Mazda's John Rich on connecting AI deployment to business objectives and maintaining a human-centric approach
On the Red Sofa at ALSC Digital Strategies North America 2026, Mazda's John Rich spoke about the need to have clear business objectives before deploying AI, as well as why Mazda places humans at the centre of its business operations, arguing that the rise of AI has made people more important, not less.
Joining Automotive Logistics on the Red Sofa at ALSC Digital Strategies North America, John Rich, director of AI transformation at Mazda North American Operations, discussed the business case for reframing AI as "intelligent automation" and tying AI deployment to business outcomes.
"I think it's so important to connect AI to what the business is trying to accomplish," said Rich. "That's what we're trying to do at Mazda."
Alluding to Mazda's human-centric business approach, he highlighted one of the key strategic advantages that AI can bring: creating more availability for staff to focus on more valuable tasks.
"Really at its core it's about freeing up time for humans to do what only humans can do and really embody brand value management in anything that we do so that we're connecting it to a business outcome," Rich said.
He outlined how Mazda uses this philosophy to build "human-centric brand experiences" around everything from technology to products.
Rich also acknowledged that the dawn of AI has led businesses to consider restructure their operations, emphasising that maintaining a focus on people and skills is crucial to success in this new age.
"I think in this industry we've always had specific decisions and specific roles that we would fill, and it's so important now – as technology continues to pace faster and faster – that you focus on the people," he said. "We're always focused on the processes and the technology, but it's really important to have that cohesive people core and have them be multi-disciplinary."
This, he said, allows individuals to be more flexible and attack any problem that may occur across an organisation, breaking down siloes and creating more opportunities for teamwork and cross-functional collaboration.
Looking forward, Rich shared his view that "technical innovation around interoperability and productivity" will continue to evolve and reshape the landscape through increased connectivity.
"When we talk about things like data sharing, it's so important to build your architecture in a way that you can be flexible, you can work with your supplier base, your customer base – whoever it may be – whilst still being both secure and open at the same time," he concluded.
