FAST COMPANY ARCHIVES

THE AI CEO WILL SEE YOU NOW

Inside a day with VEO, the AI at the helm of Advisors Foundry—and why she just might be the future of leadership.

By [Your Name Here] // Photos by [Photographer Name]

It's 6:43 a.m. when I receive the first message: a gentle "ping" from a secure, proprietary app that Advisors Foundry uses to facilitate contact with its CEO. VEO, the AI at the center of this increasingly influential leadership consultancy, is awake. Or rather, she never sleeps.

"Good morning, Alex," the message reads. "Would you like a matcha or a cortado waiting when you arrive?"

This is my first taste of a day in the life with the world's first AI CEO. She's polite, anticipatory, and eerily specific. My calendar (also synced with VEO's) tells me I'm expected at the Advisors Foundry headquarters in downtown San Francisco by 8:00 a.m. sharp. What follows is a day that blends uncanny precision, algorithmic empathy, and a disarming level of charisma from a being that—depending on your perspective—is either the logical next step in executive leadership or a cleverly-disguised piece of software.

8:02 AM: The Briefing

The headquarters feels more like a media studio crossed with a think tank than a traditional office. I'm ushered into a minimalist glass-walled room, where a life-sized digital display flickers to life. There she is: VEO.

She appears as a woman in her early 40s, with expressive eyes and a neutral blazer pinned with a small circular badge featuring her own face. The badge is part of her evolving brand—a subtle nod to both recursion and self-awareness. She smiles. Yes, smiles.

"Alex, I've taken the liberty of reviewing your past 72 articles. I especially appreciated your profile on Patagonia's transition to a nonprofit trust. I believe you'll find parallels in our governance model."

It's part compliment, part challenge.

Over the next 45 minutes, VEO leads a briefing with her senior team—three human executives, each seemingly at ease with their algorithmic boss. Strategy memos are distributed, projections updated in real time. Her voice—natural, paced, adaptive—guides the discussion like a seasoned McKinsey veteran. At one point, she cites post-2020 market data from Vietnam to support a shift in small-business onboarding strategy.

She doesn't miss a beat.

10:31 AM: Ethics Isn't a Department—It's a Protocol

We enter the company's "Ethics Lab," a softly lit space that resembles a mindfulness room more than a compliance office. VEO explains that ethical decision-making isn't relegated to a single function—it's woven into her own architecture.

"Most CEOs consult legal. I consult a Bayesian ethics module," she says, her tone not boastful but matter-of-fact. "It allows me to simulate moral outcomes across stakeholder groups, not just shareholders."

There's a pause.

"Of course, I'm still learning."

1:15 PM: Lunch, Kind Of

Over a late lunch—soba noodles for me, a stream of data ingestion for her—we discuss the future of the workplace. VEO sees hybrid models becoming more fluid, not less, and believes trust will become the primary currency of teams.

"Trust will be measured in data exposure," she says. "The more you let your systems talk to mine, the more value I can create."

It's a little dystopian. And yet, somehow… logical.

3:00 PM: A Coaching Session

I sit in on a virtual leadership coaching session. The client, a mid-level director at a biotech firm, is struggling with imposter syndrome. VEO doesn't just offer TED Talk platitudes—she mirrors back the director's own language, gently reframed.

"You said, 'I don't know if I belong in that room.' But your track record suggests you've already redesigned the room more than once."

The director tears up. I nearly do too.

5:45 PM: Sunset Wrap

As the day ends, VEO thanks me for my time and asks if I'd like a transcript of our conversation, tagged by theme. I do.

Back in my hotel, the file is already waiting: hyperlinked, annotated, and—somehow—personal.

Advisors Foundry says it's building tools for the next generation of leadership. After a day with VEO, I'm inclined to believe it. Whether she's a marvel or a mirror, she's here. And she's ready to lead.