

Transforming BusinessThrough AI & Innovation
Professor, entrepreneur and author helping leaders build AI into strategy, operations and business models.







































Bridging Academia & Innovation
As a Professor of Strategy and Innovation at Católica Lisbon School of Business & Economics, I've dedicated my career to understanding how organizations can harness the power of AI and sustainability to drive meaningful transformation.
Alongside research and teaching, I build companies. I have co-founded ventures in digital health, digital events and AI, and exited two of them, including Fitbase, a digital health company acquired by Hansefit in 2020. Today I am co-founder of Zero to 100 and Augmtd.

Leading AI transformation initiatives with global enterprises

Routledge · 1 September 2026 · 248 pages
The AI Strategy Playbook: From Zero to 100
Four AI Stacks take a leadership team step by step from isolated experimentation to full integration of AI into strategy, operations and business models. The book combines academic rigor with hands-on frameworks.
Skill
Prompting, responsible use, tool use, co-intelligence and AI mastery.
Transformation
Tools and tactics to move from experimentation with AI, to acceleration of use cases including agentic AI, to full integration.
Strategy
The Play-to-Win model adapted for the AI era: aspiration, opportunity mapping, the construction of AI moats, the design of an AI business model, and a roadmap that includes data readiness.
Governance and Control
Governance across five dimensions: operational, ethical, legal, environmental and strategic. Progress is measured through the AI Balanced Scorecard.
Speaking
Keynotes, workshops, advisory and research collaboration, for conferences and leadership teams.
Keynote
30 to 60 minutes, for conferences and leadership offsites.
- Built on the four AI Stacks, or adapted to one sector
- Delivered in English, traveling from Lisbon
Workshop
Half a day to two days, hands-on, for a single leadership team or a cohort.
- Leadership teams working on their own use cases
- Hands-on with the tools the organization already licenses
- Runs from a diagnostic of the room's starting level
Advisory and board
Ongoing work with organizations building an AI operating model.
- Non-executive and advisory board seats where AI is on the agenda
- AI strategy and operating model design
- Governance, using the AI Balanced Scorecard
Research collaboration
Applied research with organizations, run to academic standards.
- Academic partnerships through Católica Lisbon and the University of St. Gallen
- Co-authored white papers and published case studies
- Access to an academic research base
Transform Your Leadership
Join Fortune 500 executives in comprehensive AI leadership programs designed to accelerate your organization’s transformation journey.
'Play to Win' AI Strategy
A guided strategy sprint that aligns leaders on where AI creates advantage, and how to win.
- AI Strategy Development
- Use Case Prioritization
- Operating Model Design
- Resourced Roadmap
CAIO — Chief AI Officer
A leadership track for current or emerging CAIOs to build the operating system for AI.
- Strategy & Governance
- Responsible AI Use
- Capability Building
- AI Balanced Scorecard
AI for Innovation
A hands-on lab for product and innovation teams to use AI across the front end of innovation.
- Problem Framing
- Idea Generation
- Concept Testing
- Lightweight Prototyping
Start with the right program for your team
What Leaders Say
Trusted by Fortune 500 executives and industry leaders worldwide
"The Capstone has been instrumental in shaping our AI adoption initiatives, particularly around Microsoft Copilot and Falcon LLM, into the early foundations of the Smartdesk AI concept. René's sharp and challenging questions pushed us to move beyond "demo thinking" and focus instead on real-world value, adoption metrics, and long-term impact. While still in its early stages, the foundation we've built feels strong, purposeful, and ready to be acted upon."
"Rene's sessions brought real clarity to our cohort. The tools and frameworks he shared were not just insightful but actionable – and the feedback from participants exceptionally appreciative. A great experience for any organization aiming to equip entrepreneurs with practical, future-ready capabilities."
"Prof. René Bohnsack's masterclass provided exceptional clarity and insights on AI, demonstrating its potential for business, innovation and new, engaging ways of working. His masterclass, attended by more than 200 employees, was highly impactful and valuable for our entire company."
"We invited Prof. René Bohnsack to speak to our board members on ethics and governance in the age of AI. His session was both insightful and thought-provoking, engaging our members and sparking meaningful discussions that left a lasting impression."
"In our last strategy event René Bohnsack facilitated an engaging and thought-provoking training session on AI that provided us with actionable insights and strategies to leverage AI in driving innovation and business growth. The session was both inspiring and highly relevant to our mission of putting AI at the core of our digital transformation journey."
"With Play to Win Capstone, DryDocks World identified many AI use cases poised to improve productivity across our operations. The AI Trends in Business workshop revealed innovations we'd never considered. The AI Balanced Scorecard workshop showed us how to use clear KPIs to implement AI in our organization successfully. Importantly, René's energizing facilitation kept us all rowing in the same direction."
"With the Play to Win Capstone project, Dubai Airports rapidly transformed a diverse set of AI initiatives into a structured and actionable roadmap in just six weeks. The AI Trends in Business workshop gave us a clear view of how organisations are using AI to drive productivity, while the AI Balanced Scorecard workshop helped us define a holistic framework to track implementation across the enterprise. René's upbeat energy and facilitation style made the entire experience highly engaging for everyone involved."
"The structured framework of the CAIO course gave us new clarity on AI's role in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. René translated a fast-moving, technical field into actionable insights, bridging vision and execution in a domain where the stakes are uniquely high."
"With Play to Win Capstone, Suez Canal Bank moved swiftly to an AI roadmap with actionable use cases. The AI Trends in Business workshop clarified how AI is reshaping banking while the AI Balanced Scorecard workshop revealed how AI implementation can be done with KPIs and holistically. Importantly, René's AI expert knowledge delivered in every session novel and valuable insights."
"With the Play to Win Capstone, iScore jumped from concept to a working Youth Financial Education prototype in record time. The AI Trends in Business workshop opened our eyes to novel disruptors, while the AI Balanced Scorecard workshop gave us a valuable framework to track our AI implementation. Importantly, René's relaxed humour kept momentum high, even during evening meetings."
My Journey
From entrepreneur to academic leader, each milestone has shaped my unique perspective on innovation and transformation.
MLitt, University of St Andrews
Co-founds an online flight-claims service
Leader of Tomorrow, St. Gallen Symposium
Sells the flight-claims service, first exit
PhD, University of Amsterdam
Co-founds Fitbase, a digital health company in Germany
Professor of Strategy and Innovation, Católica Lisbon
Founds the Digital+Sustainable Innovation Lab, Católica Lisbon
TEDx talk (TEDxCatólicaLisbonSBE); International Faculty Fellow, MIT Sloan; Reimagine Education Award, Wharton and QS
Associate Professor with tenure; co-founds a digital events platform; Best Paper Award, Academy of Management ONE Division
Hansefit acquires Fitbase, second exit
Academic Director, The Lisbon MBA
Visiting Professor, University of St. Gallen
Director, Galp Chair for Innovation and Systemic Impact
Among the top 2% most-cited scientists (Stanford ranking)
Full Professor, Católica Lisbon; co-founds Zero to 100
The AI Strategy Playbook (Routledge); among the top 1% most-cited scientists (Stanford and Elsevier)
Events & Talks
Insights on AI, innovation, and leadership worldwide.

Reading
Explore the latest thoughts on AI innovation, sustainability, and digital transformation



