Key Takeaways:
- More than half of venture capital funding in 2024 was directed toward AI, showing the depth of investor conviction in the technology.
- Many advisors are not yet comfortable discussing AI with customers, highlighting the need for education and practical use cases.
- AI is transforming both sides of cybersecurity, powering more sophisticated attacks while enabling providers to respond with automated, real-time defenses.
- Enterprises are planning major reductions in contact center headcount as CX automation accelerates, though cultural and process barriers remain significant.
- Panelists raised concerns that eliminating entry-level jobs could undermine the development of future leaders in technology.
The panel Navigating the New Tech Frontier: AI, CX, and Security in 2025 at the Telarus Partner Summit 2025 brought together seasoned executives to discuss how artificial intelligence, customer experience, and security are reshaping business strategies. Telarus Chief Revenue Officer Dan Foster set the tone, joined by Gregory Weber, CTO of Tech Mahindra BPS; John (JP) Panzica, CEO of Celery Partners; and Josh Jewett, former CIO of Family Dollar and Dollar Tree, now Operating Partner at New Road Capital Partners.
We really enjoyed the trip out to Anaheim, California to partake with the whose who in the partner ecosystem. Most importanly, the trip reminded us about the crucial need for face-to-face events to maximize opportunity via new and reinforced personal relationships. While AI was the theme of the conference – what was not lost on us, was the importance of in-person events and the incidental discovery of partners and suppliers in the exhibit hall and conference sessions. Finally, the networking at the various events was second to one – with the oppotunity to learn from peers who keep you from reinventing the wheel.
AI’s Expanding Role
Foster began with findings from Telarus’ forthcoming Tech Trends Report. He highlighted that 55% of venture capital investment last year—approximately $280 billion—went to AI. End users rank AI as their top priority, but a survey of technology advisors showed less than half feel confident discussing it with clients. “That’s what this is for,” Foster explained, pointing to the summit’s education sessions aimed at building advisor fluency in AI conversations.
The CIO and Investor Lens
Jewett offered the perspective of both a CIO and a private equity partner. As a CIO, he valued advisors for their ability to bring market knowledge and vendor insights he and his team lacked bandwidth to monitor. “It’s a virtual extension of the skills and expertise of your team,” he said, noting that advisors improved his organization’s decision-making.
In private equity, Jewett works with portfolio companies that juggle product development with managing cloud infrastructure, security, and collaboration tools. For these firms, advisors provide critical expertise that internal teams cannot.
Cybersecurity’s Double Edge
Panzica underscored how AI is being used on both sides of cybersecurity. He described how stolen data from large breaches is sold on the dark web, where it is increasingly used to train models that enable highly targeted phishing, impersonation, and social engineering campaigns. “The sophistication of phishing attacks now is incredible,” he said.
On the defensive side, he pointed to agentic AI as a turning point. Providers now have tools to parse logs, identify anomalies, quarantine files, and block malicious traffic automatically. By addressing the problem of “alert fatigue,” AI is helping security teams act more quickly and effectively.
CX at a Crossroads
Weber highlighted the accelerating transformation in customer experience. Historically, agents acted as the “glue” holding disparate processes together. With AI, that work is shifting to automation, allowing agents to focus on empathy and problem-solving. He noted that enterprises now enter contracts for thousands of seats with the expectation of reducing them by up to 90% within a few years.
But technology alone is not enough. “Everything they spent their entire careers doing doesn’t relate to the acceleration they’re feeling now,” Weber said, arguing that executives face steep challenges in adapting processes and culture.
Workforce and Leadership Concerns
Jewett raised the question of what happens to the leadership pipeline if entry-level jobs disappear. “All of us started our career in one way, shape, or fashion, as an apprentice,” he said. Without lower-level roles, he warned, enterprises may struggle to cultivate tomorrow’s experts and leaders.
Weber added that exposure is essential. He described encouraging his teenage daughter to use AI tools daily, arguing that the more people experiment with the technology, the more they can map it to real outcomes.
Data Governance and Privacy
The panel also explored data governance. Panzica emphasized that organizations in regulated industries must ensure data sovereignty and maintain audit trails, especially when employees interact with public AI tools. “You have to prove it,” he said, underscoring the compliance burden.
Foster shared an anecdote of individuals feeding personal medical results into ChatGPT without adjusting privacy settings. He characterized this as the danger of systems that are “often right, always sure.”
Jewett urged enterprises not to let fear prevent adoption. He argued that AI should be deployed first in areas where errors are manageable, such as retail scheduling or targeted promotions, before tackling higher-risk applications. He also noted that holding AI to flawless standards is unrealistic when even human teams make mistakes.
Practical Advice for Advisors
The panel concluded with guidance for advisors navigating this fast-changing environment.
- Panzica advised advisors to experiment with AI themselves. He suggested obtaining Copilot licenses, watching training videos, and applying AI in their own businesses to build confidence before discussing it with clients. “If you’re not doing it, somebody else is,” he said.
- Jewett encouraged advisors to focus on the portfolio of solutions they represent, understanding how each integrates AI and being ready to share examples of successful implementations. “Make your customer look like a hero,” he said.
- Weber urged advisors to trust results. “These outcomes are real,” he explained, arguing that advisors should have confidence in sharing measurable gains from AI deployments.
Foster closed by encouraging attendees to use the summit to build a roadmap and confidence for guiding customers into 2025 and beyond.
Conclusion
The discussion revealed both the promise and complexity of AI’s role in business. While it is driving innovation in security and CX, it also raises new questions about governance, leadership development, and cultural adaptation. For advisors, the clear mandate is to get hands-on with AI, gain fluency in its applications, and proactively engage customers. The market is moving quickly, and standing still could mean falling behind.
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Aside from his role as CEO of TMC and chairman of ITEXPO #TECHSUPERSHOW Feb 10-12, 2026, Rich Tehrani is CEO of RT Advisors and a Registered Representative (investment banker) with and offering securities through Four Points Capital Partners LLC (Four Points) (Member FINRA/SIPC). He handles capital/debt raises as well as M&A. RT Advisors is not owned by Four Points.
The above is not an endorsement or recommendation to buy/sell any security or sector mentioned. No companies mentioned above are current or past clients of RT Advisors.
The views and opinions expressed above are those of the participants. While believed to be reliable, the information has not been independently verified for accuracy. Any broad, general statements made herein are provided for context only and should not be construed as exhaustive or universally applicable.
Portions of this article may have been developed with the assistance of artificial intelligence, which may have contributed to ideation, content generation, factual review, or editing
