The tipping point: from innovation to boardroom topic
For Cordula, the realisation that AI was no longer "an IT thing" came with the arrival of ChatGPT. Not because the technology was new, but because it suddenly became tangible in daily work and personal life.
"The moment you can use it yourself, you automatically start asking: what does this mean for our work? For our members? For our sector?"
At NVM, there was an added dimension: a large data ecosystem where reliability, care and ethics are crucial. At international real estate and technology fairs in early 2024, it became clear that AI is not a passing trend but a structural game changer. That was the moment AI explicitly entered the boardroom.
First reaction: curiosity over fear
Where AI triggers urgency or risk for some leaders, Cordula's first instinct was curiosity. Experiment, try, understand.
"I wanted to feel what it is. To understand what I'm talking about when I have to account for it."
Those early experiments were sometimes confronting, with incorrect answers, hallucinations and limited context, but precisely because of that, one thing became crystal clear: the pace of development. AI became better, faster and more powerful in a short time than she had expected.
That insight laid the foundation for a broader organisational approach.
From individual experiments to collective responsibility
Within NVM, AI didn't stay confined to personal pilots. It quickly became clear that this was a topic touching governance, strategy and culture. In the general board and a one-tier board setting, AI was discussed structurally, supported by external expertise, not only technological but explicitly also legal and ethical.
The core question was not: what can AI do? But: what does this mean for our role as an association, for our members and for our responsibility in the sector?
Practical value as a starting point: Ask NVM
One of the first concrete applications was Ask NVM: an AI-driven chatbot on the member portal, fed with existing, non-sensitive information. Members can ask questions 24/7 and receive immediate answers.
More important than the technology was the effect: letting members directly experience the added value. At the same time, it became visible where the limits were and which assumptions didn't hold. Some solutions were already outdated by the time they went live.
"But that's not money thrown away. That's tuition. Without those steps, we'd probably still not have started."
From chaos to direction: the need for an AI strategy
After an initial phase of enthusiasm and experimentation, the need for coherence emerged. NVM mapped all ongoing initiatives and analysed AI maturity across the group.
The conclusion was clear: a lot of good things were happening, but without direction, fragmentation was looming. That led to an explicit AI strategy, adopted by the general board.
A key principle within it: not starting is a greater risk than starting.
The challenge became finding a hybrid model: room for experiment alongside clear frameworks for ethics, data and governance.
Dilemma 1: speed versus control
Should you deploy AI before you understand all the risks, or wait until everything is perfectly set up?
According to Cordula, this is not a black-and-white choice. The answer depends on the use case and the type of data. For sensitive transaction data, maximum care is required. For applications using publicly or internally available information, room to experiment is defensible.
The governance question is always: what happens if something goes wrong? And: can we bear that?
Dilemma 2: central steering or ownership in the business
Here too, NVM consciously opts for a hybrid approach. Fully top-down steering doesn't work, especially not in an organisation with entrepreneurial professionals and subsidiaries that are close to the customer.
At the same time, full decentralisation is a risk. That's why shared frameworks have been agreed on for ethics, knowledge sharing and infrastructure, such as the models and technology choices used, while teams retain room to experiment together with members.
"It would be overstepping to think, as a leader, that you already know what the perfect governance looks like for something still so much in development."
AI doesn't make leadership more complex, but it does confront
On the proposition that "AI makes leadership more complex," Cordula's answer is a firm no.
According to her, the core questions of leadership don't change. Questions of value, relevance, responsibility and direction are timeless. What does change is the speed and scale of impact.
"If you look back fifty years at boardroom discussions, the fundamental questions are the same. Only the consequences are bigger and faster."
What NVM is proud of
The greatest pride is not in a single tool or use case, but in the movement as a whole. That NVM, as an association, is leading the way in creating AI value for its members. That AI is a strategic priority in the annual plan. And that both members and employees are actively being brought along in what AI can mean for their work.
"The result isn't finished yet. But the direction is right."
A final piece of advice for leaders
For many leaders, the anxiety lies in the idea that they need to fully understand AI. According to Cordula, that's a misconception.
"Just keep asking the normal governance questions. Why does this add value? What are the risks? What does this mean for our people and customers?"
AI doesn't call for an all-knowing expert in the boardroom, but for curiosity, courage and the ability not to look away.
Because one conclusion is clear to her: ignoring AI is more dangerous than getting started with it.