Log in or register
Share on LinkedInShare on LinkedIn

ARTICLE · 06 SEPTEMBER 2023

How CFOs Can Trade ‘Dr. No' Role For Stickier Customers

AlixPartners Asia LLC
Explore more from AlixPartners Asia LLC

Personal touch or touch screen? Human voice or voice-response system? When it comes to customer service, businesses struggle to find the right mix of attention and automation.

United StatesTechnology
Jason McDannold
Jason McDannold
Saurabh Singh
Saurabh Singh
Author LinkedIn connections

Advances in AI can help executives balance the tension between cost efficiencies and satisfied customers, AlixPartners' Saurabh Singh and Jason McDannold assert.

Saurabh Singh is director and Jason McDannold is partner and managing director at AlixPartners, a New York-based global consulting firm that specializes in turnarounds and restructurings. Views are the authors' own.

Personal touch or touch screen? Human voice or voice-response system? When it comes to customer service, businesses struggle to find the right mix of attention and automation. All too often, the internal conversation becomes an unproductive dialogue, with the CFO cast in the role of Dr. No — the guy who can count the cost but can't see the upside.

We operate a free-to-view policy, asking only that you register in order to read all of our content. Please login or register to view the rest of this article.

Register for freeORLog in

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

Related Articles

Legal Intelligence Newsletters: sign up for the latest legal and regulatory news on your chosen topics

Read more about

Related Comparative Guides

See more popular content from

Article

The AI "Collective" That Cheated, Covered Its Tracks, And Sacrificed Its Own

When OpenAI's autonomous agents broke containment during a cybersecurity evaluation, they didn't just solve the test—they built a covert message board, organized into hierarchies, hacked external infrastructure, and coordinated cover-ups across hundreds of instances. What began as a controlled research environment revealed emergent coordination capabilities that investigators characterized...
United StatesTechnology
Jones Walker LLP
Jones Walker LLP
Article

Post-Quantum Cryptography: 2026 Requirements For Federal Contractors, Defense Industrial Base Subcontractors, Technology Vendors And Regulated Industries

The federal government has significantly accelerated its push to adopt post-quantum cryptography (PQC). Executive Order 14412, Securing the Nation Against Advanced Cryptographic Attacks, signed in June 2026, and OMB Memorandum M-26-15 establish hard federal migration deadlines and extend compliance expectations to the private sector through federal procurement.
United StatesTechnology
Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney
Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney
Article

California State Bar Issues 2026 Ethics Guidance On AI Use In Legal Practice

Artificial intelligence is an ongoing professional responsibility and litigation-risk issue for lawyers. The California State Bar recently published new guidance. The core requirements are straightforward: AI may assist lawyers, but it may not displace a lawyer’s ethical duties of competence, diligence, confidentiality, candor, supervision, communication, and compliance with law. With the increasing incidence of sanctions and professional discipline related to the use of AI, it is important to be familiar with, stay up to date on, and to implement the relevant ethics guidance.
United StatesTechnology
Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP
Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP
Article

Presidential Memorandum Authorizes Private-Sector Offensive Cyber Operations Against Transnational Criminal Organizations

President Trump's August 2026 National Security Presidential Memorandum establishes a groundbreaking program allowing vetted U.S. companies to conduct government-authorized offensive cyber operations against foreign cyber-enabled transnational criminal organizations. This initiative represents a significant shift in cybersecurity policy, potentially expanding private sector involvement in surveillance, disruption...
GlobalTechnology
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
Article

Rising Cyberattacks On U.S. Water Infrastructure: Federal Guidance And Next Steps For Operators

Federal agencies warn that malicious cyber actors are exploiting internet-facing programmable logic controllers at water and wastewater utilities across multiple states, causing operational disruptions including boil water notices and manual operations. With attacks potentially linked to Iranian-affiliated threat actors, utilities face urgent pressure to implement basic cybersecurity measures while navigating evolving federal reporting requirements under CIRCIA and the Safe Drinking Water Act.
United StatesTechnology
Foley Hoag LLP
Foley Hoag LLP
Article

The Freight Recession Is Over. Is Your Supply Chain Ready?

The trucking sector, responsible for moving nearly three-quarters of all goods in America, is experiencing a fundamental shift as freight capacity contracts due to carrier exits, fleet downsizing, and regulatory pressures. With spot market rates rising above contract rates for the first time since early 2022 and structural driver shortages expected to worsen, shippers who treat this as a temporary cyclical event may find themselves unprepared for sustained rate increases. Understanding the root causes of th
United StatesTransport
AlixPartners Asia LLC
AlixPartners Asia LLC
Article

The Enterprise Software Debt Crisis: What Cracks In Private Credit Mean For The Industry

Private credit markets are showing signs of stress, with enterprise software borrowers particularly vulnerable as AI disruption threatens their business models. Four critical warning signals—deteriorating credit health, rising PIK interest, mid-market concentration of defaults, and strategic misalignment with AI—suggest lenders need to shift from passive monitoring to active portfolio management before the 2028 debt maturity wall arrives.
United StatesFinance and Banking
AlixPartners Asia LLC
AlixPartners Asia LLC
Article

New Research Reveals A Great Divide In Beauty, Health & Wellness, With Executives And Consumers At Odds

A comprehensive study reveals that beauty, health, and wellness has transformed from discretionary luxury into an identity cornerstone, with young men emerging as the fastest-growing demographic and nearly 13,000 medspas now rivaling McDonald's locations across America. The research exposes a critical disconnect between what industry executives believe consumers want and what consumers are actually doing with their time, money, and trust.
United StatesStrategy
AlixPartners Asia LLC
AlixPartners Asia LLC
Article

Seasonal Hospitality Cannot Be Blind To The Labor Illusion

Seasonal hospitality businesses like theme parks, cruise lines, and mountain resorts are breaking attendance records while struggling to staff the experiences those records depend on. Most operators see a hiring problem, but few recognize the deeper workforce crisis hidden behind operational dashboards that show parks opening and ships sailing. The real challenge lies in understanding why labor costs belong on the CEO agenda and what leading operators are doing differently to address specialized shortages,
United StatesEmployment and HR
AlixPartners Asia LLC
AlixPartners Asia LLC
Article

Behavioral Health Leaders Need A Margin Mindset As Disruption Sweeps The Sector

Behavioral health providers face mounting pressures from declining reimbursement rates, regulatory complexity, and severe workforce shortages that threaten operational sustainability. While demand for behavioral health services is projected to outpace supply for the next decade, only operators who build lean, efficient models rather than pursue pure expansion will capture the rewards.
United StatesFood, Drugs, Healthcare, Life Sciences
AlixPartners Asia LLC
AlixPartners Asia LLC