How VodafoneZiggo is empowering leaders to drive AI adoption

While 92% of companies are investing in AI, only 5% see ROI. Teams understand the potential and individuals are experimenting to improve productivity and customer value, but translating that into organization-wide impact remains a challenge. Without clear direction and leadership alignment, AI initiatives stay fragmented and disconnected from business goals.

How can L&D and HR managers enable AI adoption at scale? 

To explore this, Pascal Struijk, Product Lead at Lepaya, sat down with Naomi de Wolf-Melching, Learning & Development Consultant at VodafoneZiggo, during the launch of Lepaya’s “Taking the Lead with AI” upskilling program.

In this conversation, Pascal and Naomi discuss:

• How to balance speed of AI innovation with customer privacy
• Why leadership development is critical for AI adoption
• How VodafoneZiggo is turning experimentation into structured progress

First, can you share how AI influences you and your role at VodafoneZiggo? 

I have worked at VodafoneZiggo for two and a half years as a Learning and Development Consultant. I connect our L&D to the business strategy and that increasingly includes dealing with AI. 

I've always been passionate about new technology - and especially AI. 

Very shortly after I started at VodafoneZiggo, I had an internal workshop with our internal AI experts and they introduced me to the technology. I was astounded by the possibilities and it gave me a lot of inspiration. 

Just one month later, I built my first chatbot and learned more about the potential of AI. That’s when the bigger questions started to emerge: what does this mean for our organization, for society and how do we implement AI safely?

At VodafoneZiggo, we work with highly sensitive customer data. So from the beginning, it wasn’t just about what’s possible, but also about what’s responsible. Balancing experimentation with privacy became a key focus point.

What are the next steps for VodafoneZiggo to grow with AI? 

When it comes to AI literacy, we’ve made significant progress over the past year. Employees are using AI in their day-to-day work: prompting, refining communication, and exploring ways to serve customers faster.

In many ways, we’re a mature AI-driven organization. But that’s where a new challenge emerges: frustration.

There are still many things our innovators can’t do due to safety and compliance constraints. Implementing AI in certain areas can be a long and complex process, which can slow down teams that are eager to move faster.

Those guardrails are essential, but they can also feel limiting.

That’s why AI adoption isn’t just about technology. If people don’t know how to use it effectively or safely - it creates risk and requires close collaboration between tech teams, HR, and leadership.

What role does AI leadership training plays in Vodafone's 2026 talent strategy? 

Our leaders need to not only learn about AI’s potential, but also how they can manage and motivate their teams in navigating this transformation. You have people who are not convinced by AI, and then you have the innovators who want to move faster than they can. 

It's really valuable for a leader to feel confident in how they lead both of those people. We want to empower leaders to have the right conversation with any employee about their concerns, because they are valid, while still motivating them to join this journey. 

What did you come across lately that made you excited about AI?

I know a lot of organizations are considering using AI agents in work processes. I’m very curious how that's going to affect teams, how it will develop, and the questions we're going to be asking in 6 or 12 months from now. 

Agentic AI transformation is as much about people as it is about technology, and I'm eager to see how our leaders rise to the challenge.

How VodafoneZiggo is advancing their AI strategy 

As VodafoneZiggo moves towards being AI enabled, they are balancing speed with safety, innovation with regulation and employee wellbeing. 

“We do this on three pillars: AI for our customer, AI for our organisation, AI for our network. In all three pillars success requires a different way of working and different skills that we will need to focus on.” Naomi de Wolf-Melching, L&D Consultant at VodafoneZiggo

Leadership is crucial to align AI efforts across the organization and turn AI ambitions into business value. Managers must guide teams through uncertainty and create conditions for responsible innovation. 

Leaders need to not only understand AI, but also coach their people and navigate change. By developing these leadership capabilities, companies like VodafoneZiggo can bridge the gap between AI experimentation and business value.