The impact is tangible: faster adoption of new systems, smoother mergers without losing key talent, and governance shaped by real organizational readiness. Yet despite these results, many boards and business owners still underestimate its strategic weight.

Q: From your experience, can you share one brief example where change management at the executive level materially improved a major transformation outcome - adoption, retention, timeline, or financial result?  

A: Yes, and I can give several examples where transformation and change-management competence is crucial, and why it’s important to keep people engaged and care about them. Too often, digital projects are viewed only from the technical side rather than the people side. In most cases, change isn’t just technical: it involves process and behavior changes. Sustainability comes only through behavioral change. Otherwise, even a good system or technical solution can fail because people stop using it, use it incorrectly, or the underlying process hasn’t changed. If you change only the technical part, you often won’t get the expected results. From my experience, I have led several digital implementations that we approached from a change-management perspective rather than just project management. We focused on transforming processes and behaviors, engaging people, and explaining why the changes would help them - how the solution would improve efficiency, productivity, and outcomes. 

In another project I’m currently involved with, Metinvest acquired a tubular plant in Romania and we are now integrating it. Previously, I led a post-integration department at another company, and that taught me how important it is to focus on the people side of such projects. Developing interesting new solutions isn’t enough: you must explain how people will work in the new environment, how new processes will increase productivity and efficiency, and what benefits the changes will bring. You also need a thorough stakeholder analysis and engagement plan - without stakeholder support, no project is likely to succeed. 

Q: Do you believe your company’s board and owners currently treat people-readiness as a formal decision criterion? If not, what one change would you recommend to make it visible in governance?  

A: I wouldn’t say that it’s become a formal criterion at this point, however, from my perspective, transformations are more successful when you pay attention to change-management issues. That means working with sponsors and stakeholders: analyzing them, developing a transformation and communication plan, and focusing on people engagement. As a company, this is important to us. We are results‑oriented, particularly given the current situation in Ukraine with the full-scale war, but we place people at the center of our decisions and processes: it is one of our core values. For every project and initiative we consider stakeholder expectations, secure supporters, and keep stakeholders engaged throughout the change. We plan how to carry out the transformation so people stay on board, using communication strategies and different tools to share results, successes, and lessons learned. The specific committees with management and meetings with employees depend on the project’s scope and level. 

Q: Which CM competency, such as perhaps stakeholder engagement, benefits realization, organizational design, or sponsorship do you consider most critical for executives, and why?  

A: I mentioned in the survey that stakeholder analysis and the skill to work with stakeholders to keep them engaged are the most important change-management competencies. If you do not understand stakeholders’ interests or fail to keep them engaged - or if you do not handle stakeholders who oppose the project appropriately - you will not achieve your desired results. You may work well with some stakeholders, such as your employees, but if you do not properly assess and engage other internal and external stakeholders, the transformation initiative will likely fail. 

Q: What is the single biggest barrier you see to embedding CM as a core leadership competency, and how would you overcome it? 

A: A lot of people and companies jump into change before analyzing what they want to achieve, how it’s possible, and who the supporting stakeholders are. If you don’t have a sponsor, it may not make sense to proceed. Instead, you may need to educate and cultivate a sponsor who will champion and drive the initiative forward. 

Q: How do you see AI changing the practice of change management: what are the main opportunities and risks for CM as a discipline? 

A: There’s a lot of discussion about using AI for coaching in change-management and transformation initiatives. I think it’s somewhat overvalued as a trend. AI is highly useful for data collection and analysis at all stages: gathering information, reviewing lessons learned from past transformations, and saving time for project and change teams. However, when the goal is changing people’s behavior, AI has limits. In times of uncertainty and stress, human judgment, resielience, creativity, and empathy often matter more than algorithmic recommendations. AI should be used as a tool to support change work, not to replace the human side of transformation. 

Q: The war has definitely amplified the pressure on companies to adapt. 

A: Yes, it's interesting how Ukrainian experience and perspective have become more relevant and accessible recently. A small story from this year: remember the heavy snowfall in Amsterdam that stopped everything and grounded flights? At the same time, Ukraine went through winter with heavy snow, freezing temperatures, no electricity, no heating, and no running water, yet people continued to work and deliver results. That shows how real human resilience, skills, and ingenuity can be more useful for navigating uncertainty than procedures alone. 

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Read the report by ACMP and Amrop Ukraine.