Leadership Discoveries #20: Digital Literacy & Digital Fluency with AI: Dr. Kisito Futonge Nzembayie on Leading Digital Transformation
What is Leadership Discoveries?
You know it best: being an executive leader can be tough. How do you stay inspired and keep moving the business forward with so much going on? Meet Dr. Shirley Kavanagh, Executive Advisor and scholar/practitioner. In each episode, hear Shirley in conversation with top global leaders and experts on leading with integrity, overcoming adversity, and developing other leaders. Presented by Shirley Kavanagh each episode, hear Shirley in conversation with top global leaders and experts on leading with integrity, overcoming adversity, and developing other leaders. Leadership Discoveries is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and your favourite podcast platform.
Episode #20
In this episode of Leadership Discoveries, Shirley sits down with Dr. Kisito Futonge Nzembayie, Assistant Professor at Trinity Business School and a leading voice in digital entrepreneurship and AI fluency. Kisito shares his global journey from Cameroon to China to Ireland, what organisations get wrong about digital transformation, and how leaders can cultivate digital intrapreneurship, build AI readiness, and navigate the evolving relationship between humans and technology. You’ll also hear his perspectives on education, responsible AI, and the cultural intelligence needed to lead across borders.
This episode covers everything from building digital fluency to navigating the human side of AI. Here’s a small sample of what you will hear in this episode:
How Dr. Nzembayie’s global journey shaped his “pracademic” approach to digital entrepreneurship
What organisations get wrong about digital transformation and AI readiness
Why experimentation, curiosity, and calculated risk-taking drive innovation
How leaders can move from digital literacy to true digital fluency
What cultural intelligence looks like when working across countries and contexts
Connect with Kisito on LinkedIn.
Check out the episode and show notes below.
Show Notes
Dr. Kisito Futonge Nzembayie – Digital Literacy & Digital Fluency with AI
[0:27] Welcome back to Leadership Discoveries!
[00:51] Meet Kisito, Assistant Professor at Trinity Business School
[01:42] His journey from Cameroon to China to Ireland and into entreprenurship
[04:13] How to build a culture of intrapraneurship inside organisations
[05:37] Why experimentation and small failures accelerate learning
[08:09] Are we at the peak of the AI hype cycle?
[08:51] The rapid rise of tools like ChatGPT and transformer models
[13:28] Human skills, cognition, and the relational view of technology
[15:41] Deepfakes and early solutions like SynthID
[17:22] What true AI readiness requires: people, process, and purpose
[23:56] Moving from digital literacy to digital fluency
[29:19] How AI is reshaping learning and education
[35:50] Lessons in cultural intelligence from working in China
[39:42] Closing thoughts on leadership, technology, and global awareness
[40:17] Connect with Shirley at ShirleyKavanagh.com and on LinkedIn, and Kisito on LinkedIn