{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"AI First with Adam and Andy","title":"AI Leadership in Action: How Red Robin Balances Innovation, Governance, and Real Business Impact","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":1647,"description":"In this episode, Red Robin’s VP and Head of Technology, Deena DePhilips, outlines a pragmatic approach to enterprise AI adoption grounded in leadership alignment and real-world application. Framing AI as a transformative force akin to the internet, she emphasizes that organizations must “lean in and lead,” ensuring AI happens with them, not to them.DePhilips details a “crawl, walk, run” journey, where Red Robin currently operates as a “wobbly walker”, encouraging experimentation while implementing necessary guardrails. She highlights the importance of executive sponsorship, cross-functional ownership, and structured governance, including policy development, employee training, and legal oversight in an increasingly AI-driven vendor landscape.The conversation also explores where AI delivers the most value in hospitality: improving labor efficiency, optimizing cost of goods, and freeing frontline operators to focus on human connection. With a focus on practical use cases over hype, DePhilips underscores a key insight for executives, AI success depends less on immediate ROI and more on building capability, curiosity, and organizational readiness at scale.","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/C3ruIdFWg1Isngng9uvkhNncTzzzdqpCW8F26uticsY/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS84N2Q0/NGJkMDNkM2I3ZTMx/YjdkMGYxZjlhNzc0/YTViZi5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}