Embedding AI at Scale: Heineken’s Playbook with Tony Costella
Show notes
In this Talking AI episode, host Ray Poynter sits down with Tony Costella, Heineken’s Global Commerce AI & Performance Transformation Director, to share a grounded, inside-the-business view of AI transformation. Drawing on a career rooted in insights, Tony explains why this shift isn’t a ‘tools’ story but a people-first change program, captured neatly in the 10/20/70 model: roughly 10% technology, 20% data, and 70% people and process. Listeners will hear how Heineken is:
Turning knowledge management into a productivity engine, using GenAI to surface value from tens of thousands of insight documents and embed learnings into day-to-day work.
Favoring partnerships over proprietary black boxes, co-building interoperable solutions that sit inside an agentic, end-to-end ecosystem rather than stand-alone apps.
Rewiring operating models, bringing commercial teams and IT together so technology, data, and workflow design move in lockstep.
Measuring value, not demos, prioritizing solutions that deliver tangible performance improvements over ‘snake oil’ promises.
Tony also lays out what this means for agencies and research partners: the economics shift from a few pricey tests to hundreds of lightweight, continuous iterations. That demands new commercial models (think usage- or token-based), deeper domain expertise, distinctive data, and seamless interoperability. For client-side leaders, his advice is direct: start now, learn by doing, safely, and build a clear strategy that amplifies your company’s unique DNA instead of drifting into a sea of sameness.
About the guest: Tony Costella leads Global Commerce AI and Performance Transformation at Heineken, steering the integration of AI-powered insight across sales, marketing, and broader commercial operations. With a long background in insights, he focuses on practical adoption, change management, and measurable performance gains.