How Large Companies Scale AI, Data, and Delivery

Apr 9

AI transformation sounds exciting in theory. In practice, many companies struggle with the same questions: How do you align teams? How do you turn strategy into action? And how do you make sure AI, data, and delivery actually create business value?

At Porsche Digital, Benedikt Irsch works in exactly this space. As a delivery leader in a complex enterprise setup, he helps connect strategy, OKRs, planning, data platforms, and cross-team execution. In this interview, he shares what really matters when companies want to scale AI, improve delivery, and create better flow across large organisations.

Interview

Q: How would you describe your work at Porsche Digital in simple words?

Benedikt:
In simple terms, I help turn big strategic goals into real progress in day-to-day work. In large organizations, that is often harder than it sounds. There are many teams, many dependencies, and a lot of moving parts. My role is to help create clarity, focus, and flow so that strategy does not stay on PowerPoint slides, but actually becomes visible in delivery.
At Porsche Digital, I work in an environment where data, analytics, platform topics, and AI all come together. That means I spend a lot of time connecting people, aligning priorities, and making sure teams can move in the same direction without losing speed.

Q: What makes this kind of work especially challenging in large companies?

Benedikt:
The biggest challenge is usually not a lack of ideas. Most companies have many smart people and many good initiatives. The real challenge is alignment.
You have leadership goals on one side, teams working on concrete delivery on the other side, and in between there are often gaps: unclear priorities, too many dependencies, unclear ownership, or reporting that does not help teams make better decisions.
That is where I come in. I like working in complex environments and creating systems that help people collaborate better. For me, that is the exciting part: taking complexity and turning it into something that people can actually work with.

Q: You mentioned that strategy becomes visible in delivery. How do you make that happen?

Benedikt:
A big part of that is creating a clear connection between goals and execution. In my time, we introduced OKRs company-wide and embedded them not only at a high level, but also into domain teams, program level structures, and related ceremonies.
That is important because goals only matter when they are part of the actual operating rhythm of a company. If OKRs sit in a document somewhere, they do not change anything. But when they shape conversations, planning, prioritization, and decision-making, then they become useful.
I believe teams need to understand not just what they are building, but why it matters and how success will be measured. That creates ownership.

Q: What role does data play in that?

Benedikt:
A huge one. Good steering needs good data.
As a manager in Analytics, I am also involved in making Key Results available to consumers through our new data platform based on Databricks. The idea behind that is enablement: teams should not be dependent on a few central people for every insight. They should be able to access and use their own data in a meaningful way.
That changes a lot. When teams can see their progress, understand their impact, and work with data more directly, they become more autonomous and more effective. For me, that is one of the most practical sides of transformation: giving teams the ability to own and use their data.

Q: Many companies talk about AI right now. What does AI transformation mean to you in practice?

Benedikt:
For me, AI transformation is not mainly about tools. It is about whether an organization is able to make AI useful in a real business context.
That means you need more than technical experiments. You need the right structure, the right delivery setup, the right governance, and the right collaboration between business, data, and engineering. Otherwise, AI stays a side project.
What I find especially interesting is helping organizations build the environment where AI can become operational. That includes clear priorities, measurable outcomes, data availability, and teams that are aligned enough to move from idea to implementation.
In other words: AI transformation is not just about innovation. It is about execution.

Q: You also work in very large planning environments. Can you share what that looks like?

Benedikt:
Yes, that is a very relevant part of my work. I am involved in large PI Planning events and I work in a value stream environment with 12 other trains. That scale changes everything.
At that level, delivery is no longer just about one team doing good work. It is about how multiple teams, domains, and trains coordinate with each other. You need a system that helps people understand dependencies early, make trade-offs, and stay connected to the bigger goal.
These large-scale setups can become chaotic very quickly if there is no shared structure. But when they are well-designed, they create something very powerful: alignment at scale.

Q: You often speak about flow. What does that mean for someone outside the agile or tech world?

Benedikt:
Flow is basically the ability of an organization to get important work done without unnecessary friction.
A lot of companies are busy all the time, but that does not automatically mean they are effective. Work gets stuck. Decisions take too long. Teams wait for each other. Priorities change too often. That is a flow problem.
I use approaches like Flight Levels because they help connect different layers of an organization. They help teams, managers, and leadership see how work moves across the system. For me, that is very practical. It is not about using fancy methods. It is about making bottlenecks visible and improving how value moves through the company.

Q: What have you learned about leadership in these environments?

Benedikt:
That clarity is a form of leadership.
In complex organizations, people do not need more noise. They need orientation. They need to understand what matters now, what trade-offs are being made, and where decisions belong.
I have learned that good delivery leadership is not about controlling everything. It is about creating the conditions in which teams can succeed. That means clear goals, useful transparency, honest prioritization, and the courage to address systemic issues instead of just pushing teams to work harder.

Q: What kind of companies are usually a good fit for the way you work?

Benedikt:
Usually companies that are growing in complexity faster than their operating model is evolving.
That can be a larger enterprise trying to scale AI or improve delivery across many teams. It can also be a company that has strong specialists, but lacks cross-team alignment and clear execution structures. And sometimes it is a company that already has ambitious goals, but needs help turning them into a working system.
I am especially valuable where AI transformation, delivery at scale, data platform enablement, and multi-team coordination come together.

Q: Why is this relevant for future customers working with external partners?

Benedikt:
Because many organizations do not just need one role. They need a combination of capabilities.
Sometimes they need someone who can think at enterprise level and create structure across teams. Sometimes they also need specialists who can support execution in delivery, analytics, platform, or transformation topics.
That is why a setup like Vishnu Artists can be very attractive. Companies often benefit from a flexible mix of strong freelancers and delivery leadership that can connect the dots. It is not only about filling roles. It is about bringing in the right combination of people who can create momentum.
And for companies looking for support in areas like AI transformation or solution train level coordination, that mix can be especially powerful.

Q: If you had to summarise your approach in one sentence, what would it be?

Benedikt:
I help organizations turn strategic ambition into real, measurable execution, especially when AI, data, and multiple teams need to work together.

Benedikt Irsch represents a new kind of delivery leader: someone who combines strategic thinking with operational execution, and who understands that AI transformation only creates value when goals, data, teams, and delivery systems are aligned. His work at Porsche Digital shows what modern enterprise delivery can look like when clarity, enablement, and flow come together.

Yasmine Ruffehe