Cassie Kozyrkov

Cassie Kozyrkov, CEO of Kozyr, is a renowned leader in artificial intelligence. She is best known for founding the field of Decision Intelligence and serving as Google’s first Chief Decision Scientist (also a global first), where she spearheaded Google’s transformation into an AI-first company.

Today, Cassie is a sought-after AI advisor and speaker who has transformed how organizations like Gucci, NASA, Spotify, and Meta approach AI strategy. Passionate about elevating human potential through the responsible adoption of complex technology, she also serves on multiple advisory boards and is an investor in emerging product companies.

Her influence on Google’s culture is legendary; no matter how big the auditorium, Google had to use lotteries to manage the demand to participate in one of her live workshops. Her work, which included personally training over 20,000 Googlers in AI and data-driven decision-making, impacted more than 500 company initiatives.

Combining deep technical knowledge with theater-trained charisma, Cassie is a captivating keynote speaker with the rare ability to make complex concepts accessible, engaging, and actionable for executive and general audiences alike. Her humor, wit, and vivid analogies ensure that people of all stripes leave her talks inspired and equipped to drive innovation. Cassie has delighted live audiences in more than 40 countries and on all seven continents, including stages at the United Nations, World Economic Forum, Web Summit, and SXSW.

Cassie has appeared on the cover of Forbes AI and featured in Harvard Business Review, Fortune, Fast Company, WIRED, Success, Entrepreneur, as well as a recent documentary on the AI revolution. Her online courses and more than 200+ published articles have reached millions and cemented her position as a LinkedIn Top Voice and the #1 Writer in AI on Medium for many years. She is followed by more than 25,000 CxOs. Her MasterClass, Data-Driven Decision-Making in the Age of AI, features a guest appearance by DJ Patil.

Hailing from South Africa, Cassie began her undergraduate studies at the age of 15 at Nelson Mandela University and earned degrees in economics, mathematical statistics, psychology and neuroscience from the University of Chicago, NCSU, and Duke University, which honored her as a Few-Glasson Distinguished Alumna for her significant contributions to the fields of AI and Decision Intelligence. She is a guest lecturer to executive MBA students at Harvard Business School.

Keynote Topics

Cassie offers two keynote tracks. Each emphasizes actionable takeaways that attendees can put into practice on Monday morning, and if elements of both resonate, she will bring the most relevant ideas together into one seamless talk.

1. When AI Can Act, Leadership Must Change: How to Steer Your Organization Through the Next Wave (for executives and aspiring leaders)

AI isn’t just changing how leaders work. It’s changing what leadership is. As AI moves from answering to acting, leaders face a new challenge: becoming capitalists of human attention, investing judgment where it matters most, and directing newfound capacity toward ambitions once considered impossible. In this provocative, practical keynote, Cassie reveals why AI investments fall short and what leaders can do differently. Through surprising examples, she shows how to rethink your role, redesign systems, and ditch the pre-AI habits holding your organization back. Leaders leave knowing where to focus, what to change first, and how to turn AI activity into real results across the organization, starting with one surprisingly powerful action they can take immediately.

2. Stop Chasing AI and Start Getting Ahead: How to Make AI Work for You, Not the Other Way Around (for broad and mixed audiences, technical and non-technical alike)

AI is moving so fast, it’s hard to keep up. What if getting ahead isn’t about keeping up? In this funny, inspiring keynote, Cassie turns the AI race on its head. Forget trying to master every new tool: the real advantage starts with knowing what you want to accomplish and discovering how AI can help you get there. Through vivid storytelling and audience interaction, she reveals why the most valuable AI skill isn’t technical expertise but knowing what’s worth trying in the first place. Audiences leave ready to get unstuck, take another shot at something they thought was impossible, align AI to their priorities, and make one frustrating task easier, with a renewed sense of agency they can apply immediately.