Men in black are back.

No, seriously. Somehow, whenever Edvins Elferts and I co-produce this AI transformation series, we show up dressed in (mostly) black.

Last time I wrote about this topic in July, we were in black ties at the graduation ceremony of Eco Baltia Growth Academy 2025, focusing on AI driven transformation of the group of companies. Six intense months. Hybrid format (e.g. in-house incubation programme). Six hands-on workshops. Real AI pilot projects and use-cases. Real leadership commitment.

Back then my main takeaway was simple: very few CEOs take AI transformation as seriously — and as systematically — as Maris Simanovics and his team Aija Brika-Dravniece, Evija Abele, Liene Lagutkina, Jekaterina Vasiljeva, Santa Spūle, Sigita Namatēva, Andris Ziemelis, Andris Ābele, Andris Karlsons, Armands Utinans, Jānis Aizbalts, Kaspars Zakulis, Pauls Lukss and others. They didn’t just “experiment with AI.” They invested in building capability.

And then they came back for more this year. Last Tuesday, Edvins Elferts and I found ourselves back in black — kicking off Eco Baltia Growth Academy 2026.

This season is designed to be next level. We’re moving beyond AI literacy. Beyond isolated experiments.

Now it’s about deeper application:
– End-to-end workflow transformation
– Agentic AI embedded into real operational processes
– Less demo, more redesign

I can’t share details (yet). But let’s just say — the ship has sailed.

Wish us luck.
Stay tuned.

This post also appeared on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7434159335943077888/