Meetup #12 - The Octopus Organisation
Details
Shaping our future with AI. Creating opportunity through AI fluency, connection and community.
No jargon. No hype. No confusing terminology.
Join us for our next in-person meetup in London on Thursday January 29th.
This month we're meeting the authors of the latest book published by Harvard Business Review: The Octopus Organisation - A Guide To Thriving In A World Of Continuous Transformation. We'll have signed copies of the book available as prizes on the night!
Sticking with the theme of transformation we're also excited to be hosting Masha Gaganova, a transformation leader with refreshingly grounded and practical advice about leading people through change!
Where and When?
- Thursday, January 29th
- Doors open at 18:00
- Talks start at 19:00
- Tessl HQ, 210 Pentonville Rd, London N1 9JY, UK
The Octopus Organisation: Meet the authors
In this fireside conversation we discover what an octopus organisation is and learn how to thrive in a world of continuous transformation. With AI driving transformation across businesses and teams of all sizes and industries, what can we learn from these experts in transformation at scale?
Drawing on their experience at companies such as Amazon and McDonald's and work with hundreds of global companies, authors Phil Le-Brun and Jana Werner show you how to break away from the broken model of transformation and embrace continuous change.
Phil Le-Brun:
Phil leads the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Executives in Residence team, comprising former CXOs who provide board and C-suite advisory. Prior to AWS, Phil held senior roles in McDonald’s Corporation including VP for Global Technology Development and International Chief Information Officer and has been recognised as one of the top 100 UK-based CIOs.
Jana Werner:
Jana Werner is an Executive in Residence at Amazon Web Services, where she guides the executive teams of Fortune 500 companies in building adaptive customer-centric organizations. Her academic background in uncertainty dynamics grounds her practical advice for leaders navigating complex environments and building resilient organizations.
Talk: Wondering how to make a transformation work? Have lots of cups of tea (Masha Gaganova, Transformation Consultant)
In real organisations, change doesn’t stick through frameworks, roadmaps, or shiny tools. It sticks when someone takes the time to build trust one-to-one, name what’s happening, and hold the boundary when discomfort shows up.
In this talk, Masha shares patterns from leading transformation in complex, high-stakes environments from digital and AI adoption to new ways of working. Why sustainable change creates temporary discomfort. Why softening the message kills momentum. Why people don’t resist change, they resist being left out of it.
Masha Gagonova:
Masha Gaganova is an international transformation leader, Fractional Change Partner, and speaker with 15+ years driving strategy and change across pharma, medtech, healthtech, and the public sector. Her work always starts with the end user, often a patient, and connects strategy, technology, and human behaviour to deliver measurable impact.
Code of Conduct
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