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Atif Rafiq
President - Ex-Amazon, C Suite in Fortune 500, startup CEO - Board Director - Author of Re:wire newsletter - WSJ Bestselling Author of Decision Sprint
Atif Rafiq is an accomplished executive and board member with over 25 years of experience in driving innovation and digital transformation. He has been serving as an Independent Non-Executive Director at Flutter Entertainment Plc since December 2021. In this role, he is a member of the Risk & Sustainability Committee, Workforce Engagement Committee, and other key subcommittees.145 Flutter Entertainment is the parent company of major sports betting and gaming brands like FanDuel.
Rafiq has held senior leadership roles across Fortune 500 companies, including serving as the first Chief Digital Officer (CDO) in the history of the Fortune 500 at McDonald’s Corporation (2013–2017), where he spearheaded digital transformation initiatives that generated billions in revenue. He also served as Global Chief Digital Officer and CIO at Volvo Cars (2017–2019) and President of Commercial & Growth at MGM Resorts International (2019–2020).126
In addition to his corporate roles, Rafiq is the CEO and Co-Founder of Ritual, an AI-powered problem-solving platform. He is also a WSJ bestselling author of Decision Sprint, which focuses on decision-making and innovation strategies.235 His educational background includes a BA in Mathematics-Economics from Wesleyan University and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.26
Highlights
Excited to drive the Executive Track at PDMA - Product Development and Management Association this year! 💡This isn’t your typical conference session—it's tailored for top-level decision-makers looking to ground their work in purpose and anchor it in the company’s strategy. 🚀.
I’m partnering with PDMA because they offer unparalleled opportunities for product leaders to enhance their skills and drive meaningful impact. 🌟 As the world’s leading organization for innovation and product development, PDMA is providing a unique platform for top executives through this exclusive conference track.
In the executive track, I’ll cover making the leap from strategy to execution, which requires a way to work through unknowns and ambiguity. ⚡ There’s a method to navigating unknowns, and that’s where Decision Sprint comes in. It’s a groundbreaking method covered in my WSJ bestseller of the same name (link below).
You’ll learn how to make the leap from promising ideas and important objectives to actionable steps that turn ambiguity and unknowns on their head -- insights I’ve gained over 25 years leading the charge within Silicon Valley and the Fortune 500.
Join me to lead the way forward and ensure that what we do today drives tomorrow’s success. 🚀. If you’re curious, take a look at the agenda below. 🙌 Event Details:
- 🗓️ September 14-17, 2024 (Atif leads the exec track program on 9/16)
- 📍 St. Louis, MO Register here: https://lnkd.in/gqaGmZVv Learn more about Decision Sprint: www.decisionsprint.com #PDMAInspire2024 #ExecutiveLeadership #Innovation #Strategy #FutureOfWork
🎙️ I recently joined Thinkers50 for the Provocateurs podcast to share leadership insights from my journey and how they shaped my “North Star.” Thinkers50 is a hub for today’s top management thought leaders. 🎙️
I’ve navigated three major career transitions—from digital-native companies to leading Fortune 500s, and now as a founder on a mission. Each phase brought valuable leadership lessons, fueling my latest disruption: rethinking the practice of management.
Here are some highlights:
🔗 Why Transformation Starts with Heritage: Many people ask how we were able to drive 10 years of change in very short periods of time within large organizations. At McDonald's, I anchored digital transformation in the company's core value of convenience. 🍟 At Volvo, we built on our safety heritage while keeping humans at the center of our growth strategy (subscription business model and tech-forward interiors). At MGM Resorts, we expanded hospitality to all guests, even those who don't gamble.
🎯 Engage Directly in How Work Gets Done: Leadership isn't just about setting strategy. It's about diving into how teams think and work, and helping them fine-tune their approach. You are responsible for the “what” and the “how.” 🧠
💡 Embrace "Upstream Work": That crucial stage between raw ideas and decision points is often overlooked. Teams spend weeks and sometimes months identifying key questions, going down rabbit holes, coming back up, drawing conclusions, and developing recommendations. My book "Decision Sprint" explores the hidden world of upstream work and offers a method. 📘
🤖 Leverage GenAI for Transformation: Transformations win or lose based on the quality of their upstream work. Critical thinking and problem-solving can be enhanced by bringing GenAI into your upstream workflows. That’s why I feel we are scratching the surface of GenAI when it comes to performing upstream work faster and better.
🗣️ Calibration over Control: Giving teams the time for “purposeful exploration” may seem unstructured, but it’s a powerful way to avoid blindspots, speed up alignment, and reach decisions with confidence. 🎯
With Ritual, I’m channeling these insights into software, helping teams everywhere accelerate their ideas and objectives. Think workflow + GenAI. The future of work is about humans and AI collaborating effectively – an exciting 10-year journey ahead! 🚀
Check out the podcast interview with Des Dearlove and Geoff Tuff (link below with full transcript if you prefer reading).
https://lnkd.in/djAA6aqQ
www.decisionsprint.com (Atif's WSJ bestseller)
#Leadership #Innovation #FutureOfWork #AI #UpstreamWork #DecisionSprint #WSJbestseller
