As a CEO, merely investing in AI isn’t enough.
Rodney Zemmel, the global head of Blackstone’s operating team, who leads a group that advises the firm’s 250 portfolio companies, shared a playbook for how CEOs should use AI to get the most out of their investments. As of last February, those companies made a combined $226 billion in annual revenue, according to a press release announcing Zemmel’s hire.
AI is what “we’re all going to be working on for the rest of our professional careers,” Zemmel said at a Blackstone-hosted conference for CEOs last month. He shared Blackstone’s five key questions for companies to consider as they try to get the most out of their AI spend.
Leaders need to ask whether they’re demonstrating “top-down commitment,” meaning that CEOs are not only committing resources to AI, but are also personally invested in its roll-out.
Businesses should also consider whether they’re taking a “business-first approach” rather than a “tech-first” one — their objectives need to relate to specific business goals that AI can help achieve, not solely integrating AI. For example, Zemmel said, a company’s head of customer service could focus on boosting productivity and co-develop a plan with a technology lead.
It’s also key to have “clear ROI,” measured by EBITDA — earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization — and by revenue growth, he said.
“If you can’t see either of those, it’s not worth your spending your time on it,” Zemmel told the CEOs in the audience.
Fourth on Zemmel’s list was thinking about a “path to scale,” since he said many companies are too focused on piloting AI uses, rather than scaling them. Leaders should focus incentives and technology choices on scaling up rather than just showing off the most impressive AI capabilities.
Finally, according to Zemmel, company leaders need to ask whether they’re using data intentionally to create a competitive advantage, not simply keep up with competitors’ AI use.
The question of AI returns is plaguing companies large and small, as analysts pressed Big Tech leaders on the topic during recent earnings calls.
According to an October report from Boston Consulting Group, only 5% of the more than 1,250 global companies included in its 2025 study are seeing true returns on AI. Around 60% saw little to no benefit, despite significant investments in the technology. The report found that sectors that have folded AI into core functions — like sales and marketing, R&D, manufacturing, and IT — saw notable value gains between 2024 and 2025.
