Lumen CEO says business success in the AI era starts with people

What you probably already know: Maximizing AI’s potential is not a one-size-fits-all, but there are some broad strategies that company leaders can apply in their pursuit of success. Lumen Technologies is a frontrunner in the fast-paced world of machine learning and problem-solving, and last week struck a $5.75 billion deal with AT&T that will advance Lumen’s commitment to advancing AI workflows. Kate Johnson, president and CEO of Lumen, is helping drive the company’s upward momentum in the AI race, both as a provider of critical cloud infrastructure across the U.S. and as a role model by using AI to transform its own business. With a resume that includes executive leadership roles at major tech companies such as Microsoft and Oracle, Johnson is well-versed in leveraging AI as a tool and a strategy to meet goals. And she does so by focusing on people.

How: “The first thing is really about the team, making sure you have a team that supports you, allows you to grow and develop,” Johnson said during the International Women’s Forum World Leadership Conference in Seattle last week. Keeping up with the breakneck pace of technological advancement has to be a matter of playing to win, rather than playing not to lose. Johnson said playing to win involves taking risks, focusing on strengths, committing to learning, and building the best team possible. “Your job is not just to find great people to support you … but it's also incumbent upon you to let people go who don't have these capabilities,” she said. Too often, managers avoid the hard conversations, which takes an opportunity for learning away from the person, she said, while also being sub-optimal to everybody in the organization.

As for productivity, Johnson said company leaders need to set an example by intentionally disrupting their old way of doing things and trialing AI in their own workflows. This same concept is also effective in customer relations. Use your own products and services in house, she said, so when customers run into an issue, your own team can help them solve it without having to escalate it up the chain.

What it means: Using AI to optimize business is exciting, but protecting customer and internal data is critically important to proceeding safely. Leaks and breaches involving AI technologies have impacted millions of people in recent years. A recent leak involving the Chinese generative AI company DeepSeek exposed 1 million sensitive records, raising renewed concerns over data security and privacy in the AI era. Johnson said companies need to be prepared and vigilant because AI’s capabilities are evolving at an ever-accelerating rate. “It's a governance process; it's a committee that looks at the use of AI across the company; it's a set of rules; it's about training, making sure everybody has a tool to see and what the guardrails are and why,” she said.

One big takeaway: When she was hired to lead and rebuild Lumen, Johnson said she started by focusing on the people and culture by staying true to three operating principles: team, trust, and transparency. Her first two years were, in her words, harrowing; Lumen’s stock fell to $1, creditors came knocking, and the company entered a restructuring. “We refused to go Chapter 11 and we pursued a deal. We ended up striking the largest single debt restructuring deal in corporate American history outside of Bank of Singapore,” she said. “I couldn’t have done any of that unless the teams believed, put their whole hearts in there, were willing to fail and get up every day and dust themselves off and be resilient… I honestly believe that placing a bet on culture first is why I’m sitting here the day after we just sold our fiber distribution network on the consumer side to AT&T for $5.75 billion.”