The discipline of listening and designing AI products with a global perspective
By Stacy Ladwig ’25 MBA
For the first time in Kellogg history, the Global Initiatives in Management (GIM) program offered an immersive learning experience in the incredible and breathtaking island nation of New Zealand. If the locale weren’t incentive enough, the destination’s course focused on building and scaling international intelligent products was led by Professor Birju Shah; AI/ML expert and serial entrepreneur.
The intent of the course was to search for a meaningful problem, and progress through the deep understanding of the user need, thoughtful design, and disciplined iteration and refinement of a product specification in a non-U.S. context. I’ve had the privilege of leading across diverse geographies and cultures and approached this opportunity with both great curiosity and a sense of duty to grow.
Teams were invited to identify a problem, validate market feasibility, define value proposition, specify user experience and conduct contextual research while in the country. The structure of the class was a full-on experience in the realm of product discovery. Preparatory sessions grounded us in a disciplined approach to discovery, design and iterative refinement. Individual teams were then offered the freedom to impose their own structures and framework and reduce ambiguity, risk and uncertainty of our proposed products.
We were graciously received by some of the nation’s foremost venture capitalists, engineers and stewards of industry — whose wisdom and welcome were deeply appreciated.
How to: Start
The brilliance of this course wasn’t solely in the material presented; it was the latitude we were offered, and the demand to find a market gap, address it, and validate our hypothesis while in the country. There were no spoilers in the syllabus. The real learning, the real practice of the practice was revealed in the experience timeline Shah created. Getting started is one of the toughest challenges for many of us to overcome. What problem do I care enough about? What do I want to solve? Who would even care? How would I find them? Would they talk to me? What questions do I ask if they would?
Professor Shah created a course carefully aligned with GIM requirements, and thoughtfully crafted to offer students the opportunity to practice the golden moment of “just start.”
Armed with AI-enabled tools within the course such as MIT’s ORBIT, a software for product specification and user persona drafting, students were to embark on the exercise of finding the problem, determining monetization of a solution, and validating the viability of the target market in country.
How to: Do it Better
Throughout the hands-on learning experience, there were plenary sessions that included: farmer-owned international dairy cooperative, Fonterra; Indevin, a wine distributor; accounting software superstar Xero; and Orbica, an environmental monitoring platform; and the team poised to change the game in persistent drone flight, Kea Aerospace.
Our final site visit of the trip was to the Ministry of Awesome (MOA), the gem of New Zealand’s entrepreneurial landscape, located at the Ara Institute of Canterbury. Since it’s founding, MOA has raised over $180M and supported over 250 entrepreneurs to launch and develop their startups which range from streamlined pharmacy management platforms to disaster response management and communications solutions.
How to: Take it Home
Engaging with distinguished leaders and visionary entrepreneurs in New Zealand offered not only valuable insights into the intersection of technical ingenuity and business acumen, but also immediate relevance to our immediate research project for the trip, and also the real-world challenges faced by the Executive MBA participants on the GIM. Upon returning, with wise words still resonating and the vivid examples of dedicated building for enduring success, I approached Monday with fresh eyes — reflecting upon my leadership, refining my methods of engagement, and reaffirming my commitment to guide my team with steadiness and swiftness in service to our clients.
This journey renewed in me a quiet discipline: to pause, ask with intention, “How might this be done better?”— and then charting that course together with my team, with clarity and care.
New Zealand is subtly but distinctly different in certain cultural aspects from the U.S. business environment — the contrasts were inspiring. As we transited to Christchurch specifically, it’s as though everyone with a hand in rebuilding the city after the 2011 earthquake took an extra 10 minutes on every project and said, “This is good, but are we sure we can’t make it just a little better?” and then they did. The design is exemplary. The cultural norm and expectation to build cities, processes and companies that last, is palpable. New Zealand doesn't just focus on the next quarter; it plans and builds with intention for the next 100 years.
I certainly look to return long before then.
This Kellogg experience has been not merely education — it is an unending call to lead with empathy, to create with integrity and to rise with courage to meet the challenges of a new era. It has been my experience that those who elect to embark upon this journey do so with open hearts, determined minds and the confidence that they contribute not only to their own growth but to the enduring betterment of our shared future.
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