Closing the Gap Between AI Ambition and Frontline Reality

Sep 3, 2026 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM EST

Here's what we talked about

Most AI investment is decided in the boardroom, yet the people who would have to use it every day rarely shape what gets built, and that distance is where adoption quietly dies.
- How leaders find out what frontline work actually requires before committing to a platform
- Where the strategy-to-deployment handoff tends to break in public-sector operations
Frontline environments punish the assumptions that work fine for knowledge workers, because the people on the floor are moving, time-pressured, and can't stop to wrestle with software.
- What changes when AI has to run on a handheld or wearable at the edge rather than in a browser
- The tradeoffs of on-device, token-less AI versus cloud-dependent tools when connectivity and cost are real constraints
Leaders are discovering that one large, all-knowing AI model is often the wrong tool for a specific operational job.
- When a set of narrow, domain-specific agents beats a single general model in practice
- How teams decide which frontline tasks are worth purpose-building an agent for
Even capable AI stalls on the floor when workers don't trust it or when it adds steps instead of removing them.
- What earns frontline adoption in the first two weeks versus what gets quietly abandoned
- How Insight and Zebra approach the integration and change-management work that determines whether a rollout sticks
Most frontline AI programs can't clearly answer whether they actually improved operations, which makes the next round of investment a guess.
- The operational metrics that separate a real productivity gain from a demo that impressed leadership
- How peers are building the measurement case that unlocks funding to scale

Event Partners

Zebra Technologies

Zebra Technologies designs and sells specialized hardware, software, and automation tools like mobile computers, barcode scanners, RFID readers, and thermal printers.

Insight Public Sector

Insight Public Sector provides hardware, software, cloud capabilities, and IT services to government agencies, public safety organizations, healthcare facilities, and educational institutions across the United States.

Guest Speakers

BWG Connect

Enterprise IT Subject Matter Expert

Our moderator brings decades of experience leading infrastructure, cloud transformation, and enterprise technology strategy across finance, media, publishing, and healthcare sectors. They have overseen IT infrastructure, large-scale digital transformation, and DevOps initiatives for some of the world’s most complex enterprise organizations, bridging strategy and execution to deliver measurable business impact. Their deep expertise ensures every discussion is grounded in real-world insight and informed by a career at the forefront of technological change.

James Poulton LinkedIn

Senior Vice President and General Manager, Enterprise Mobile Computing at Zebra Technologies

As Senior Vice President & General Manager of Zebra Technologies $2B Enterprise Mobile Computing business, James Poulton is responsible for strategically driving technology and portfolio investments in Enterprise Mobile Computing Hardware, Software and Solutions that will maximize Zebra customers’ mobility experiences. His team specializes in data capture, connectivity, communication and management solutions that enable enterprises to better connect their employees and create visibility at the edge, taking advantage of AI, ML, and GenAI technologies to automate workflows and increase operational efficiencies. With more than 25 years of business management and leadership roles in product management and marketing, James brings a dynamic leadership style and innovative thinking to drive Zebra’s.

Event Moderator

BWG Connect

Enterprise IT Subject Matter Expert

Our moderator brings decades of experience leading infrastructure, cloud transformation, and enterprise technology strategy across finance, media, publishing, and healthcare sectors. They have overseen IT infrastructure, large-scale digital transformation, and DevOps initiatives for some of the world’s most complex enterprise organizations, bridging strategy and execution to deliver measurable business impact. Their deep expertise ensures every discussion is grounded in real-world insight and informed by a career at the forefront of technological change.

James Poulton LinkedIn

Senior Vice President and General Manager, Enterprise Mobile Computing at Zebra Technologies

As Senior Vice President & General Manager of Zebra Technologies $2B Enterprise Mobile Computing business, James Poulton is responsible for strategically driving technology and portfolio investments in Enterprise Mobile Computing Hardware, Software and Solutions that will maximize Zebra customers’ mobility experiences. His team specializes in data capture, connectivity, communication and management solutions that enable enterprises to better connect their employees and create visibility at the edge, taking advantage of AI, ML, and GenAI technologies to automate workflows and increase operational efficiencies. With more than 25 years of business management and leadership roles in product management and marketing, James brings a dynamic leadership style and innovative thinking to drive Zebra’s.

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BWG Connect provides executive strategy & networking sessions that help brands from any industry with their overall business planning and execution. BWG has built an exclusive network of 125,000+ senior professionals and hosts over 2,000 virtual and in-person networking events on an annual basis.

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