Leading intelligent growth in the age of AI

February 2026 — Artificial intelligence has moved from buzzword to boardroom imperative. No longer a distant promise, it is actively transforming how organizations scale, deploy capital, design communities, and sharpen their competitive edge. Yet alongside its vast potential comes a new set of challenges, from governance and workforce preparedness to equity and risk management.

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As AI accelerates change across industries, the real question is no longer whether to adopt it, but how to harness it responsibly and strategically. Executives from different industries recently gathered at the Invest: Palm Beach 6th Edition Leadership Summit to discuss how today’s leaders can move beyond experimentation and toward deliberate, intelligent growth in the age of AI.

Watch Panel 1 of the Invest: Palm Beach 6th Edition launch conference:

Providing faster results

“As an MPO, AI is not new to us, but it is becoming more visible and providing faster results. We use AI and all kinds of data for regional modeling, helping us plan for the next 20-25 years in predictive terms. Running potential future scenarios and projections in a matter of minutes is very important to us,” said Valerie Neilson, executive director of the Palm Beach Metropolitan Planning Organization. 

“AI should enhance talent, not replace it. This tool is helping us to do research faster and reduce the timing that it takes to finish tasks. Early adoption of AI is also important, and the key is to provide good guidance on how to use it,” Neilson stressed.

Nelson was speaking as part of the summit’s first panel, titled “Intelligent Growth: How companies leverage AI to outpace traditional limits, and the steps leaders can take to integrate it with impact.”

Neilson’s thoughts echo the national trend that shows how MPOs are increasingly using AI to shift from reactive, manual planning to proactive, data-driven, and automated processes. 

But the shift is really taking off on campus, with schools helping students prepare for an AI-assisted career.

“As an educational institution, we are preparing students for the technological future. Businesses and organizations in Palm Beach get to benefit from the talent that we produce, and we teach our students to embrace and utilize AI and other technologies,” said Ryan Britton, vice president for economic development at the Florida Atlantic University. “Every discipline will have some exposure to AI, every profession will need to use it. In response to this, we have built a robust education department to be on the cutting edge curve of technology,” Britton added.

Britton’s response is perfectly aligned with how schools across Palm Beach County are integrating AI. 

The Palm Beach County Schools recently implemented Khanmigo, an AI-powered chatbot and tutor for students and teachers across all middle and high schools. The tool serves as a writing coach, research assistant, and interactive tutor in subjects like math and history, aimed at enhancing learning rather than replacing teachers.

The panel also included insights from the banking sector, which highlighted the role of AI for internal and client-facing operations.

“The banking industry is using AI tools to deliver better client solutions. From a client experience perspective, we have become more efficient since the implementation of AI into our internal systems. AI helps us to conduct analysis faster, reducing the time it takes to make decisions. Our goal is to use AI tools in order to insulate us from a client-centric focus,” said Michael MacIntyre, chief banking officer at City National Bank.

With 78% of local financial firms now using AI in at least one core function, the technology is moving from experimentation to essential, with a focus on augmenting rather than replacing staff.

“The question is not how to use AI, but how to use it without getting into trouble. AI applications are great, but we must establish the correct guardrails in place to make sure that our framework is set from the top down to be used responsibly,” said Paul Gabriele, partner at EisnerAmper. “Leaders in the private sector have to treat AI as an investment, even if the returns on investment are not immediate,” Gabriele highlighted.

For complete conference panel discussions, tune in to our YouTube Channel.

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