Globally Speaking

"Some brands are really proud - they have thousands and thousands of pages in hundreds of languages. But nobody reads them. Gone are the days when you were translating for the sake of it.”

Ben Faes, CEO of RWS, joins the Cultural Intelligence Podcast for a conversation on what’s reshaping global brand strategy - and why Cultural Intelligence is now fundamental to succeed.

In this episode:

* Why one message no longer works everywhere - and why “American cachet” no longer carries the weight it once did
* How leading global brands stay recognizable without sounding the same everywhere - and why translation alone leaves value on the table
* Why automating everything is the fastest route to creating content nobody reads - and how AI is changing expectations around quality and relevance

This episode explores AI volume versus AI value, meaning at scale, and meeting audiences where they are.

How do you introduce AI into one of the world’s most regulated industries?

Dan Herron, Global VP of Digital Health at RWS, joins the Cultural Intelligence Podcast to discuss how life sciences teams can responsibly apply AI in clinical operations, COAs, and linguistic validation:

* Why life sciences is uniquely complex for AI adoption, and why regulation, bias, and documentation matter so much
* How AI can support faster workflows in low risk areas (green zones), while a human in the loop remains essential for patient facing and regulated content (red zones)
* Why the future of linguistic validation is about responsible modernization, not automation for its own sake

A conversation on AI with guardrails, the human in the loop imperative, and why the industry can’t afford to wait for someone else to go first.

In this Globally Speaking episode, we sit down with Lisa Riemers and Matisse Hamel-Nelis, authors of "Accessible Communications", to explore how to move beyond checkbox compliance and build communication that genuinely works for all.

Key topics covered:

* Why accessibility shouldn’t be just a legal requirement
* The "digital curb cut effect": how accessibility features benefit everyone
* Common myths (no, accessible content doesn't have to be boring!)
* AI as a double-edged sword for accessibility
* Simple habits you can start today

Whether you're a communications pro or just getting started, this episode will change how you think about the content you create.

Find Lisa and Matisse's book "Accessible Communications" here: https://www.koganpage.com/marketing-communications/accessible-communications-9781398621848

It’s also available on Amazon and wherever you buy your books!

When AI POCs shine in isolation… but struggle at enterprise scale.

Host Marine Esquenet welcomes Matt Hardy to explore why AI prototypes dazzle in demos yet struggle in production, and how cultural intelligence can bridge that gap.

Matt unpacks real challenges:

* Why AI POCs look flawless alone but break under production pressures
* What separates "working demos" from trusted, adopted enterprise systems
* How context, culture, and edge cases redefine "good" across markets

Don't miss Matt's practical playbook for scaling AI across markets, functions, and those tricky edge cases. A must for any enterprise leader!

In this first episode of The Cultural Intelligence Series, host Marine Esquenet sits down with Marina Pantcheva to explore what happens when global growth moves faster than our ability to manage meaning, context and trust.

Marina helps us unpack:
- Why culture remains one of the hardest variables for global leaders to master but also the easiest to underestimate
- The real-world risks of one-size-fits-all communication across markets
- What leaders must rethink to ensure their global strategies truly resonate across cultures

💡 Don’t miss Marina’s recipe for cultural confidence, blending curiosity, empathy and local insight into every decision. A powerful start to our series on Cultural Intelligence.