10-22-2026
What makes an AI-ready workforce? Chris Roark, senior managing director at Accenture, says it’s more than quick turnarounds and fast answers — it's about professionals who know how to turn those answers into better decisions.
“You can get knowledge anywhere,” said Roark, a Purdue graduate. “Now you have to apply judgment: Is the knowledge valid or not?”
During his recent appearance in an Executive Forum conversation, Roark pointed out that while AI can speed up research, it doesn’t return sources without prompting, and it links information inaccurately at times. It may generate an early draft, or help organize a complex process, but it requires its work to be checked.
For professionals entering consulting and other client-facing work, understanding how AI fits into the work itself is increasingly important. Roark encourages professionals to learn more than how to write a prompt. They should develop fluency with agentic workflows, or the way AI tools can coordinate repeatable steps in a process. Just as important, he said, is the ability to think beyond the “What?” to the “So what?” and “Now what?” This is where job roles of the future will evolve.
“The human has to be in the lead,” Roark said. “The judgment, the evaluation.”
Roark also wants people who can learn without waiting to be taught every next step. “Losing is learning,” he said, arguing that failure is often where judgment, resilience and practical skill take shape.
Learn more from his conversation with Daniels School Lecturer David Randich:
The Daniels School’s Executive Forum is held in person on the West Lafayette campus and is open to the public, as seating permits. Follow the business school on LinkedIn to learn about upcoming Forum speakers and more. You can find Forum episodes on our Executive Forum Podcast and on Spotify.
