Faisal Hoque

Videos

Episode 11: Top 10 AI Questions for 2026: Liability, Deepfakes, & The Agentic Enterprise #aiagents
Excerpt from the Rotman School of Management Event
How Companies can roll out AI WITHOUT replacing employees | Fast Company
BALANCING INNOVATION AND SECURITY
Navigating business transformation in a hyperdigital era

Learn More About Faisal Hoque

Faisal Hoque is on a mission to humanize organizational transformation by bridging the worlds of business, technology and humanity.

Founder of SHADOKA, NextChapter, and other companies, Hoque is a three-time winner of Deloitte Technology Fast 50 and Fast 500™ awards and a bestselling author of ten books. His 2025 book, “Transcend: Unlocking Humanity in the Age of AI,” was named a Financial Times book of the month and a “must-read” by the Next Big Idea Club. “Transcend” topped USA Today, Los Angeles Times and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists as well. Hoque’s 2023 book, “Reinvent: Navigating Business Transformation in a Hyperdigital Era,” a #1 Wall Street Journal bestseller, was published in association with the Swiss business school IMD. His latest book, “Reimagining Government: Achieving the Promise of AI,” was released in January 2026.

For thirty years, Hoque has driven sustainable innovation, growth and transformation for organizations including Master Card, American Express, GE, French Social Security Services, U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), PepsiCo, Chase and IBM. He serves as a transformation and innovation partner for CACI, a $9 billion company focused on U.S. national security, and as a contributor to MIT’s IDEAS Social Innovation Challenge.

Named by Ziff Davis as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Technology, Hoque was also recognized by Thinkers360 in 2025 as a top 10 thought leader in transformation, top 25 in innovation and Al and among the top 50 in leadership and governance. His more than 30 book awards include two Axiom Gold Medals, a Nautilus Book Award and appearances on the Thinkers50 Distinguished Achievement Award shortlist in 2023 and 2025.

Hoque’s work has been featured in Fast Company, The Financial Times, MIT Sloan Management Review, Harvard Business Review, Psychology Today, The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Forbes and other leading publications.

Hoque’s work and life are profoundly influenced by a distinctive fusion of Eastern philosophy and American entrepreneurial spirit. He frequently speaks at international conferences, business schools, corporate gatherings and business summits. Hoque is a passionate advocate for cancer research, raising awareness and supporting research efforts to combat the disease.

Faisal Hoque is available to advise your organization via virtual and in-person consulting meetings, interactive workshops and customized keynotes through the exclusive representation of Stern Speakers & Advisors, a division of Stern Strategy Group®.

Rethinking Leadership in the AI Era

Al is no longer coming – it’s here. And while most companies are racing to implement tools, the true competitive edge lies elsewhere: in leadership. In this provocative and practical keynote, serial tech founder Faisal Hoque unpacks what Al truly demands of modern leaders. As he says, this transformation is not just about scaling technology – it’s about scaling consciousness. Hoque reveals how the most successful organizations align technical innovation with cultural transformation, creating space for humanity, creativity and trust to flourish. Drawing from his bestselling book “TRANSCEND,” Hoque introduces the OPEN and CARE frameworks for navigating the Al era with clarity and courage. Leaders will walk away not only with a deeper understanding of what’s coming – but with the mindset and tools to shape it.

TANGIBLE TAKEAWAYS:

Rethink Leadership for the Al Era: Learn why traditional management models fall short-and what a “new breed” of leadership really looks like.
Bridge Tech, Strategy & Human Values: Discover how to align organizational goals with human-centered values in a time of technological upheaval.
Use the OPEN and CARE Frameworks: Apply Faisal’s practical tools to navigate Al transformation with agility, intention, and resilience.
Design for Clarity, Agility, and Growth: Understand how to build a culture that adapts with clarity and thrives amidst uncertainty.

Hoque delivers concrete, flexible models that show leaders how to start adopting and adapting to Al. His frameworks for innovation and risk management equip leaders to both harness and humanize Al within their organizations. These models are not just theoretical – they are actionable playbooks that help leaders reimagine organizational design, align technology with purpose, and embed responsible innovation across every level of the enterprise.

Agentic AI: Who’s Really in Charge?

AI agents are no longer a futuristic concept, they are already making decisions and taking actions in business environments. Meanwhile, many leaders still lack a clear understanding of how these systems operate, the spectrum of autonomy they inhabit, and the human impact of their deployment. In this timely presentation, entrepreneur and tech strategist Faisal Hoque guides executives through the realities of agentic AI, from workflow bots that follow strict human-defined rules to fully autonomous agents capable of independent decision-making. Hoque reveals why accountability cannot be an afterthought, and why leaders who fail to act early risk ceding control of critical decisions. Audiences gain a practical framework for evaluating AI agents, building robust accountability systems, and preparing their organizations for the profound shifts agentic AI is already creating.

Global AI, China’s Role and the Decisions That Matter

Artificial intelligence is no longer just a technology story – it is rapidly becoming a geopolitical one. In this eye-opening presentation, innovation strategist and author Faisal Hoque explores how the rapidly evolving AI race between the U.S. and China is reshaping markets, supply chains and the global balance of power. He demonstrates how China’s rapid advances in AI development, data infrastructure and state-supported innovation are challenging long-held assumptions about technological leadership. Revealing what these developments mean for companies operating in an increasingly complex geopolitical environment, audiences learn frameworks for building resilient AI strategies, navigating regulatory and security risks, and competing in a world where innovation, policy and geopolitical strategy are deeply intertwined. Attendees gain a clear view of the global AI landscape along with practical guidance for how organizations can adapt, compete and lead responsibly as the next phase of the AI era unfolds.

Reimagining Government: AI, Accountability and the Future of Public Leadership

Governments face rising citizen expectations, outdated processes and rapidly accelerating technologies. In this fascinating presentation, entrepreneur, tech strategist and author Faisal Hoque draws on his coauthored book “Reimagining Government: Achieving the Promise of AI” to show how leaders can transform legacy organizations into agile, accountable systems that can evolve as quickly as the world around them. Hoque explores how AI, systems thinking and data-driven strategies can improve public services while maintaining transparency, ethics and human-centered governance. He shares practical approaches for breaking silos, redesigning workflows and embedding accountability at every level, so governments can act faster, smarter and more responsibly. Attendees leave with a strategic framework and actionable steps to lead public sector transformation, enhance decision-making and deliver meaningful citizen impact in the digital era.

The Leader's Philosophical Edge: Four Proficiencies for the AI Era

The pressures facing organizations today — from AI adoption to fractured social and political consensus — are not optimization problems. They are questions about what a company is, what counts as knowledge, and what an organization stands for. No algorithm can answer them. In this provocative and rigorously grounded keynote, serial tech founder and author Faisal Hoque makes the case that the most important competitive advantage of the next decade will not be technical — it will be philosophical. Hoque identifies four essential proficiencies every executive needs now: ontology, epistemology, ethics, and practical wisdom. He grounds each in concrete, current examples — from Apple’s stance on data privacy to the Pentagon’s AI strategy and the Bud Light controversy — showing how leaders who cannot examine foundational assumptions will find their organizations shaped by commitments they never consciously chose. Audiences leave with a new vocabulary for the hardest decisions they face and a practical framework for bringing philosophical rigor into the boardroom.

The AI Job Crisis Is Being Built, Not Born

The most influential figures in the AI industry are now expressing sober concern about the very displacement they are engineering. In this urgent and analytically sharp keynote, serial tech founder Faisal Hoque exposes the sleight of hand behind that framing. Job disruption is not arriving like the weather. It is the downstream consequence of specific decisions made in specific boardrooms, shaped by incentive structures that governments and businesses have the power to change. Drawing on his widely read Fast Company essay, Hoque applies insights from MIT economist Daron Acemoglu and political philosopher G.A. Cohen to the AI moment — showing how the same leaders sounding alarms about unemployment are the ones accelerating it, and why that matters for anyone making decisions about how AI gets deployed inside their organization. The question is not whether AI will change work. It is who gets to decide how — and whether leaders are willing to make that choice consciously.