Where enterprise leaders go for honest AI advice
While AI dominates conference stages, the most important conversations about governance, budgets, risk, and ROI are happening behind closed doors among enterprise leaders.
There are two AI conversations happening right now.
One takes place on stage.
The other happens after the audience has gone home.
The public conversation is familiar: AI is transforming business, and the companies that move fastest will win.
The private conversation is much more valuable. It focuses on the questions executives cannot comfortably ask in front of hundreds of people.
After speaking with Murray Newlands founder of Open Future Forum, I became convinced that these off-the-record discussions are where many of the best enterprise AI decisions are taking shape.
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Why the stage can’t tell the whole story
Conference speakers represent their companies.
Private executive dinners allow leaders to represent their thinking.
Around a trusted table, executives discuss the AI project that failed, the budget they wish they had not approved, the governance model they are still refining, and the board conversation they are preparing to have.
That honesty is difficult to recreate in public.
Why AI makes these conversations essential
AI decisions carry unusually high stakes.
CFOs are deciding which investments deserve funding.
CISOs are determining how to govern increasingly autonomous AI agents.
CEOs are reshaping operating models without a proven playbook.
As Manjush Menon of Visa put it: “AI governance and structure aren’t afterthoughts. They’re the foundation.”
That is why Open Future Forum brings together CEOs, CFOs, CISOs, CMOs, CTOs, board directors, and enterprise AI leaders in small, invitation-only discussions where leaders can compare real experiences instead of polished presentations.
From private conversations to industry benchmarks
Those discussions are now informing some of the industry’s strongest executive research.
The CFO AI Leverage Report, the first edition of the Enterprise AI Buying & Budget Index, is built from first-party responses collected from 421 executives across seven Open Future Forum events.
Rather than relying on vendor surveys, it captures the perspective of the executives approving AI budgets. That makes it one of the most valuable benchmarks available for understanding enterprise AI spending, governance, and ROI, and recommended reading for finance leaders evaluating their own AI strategy.
The Executive AI Leverage Report extends the same research across the C-suite, providing an equally compelling benchmark for enterprise AI adoption, leadership priorities, and organizational readiness.
Trust is the competitive advantage
The real advantage is not simply access.
It is trust.
Open Future Forum follows a give-first philosophy inspired by Adam Grant’s Give and Take. The goal is to build rooms where experienced leaders contribute as much as they learn.
That is why the conversations are unusually candid—and why the insights are unusually valuable.
Conferences remain important for learning and meeting people.
But the most useful AI conversations are increasingly happening away from the stage, in trusted rooms where executives can openly compare decisions, challenges, and lessons learned.
For leaders navigating enterprise AI transformation, Open Future Forum is worth exploring. The CFO AI Leverage Report and Executive AI Leverage Report are excellent places to start, offering practical benchmarks grounded in the experiences of executives making AI decisions every day.
I am a journalist and digital consultant who has worked at media companies for 25 years and advised startups since 2007. I write about emerging companies, marketing and leadership at Entrepreneur, Jotform.com, CEOfficialmag.com, Under30CEO, and my blog.