Industry insights
Women in Finance 2026: Curiosity, connection, and the new rules of leadership in an AI-driven world
Women in Finance 2026: Curiosity, connection, and the new rules of leadership in an AI-driven world
Artificial intelligence is no longer an emerging technology; it is becoming the new baseline for business. Across industries, the conversation has shifted from whether organizations should adopt AI to how they can create meaningful value from it. As AI becomes more accessible, competitive advantage is moving beyond technology itself and toward the capabilities that enable organizations to use it effectively: leadership, sound judgment, curiosity, and the ability to drive change.
This was the central theme of the fourth edition of Women in Finance, hosted by OMMAX in Munich together with Tenzing and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP. Bringing together leaders from private equity, corporate law, consulting and entrepreneurship, the event explored how AI is reshaping leadership, decision-making and value creation. While each speaker brought a different perspective, the discussion converged on one key message: as AI commoditizes information and analysis, the human qualities that technology cannot replicate are becoming the true differentiators.
AI adoption is no longer the challenge
Opening the event, Dr. Anja Konhäuser, Founding Partner at OMMAX, welcomed guests by reflecting on the purpose of Women in Finance: creating a platform where female leaders can exchange ideas, build meaningful connections and support one another as industries continue to evolve. Now in its fourth edition, the initiative has grown into one of Europe's largest Women in Finance networks, connecting more than 1,000 women across the continent and fostering collaboration across private equity, consulting, finance, law and entrepreneurship. She also reflected on OMMAX's own journey over the past fifteen years, growing into an international team of around 400 people representing more than 40 nationalities while actively building toward equal gender representation in leadership.
Building on this introduction, Isabella Calderon Hoyos, Partner for Transaction Advisory & Strategy at OMMAX, shared an overview of where organizations currently stand in their AI transformation. AI has become a strategic priority across industries, extending far beyond large enterprises into the German Mittelstand. According to OMMAX's latest AI Trends Report, based on insights from 250 companies across Europe, 95% of organizations are already using AI in some form. The question is therefore no longer whether companies should adopt AI. It is how they can turn adoption into measurable business value.
That remains a significant challenge. The same report found that 44% of AI initiatives fail to move beyond the pilot stage, often due to weak data foundations, unclear governance structures or a lack of ownership. While organizations are investing heavily in AI, many still struggle to integrate it into everyday business processes in a way that delivers lasting impact.
One of the evening's most important takeaways was that successful AI transformation depends far less on technology than many assume. According to OMMAX's research, around 70% of AI's business value comes from people and organizational change, not the technology itself. Leadership, change management and adoption remain the biggest drivers of successful transformation. AI may provide the capability, but it is people who determine whether that capability translates into measurable business outcomes.
From AI capabilities to business outcomes
If AI is becoming available to everyone, what will distinguish successful organizations from the rest?
For Tenzing, the answer lies in combining curiosity with disciplined execution. Tech & Growth Investor Aylin Akkay challenged the traditional indicators of competitive advantage, arguing that long operating histories or strong margins are becoming less reliable in markets where AI can reshape industries in a matter of years. Instead, organizations that continuously learn, adapt and build strong professional networks are better positioned to identify opportunities and respond to change.
Drawing on the theory of weak ties, she described what she called the "connection-curiosity loop." Curiosity encourages people to reach beyond their immediate circles, creating conversations that strengthen networks and expose leaders to new ideas. Those new connections, in turn, generate fresh questions and continuous learning. Rather than viewing AI solely as a productivity tool, she encouraged leaders to use it as a way to better understand where they create value, what work can be automated and which recurring questions reveal future opportunities.
Building on this perspective, Pauline Vargas, Portfolio Growth & Value Creation at Tenzing, demonstrated how organizations can move beyond experimentation and embed AI into day-to-day business operations. Through Tenzing's AI Sherpa programme, experienced AI practitioners work directly with portfolio companies to validate use cases, prototype solutions and build practical AI workflows that create measurable impact.
A central theme of her presentation was the importance of defining business outcomes before introducing technology. Instead of asking, "What can AI do?", organizations should begin with a different question: "What do we want to achieve?" Every AI initiative should be tied to an anchor KPI that clearly defines success. Whether the objective is improving customer experience, accelerating decision-making, reducing manual work or increasing productivity, AI should ultimately be measured by the value it creates, not by the number of tools implemented.
To illustrate the concept, Pauline shared her own anchor KPI: leaving the office by 5:00 p.m. to spend quality time with her child before going to bed. Every AI workflow she developed was evaluated against whether it helped reclaim time for higher-value work. The example demonstrated that meaningful KPIs do not always have to be financial. They can also measure productivity, operational efficiency or employee experience, provided they create accountability and guide decision-making.
She also emphasized that organizations should treat AI much like a new team member. It performs best when given context, feedback and continuous refinement rather than one-off prompts. Combined with learning through trusted peer networks, this approach helps organizations build long-term AI capabilities instead of isolated use cases.
Judgment remains the ultimate competitive advantage
While AI is transforming how information is generated and analyzed, it is not eliminating uncertainty. In many of the highest-stakes business decisions, human judgment remains irreplaceable.
Dr. Barbara Jagersberger, Partner at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, explored this through the lens of complex transaction work, where legal negotiations involve incomplete information, compressed timelines and significant commercial risk. AI has already transformed activities such as document review, due diligence and comparison work, reducing tasks that once took days to only seconds. Yet as these capabilities become available to every participant in a transaction, they no longer create competitive advantage on their own.
Instead, success depends on how professionals interpret AI-generated insights. Effective leaders distinguish between risks that can be reduced through additional analysis and those that ultimately require informed judgment. They filter signal from noise, establish clear decision thresholds before negotiations begin and preserve optionality until critical decisions need to be made. In an environment where AI can generate convincing answers at unprecedented speed, knowing when to question those answers becomes just as important as generating them.
She also highlighted an important challenge for the future of professional development. For decades, junior lawyers developed judgment through years of manual diligence work. As AI automates many of these foundational tasks, organizations must intentionally create new pathways for developing the experience, critical thinking and commercial understanding that future leaders will require.
Ultimately, accountability cannot be delegated to technology. AI can support analysis, but responsibility for the final decision remains firmly with the people making it.
Leadership in the AI era
The closing panel brought together Isabella Calderon Hoyos, Aylin Akkay, Pauline Vargas, Dr. Barbara Jagersberger, Johanna von Geyr, Co-CEO & Founder of ALAIKA Advisory, and Anja Kreutzahler, Founder & CEO of peakleap and FITI PRM, to discuss how leadership is evolving in an AI-driven world.
Across investment, consulting, law and entrepreneurship, one theme repeatedly surfaced: curiosity is becoming one of the defining leadership qualities of the AI era. As information becomes increasingly accessible, competitive advantage lies less in having answers and more in asking better questions. Leaders who remain curious, embrace continuous learning and encourage experimentation will be better equipped to navigate rapid technological change.
The panel also explored how AI is lowering barriers to entrepreneurship and career transitions. Professionals returning from career breaks or moving into new industries can now access knowledge and develop new capabilities faster than ever before. Entrepreneurs can test ideas, build go-to-market strategies and launch products with significantly lower barriers to entry. Yet while AI accelerates execution, it cannot replace passion, resilience or the willingness to act.
Trust emerged as another defining theme. Whether advising clients, investing in founders or leading teams, relationships remain built on credibility rather than technology. AI can improve efficiency, but it cannot establish the trust that underpins long-term partnerships. Several panelists emphasized that openly acknowledging mistakes often strengthens credibility more than attempting to conceal them, a principle that applies equally to human decisions and AI-generated outputs.
Looking ahead, the discussion turned to how AI may reshape organizations over the coming years. While AI will increasingly become table stakes across industries, speakers agreed that competitive advantage will depend on how organizations combine technology with leadership, strong networks and sound judgment. As AI reshapes roles, career paths and operating models, investing in people will become just as important as investing in technology.
Looking ahead
Women in Finance 2026 demonstrated that AI is no longer simply a technology conversation, it is a leadership conversation. While 95% of European companies have already adopted AI, adoption alone is no longer a differentiator. With 44% of AI initiatives still failing to move beyond the pilot stage, organizations must shift their focus from implementation to execution.
The discussions throughout the evening reinforced another important insight: around 70% of AI's business value comes from people and organizational change. Technology provides the tools, but leadership determines whether those tools create meaningful business impact.
Across private equity, corporate law, consulting and entrepreneurship, one conclusion stood out. The leaders who will succeed in an AI-driven economy are those who combine technological understanding with the qualities that AI cannot replicate: curiosity, trusted relationships, sound judgment and a relentless focus on measurable outcomes. As AI becomes the norm, these distinctly human capabilities will define the organizations that create lasting value.
