Steven Wolfe Pereira founded Alpha to solve a critical problem: most boards are governing AI transformation without the frameworks, intelligence, or peer networks they need to make sound fiduciary decisions. Steven currently serves as an independent board director at the Latino Community Foundation, Save the Children, and Whalar.
(0:00) Intro
(1:28) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel
(2:15) Start of interview
(3:17) Steven's origin story
(7:09) The AI Market Explosion
(10:07) Introducing Alpha: the company he leads.
(16:01) On Events and Board Forums: "There is going to be a premium on IRL really moving forward because the bar is going to be so high"
(17:50) The Necessity of Tech-Savvy Directors
(19:58) Steven's State of the Art of AI for directors. "The AI wave is driven by 4 forces: 1) Compute (the most important), 2) Data, 3) Algorithms, and 4) Robotics."
(25:11) Recommendations for directors on how to dive deeper into AI. *Reference to Menlo Venture's 2025: The State of Consumer AI
(29:24) Understanding AI Tools and Their Value
(31:55) Governance in the AI Age "How can you govern something you don't understand?"
(38:21) Navigating Private vs. Public Companies
(44:58) Geopolitical Tensions and AI. The options: 1) The Empire Strikes Back (China); 2) Star Trek (EU); and 3) The Capitalist Version of Mad Max (USA)
(49:28) The Future of Agentic AI
(52:12) The Importance of Data as an Asset
(58:53) How can the Board address the AI challenge
(1:04:14) Books that have greatly influenced his life:
(1:05:36) His mentors
(1:07:39) Quotes that he thinks of often or lives his life by: "You become what you give your attention to.
(1:08:19) An unusual habit or an absurd thing that he loves.
(1:09:20) The living person he most admires.
Steven Wolfe Pereira founded Alpha to solve a critical problem: most boards are governing AI transformation without the frameworks, intelligence, or peer networks they need to make sound fiduciary decisions.