Firms must abandon five leadership habits to navigate AI era: FPT CEO

The important thing is not to chase AI, but to apply AI to solve the right organizational problems, said Nguyen Van Khoa, CEO of FPT Corporation, a leading technology company in Vietnam.

At the Cisco CxO Symposium 2026 Vietnam on Thursday, Khoa shared practical insights on how businesses can leverage artificial intelligence in governance and operations, underscoring the decisive role of leadership and data in the new era.

He offered a business-oriented perspective on AI transformation and methodologies for solving operational and management challenges in the AI age.

The CEO said AI was creating a “golden opportunity” for Vietnamese companies to narrow the gap with the rest of the world. “Each generation only has one breakthrough technological gateway, and AI is the opportunity for Vietnam to start on the same line as developed countries, particularly in software and data,” he said.

Drawing from FPT’s implementation experience, Khoa noted that the group, which has around 85,991 employees including affiliates, has had to rely on technology and optimization to address operational challenges.

According to Khoa, AI adoption has helped improve productivity by around 30% in certain operations without changing headcount levels. He noted that the trend mirrored global technology companies, citing Cisco’s reported productivity gains of roughly 30% while expanding its workforce by about 5,000 employees.

“If businesses fail to make fundamental changes in the way they operate, it will be very difficult for them to grow during this period,” he said.

The executive also introduced the FPT CASAN framework, which outlines five levels of AI maturity: Curious, Augmented, Standard, Automatic and Native. The framework describes a roadmap from individual AI experimentation to AI becoming a core organizational capability.

According to Khoa, most Vietnamese businesses are currently at levels one or two, with the key transition being the integration of AI into operational processes at a deeper level.

Emphasizing the human factor in AI transformation, Khoa said leadership played a critical role. “If the CEO or chairman is not directly involved in driving AI adoption, that organization will struggle to succeed,” he said.

According to Khoa, AI transformation is not merely a technology issue but a comprehensive shift in management thinking. Businesses need to move away from operating models based on experience and manual processes toward data-driven governance, where decisions are guided by analytics and technology.

Based on FPT’s implementation experience, Khoa outlined five major management mindset shifts the company had undertaken by abandoning old habits: eliminating manual approval-based control systems; no longer measuring productivity by working hours; no longer treating cybersecurity as solely the responsibility of technology departments; no longer viewing AI as a one-time investment; and no longer using AI with the objective of replacing humans.

Instead, businesses should automate operations, measure effectiveness based on value creation, strengthen leadership involvement in risk management, treat AI as a continuous operational resource and use AI to enhance human capabilities, he said.

Notably, FPT approaches AI as a “digital employee” rather than merely a support tool. Under the model, AI is treated like a salaried worker within the organization, with dedicated operating budgets, assigned KPIs, and periodic performance evaluations.

FPT has also introduced a “token reward” mechanism to encourage employees to use AI more effectively in their work. The approach helps integrate AI into the company’s operational system while creating a new management model combining humans and AI.

Khoa added that AI could not completely replace humans, particularly in fields requiring emotional intelligence and empathy. Instead, AI should be regarded as an assistant or “copilot” that helps people improve productivity and work quality.

Also speaking at the symposium, Nguyen Quang Minh, director of the AI Consulting and Innovation Center (AI Lab) at FPT Smart Cloud, said businesses could accelerate growth in the AI era through appropriate adoption strategies and effective deployment of AI Agents Workspace models.

According to Minh, AI is shifting from an experimental phase toward generating real-world business value and user experiences. In that process, AI Workspace serves as a platform enabling organizations to operate AI agents in a structured and intelligent way while enhancing collaboration between humans and AI in workflows.