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Generative and agentic AI has done more to reshape markets in two years than the entire previous decade of digital transformation. Companies are rethinking not just their processes, but their very business models \u2014 how they create value and what customers will pay for.<\/p>\n
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Victoria Stasik, a senior consultant at an international consulting firm, helps businesses capitalize on these shifts \u2014 from entering new market segments to reimagining product portfolios in the AI era.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis shift isn\u2019t limited to tech companies \u2014 it affects every industry,\u201d Victoria notes. \u201cWhere competitive advantage once came from access to information or speed of processing, today the winners are those who know how to ask the right questions and move fast.\u201d<\/p>\n
Throughout her career, Victoria has led projects across multiple regions. She began her consulting career in EMEA \u2014 first in Europe, then with clients in the Middle East, and now delivers projects in the US. Her track record spans dozens of engagements across industries including financial services, software, and telecommunications.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen access to data and analytics is no longer a barrier, the source of competitive advantage shifts,\u201d Victoria explains. \u201cToday, the biggest threats to businesses often come not from direct competitors, but from AI-native players that can deliver faster and cheaper. What clients pay a premium for now is sharper judgment, specialized expertise, and speed \u2014 not access to information.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of Victoria\u2019s landmark projects was developing a growth strategy for portfolio companies at a private equity fund. With her team, she worked with more than 20 scaling-stage businesses, all expected to deliver sustainable growth within two to three years. The results came from adapting proven methodologies to each market and company\u2019s specific context \u2014 identifying untapped pricing power, redesigning sales motions for newly introduced AI capabilities, and restructuring channel incentives to accelerate adoption.<\/p>\n
At the same time, Victoria frequently tackles challenges with no ready-made solutions \u2014 especially when clients enter new, uncharted market segments. In these projects, strategists must balance rigorous analytics with intuition, read indirect signals, and look for indicators that traditional analysis fails to capture.<\/p>\n
\u201cI experienced this firsthand working with a major U.S. technology company,\u201d Victoria recalls. \u201cThey were the clear leader in their category, which meant there was no playbook to follow. We had to write it ourselves. Competitive benchmarking wouldn\u2019t help \u2014 there was no one ahead of them to benchmark against. So we focused on rapid experimentation \u2014 testing hypotheses, gathering market feedback, and adjusting the strategy as we learned. When you\u2019re in a first-mover position, intuition reinforced by fast iterations is often more valuable than waiting for perfect data.\u201d<\/p>\n
More companies are embedding AI directly into their products \u2014 not just their processes \u2014 creating new value for customers and differentiating from competitors. This is exactly the kind of work Victoria takes on. Recently, she worked with a global professional services firm \u2014 first conducting in-depth interviews with clients to identify their needs and the strengths of existing offerings, then partnering with senior leadership to develop an early product prototype for launch.<\/p>\n
Victoria uses AI in her own work \u2014 and sees it changing how consulting creates value. \u201cAccess to information and analysis speed are no longer competitive advantages \u2014 for companies or experts,\u201d she notes. \u201cWhat matters is the ability to apply data to a specific context \u2014 and make decisions based on expert judgment.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMarket research and report generation are becoming commoditized skills. In professional services, this opens significant opportunities for automation \u2014 especially across research and standardized materials,\u201d Victoria says. \u201cTo stay competitive, services firms are building hybrid workforces: Accenture, for example, is deploying AI agents alongside human teams at scale, freeing experts to focus on what algorithms can\u2019t do \u2014 applying judgment in high-stakes contexts, aligning stakeholders around difficult trade-offs, and taking accountability for outcomes. As a result, consulting firms increasingly shift to outcome-based pricing away from traditional hourly models.\u201d<\/p>\n
Strategy work led Victoria to a different kind of challenge. High-stakes decisions test every leader \u2014 but the path is steeper for women, who often navigate with thinner support systems. Research shows women have smaller peer networks, fewer role models ahead of them, and are more likely to feel they must prove themselves repeatedly. For Victoria, seeing this pattern up close led her beyond client projects.<\/p>\n
One such initiative is Women in Leadership, a nonprofit program within the firm designed to develop senior leadership potential among women in tech businesses \u2014 telecom, software, and tech services companies. Victoria helped build the curriculum for the inaugural cohort of 20 women executives \u2014 a group that produced two executive promotions in its first year. At the heart of the program is community \u2014 a space to share experiences, exchange advice, and build lasting connections.<\/p>\n
\u201cWomen face systemic barriers that compound over time. Every missed opportunity for advancement, sponsorship, or visibility narrows the pipeline further,\u201d Victoria says. \u201cBy the time organizations look for senior leaders, the pool of women candidates has already been dramatically reduced. That\u2019s not a pipeline problem at the top \u2014 it\u2019s a systemic issue that starts much earlier.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reflecting on her own challenges, Victoria admits she underestimated her potential for a long time. \u201cIt\u2019s still hard for me to admit I experience impostor syndrome,\u201d she says. \u201cThrough conversations with other women leaders, I saw how many face similar struggles. It changes how you see yourself. That\u2019s why it\u2019s so important to create spaces where women can openly discuss challenges, share experiences, support each other, and advance in their careers.\u201d<\/p>\n
What ties it together? For Victoria, a few guiding principles: clarity before speed, real growth levers over elegant models, intuition where data doesn\u2019t exist, and proven approaches where markets are mature. In a world where uncertainty has become the norm, this ability to stay clear-headed, adapt fast, and own the results is, in her view, the key competitive edge \u2014 for businesses and leaders alike.<\/p>\n