GlobalEdgeTalk

From Wall Street To AI: Building Products That Actually Solve Problems

• Alex Romanovich

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What if the fastest way to innovate is to protect what matters most — people, trust, and purpose? That’s the thread in our conversation with product leader Josette Simon, who moved from global finance to a high-velocity AI startup to build tools that solve real customer pain and deliver measurable impact.

We explore how large enterprises can modernize without losing their soul, and why the idea that “AI remembers what humans forget” captures the true power of augmentation. Josette shares how to cut weeks of busywork into hours while preserving the expertise that makes organizations distinct. The payoff isn’t fewer people — it’s faster cycles, higher quality, and more creative space for meaningful problem-solving.

Education and ethics take center stage as we discuss AI literacy, diverse learning styles, and the value of rewarding curiosity over rote memorization. Josette makes the case for innovation with conscience: building guardrails, anticipating impact, and treating society as a stakeholder. Responsible design and transparent data practices don’t slow growth — they earn lasting trust.

For intrapreneurs and startup founders alike,Josette offers a practical playbook: read the culture, map stakeholders, secure buy-in, and tie every idea to real outcomes — revenue, cost, risk, and speed. Her closing advice is blunt and inspiring: make your own seat, pair empathy with edge, and turn “no” into “not yet.”

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Alex Romanovich:

Hi, this is Alex Romanovich of Global Edge Talk, and welcome to our podcast. Today our guest is Josette Simon. Hi, Josette.

Josette Simon:

Hi, Alex. Thank you so much for inviting me and to be a part of GEM. I really appreciate it.

Alex Romanovich:

Absolutely. And we're going to talk a lot about not just the enterprise, but the entrepreneurship within the enterprise and the innovation within the enterprise. So a lot of the enterprise level executives tune in because Josette will have some really interesting insights for you. Now, Josette, I want to bring attention to your background, which is very, very interesting and formidable. You spent, it seems like you spent most of your career in the financial services sector.

Josette Simon:

Yes.

Alex Romanovich:

That would be and uh with major, major brands like Merrill Lynch and JP Morgan Chase, most of it was in product and product development and product quality, but some of it was on the side of innovation and product conception, if you will. So maybe you want to say a few words about that part of your career, and then we'll talk about Altegra and being the chief product officer in Altegra. But most importantly, we'll talk about you. But maybe you want to say a few words about your background.

Josette Simon:

Sure. So I've spent over 20 years in tech, specializing in product management, program management, and also in operational excellence and improvement areas. The biggest thing I've always wanted to do is to be able to transform products, to transform processes, and to transform the operational efficiency of organizations and big enterprise organizations, because I like my work to be creative, but also to have a huge impact on a large scale. So over the course of the last 20 years, I've had the opportunity to work in different organizations like Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan Chase, and then some interesting startups where I was able to make an impact in places like developing and defining what a product is, also focusing on the connection between what the business wants in terms of what their products are and what's necessary for them to be profitable, as well as helping them then achieve operational efficiency and excellence in how they approach the development of products. So that's been my career in a nutshell. I think because I pretty much am a perfectionist at heart. These are areas that help me to express my creativity, but also help these organizations achieve a sense of excellence. And some of the work that I've done, I'm proud to say, is award-winning. We really took our time when I worked at Merrill Lynch in private client architecture to transform the organization. We took them from legacy systems to bleeding-edge technology at the time, and it gave them a huge competitive edge in the marketplace. So that's one of the things I'm really particularly proud of.

Alex Romanovich:

And what's really amazing is that you moved from, you know, I don't want to call it typical enterprise level environment, but you moved from a typical, very large organization like JP Morgan Chase, Merrill Lynch to a startup called Iltegra AI. And um you actually brought something really interesting to the company. You've helped the company build the product, you've held the company, you know, define the product, if you will, as a chief product officer. What prompted the pivot? You know, why why go from a relatively stable environment to something that's totally unstable?

Josette Simon:

Well, I like a challenge and I like environments that allow me to be creative. And working in a startup where I'm able to implement really cutting-edge technology is something that really is a driver within me. I'm a disruptor at heart, and curiosity is a very key part of who I am. So I'm always looking towards the future when I'm trying to decide what's my next move. Where do I feel I'm going to make the best impact? How um do I think I can use my intellectual curiosity to best make change that really reaches a customer in a meaningful way? So that's particularly what made me curious about joining Eltegra AI because it gives me the opportunity to shape a product, but also to leverage the depth and breadth of the experience that I have to ensure that that product is actually meeting true needs of the customer. Because I think people often forget that we're building products to serve a customer base. And that is what's exciting is that we're doing something that's creative, that is innovative, and that I think can really change the market landscape.

Alex Romanovich:

And I totally agree with you. A lot of the startups uh forget that not only they have to serve the customer and have a customer in mind, they also have to solve a problem, right? Absolutely. It's not just, you know, let's not have another CRM system, or let's have let's not have another AI something, you know, a brand new shiny AI object or something like this. But you have to solve a real problem. Now let's talk about you being a disruptor. I absolutely love the story you told me about, you know, when you were back in the corporate environment and you were surrounded by a team uh that you were supposed to work with, and the um you've heard that uh there was a B-word that was uh kind of percolating in the background. Yeah and you um uh uh became very innovative and very disruptive, I should say.

Josette Simon:

Very um in a very interesting way, yes.

Alex Romanovich:

Yeah, in a very interesting way. And you created a big banner with the B-word spelled out as beautiful, intelligent, tough, courageous, heroic. Or heroine, I should say.

Josette Simon:

Yes.

Alex Romanovich:

Tell us about that story. Tell tell me what the reaction was like.

Josette Simon:

Well, it's interesting because I'm naturally a risk taker, and like I said, I'm a disruptor as well, and I'm not afraid to stand up for what I think is right. And of course, at the time I was in an environment that was, I would say, primarily 60% male, 30% female, and there was a perception that a woman's role in tech was primarily to be administrative, that we were not capable of thinking in technical ways, that we couldn't contribute our ideas. And so this environment was quite interesting. And I was not afraid to express how I felt about continuously being called that word. It was interesting because I was in control of a budget of over $80 million, and a lot of the interactions was, I suppose they weren't used to coming and needing to ask a woman for access to funding like that. And so I, you know, I had a certain level of what I would say requirements that were very prudent. And because I do my due diligence. I'm not gonna just give out funding for projects that I don't think are relevant or are gonna serve a purpose, nor if I feel it's not going to be profitable. So I was kind of tough when it came to, you know, deciding which projects we would go with and which ones we wouldn't. So after hearing the word plenty of times, I unapologetically made that sign so that I could now control the narrative. I no longer allowed them to use the word so that in my mind I would hear negativity. Instead, I took control and I unapologetically said, I'm gonna stop asking for permission to lead with empathy and edge, and I'm gonna make sure that I'm reclaiming that B word and so that I don't take it personally. I was making sure that I was gonna signal to the team, to my colleagues and peers, that we're here to challenge norms. We're no longer here to just be conformist, that we're here to make change and impact that's positive. And so I reclaimed it in a positive way.

Alex Romanovich:

Wonderful. I love the story.

Josette Simon:

Yeah.

Alex Romanovich:

Speaking of challenging norms, it seems like AI is definitely challenging lots of norms right now within the corporate environment and almost uh forcing the corporate environment to become more innovative and to become maybe sometimes to the detriment of those norms or the system that was in place in the past and so forth. Now, you actually quoted something uh recently. You said that AI remembers what humans forget. Tell us more about that. Tell us what you mean by that.

Josette Simon:

I think that when it comes to AI, sometimes when we approach the implementation of it, there's this concern that the human will be left out of the picture. And that's not the case. I think it's important for people to understand that AI will help enable us to bridge the gap and to take the opportunity to rid the process or a product or a project from all those mundane tasks that are not necessary, to optimize the way we approach the implementation of it. But at the heart of it, it has to be with human augmentation. And what I mean by that is that we have to be mindful that the human is the driver and the AI is the tool that we use to implement the efficiencies that an organization might be looking for.

Alex Romanovich:

And I would totally agree with the fact that, you know, yes, there's a lot of anxiety right now inside of large organizations and medium-sized and small organizations that it will kill the jobs, right? And in reality, uh it will kill certain jobs, that's for sure, but it will also create a lot more, I think, in terms of value, in terms of other jobs and so forth. So how do you but how do you explain that to the executives that may not necessarily understand the totality, the uh the nuances, if you will, of AI and how AI could benefit the companies without actually getting rid of so much accumulated knowledge and so much accumulated skill and experience. It doesn't have to kill anything, does it?

Josette Simon:

No, not at all. It actually is an opportunity for the tool to be an enhancer. And what I mean by that is I'm a humanistic manager, and so I always approach my work with keeping in mind how is something going to impact my team, the organization, and the culture in an organization. And so it's important to always put people first, plain and simple. When you're leading through any type of reinvention, you should walk to walk, talk to talk, but also put yourself in the shoes of the individuals that are part of your organization. And in choosing to do that, I think I couldn't walk away from a team or a group knowing that I didn't do the best effort possible to understand their pains, to be able to show compassion about what might happen in terms of reinvention and how it can change an organization. It can, I know there's a lot of fear around how AI is going to replace so many individuals. And I don't think that that's necessary. I think what we can do is look at areas where we can optimize its use so that we are able to get products to market a lot quicker, but also leverage it in operational efficiency ways so that it frees up people to be more innovative, more creative, and less constrained by those mundane tasks that often, like a product manager, for example, writing BRDs and PRDs can take hours and hours of time, right? So imagine a tool that can take that effort and change it and free up hours and hours of your time, even months and weeks. So my effort is to convey to the executives that it's prudent that we not allow so much subject matter expert expertise to walk out of an organization just because we're bringing in new technology, that it's possible for us to pair them together and leverage both the tool and the person to create an even better way of delivering product.

Alex Romanovich:

I love the way you uh put this all together. Now you come from a uh family of educators.

Josette Simon:

Yes.

Alex Romanovich:

A family full of teachers, you told me, which is amazing.

Josette Simon:

Many, many, yes.

Alex Romanovich:

We know that AI is kind of challenging the educational environment, right? On one hand, you know, let's take uh New York City school uh school system as an example. My uh teenage kids go to school and they have to check their phones and their computers and any type of electronics at the door, basically, right? So they can be taught AI or anything that's innovative, any type of technology, either at home, on their own time, but not necessarily in school. If it is in school, then it's a very, very controlled environment. Now, at the same time, we'll look at how the United States is actually behind in innovation literacy, I should say. Many will say, Alex, what are you talking about? We're the most innovative look we have the most innovative products out there in terms of software, in terms of this, that, what have you. But in reality, it's not about the products only. It's also about AI literacy, right? So how do we how do we balance this equation where we want our kids to think, we want adults to think for that matter, and at the same time, we are we cannot afford to fall behind.

Josette Simon:

I think it's important that we teach answers when the world demands questions. That we reward. Currently, I think the way the educational system is, it's rote memorization instead of actual learning about innovation. And so I think it's important that we pivot and leverage tools like AI to help harness and teach imagination to help improve the ways that students learn how to innovate and how to come up with concepts and ideas on their own. And then be able to leverage these systems and transform the ones we currently have. Because I think the way they're teaching currently is based on systems that were formed years and years ago, that it often doesn't take into account how technology transforms how learning types, because we each learn differently. Um, I'm a visual learner and I'm also an auditory learner. And so I think they lose the opportunity to leverage tools to help optimize the way that each learning style has an opportunity to understand concepts, and I think AI can help them explore that in interesting ways.

Alex Romanovich:

Yeah, interesting. Very interesting. Uh, the balance is always going to be a challenge, isn't it?

Josette Simon:

Yes, that's key.

Alex Romanovich:

You'll you also talk about AI with conscience, conscience, excuse me. And uh, you know, when we develop systems as a society, as a technology leaders, we have to develop it in the very ethical, very mindful and thoughtful way. What does it mean innovation with conscience? Tell us more about that.

Josette Simon:

So I think what's important is that we are able to first be accountable when it comes to introducing new technologies and innovations. I think it's important that responsible implementation of these technologies are centered. Um, I don't think when they implemented things like social media, they thought it would have the impact that it did on the mindset of the youth. But it's had tremendous impact, right? So I think it's important that when we are innovating, that we do it responsibly. And that means slowing down a little bit when ethics demand it and no longer giving lip service, right? Speed without conscience. No, we can't do that. We have to choose integrity and move with purpose and understand that just because there's technology for technology's sake doesn't mean we implement it. We really have to be mindful about what it means to implement some technology, what impact that'll have on society as a whole, and then be accountable and responsible for that impact. And we can't, we can't side skirt it. There's no way that we should in any way excuse the fact that a technology may have psychological impacts on individuals, that it may have real life repercussions. There's an example where recently there was an episode of AI psychosis for an individual in the Northeast. And I thought about that really deeply because I said, okay, this is interesting. We really have to ensure the things that we're doing and the way that we drive innovation don't impact people in such negative ways that it's important that we approach it ethically, that we approach it humanistically, and that we implement it, keeping in mind that we don't know everything yet about how it may impact someone. And so it's our responsibility. We are the stewards of the technology. So we have to engage the society in a way that we protect them, that we are mindful of implementing features and functions within a product that won't incite, that won't inspire bias, that won't start triggering behaviors that may be harmful. We owe society the responsibility of designing, innovating, and implementing things in a way that puts society first. And often I know enterprise thinks that that's counterintuitive, but it's not because at the end of the day, if you implement something that causes harm to someone, it can come back on an organization and it can do things like ruin your reputation, your brand's reputation, it can um diminish your the trust of your customer base, so it can have significant impact on how you're perceived as an organization. And so I'd rather be a steward of society and also be able to implement with innovation and creativity, but also at the core have ethics be the root of how I approach what I develop.

Alex Romanovich:

Thank you. Very comprehensive thought on that. Do you think that, you know, we we touched on the enterprise and we both come from the enterprise environment, large organizations, multi-billion dollar companies. Do you think with the advancements in the AI, or even, you know, not even considering AI as a factor, do you think innovation is possible within the enterprise?

Josette Simon:

I do, although it will move slowly sometimes. You'll often come across people who have implemented systems that may be five, 10, 15 years old, and they kind of get caught and stuck in a run. And they believe, well, it's working. Why do I need to change anything? And the reality is the older a system gets, the more inefficient it is for an organization. And so it's important to try and work within the cultural context of an organization and learn how to leverage soft skills to help you move people along, to help convince them why it's important that change happens and that it's critical for the organization in order to maintain that edge, that competitive advantage. And change is almost inevitable, right? If you don't change, you die. That's why I think I'm an avid learner, you know, because I think it's important that we always look to enhance or improve things in our lives and in organizations.

Alex Romanovich:

But what is your advice to a corporate, let's call them a corporate maverick, or somebody who's trying to bring change into the organization? And yes, they have to worry about the legacy systems, they have to worry about the main maintenance of them, they have to worry about change control and all those wonderful enterprise-like things, right? What is your advice to somebody who wants to really bring innovation inside of an enterprise without necessarily harming the company or harming their um even in that sense?

Josette Simon:

I think first it's important that when they come in, they truly understand what the environment is they're walking in. And what I mean by that is not just operationally, but culturally, because that is going to have the precepts that cause the most friction. Change is not always easy, right? And so I think it's important that when they come in and want to introduce these new concepts, that they do it responsibly, that they include key stakeholders in the discussion. It's so critical to get that buy-in because if you don't, you're never going to move an idea forward in an organization. So it's important to learn how to navigate politically in an organization. It's important to be able to make a connection with key stakeholders and explain why you would like to make these types of changes and then work towards building key relationships personally, because I think that is the goal, right? When you build these relationships, then you build trust. And when you have trust, people are more willing to accept the advice that you give them.

Alex Romanovich:

So it still boils down to the human skills, it still boils down to relationship building. And that brings up an interesting question. So a lot of younger generation startups, they're the ultimately they're trying to break into large brands and sign those big contracts and implement their systems, integrate it into the legacy systems and so forth and so on. What's the advice to the younger entrepreneurs and younger startups, if you will, who are trying to break into the enterprise environment?

Josette Simon:

First, I'd say be bold. Don't be constrained by conformity, but be prepared. When you enter these organizations, you should have done your due diligence to understand what the market landscape is, what it's like for their competition, and also do your due diligence to know what organization you're walking into, what services they provide, what are the core things that drive them, and that they understand what is it that organization is trying to accomplish. Because if you don't, then you've already lost, right? You maybe have five minutes to make your pitch. And if it doesn't resonate with the objectives, the mission and vision of an organization, they're gonna say, why should I even consider you? You didn't even take the time to understand who we are, what we do, and why we do what we do. So I think that is critical. If you don't know who your customer is, then you're gonna fail right there. You must do the work to understand what you're walking into and to be prepared and targeted to speak to their pain points, to speak to what you're trying to implement and why you're the right fit for them. So though those are all critical things. And then ultimately, how is it going to generate profit, right? People always kind of forget that, that we're in the business of doing business. So you need to have a balance between knowing what the customer needs, and then being able to explain to them how what you're selling them is going to help them in the end be better, get their products to market faster, get their operational pain point solved. I think that's critical.

Alex Romanovich:

It boils down to the um the very old mantra 90% preparation, 10% execution, right?

Josette Simon:

Absolutely. I agree with you.

Alex Romanovich:

So you're walking down the street and you see a younger Gisette, you know, approaching you and inviting you for a cup of coffee. What do you tell her?

Josette Simon:

I tell her to remember to be bold, be unappropriate. Apologetic, to be willing to make your own seat at the table. Don't wait for someone to invite you. Take the time to know who you are, know what your strengths are, but also know what your weaknesses are. So then you can always continuously learn and try to enhance those things and never be afraid. Like, I don't allow the word no to stop me. When someone says no, I hear not now. I don't hear never.

Alex Romanovich:

That's a great one. Thank you so much for being with us. Fascinating discussion. And we're hoping to see you again very soon.

Josette Simon:

Well, thank you so much for having me. I really appreciated this discussion.