AI Disruption Has Operations Leaders Rethinking the Basics — and Leaning on Each Other

The Challenge: Leadership After COVID, Now With AI

Leading a manufacturing operation was never simple, but the job has changed fundamentally in recent years — and artificial intelligence is accelerating that shift.

"If you think of what it's like to be a leader post-COVID, whether it's manufacturing or really any industry, it's gotten so much more difficult and now you layer in AI."

That's Chuck Orzechowski, CEO of the COO Forum, a peer community built exclusively for Chief Operating Officers and Senior Operations Executives. Speaking with Thomas Wilk, Chief Editor of IndustryWeek, on a recent podcast episode, Orzechowski and Josh Renicker, the COO Forum's Director of Ambassador Programs, laid out how operations executives are navigating AI-driven disruption and workforce change.

The picture they paint is nuanced. AI adoption in manufacturing should focus on improving efficiency and supporting workers — not simply reducing headcount.

"The one element that I think is interesting in the season we're in now is with the influx of AI, now leaders are managing six generations, right?"

That's five generations of humans, plus AI — which some organizations are treating as headcount. Against that backdrop, strong communication, culture and leadership remain essential as operations teams navigate AI, remote work and other disruptions.

The Response: A Peer Network Built for COOs

The COO Forum was founded in 2004 by Bill Shepard to help operations leaders excel in work and career. Shepard, whose career included roles at Pacific Linen, NordicTrack and Gap, wanted a peer group for COOs — and when he couldn't find one, he started one.

More than 22 years later, the organization provides a network of peer groups throughout the U.S. and North America, with thousands of members collaborating on real challenges in a confidential environment. Chapters ranging from six or 15 members work through problems together, drawing on shared context rather than generic advice.

"Yeah, we like to say that our members are our best content."

The COO Forum's sessions emphasize shared experiences and avoid prescriptive advice. Renicker describes the culture of the room directly:

"The spirit of the room in COO Forum sessions, the one word that's very rarely used is 'should.'"

The Human Side of the Work

Renicker will bring this perspective to the Operations Leadership Summit, where the COO Forum is a presenting sponsor. His session focuses on addressing gaps in organizational processes — the handoffs, miscommunications and frustrations that dashboards don't capture.

"I mean, I tend to lead in the gaps, right? Chuck brought up the messy middle. I use that phrase quite often."

"The dashboards tell me everything else. The dashboards are built around process and built around performance and efficiencies and all those kind of things."

"I want to lean into the human side of the work."

His approach is deliberately question-driven.

"And I frustrate my team a little bit just because I don't show up with answers, I show up with questions."

"So for me, it's how can I use every gap to grow every person, right? Every interaction should be an opportunity to grow the people around me."

It's a human-centric approach to leadership and problem-solving — and a reminder that even as AI reshapes the factory, the hardest problems in manufacturing still live between people.