Turning scattered AI experiments into portfolio-wide results
Last week, the La Fosse Executive team hosted an exclusive AI breakfast focused on “Using AI to drive enterprise value across the portfolio.” The event brought together an influential group of investors, operating partners, and portfolio executives to explore how AI is evolving from isolated experimentation to strategic orchestration, and how investment firms can translate this shift into measurable value creation.
The discussion centred on a pressing challenge many private equity firms now face: how to transform dozens of disconnected AI pilots into an enterprise-wide capability that compounds value across an entire portfolio.
Below are the key insights that emerged from this thought-provoking session:
The “master conductor” approach to AI implementation
Effective AI leadership isn’t merely about technical depth, it’s about orchestration. One senior investor aptly likened successful AI integration to a “master conductor” who coordinates people, tools, and governance frameworks to ensure the entire enterprise operates harmoniously.
The concept of “HR for AI” resonated strongly with attendees, highlighting the importance of building operating structures that enable humans and intelligent systems to work seamlessly together. This human-centric approach ensures technology enhances rather than disrupts organisational culture.
Managing data risk without stalling progress
While robust data governance remains fundamental, participants noted that risk concerns are often overstated compared to the opportunity cost of delaying action. As one attendee succinctly put it: “Be careful with your data, but the real risk is low if you’ve built solid foundations.”
For PE-backed businesses, this means achieving sufficient data confidence to deploy AI safely, without becoming paralysed by compliance considerations that delay implementation and competitive advantage.
Why complex tasks may offer easier AI wins
“The more complex the task, the easier it is to solve.” While counterintuitive, this insight gained widespread agreement among participants. When complex workflows are properly decomposed, they often reveal clearer logic paths and better automation candidates than loosely defined, repetitive tasks.
This perspective is already informing automation roadmaps within several portfolio operations teams, helping them prioritise initiatives that deliver maximum impact rather than simply targeting obvious low-hanging fruit.
Agentic systems: The next frontier for operational excellence
Atlas was highlighted as a glimpse into the next generation of automation, representing a shift from scripted bots to agentic intelligence capable of reasoning and acting with increasing autonomy. While these systems remain “stupid for now,” as one guest quipped, they’re evolving rapidly.
For investors, this raises an important strategic question: how soon will agentic systems become a meaningful lever for margin expansion and back-office transformation across mid-market assets?
The emergence of AI Integration Capability teams
A notable trend across investment firms is the formation of dedicated AI Integration Capability (AI IC) teams. These specialised units sit at the intersection of value creation, technology, and portfolio management, bridging the critical gap between strategy and execution to ensure AI initiatives drive measurable outcomes rather than remaining isolated experiments.
The bottom line for investors
AI value creation isn’t about adding more tools to the technology stack, it’s about orchestration: aligning data, governance, and people under a unified strategic vision. The investment firms that master this holistic approach will not only enhance EBITDA but build repeatable AI implementation playbooks that can be deployed efficiently across their entire portfolio.
Join our upcoming AI discussions
Our next event will explore one of the most requested themes from this session: the intersection of Cybersecurity and AI. To learn more about future events, please reach out to us at events@lafosse.com.