Growth, AI and the Human Side of Transformation
Chris Halbard, Group CEO of Nasstar, sat down with Poppy Goggin-Jones to talk about why he joined the business, how Nasstar helps customers move from experimenting with AI to achieving measurable value, and why every transformation succeeds or fails on its people.
Around five months into the role, Chris explains that he doesn't do steady state: Nasstar has strong technical people and under-realised assets, and his job is to accelerate it. He describes Nasstar's offer as a journey with on-ramps and off-ramps, from secure connectivity to applications and collaboration through to data engineering and AI, rather than a single proposition, and stresses that without good data you don't have good AI.
In this interview, we discuss:
- Why transformation needs a clear goal tied to strategy, and "comms, comms, comms" throughout the journey.
- How Nasstar leads with discovery, not technology, listening first and aiming to go from discovery to data engineering to an AI minimum viable product in around 12 weeks.
- Building trust with employees as AI changes roles: investing in new skills rather than reducing headcount.
- Creating a people-first culture where retention follows from growth, clear expectations and over-communication with customers.
- His hardest leadership lesson: listen, and take people with you rather than dragging them along.
Read our full article with Chris on the blog: Nasstar's Chris Halbard on Growth, AI and the Human Side of Transformation.
Watch the full interview below
