggest takeaway?

Nick: It’s been a fantastic event. I’ve heard plenty about tooling, platforms, and architecture — which is to be expected at a tech‑led conference. What I’d love to hear even more about are the HR and leadership implications. AI is changing role structures and early‑career pathways. What happens to the talent pipeline if a whole layer of entry‑level work is automated? If you manage a team where half the “team” are AI agents, how do you lead effectively? I’ve heard the edges of those conversations today, and I’d like to see them move to the mainstream at future conferences.

Interviewer: If I take away one practical insight from you today, where should I focus my time and investment in AI?

Nick: Wherever you are on the journey, just starting out or already hiring AI specialists,  invest in your people. It’s almost impossible to be a subject‑matter expert across everything right now, so prioritize building the capability to learn. Create learning environments, build confidence, and help teams develop the habits to learn, unlearn, and relearn. That’s how you stay effective as the landscape keeps shifting.

Closing

Nick Villani is the Founder and CEO of Edifai, an AI education business working with clients including InterSystems, Cribl, Keepit, and Darktrace. He has spent 20 years partnering with technical teams and has learned one thing repeatedly: the technology is almost never the hard part. 

He is passionate about the intersection of technology and people and brings a human lens to how tech teams approach change. At Edifai, we believe transformation is 90% about people and 10% about the tech.