Philippe Rambach is the SVP, Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer of Schneider Electric. His mission is to drive AI innovation at scale, both internally and for customers, to provide greater overall efficiency and sustainability through data-based insights. Philippe is a graduate of Ecole Polytechnique in France and joined Schneider Electric in 2010 from AREVA. He has more than 20 years of experience in strategy, innovation, and business responsibilities in many industries. He held various leadership roles in Energy Management and Industrial Automation. Most recently, as SVP Industrial Automation Commercial, where he led the commercial organization. He has an international career background and is currently based in France, reporting to the Chief Digital Officer.
In an exclusive interview with Digital First Magazine, Philippe shared insights on the role of AI evolving in business and industry, his favorite quote, personal hobbies and interests, future plans, words of wisdom, and much more. The following excerpts are taken from the interview.
Hi Phillippe. Can you walk us through your background and what you’re most passionate about in your work?
In short, it would be a combination of science and business.
I graduated from Ecole Polytechnique in France, with a strong background in mathematics and physics and to this day, I am inclined to rely on scientifically proven claims. In my current job, that approach is helping me to look beyond the impressive demos of some of the AI applications and search for solid capabilities that can really make a difference in our business.
And business has always been the core of my career. I’ve spent more than 20 years holding business responsibilities in many industries. My passion, and the mission I have currently at Schneider Electric, is to drive AI innovation at scale, both internally and for customers, to provide greater efficiency and sustainability through data-based insights.
What do you love the most about your current role?
There are two things that I can say I love about my job. Firstly, it is very rare that you can apply the newest technologies within months or weeks from their invention. Especially in the industry, the time between the announcement of a breakthrough innovation and the possibility to apply it used to be quite significant. The AI field is one of few areas where we can implement the newest advancements of technology very quickly into business.
Secondly, I wouldn’t be equally satisfied with my job if the area of AI application was considerably different. The mission of Schneider Electric to be the trusted partner in efficiency and sustainability. Support our customers in their efficiency and sustainability ambitions translates into my mission as the Chief AI Officer – the majority of AI-enabled features that we introduce into our offers aim at improving the energy efficiency of homes, buildings, infrastructure, industrial processes, etc. We can apply AI in many various fields, and the fact that we apply it can help solve one of the most pressing challenges related to climate change and energy management, is very important to me personally.
How do you see the role of Artificial Intelligence evolving in business and industry, and what implications does this have for leaders and organizations?
AI is rapidly transforming the landscape of business and industry, at an unparalleled speed of consumer adoption. At Schneider Electric, we see AI evolving as key enabler in two areas. First being the enhanced operational efficiency: AI is enabling businesses to optimize their operations through predictive maintenance, real-time monitoring, automated decision-making and broader access to knowledge. This leads to reduced downtime, increased productivity, and significant cost savings.
The second area is sustainability and energy management: AI-driven solutions are crucial in making the most of clean energy sources. By leveraging AI, we can better manage energy consumption, reduce carbon footprints, and develop smarter, more sustainable infrastructure.
For leaders and organizations, the implications of AI are profound. We already observe how AI augments human capabilities, allowing our employees to focus on higher-value tasks. Leaders need to invest in reskilling and upskilling their workforce to adapt to this new reality.
Another important implication is driven by ethical considerations: as AI becomes more integrated into business processes, it is essential to address ethical concerns such as data privacy, bias, and transparency. Leaders must ensure that AI is deployed responsibly and ethically, otherwise they put at risk their reputation, not to mention the legal consequences introduced by regulations entering into force across the globe.
I believe that leaders who embrace AI and its potential will drive their organizations towards greater efficiency, innovation, and sustainability.
What are some common misconceptions or myths about AI that you’d like to debunk?
I would say, there is more in AI than GenAI can offer, and you don’t need to apply large language models to achieve great results. In fact, it is even recommended not to use GenAI in some cases. What we observe in the energy management domain is that traditional machine learning and deep learning techniques require less computation than generative AI and, when implemented into our EcoStruxure products, they allowed our customers to save up to 30% of energy.
What personal or professional philosophies have contributed to your success, and how have you applied these principles in your career?
In my career I was often responsible for strategy, and I always tried to remember that “culture eats strategy for breakfast”. That’s why I put culture high on the agenda and plan ahead for change management, learning and development, and communications, as key drivers to support successful strategy execution.
What are some of your passions outside of work? What do you like to do in your time off?
I book time to disconnect a few times a year and I use it to practice sports and travel to places that I like to come back to, or to some new destinations.
What is your favorite quote?
One of my favorite quotes is from the story of the Gordian Knot: “It makes no difference how they are loosed.”
In an ancient story, the Gordian knot was a knot that no one was ever able to unravel. According to a prophecy, the man “who could untie the intricate Gordian Knot would become the ruler of all Asia”. Facing the knot, Alexander the Great took his sword and simply cut it, saying “It makes no difference how they are loosed”, and fulfilled the prophecy.
When I apply it to the field of AI, I draw some conclusions: First, obviously, older problems that people could not solve before may be solvable now with the new, AI-based approach. However, much more importantly, let’s always use the most simple and direct solution to a problem (and let’s not use complex AI solutions for the sake of using tech for tech, when simple ones, more cost and energy effective, can do the job!)
Which technology are you investing in now to prepare for the future?
These are technologies that allow us to deliver the same outcomes with a minimum of resources. Especially the energy field is critical – taken the growing energy demand, we need to optimize energy usage, reduce carbon footprint, and enhance resource management. We translate this goal into the AI field – our focus is to balance AI potential and its own carbon footprint – choosing the right solution to the right problem and ensuring a minimal energy usage, but also to ensure the most innovative and efficient data centers to fulfill the energy needs of AI systems.
What are your long-term career aspirations, and how do you see yourself evolving as a leader over the next five years?
That’s a very interesting question. In some way, I think my role will be successful if in the future, the Chief AI Officer is not needed anymore – when AI is so expanded across the company, and we reach such a level of maturity in deploying AI, that perhaps we won’t need a C-level officer anymore. Today my office makes sure we innovate with AI but also implement it in a safe and responsible way, at scale with impact. My aspiration is to continue building that maturity, expanding that approach, and spreading the AI expertise across the company.
What advice would you give to individuals looking to break into the AI field or transition into a leadership role?
Learn, obviously. Learn from your peers, learn from resources available for free. I think there is a multitude of ways to learn today and it’s important to be informed about potential and limitations of AI.
In terms of leadership roles, especially in the AI field, I would say: embrace failure as part of the process. Don’t be discouraged by failure of some projects. It’s better to kill an AI project that doesn’t add value than to push it to completion. By some estimates, over 80% of AI projects fail to deliver ROI – is it because the AI use cases were poorly selected? Focusing on high-impact projects and willing to pivot or halt those that don’t meet expectations is crucial for long-term success.