Meet Brikesh Kumar, a business growth advisor helping mid-market CEOs utilize data and artificial intelligence to drive efficiency, innovation and growth. With over 15 years advising leadership teams across various industries, Brikesh provides strategic guidance to level the playing field between mid-market companies and their larger competitors.
“If you are the CEO of a mid-market company doing $20 to $100 million in revenue, your top priority is determining how to increase competitive advantage,” Brikesh explains. “Whether it’s reducing costs, creating new products, improving inventory management, or boosting customer satisfaction, the pressure is constant.”
Having worked with numerous mid-sized organizations, Brikesh understands the daily challenges CEOs grapple with. “These leaders wear many hats. They don’t just run the company – they are often still heavily involved in daily operations and strategic initiatives across business units. There are only so many hours in a day, so the opportunity cost is very high if routine tasks and decisions could instead be automated.”
Democratizing Data, AI and Machine Learning
In the past, leveraging big data analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities required an army of data scientists and hefty investment. However, Brikesh explains these technologies have evolved to be more accessible for mid-market players.
“One myth I come across working with leadership teams is the belief that AI and ML tools are only for big tech companies with huge data sets. But now, with careful planning, strategic data gathering and the right guidance, we can democratize these technologies so mid-market companies can also leverage them to punch above their weight class.”
Brikesh’s Strategy for Efficiency and Innovation
So how can mid-market leadership teams harness these technologies to compete at the highest levels? Brikesh offers three strategies:
1. Conduct An Operational Analysis
Start by auditing all business operations, gathering and structuring the right data sets. The goal is determining repetitive manual tasks and routine decisions that could instead be automated using AI. This frees up bandwidth for leadership to focus on more strategic initiatives with higher ROI.
2. Map Customer Journeys
Next, help leadership teams understand exactly who their various customer personas are and what unique journeys they take when interacting with the brand across channels. With the right data architecture, you can leverage AI to determine what offerings will best meet these individuals’ needs and serve them in a highly personalized way at scale.
3. Monitor Market Signals
Finally, processing billions of market data signals using natural language processing and machine learning algorithms allows us to identify subtle shifts and emerging trends across an industry. This enables leadership teams to proactively adapt and even lead disruption in their categories – rather than react defensively.
The Next Frontier of AI
While data analytics and AI may seem complex, Brikesh believes mid-market players can quickly reap major benefits with the guidance of experienced advisors.
“Implementing an effective data strategy allows these companies to reduce costs through automation, deepen customer loyalty with personalization and consistently beat competitors by harnessing market signals and trends.”
Rather than being intimidated by new technologies, Brikesh encourages mid-market CEOs to view them as an opportunity. With careful orchestration, data and AI can provide a competitive edge allowing mid-market companies to outpace challengers of all sizes.
Conclusion
With vast experience driving business transformation, Brikesh Kumar makes a compelling case for mid-market leadership teams to harness data, AI and automation to forge a competitive edge. By conducting analysis of operations and customers, while monitoring market signals using algorithms, companies gain strategic insights to reduce costs, delight customers and stay ahead of trends.
