91˿Ƶ

91˿Ƶ Management Insights: Leveraging AI and New Technologies with George Attar (BCom’82)

George Attar (BCom’82)With the rise of new technologies like generative AI and an increasing need for businesses to adapt quickly and develop solutions to meet pressing business needs, it’s important to consider how and when to bring new technologies into the fold for optimal results.

In this episode of 91˿Ƶ Management Insights, undergraduate student Jeremie Nathaniel is joined by George Attar (BCom’82), former Senior Vice President of Strategic Technology Solutions as McKesson Canada.

Throughout his decades-long career, he has witnessed and led technological transformation in many forms. From the first personal computers to the advent of stronger PCs which became increasingly mainstream in the business pace, to the dot com era and the introduction of cloud services for data management, to today with the rise of artificial intelligence, technology has come a long way.

When considering implementing a new solution to meet a business need, starting smaller and upscaling is ideal, he says.

“You can identify one opportunity in an area. Say, let's do a little pilot here, a little project to test the concept and prove it out and then look at how you deploy it across other areas in the business,” he adds.

Also important is to take the time to consider the problem you’re trying to address and to clarify what the desired result of implementing this solution will be. It’s basically like building a business case, he explains.

“You're basically saying here's the opportunity, here's a possible solution, here's what I need to implement it," he says. “And if you can quantify the benefits all the better.”

As an innovator looking to bring new technologies into the fold, there are a lot of resources out there that can be leveraged to help you meet that goal.

Leverage the people that are experts at it, ” he says. “If you're a manager or supervisor or a student, talk to someone. They might already be aware of solutions that exist.”

“There are third parties that also analyze these kinds of solutions and can say, do they exist, who provides them, etc. You can talk to other companies and see what they are doing. You don't have to do it by yourself.”

Stream the full episode for more insights on using new technologies to adapt to constantly evolving business and client needs, including what to do when a solution doesn’t meet your needs as expected and the value of a well-thought-out solution or tool that does.

This episode was hosted by Jeremie Nathaniel (BCom, 2025).


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