Nick Tzitzon brings a unique perspective to the C-suite, combining decades of experience across public service and enterprise technology leadership. As Vice Chairman of ServiceNow, one of the world’s leading digital workflow platforms, and formerly Executive Vice President at SAP, Tzitzon has been at the forefront of technological transformation that has reshaped how global organisations operate. His career trajectory – from government service to steering technology giants through periods of unprecedented change – positions him as one of the most thoughtful voices on leadership in our AI-driven era.

In this exclusive interview with The Executive Magazine, Tzitzon addresses the fundamental challenges keeping today’s executives awake at night, from AI uncertainty to multigenerational workforce dynamics. With refreshing candour, he explores why authentic leadership requires abandoning carefully curated corporate messaging, how organisations can harness AI without losing their human edge, and why emotional intelligence remains more powerful than artificial intelligence. Drawing from his Greek heritage, public service background, and years of scaling technology companies, Tzitzon offers practical wisdom on building trust, developing self-awareness, and leading through uncertainty – insights that will resonate with executives navigating their own transformation journeys.

Business leaders today face unprecedented challenges across economic, commercial, technological and political spheres. What fundamental concerns are keeping executives awake at night, and how does this sentiment vary across different global markets?

“At the moment it’s pretty consistent and I don’t want to oversimplify, but leaders just ‘don’t know’ right now. It’s a level of uncertainty about what this technology shift will really look like, and what AI really does. A lot of leaders are just starting to experiment with it and are trying to formulate in their minds what it will really do to change the business model or the industry they’re in.

“When I talk to technology leaders and say ‘Ok, tell me about what you’re building for your organisation, and how does that look different to what you were building five years ago?’ people are all over the map! I don’t think this is because they’re lacking qualifications or experience. It is just representative of the fact that everything is all so fluid. We are all trying to figure out what is a reliably good foundation from where they build a point of view and a strategy for an AI-led future.”

Previous transformational periods now appear evolutionary in hindsight, yet AI feels fundamentally revolutionary in its scale, speed and complexity. How can organisations develop coherent visions and roadmaps during such rapid transformation?

“The reality is that AI is simply a proxy for the kinds of changes that we’re already desperate to make. I think that’s why it feels revolutionary. Because depending on what circle you’re in, AI is the answer to every question before people even know what the question is!  The enthusiasm and the exuberance for new, for progress and change is super high.

“What we do at ServiceNow is start by putting the technology aside and concentrate first on what is really holding a client’s business back. We concentrate on the complexity that gets in the employees’ way;  things that the client would be 100% aligned with us in diagnosing as an impediment to what constitutes ‘good work’.

“We look for something that is material to the company’s success and discuss why that doesn’t work as well as it could or should. The more you actually talk about the problem in non-AI terms, the clearer the answers become on where you should concentrate investments and experiments with AI itself. This is a conversation anybody can have. You don’t have to be somebody who trains large language models (LLMs) to have this business context conversation with an organisation.”

Current discourse appears heavily weighted towards AI as a problem-solving tool. Should organisations instead be focusing on how artificial intelligence creates new opportunities?

“Business fundamentals are always business fundamentals.  I think sometimes in periods of significant change, we lose track of that truism. With the current AI hysteria and levels of investment going into AI, we are breeding an ‘irrepressible ego of innovation’.  

“As such, we’ve forgotten that people have been building businesses and value chains for hundreds of years, and no matter how smart the technology is, you’re not going to step up in an 18-month period and turn the global economy completely on its head.  Organisations that have strong customer bases and do the fundamentals really well will retain and grow their customer base. Just take the AI out of it and get back to understanding the basics. Only then can you truly understand your path forward and integrate AI as an additive to that recipe, as opposed to the recipe itself.”

Trust remains fundamental to business success, yet appears increasingly scarce in today’s environment. How can leaders build and maintain trust with both employees and customers during this period of technological transformation?

“The first thing is that leaders and organisations need to get off their carefully curated talking points. I think we all see right through them!  This is also true for politics, business, education, healthcare and so on.  We are longing for candour, vulnerability and a willingness to admit when things are not certain, as opposed to a phoney manufactured sense of certainty.”

Corporate messaging around AI often emphasises productivity gains, yet employees are simultaneously bombarded with narratives about job displacement. How should leaders improve their communication regarding AI adoption and integration?

“This is interesting. I often think about this in an historical context as there have been times in our past of seismic shifts of one kind or another. I think you could argue that one of the more recent examples of this, outside of the tech realm, is globalisation.  The view of many commentators now is that globalisation was perhaps better for institutions than it was for individuals.  For sure, we have new businesses, new ecosystems and new economic growth strategies. But for a lot of people, the way they made their living and provided for their family was demonstrably better before it (globalisation) and has hurt ever since.

“I think we were too cavalier about helping people who felt that impact of transitioning from one phase of the world economy to the another.  We cannot make that mistake again with AI. If leaders allow it to become proxy for layoffs, then we have failed the upside opportunity of what AI should mean for how we work. Leading with AI’s impact on productivity is just a code for ‘we think we can juice the bottom line at the expense of the people’, and that is not a recipe for an inspired movement of AI native thinkers.”

Research consistently identifies analytical thinking, creativity, critical thinking, curiosity and lifelong learning as the most sought-after employee characteristics. Does heavy reliance on generative AI risk undermining these fundamental innovation capabilities?

“Firstly, I’d add another one to that list. I think EQ (emotional intelligence) is more powerful than AI is, and I don’t believe we’re going to see a scenario where the machines show emotional concern and understand how people feel more powerfully than other people. I’m sure someone is out there saying they’re going to build emotional intelligence into AI, but I don’t buy that.

“We should view it as a partnership. We’re now working in partnership with AI, and it requires real human engagement for that experience to be fulfilling.  Let’s take healthcare as an example. There is a foundation that my wife and I have supported, and its whole premise is bringing together cancer researchers who share their work that hasn’t been published. It’s like an iceberg. You only see what’s published, but under it is a sea of goodness that no one’s looking at.

“So, let’s put the AI machines on it and let them roll!  That’s an area where we don’t have the capacity, the time or the clarity to do all that work. That’s where I want the machines; focusing on that new creative thinking and analysis that people don’t have the bandwidth to manage.”

Your career has spanned public service and corporate leadership across multiple organisations. What fundamental characteristics define effective leadership in your experience?

“I’m usually adverse to bumper sticker responses, but let’s say: ‘Humble pie is delicious’. There’s a time and place for ambition, intellect and ego, but it’s not in the thick of leading organisations. People are attracted to humility as a core characteristic, because it demonstrates that a leader doesn’t believe they’re any different to their employees, notwithstanding that their place on the org chart may be different.

“This has always been a critical piece of my success formula. I don’t buy status. In fact, I find a healthy amount of what we do in all our jobs to be a bit absurd and ridiculous!  I think the ability to make these things fun, so that we can laugh at ourselves and with each other, is a real ‘unlock’ culturally.

“I’m a normal human being who knows that some meetings we have are total ‘pain caves’. I can’t stand the system complexity in organisations, and you just have to be honest about these things. That’s where people start to realise ‘he’s real, she’s real’. Then we can have authentic conversations rather than manufactured ones.

“Finally, going back to the earlier point on EQ. This wasn’t something I innately knew from the beginning; I’ve learnt it over time.  I always try to look through my own perceptions to put myself in the shoes of whoever is saying, doing or acting in a certain way. When you can more fully understand what someone’s circumstances are, you tend to avoid the mischaracterisations and misjudgements that break people’s trust and shatter their willingness to follow you as a leader.”

Humility and empathy require considerable self-awareness. How can leaders systematically develop this critical capability?

“I would say start by being super intentional about finding out who your critics are and what they say. There’s a lot of insecurity in organisations. It’s pervasive, but it’s not talked about. Part of the reason both leaders and employees are insecure is because they don’t know what the critical voices are really saying. I don’t agree with everything that my critics or our critics are saying, but I definitely agree with much of what they are saying.

“When you know what is being said, you can then find ways to understand it and be mindful and respectful of it; even if you don’t agree or wouldn’t express it in the same way.  So, I recommend leaders seek out feedback. And, when you do that, in a funny way you are building a little bit of an insulation against ever becoming self-important or out of touch, because you’ve given credence and voice to people who think you’re anything but those things.”

Does this AI-driven transformation present a unique opportunity for personal responsibility in continuous learning and professional development?

“100 percent. Get actively curious about AI and proactive in using it to make your job more effective. I recently saw an ad campaign around AI that I thought was very clever. In bold font the ad said: ‘AI is going to take my job’, and then in smaller font underneath, it said: ‘to the next level’. I always wish I had thought of that slogan! We all have a responsibility when it comes to educating ourselves on AI.”

With five generations now active in the workforce at scale, how can organisations harness diverse generational perspectives to drive innovation and collaboration?

“That’s the trillion pound question, right? On things like collaboration, being on the same page, and appreciating the ebbs and flows of different experiences and different perspectives, humanity has demonstrated how bad it/we can sometimes be.

“It’s why I laugh when people say AI is finally going to remove the dysfunction at work. Let’s be clear: when you’re doing something as an individual, you have complete control over what it is, how you do it, and when you do it. The moment you add a second person, you have to find common ground, and that is a race without a finish line. And, that’s part of what makes being human a lively experience. You’re constantly trying to stitch together these coalitions of people.

“When I look at these new AI businesses, I think about how successful they could be if they assembled a key group of stakeholders representing generational, geographic, political, financial and industrial diversity and then took on a big problem in their selected industry. I think they’d be unstoppable.  And this is also true of organisations of any size. It’s hard to do, but if you succeed, the rewards will be transformational.”

Authentic leadership increasingly requires bringing one’s whole self to work. How do you balance personal authenticity with professional responsibilities?

“I agree with the principle of that question, but I’d like to preface it a little. I’ve learned over time that I was perhaps a bit mistaken in the past in believing that somehow my employer could satisfy all the different parts of the ‘real Nick’.  It’s not my employer’s job to care as much about the things that I care about, as much as I do.

“While I think we should all be totally comfortable in saying, ‘Hey, here’s who I am’, at work, we also have to be mindful of the fact that all the things that make us up, are not necessarily (rarely/if ever) what our employers are also made up of. We can’t conflate the two, because if you do, you just end up in a constant state of disappointment, thinking that the place you work doesn’t seem to care. The reality is, it’s just not possible for a company to care about all the diverse range of things that all employees do in the same way or with the same enthusiasm.

“As an example, I personally remain very interested in public service, because that’s how I started my career. I follow world politics, and I’m fascinated by how complex it is and how hard it can be to move forward from this complexity. I love travel and have an appreciation for the ability of beautiful places to taking me out of my own head.  I’m Greek by ethnicity, and Greek Orthodox by religion. I have a wonderful and full family life and many, many other interests that help to make up the ‘real Nick’.

“It’s just not realistic or feasible for a business to fulfil all the personal ambitions, desires and interests of every employee.  It’s incumbent on all of us to find the right balance, bring our real selves to work, but not expect work to automatically fulfil all the parts of ourselves. That’s our individual responsibility too.”

Can organisations find ways to leverage the broader professional experiences and hidden talents within their workforce whilst maintaining realistic boundaries?

“That is a perfect grey area. We are more than the sum of the parts of our job description and professional role. I guarantee you that if I weren’t vice chairman of ServiceNow and an EVP at SAP, I would have been doing a job where precisely zero people would have ever asked me, ‘how was my public service career relevant to what SAP or ServiceNow is trying to do?’.

“I think there’s always an opportunity for employers to find out what they really have in their workforce from an experience perspective. I view that as a different equation than just who they are as an individual. It’s understanding the holistic nature of their professional experience, interests and ambitions too.

“I don’t think we’ll ever get back to the ‘glory days’ back in the 80s, where big employers would bring somebody in after university, train them for a year, cycle them around every 18 months, and set them up for a 35-to-40-year career in one organisation. We won’t get back to that, but I believe we will get to a point where organisations are better at keeping people for a decade, as opposed to losing them every three years, which is where organisations are today.”

Reflecting on your early aspirations, how have childhood ambitions shaped your professional trajectory?

“When I was in the seventh grade, I helped a good friend of mine run for vice president of the Student Council, and we won that election. I then had an identity crisis in the eighth grade when he was getting ready to run for president and I thought ‘why am I not just running for the election myself’?  So, I did, and I won. I then continued to win class elections all through high school. The irony of it all is, my career has actually been more the seventh-grade version of me than the eighth-grade me.

“I’m very good at being a leader behind other leaders. I was when I worked in government, again in smaller businesses, and I have been the same for Bill McDermott here at ServiceNow. I think there’s always a personal tug of war around what we need to be in order to feel satisfied that we chased our dream. That’s still a struggle for me. Do I ever think I need to emerge to the eighth-grade version of me professionally to feel satisfied, or am I content being a damn good seventh-grade version of myself? I don’t know. That’s currently an undecided equation.”

Looking ahead at AI’s potential applications over the next decade, which sector do you believe will deliver the most transformative impact?

“I think it’s either going to be health or financial-oriented. I think those things offer the most potential for people to dramatically change the trajectory of their own lives; which, if you have a once-in-a-generation technology like AI, the ultimate measure should be; does it materially impact and improve people’s quality of life?

“Let’s consider the financial example. If you think about how we spend money now, and how that financial profile is spread out in so many different ways, it’s very difficult to understand how we can make solid behavioural changes, and how do those changes create positive outcomes.  If AI can figure out how to do that to enable people to clearly see that there is a more flexible, stable and positive path to financial security, and their behaviour firmly changes as a result, that is a very powerful and truly transformational utilisation of AI.”

What foundational life lesson from your parents continues to influence your leadership approach today?

“Both my parents were extremely hard workers. And, it’s funny because the ‘humble pie’ piece is probably a big part of their formula. They weren’t the kind of people who would sit down and say: ‘I’m going to tell you the secrets to life’. They showed us by their actions instead and it was up to me and my brother to pick up on it.

“However, there is one piece of their approach to life that I firmly carry with me. They were extraordinarily egalitarian; there was no status filter in my parents’ orbit, and they would have the same conversations with everyone. For them, anyone they encountered deserved to be valued and respected in the same way.

“They were also extremely intentional about the intergenerational element of family life. We would visit relatives constantly and as children, we would sit and listen to the older relatives tell stories; you weren’t allowed to sneak off and go watch TV. It was a key part of our education. Today, my parents still live up the street, and my kids still visit their house most days after school. That kind of deep connectivity makes for a much healthier perspective as you age.”

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