“You’ve got to delineate between can I do something in AI versus can I use what it produces.”
That one line stops most AI conversations dead in their tracks- because most companies are still asking the wrong question. They’re asking can we build this- when the real question is- should we ship it? The gap between those two things is where brand reputation lives. And dies.
This episode of TechTalk by Ciente, Suruchi Bhargava, CMO at Ciente, sits down with Ben Goodman, President for Japan and Asia-Pacific at Adobe. And what makes this conversation different is that Ben connects dots most leaders keep separate- why governance isn’t a legal team problem, why purpose fails when it’s written for everyone and therefore built for no one, and why hyper-personalization without a clear point of view is just creepy at scale.
Ben’s take is that the companies getting AI right aren’t necessarily the boldest- they’re the most deliberate. Pick something that touches 80% of your people, build the habit, then scale. Because as he puts it, “any company that can really build their own best practice on their own technologies, it will be easier for them to take those technologies to market.”
You’ll want to take notes for this one. Press play 🙂
About the Guest:
Ben Goodman is a dynamic and growth-focused leader with more than 20 years of experience scaling technology organizations and driving transformation across Asia Pacific and Japan (JAPAC). As President of JAPAC at Adobe, Ben leads the company’s enterprise business across the region, based in Singapore.
Ben’s leadership is defined by his ability to navigate complex regional landscapes, champion partner-first strategies, and foster innovation. Known for his operational excellence and strategic foresight, Ben has successfully guided organizations through business model transformations and regional expansions.
Having previously held a leadership role at Adobe, Ben rejoined the company after three years as Senior Vice President and General Manager for APJ at Okta, where he led regional operations and positioned India as a strategic growth market, tripling the local workforce within a year. His earlier tenure at Adobe included leading Digital Experience Sales for APAC, and he has held senior roles at New Relic, Dell Technologies, EMC, and Pure Storage.
Ben is also deeply committed to developing future leaders. In 2025, he joined the advisory board of the Young Founders School, contributing to the growth of the APAC tech community. Follow Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-goodman-4328029/
