In a business environment defined by rapid change, Marcelo Longhi, Vice President and General Manager at Novo Nordisk Romania, believes that true leadership today means embracing AI intelligently. He argues that AI’s greatest value is not operational but strategic: it enables companies to redirect their focus toward high-impact priorities and become significantly more agile.
“Thanks to AI, we can focus on other priorities. And the biggest success for the company is becoming increasingly agile,” he says.
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For Marcelor Longhi, agility is the organization’s ability to absorb and implement major shifts without losing momentum — turning disruption into a competitive advantage.
“We need new people and new skills”
However, he warns that implementing AI effectively is far from easy. While tools like ChatGPT or Copilot attract the most excitement, the real challenge lies in talent and capabilities.
“We have many challenges and opportunities. And if we want to be ready, we need to start today. The question is: do we have the right people? The answer is no. We are not ready. That means we must hire,” he states.
The pace of transformation is evident in marketing: “Last year we talked about multichannel. Today, the concept is already outdated — now it’s omnichannel.”
His message is straightforward: before exploring advanced AI concepts, companies must strengthen their foundational skills and invest in upskilling their teams. Rather than eliminating jobs, AI creates new roles and boosts demand for specialized competencies.
Longhi learned about leadership lessons by making also mistakes
With nearly 19 years of experience in the company, Longhi admits that many leadership lessons came through personal mistakes. He recalls a period when, as marketing manager, he encouraged his team to prioritize work-life balance — advising them to leave the office at five — while he stayed late into the evening.
“I said the right things, but I wasn’t a good example… because one day, at eight in the evening, my entire team was still in the office simply because I was there.”
His conclusion: leaders are not judged by what they say, but by what they embody. Marcelo Longhi shared these insights during the CEO + HR Roundtable organized by Revista CARIERE, alongside speakers from Citibank and Genpact.
Photo: Forbes
