Meet the A-lister from Archer Daniels Midland - Lee Patsel

We have always been searching for ways to accomplish more without having to increase our investments. This includes investment in equipment, software and human capital. In addition to this, we must always strive to improve our cost position while creating competitive differentiation in our industry. Automation provides the ability to do both at a rate significantly faster than traditional IT methods.

It is growing and growing fast. Almost too fast. It is growing faster than the cultures of organizations can adapt in order to truly embrace what it makes possible. Of course, technology, any technology, has introduced change in this manner as well. The good news is that people are getting more used to change and are capable of making shifts faster with each generation. Change is still hard and takes time, but look at how the majority of the population has adopted the use of smart phones! It feels like intelligent automation is going to be similar to that, in that, it will permeate most processes, be utilized by nearly everyone (even unknowingly), and created by a broader audience. Knowledge workers today are way more sophisticated and technology is enabling the democratization of what used to be considered IT only work.

The endless possibilities that exist with the combination of these is what excites me. What validates it is constantly reading about all the creative ways that people are employing these technologies to improve employee, customer and supplier experiences. Our consumer expectations are driving a transformation with our business expectations. We will need to utilize all of these, and others, to ultimately keep up with the ever evolving and improving business climate.