North Highland partnered with a leading global pharmaceutical organization to accelerate AI adoption from 35% adoption in isolated pockets to 53% adoption enterprise-wide. In under two months, we stood up a 1,400+ member AI community spanning 35 business units. Within six months, that foundation converted into measurable capability gains across the organization.
This global pharmaceutical organization had made the right bets. The AI technology was in place. Training programs had launched. The investment was real. But adoption lagged across the organization, with some employees harnessing AI effectively while others were still early in their journey.
The Chief Data & Technology Officer faced a defining challenge: how to ensure AI technology is used confidently across all functions, embedding an AI-savvy mindset where AI becomes a trusted, day-to-day partner with innovation and speed front of mind.
The strategic aspiration: a scalable framework for AI adoption that would deliver tangible business value and position the company as an AI leader within the pharmaceutical industry.
North Highland partnered with the Chief Data & Technology Office to design and launch an enterprise-wide community anchored in a four-phase innovation framework.
The design was deliberate. Cross-functional teams brought together business expertise and technical knowledge, then moved through four structured stages:
Establish (defining the right challenges)
Ideate (generating AI-enabled solutions through design thinking)
Activate (selecting high-potential ideas based on business impact and feasibility)
Experiment (exploring solutions in rapid-cycle environments, then evaluating outcomes and documenting learnings for the organization)
At every stage, we worked alongside employees, not just as designers of the framework but as active partners helping teams connect real business problems to existing and emerging AI capabilities.
Our team brought the frameworks, facilitation expertise, and human-centered approach that turned a technology investment into an organizational capability. The technology gave employees the tools; North Highland, in partnership with the CDTO, gave them the structures, the confidence, and the space to use them.
We also built for longevity. A recognition framework to reward participation and celebrate progress, clear KPIs to track adoption and business impact, and a comprehensive toolkit and playbook that internal teams could own and operate independently -- well beyond the engagement.
Results came within two months of launch.
The numbers tell part of the story. The rest is what they represent:
"In just a few months, we have seen strong engagement across functions and geographies, plus early signals that people are learning and sharing what works. Thank you to North Highland for the design and thought leadership, and for being great colleagues to spearhead this initiative." - AI Capability Lead, Global Pharma Organization
AI adoption does not fail because of technology. It fails because organizations underinvest in the human side of the equation. Get both right, and results follow.
For global organizations navigating AI adoption at scale, North Highland brings the frameworks, the facilitation, and the human-centered approach to turn technology investment into organizational capability.
Ready to turn AI investment into AI adoption? Let's talk.