Powered by MBD: Scaling AI requires leadership, data and organizational capabilities
DAVID F. DELGADO S. | EGADE BUSINESS SCHOOL
Moving from experimenting with artificial intelligence to integrating it into organizations requires more than new tools: it takes data, technological capabilities, governance and leadership to connect AI with business decisions.
These challenges shaped a new edition of Powered by MBD, an initiative presented by the Master in Business Analytics (MBD) at EGADE Business School of Tecnológico de Monterrey, which brought together more than 60 participants from different programs at the Santa Fe location on August 14.
Fabiola Vásquez, director of the Master in Business Analytics at the Santa Fe location, noted that the growing adoption of artificial intelligence also raises environmental and ethical challenges that organizations will need to address.
“While there have been important advances in the use of artificial intelligence, there are still other issues that need to be addressed, including its environmental impact, the use and stewardship of water, and the ethical considerations associated with the growing use of AI,” she said.
Under the title “From strategy to execution: how leading companies are implementing”, the conversation brought together Leonardo Zubieta Angulo, Cognitive Technologies Specialist and IBM Quantum Ambassador at IBM Mexico; Felipe Labbé, Senior Strategic Advisor at HITSS–América Móvil; and Pablo Junco Boquer, Principal Solution Engineer, Data Platform at Microsoft.
The panel was moderated by Alexandra Solano, director of the Digital Transformation Hub.
How to scale artificial intelligence across organizations
The conversation addressed some of the questions that currently accompany enterprise AI adoption: how to scale it, how to overcome fragmented data and technology debt, who is accountable for decisions made by AI agents, and which responsibilities leaders should not delegate.
One of the main themes was the shift from experimenting with isolated tools to building the capabilities needed to embed artificial intelligence into business processes and decision-making.
In that context, the discussion covered data quality and governance, technology infrastructure, platform integration, and the ability to measure results and manage risks.
The panel also discussed technology debt, associated with outdated systems, fragmented architectures and accumulated technologies that can make it harder to adopt new solutions.
AI agents raise new questions about accountability and leadership
Another topic was the rise of AI agents, which can carry out tasks with greater autonomy and create new opportunities to automate activities and redesign workflows.
Their adoption also raises questions about human oversight, accountability and the limits of delegating decisions within organizations.
These questions broaden the challenge of technology adoption: beyond having the right infrastructure and data, companies also need to define how artificial intelligence will be integrated into their processes and which decisions will remain under human responsibility.
Powered by MBD connects Business Analytics education with industry
Powered by MBD seeks to create spaces where the EGADE Business School academic community can engage with specialists working directly on the challenges posed by data, artificial intelligence and digital transformation in organizations.
This edition brought together participants from different EGADE programs to engage with professionals from IBM Mexico, HITSS–América Móvil and Microsoft on the business implications of a technology whose adoption continues to accelerate.
The conversation connects directly with the Master in Business Analytics curriculum, which integrates advanced analytics, applied artificial intelligence, machine learning, generative and agentic AI, as well as the analysis of risks, bias and governance.
From this perspective, the challenge is not simply to adopt new tools, but to develop leaders who can turn data into decisions and connect technology with business strategy and objectives.
