128: AI Strategy Starts with Business Clarity with Patricio Pazmiño

Patricio Pazmiño and Deborah Reuben, discuss why getting AI right starts with business clarity, not technology. Moving faster with AI can require spending more time upfront. When leaders understand the business need, align around what success looks like, and connect the opportunity to a meaningful KPI, they create stronger conditions for adoption and long-term value. In this conversation, Deborah Reuben, CLFP, CEO and Founder of TomorrowZone® and Patricio Pazmiño, Chief Product Officer and partner at Kin Analytics, explore: How do you choose the right problems for AI to solve? Why should every AI initiative connect to a business KPI? How can user feedback improve adoption and outcomes? Why does AI require continuous learning after launch? A practical conversation for equipment finance leaders thinking about AI strategy, transformation readiness, and how clarity before technology can turn AI possibilities into meaningful business value. Patricio Pazmiño is Chief Product Officer and partner at Kin Analytics, a data analytics and AI firm serving the U.S. equipment finance industry. He has led and implemented more than 100 analytics and AI solutions for equipment leasing firms and commercial lenders, spanning credit scoring, risk management, and process automation. His work takes clients from problem definition through solution development, deployment, and monitoring. Patricio specializes in translating analytics and AI into better credit decisions by connecting technical work with the business logic behind it. That perspective shapes his problem-first approach: understand the business need, its value, and the people involved before moving toward a solution. He brings that practical mindset to conversations about AI strategy, business clarity, and creating meaningful value with technology. Patricio was named a Monitor Daily 40 Under 40 NextGen Leader. Deborah Reuben, CLFP, is the CEO and Founder of TomorrowZone®, a clarity-first transformation advisory serving C-suite and senior operational leaders in  equipment finance, leasing, and beyond. She works with leaders about to  commit significant resources to transformation, helping them get clear on the  real problem before they move. Clarity before technology.    Deborah surfaces the patterns leaders can't see from inside the work,  grounding innovation in systems thinking and foresight before the technology  decision, building transformation readiness before it's needed.    She is the author of Enter the TomorrowZone: How to Inspire Breakthrough  Innovation and Shape Your Future, which examines why capable leaders get  stuck in constant reaction and how stepping back creates the clarity to design  what comes next. She also authored the Certified Leasing and Finance  Professionals’ Handbook, editions 6 through 10, the standard text that CLFP  certification candidates study to earn their professional credential. Connect with Us: Patricio Pazmiño | LinkedIn:   / patricio-pazmino-hidalgo   Kin Analytics: https://www.kinanalytics.com/ Deborah Reuben | LinkedIn:   / deborahreuben   TomorrowZone: https://tomorrowzone.io/ Enter the TomorrowZone https://tomorrowzone.io/enter-the-tom...