Case Study · Enterprise Performance Management · Lucca, Italy
James Taylor closed inTouch 2026's 20th-anniversary plenary at the Teatro del Giglio — replacing AI anxiety with practical strategy for a room full of global CFOs.
At a Glance
| Case Study Parameters | |
|---|---|
| Client | CCH® Tagetik / Wolters Kluwer |
| Industry | Enterprise Performance Management Software |
| Event | CCH® Tagetik inTouch 2026 (20th Anniversary Edition) |
| Event Type | Closing Plenary Keynote |
| Audience | ~900 CFOs, Finance Directors, Heads of FP&A, ESG and Transformation leaders |
| Location | Teatro del Giglio, Lucca, Italy |
| Challenge | Replace AI anxiety with practical confidence for 900 global finance leaders |
| Solution | SuperCreativity™: Owning the Future of Finance in the Age of AI |
| Outcome | 900 finance leaders equipped with a measurable AI creativity framework |
The Challenge
By May 2026, CCH® Tagetik had spent years embedding AI deeply across its Corporate Performance Management platform. The technology was there. The question was whether the people using it were ready to lead with it. BCG's research gave a sobering answer: 80 per cent of AI initiatives fail not because of the technology, but because of people, processes, and mindset.
For the 20th anniversary inTouch plenary — the flagship moment of the year for finance leaders from Generali, UniCredit, Prada, Gucci, Toyota, and Telecom Italia — CCH® Tagetik needed a closing keynote that would leave the room energised, not anxious. They needed an honest, evidence-led account of why finance leaders were struggling with AI adoption, and a practical framework for doing something about it.
The challenge for James was specific: close a long plenary day inside the Teatro del Giglio — the neoclassical opera house where Puccini first staged his operas — and hand the room seamlessly to the Customer Awards. The content had to land with a data-backed, credibility-first audience that would switch off immediately at generic inspiration or technology hype.
Bespoke by Design
James undertook a rigorous preparation process tailored specifically to the inTouch 2026 audience. Two briefing calls with the CCH® Tagetik team — in March and April 2026 — supplemented by a detailed pre-event questionnaire, established the exact knowledge gaps, cultural expectations, and strategic priorities the content needed to address.
A psychometric analysis of the attendee job titles confirmed what James had anticipated: a data-backed, credibility-first audience of CFOs and finance transformation leaders who would immediately disengage if they detected generic inspiration or consultant-speak. Every framework, every case study, and every reference point was selected to resonate specifically with finance professionals navigating AI adoption.
The content was also deeply contextualised: inTouch's 20th edition was a milestone occasion, the Teatro del Giglio was a specific and demanding venue, and the cultural heritage of Lucca — birthplace of Vilfredo Pareto — gave James a unique local anchor for one of the keynote's central frameworks.
Learn about the Taylor-Made Process →Two sessions (March + April 2026) with CCH® Tagetik's team to map audience priorities, milestone significance, and event context
Detailed analysis of CFO, FP&A, and Transformation job titles to calibrate the credibility level, tone, and technical depth required
Keynote built around the 20th edition milestone, Teatro del Giglio, Lucca's heritage (Vilfredo Pareto), and finance-specific AI case studies
Structured interactive exercise designed for the 30-minute energy dip typical in closing plenaries — energises the audience before the handover to Customer Awards
The Delivery
James delivered the closing plenary keynote — SuperCreativity™: Owning the Future of Finance in the Age of AI — to approximately 900 finance leaders inside the Teatro del Giglio. Following his 4P framework (Position, Problem, Possibilities, Proposals), the keynote opened with Linus Pauling's French beret as a provocation: rigour and creativity are not opposites. For a room of CFOs trained to see creativity as subjective and unmeasurable, it was a reframe that set the intellectual agenda for everything that followed.
The session moved through BCG's evidence on why AI initiatives fail — the 80 per cent failure rate attributable to people and process, not technology — before connecting the Pareto principle to its Italian originator Vilfredo Pareto, anchoring a global data framework in the local heritage of Lucca itself. Finance and manufacturing case studies navigating the same creative-analytical tension as the audience grounded the content in operational reality the room recognised immediately.
At the 30-minute mark — the energy low point of any extended plenary day — James deployed a structured interactive exercise that injected momentum into the second half before building to a close that handed seamlessly to the Customer Awards.
Key Frameworks Delivered
Creativity repositioned as a measurable strategic discipline — not a soft skill, but the defining human edge in the age of AI. The evidence-led case for why finance leaders who build creative thinking capabilities outperform those who don't.
Explore the concept →Position, Problem, Possibilities, Proposals — James's structured approach to any strategic challenge. Applied at inTouch 2026 to show finance leaders how to move from AI anxiety to AI strategy in four practical stages.
Explore the framework →BCG's finding: 80% of AI initiatives fail not because of technology, but because of people and process. Why finance organisations get stuck in proof-of-concept — and the specific leadership actions that break the cycle.
See the research →AI success is 10% algorithms, 20% data and technology, 70% people, process, and culture. The most cited framework for understanding where AI investments actually need to go — and why most EPM implementations under-invest in the 70%.
See the research →The Results
Finance leaders equipped with a practical AI creativity framework
About the Speaker
James Taylor MBA · FRSA is one of the world's leading keynote speakers on creativity, innovation, and artificial intelligence, with over 3,000 events delivered across more than 50 countries. He helps CFOs, finance transformation leaders, and enterprise technology organisations navigate the human dimensions of AI adoption — equipping leaders with the creative thinking frameworks that determine whether technology investments deliver real returns. His clients include Apple, Sony, Visa, CCH® Tagetik, and hundreds of the world's leading enterprises.
James delivers bespoke keynotes that go beyond the technology — addressing the creativity and leadership dimensions of AI adoption that most tech conferences miss. Available for flagship conferences, closing plenaries, and user summits worldwide.
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