Gena Smith, CHRO at LVMH North America, joined us on The Modern People Leader. We talked about how she sparked an AI transformation across 75 LVMH brands, why HR should lead AI change management, and how to reframe AI adoption as a cultural and creative advantage.
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(05:07) Gena’s Career Journey: From Texas to Global HR Leader
(10:34) Passion for People & Culture Sparked Abroad
(11:01) Serving on the Board of Parsons School of Design
(13:26) What’s in the LVMH Portfolio (and What People Don’t Know)
(16:55) The Culture at LVMH: Pride, Legacy, and Humility
(18:53) Managing People & Culture Across 75 Brands
(19:57) LVMH’s Decentralized Structure & Core Values
(22:48) How HR Anchors Culture Across the Group(24:11) The WSJ Conference that Sparked Her AI Learning Journey
(26:34) Building the HR AI Task Force & Their First Discoveries
(30:02) The “It Feels Like Cheating” Employee Mindset Around AI
(31:29) Why Marketing the AI Message Internally is Key
(32:33) Using AI in Creative Studios & Operational Areas
(36:28) Tackling Fear of AI & Job Security Concerns
(37:18) Why Upskilling is the Real Future-Proofing Strategy
(39:31) Normalizing AI Adoption & Creating Comfort
(42:21) Hot Take: HR Will Write the Blueprint for AI in Business
(43:49) Why HR Must Be on Every AI Governance Board
(45:14) Scaling Change Management Through Internal Campaigns
(46:29) Building LVMH’s AI Marketing Campaign from Scratch
(48:43) Advice for HR Leaders: Start Your Learning Journey Now
(50:54) Why Human Skills Will Become the Ultimate Currency
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Past guests on MPL include Brené Brown, Annie Dean (VP of Team Anywhere, Atlassian), Josh Bersin, Katie Burke (Chief People Officer, Harvey), Liz Fosslien, Helen Russell (Chief People Officer, HubSpot), Dave Scott (Chief People Officer, ADT), Melanie Rossenwasser (Chief People Officer, Dropbox), Crystal Boysen (Chief People Officer, Sprout Social), and many more.
