On this episode of Scouting For Growth, Sabine VdL sits down with Lisa Bechtold, a global executive at the intersection of technology and law, and formerly Head of AI Governance at Zurich Insurance Group (now leading Group Risk Management at Nestlé). This is not an “AI trends” episode. It’s a leadership playbook for any executive asking: How do we scale AI innovation in insurance… without scaling risk along with it? AI governance isn’t bureaucracy — it’s the engine of trust Lisa makes a powerful point early: AI governance isn’t about slowing things down. It’s about how we use AI responsibly in a world where AI increasingly touches every part of business and private life. And success isn’t universal. The acceptance of AI tools varies by region, shaped by legal systems and cultural norms. For global insurers, that means governance must be both structured and context-aware—because trust isn’t built the same way everywhere. Lisa’s core principle is simple: optimise AI’s benefits while minimising its risks. Scaling AI takes literacy, not just platforms Zurich didn’t just build AI tools—they focused on enabling adoption across the organisation. Lisa explains how scaling requires both: reusable solutions that prove value repeatedly AI literacy so teams know how to use tools properly Even something as basic as prompt quality can determine whether GenAI delivers insight… or noise. Education becomes a multiplier: it drives adoption, improves output quality, and reduces misuse. Experimentation needs boundaries — and a sandbox Lisa highlights a critical balance: if you want innovation, you must allow experimentation. But experimentation without guardrails becomes chaos. Her approach is to create safe sandbox environments where teams can explore AI responsibly—building confidence while preventing uncontrolled risk. Insurance is already data-driven, so AI adoption is a natural evolution across the value chain—from modelling to operations. The difference now is speed, scale, and autonomy. 2025 and beyond: the multi-agent era raises the stakes Looking ahead, Lisa outlines a major shift: AI systems are beginning to interact autonomously and adapt based on one another. As multi-agent systems become more powerful, they unlock enormous business opportunity—but also introduce new challenges: information asymmetry miscoordination complexity that’s hard to audit behaviours that must be monitored continuously Managing that complexity “in a safe and lean way” while optimising value is, in Lisa’s view, one of the defining priorities for 2025. Why this episode matters For C-suite leaders, this conversation reframes governance as a competitive advantage. AI governance isn’t the compliance tax. It’s the foundation for: scalable AI adoption high-quality outcomes sustainable business value and digital trust that customers reward Because in the AI era, the winners won’t be the companies that deploy the fastest. They’ll be the ones that deploy responsibly—and at scale.