Cape Town-based VUKA Group has appointed Alex Searle as consultant head of AI enablement & human systems. Chief executive David Ashdown views AI adoption as an immediate need to ensure the survival of the company.
Searle, a four-time founder and communications advisor, will lead VUKA’s AI adoption strategy across its operations. The appointment comes as the events industry grapples with automation and changing audience expectations.
VUKA chief executive David Ashdown said the move was needed for survival. “If we fail to embrace AI now, we risk becoming obsolete, and I will not allow that to happen to VUKA Group,” he said.
“That sounds like a strong statement, but … I have been in the conference industry for over 25 years, and for 23 of those years we have seen incremental change in operating process. In the last 2 years we have witnessed exponential shifts in how we operate.”
The company plans to redeploy staff around what it calls “a balanced blend of human and digital capability” while maintaining focus on facilitating connections and innovation.
Searle founded strategy consultancy Humble Mind and hosts The Humble Mind Podcast. He previously worked with Ashdown on South African ventures nearly a decade ago.
Alex Searle“Together, we’ll harness AI to amplify human creativity, reimagine how events are experienced and build a future-proof playbook,” Searle said.
The initiative will introduce new AI tools and embed what VUKA calls “AI fluency” as a core business capability. The company expects this will improve consistency, time management and output quality across teams.
VUKA Group operates conferences and exhibitions across Africa and has ventures including The Global Trust Project.
