Workbench Meeting | Europe × GCC | Q4 2026

When everyone has AI, what still creates competitive advantage?

Turning individual AI productivity gains into better decisions, organisational capabilities and lasting competitive advantage.

AI can make individuals faster. But does it make the organisation better? For the first time, this Workbench Meeting brings senior leaders from DACH/Europe and the GCC together in one curated group. We will explore how individual productivity gains translate into better decisions, organisational capabilities and lasting competitive advantage, and what needs to change in how organisations decide and act.

Express your interest

The next session at a glance

Tuesday, 24 November 2026 | 16:30–18:30 Berlin (CET) | 18:30–20:30 Riyadh | 19:30–21:30 Dubai. Two hours of confidential peer exchange, in English, via Microsoft Teams.

Personally invited senior leaders

Maximum 12 people, including hosts and contributors

Tuesday, 24 November 2026

Two-hour interactive session

Virtual via Microsoft Teams | In English

No participation fee

Off the record | No external attribution

Beyond adoption: the executive question

For leaders, the question is not just what AI can do. It is what the organisation can do differently because of it. Where does faster work improve decisions, customer value and execution? Where do existing silos, handovers and decision rights absorb the gains? We will compare concrete experiences across industries and regions, without a vendor pitch or a prescribed answer.

Access is not advantage

If everyone has AI, what still makes your organisation hard to copy?

Faster people, same organisation?

Are we accelerating individual tasks, or improving how the whole organisation performs?

Delegation needs accountability

Which decisions should AI support, and who remains accountable when humans and AI work together?

How we will work

Workbench Meeting

Short impulses. Shared thinking.

Hosted and moderated by Ricardo Miquelino. A small group of senior leaders from DACH/Europe and the GCC, with room for your own questions and no sales agenda.

Since 2014, ... and dos Santos has curated Workbench Meetings as confidential peer sessions. Two to three short expert impulses open the conversation. We then test assumptions, compare experience and sharpen practical options together.

The session takes place in English and is off the record. Statements will not be attributed externally to individuals or companies. Participants receive a concise, non-attributed summary of the shared insights within 48 hours.

Questions to bring to the table

  • Where is AI changing organisational performance, rather than simply saving time on a task?
  • Which handovers, incentives or decision rights prevent individual gains from becoming collective results?
  • What should stay human-led, and what can be delegated without losing judgment or accountability?
  • Which combination of expertise, data and collaboration would competitors find difficult to copy?

Opening Impulse

Kuntal Malia

Kuntal Malia

AI & Data Leader | Former Chief AI Officer, Metro Brands

Kuntal brings more than 20 years of experience across Silicon Valley and India.
Now based in Dubai and Mumbai, she was named a Fast Company Middle East Top 50 AI Leader 2025 and a RETHINK Retail AI Leader 2027.

Beyond the Model: Where Competitive Advantage Really Begins

When everyone has access to the same AI models, competitive advantage shifts to how work is redesigned and who owns the outcome. Kuntal will explore how regional approaches shape these choices, who gets a seat at the table and what leaders in DACH/Europe and the GCC can learn from each other.

Expert Impulse

Erik Wirsing

Erik Wirsing

Head of Innovation DPD Germany

Before joining DPD Erik worked more than 26 years for DB Schenker, where he built and led Global Innovation as Vice President. His initiatives included the DB Schenker Lab with Fraunhofer IML and a global venture clienting programme, connecting research, start-ups and operational business to turn new technologies into tangible impact.

When everyone has AI, execution becomes the competitive advantage.

As access to similar AI models and tools becomes widespread, the difference lies in execution: identifying relevant problems, making knowledge and data usable, accelerating decisions and embedding new solutions in the organisation so they can scale.

What you can take away

Sharper judgment. Practical next steps.

Distinguish activity from advantage

Use contrasting peer perspectives to challenge where your AI efforts create meaningful value and where they merely add speed.

Identify the organisational bottleneck

Look beyond the tool to the decisions, interfaces and collaboration patterns that determine whether an improvement reaches the whole organisation.

Frame a useful next experiment

Leave with better questions and a practical hypothesis to test in your own context, supported by the shared summary rather than another generic AI roadmap.

Express your interest

Would you like to join the conversation?

We curate a group of no more than 12 people in total, including hosts and contributors. This first joint DACH/Europe–GCC cohort brings together complementary experience and perspectives across industries.

Use the form to express your interest in the session on 24 November. A place is confirmed only by personal invitation. We review each request personally and follow up with an invitation and access details where there is a fit with the group. Participation is free and invitations are not transferable.

Your interest in the next WBM