Rodney Zemmel, global head of Blackstone’s operating team, has unveiled a comprehensive playbook for CEOs struggling to maximize returns on their AI investments. Speaking at a Blackstone-hosted conference for CEOs, Zemmel outlined five critical questions that company leaders must address to ensure their AI spending translates into tangible business value.
Zemmel, who advises Blackstone’s 250 portfolio companies generating a combined $226 billion in annual revenue, emphasized that AI represents work “we’re all going to be working on for the rest of our professional careers.” His framework comes at a crucial time when companies are grappling with disappointing AI returns despite massive investments.
The five key questions form a strategic framework:
1. Top-Down Commitment: CEOs must demonstrate personal investment in AI rollout, not just allocate resources. Leadership engagement is critical for successful implementation.
2. Business-First Approach: Companies should prioritize specific business objectives over technology integration for its own sake. Zemmel cited an example where a customer service head focuses on productivity improvements and collaborates with technology leadership to co-develop solutions.
3. Clear ROI Metrics: Returns must be measurable through EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) and revenue growth. “If you can’t see either of those, it’s not worth your spending your time on it,” Zemmel told the CEO audience.
4. Path to Scale: Too many companies remain stuck in pilot mode. Leaders should structure incentives and technology choices around scaling successful AI applications rather than showcasing impressive but limited capabilities.
5. Intentional Data Use: Companies must leverage data to create competitive advantages, not merely match competitors’ AI adoption.
The urgency of Zemmel’s guidance is underscored by troubling industry data. A Boston Consulting Group report from October revealed that only 5% of 1,250 global companies studied are seeing genuine returns on AI investments. Approximately 60% experienced little to no benefit despite significant technology spending. However, the report identified that sectors integrating AI into core functions—including sales, marketing, R&D, manufacturing, and IT—saw notable value gains between 2024 and 2025, suggesting that strategic implementation matters more than investment size.
Key Quotes
AI is what we’re all going to be working on for the rest of our professional careers.
Rodney Zemmel, global head of Blackstone’s operating team, emphasized the long-term centrality of AI to business operations at a CEO conference, signaling that AI investment is not a temporary trend but a fundamental business transformation.
If you can’t see either of those, it’s not worth your spending your time on it.
Zemmel stressed the importance of measuring AI returns through EBITDA and revenue growth, establishing a clear threshold for determining whether AI initiatives deserve continued investment and executive attention.
Our Take
Zemmel’s framework represents a crucial recalibration in corporate AI strategy, shifting focus from adoption metrics to business outcomes. The stark BCG finding that 95% of companies aren’t seeing AI returns suggests widespread strategic failure rather than technological limitations. This playbook’s emphasis on scaling over piloting is particularly timely—many organizations have become trapped in “pilot purgatory,” endlessly testing AI without committing to full deployment. The business-first mandate also challenges the common pattern of technology teams driving AI initiatives without clear revenue or efficiency targets. As AI investment scrutiny intensifies, expect this outcome-focused approach to become the industry standard, potentially triggering a shakeout where companies either commit to strategic, scalable AI implementation or scale back investments entirely. The winners will be those who treat AI as a business transformation tool rather than a technology experiment.
Why This Matters
This guidance from Blackstone’s leadership team carries significant weight for the AI industry as companies face mounting pressure to justify massive AI expenditures. With Big Tech executives facing analyst scrutiny during recent earnings calls about AI returns, and 95% of companies failing to see meaningful ROI, Zemmel’s framework addresses a critical pain point across the business landscape.
The emphasis on business-first rather than tech-first approaches challenges the prevailing narrative that AI adoption alone guarantees competitive advantage. This shift could reshape how companies allocate AI budgets, moving resources from experimental pilots to scalable, revenue-generating applications. For the AI industry, this represents a maturation phase where measurable business outcomes replace technological novelty as the primary success metric.
The findings also highlight a growing divide between AI winners and losers—companies that integrate AI into core operations versus those treating it as a peripheral technology experiment. This could accelerate consolidation and create lasting competitive moats for early, strategic adopters while leaving late or unfocused adopters struggling to catch up.
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Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/blackstone-executive-rodney-zemmel-ceo-ai-use-2026-1