We know that companies around the world are investing heavily in AI. So intense is the race to win the AI battle, that it feels like there's almost no upward limit on how much you could spend on it. So how are CFOs thinking about capex in the AI age? In this episode we speak with Winston Cheng, CFO of Chinese-founded multinational tech firm Lenovo. Lenovo is known for its personal computers, especially its Thinkpad line of laptops, but they are making a push to move beyond its role as one of the leaders in personal computing, integrating AI agents into their devices and investing in building out an “AI Cloud” infrastructure alongside Nvidia. We talk to Cheng about how Lenovo's allocating capital during one of the biggest capex booms in history. We also discuss involution and market competition in China, and how Lenovo's been adapting its supply chain to tariffs.
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Why are enterprises struggling to turn AI hype into real workplace transformation, and how is Lenovo using agentic AI to actually close that gap? In this episode of Eye on AI, host Craig Smith talks with Rakshit Ghura about how his team is reinventing the modern workplace with an omnichannel AI architecture powered by a fleet of specialized agents. We explore how Lenovo has evolved from a hardware company into a global solutions provider, and how its Care of One platform uses persona based design to improve employee experience, reduce downtime, and personalize support across IT, HR, and operations. You will learn what enterprises get wrong about AI readiness, why trust and change management matter more than technology, and how organizations can design workplace stacks that meet employees where they are. We also cover how Lenovo approaches responsible AI, how enterprises should think about security and governance when deploying agents, and why so many organizations are enthusiastic about AI but still not ready to adopt it. Rakshit shares real examples from retail, manufacturing, and field operations, including how AI can improve uptime, automate ticket resolution, monitor equipment, and provide proactive insights that drive measurable business impact. You will also learn how to evaluate ROI for digital workplace solutions, how to involve employees early in the adoption cycle, and which metrics matter most when scaling agentic AI, including uptime, productivity improvements, and employee satisfaction.
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Linda Yao, chief operating officer and head of strategy for Lenovo’s Strategy,
Solutions, and Services Group and vice president of hybrid cloud and AI
solutions, joins us to explain the organization’s transition from technology product company to managed services provider. It’s now helping organizations with the change management required to implement AI in the enterprise.
She shares both a framework around speed, ease, and expertise to facilitate this adoption, as well as the four pillars of AI readiness that Lenovo guides its clients to achieve. Tune in to this episode, also, for Linda’s perspective on the role of human connection in what she calls the era of inference, a time when we should focus on the implementation of maturing AI tools. Read the episode transcript here.
Guest Bio:
Linda Yao serves as vice president of hybrid cloud and AI solutions at Lenovo.
Yao recently also took on the role of chief operating officer and head of Lenovo’s Strategy, Solutions, and Services Group and established the company’s AI Center of Excellence.
Previously, at Boeing, she incubated a data science practice in the U.S. and India, built an
M&A team, and oversaw investments for one of the largest corporate retirement plans in the world. She earned her finance chops at IBM in New York and Shanghai. Yao earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Harvard University and an engineering certificate from MIT. She is an active liaison for the U.S. Presidential Scholars Foundation and the
YoungArts, a national foundation.
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Whether you're using the latest generation of AI enabled mobile apps or robust business systems powered on banks of powerful servers, chances are your technology was built, first, on a workstation. We spoke with Lenovo’s Mike Leach about how these workhorses are adapting to support a plethora of new kinds of AI applications.