Mike Hakob

I am writing an article for Solutions Review on how companies can attract, retain, and scale AI talent in today's overheated market. I am looking for C-suite executives, HR leaders, technical managers, and founders with hands-on experience building or scaling AI teams. Questions: 1. How do you define "AI talent" within your organization? Is it a specific set of roles, a skill set, a mindset, or something else entirely? 2. Can you describe the AI talent you currently have in your organization? What roles, what size team, and how long did it take to build? 3. How intentional has your AI hiring been? Did you have a clear strategy from the start, or has the team evolved reactively as needs emerged? 4. What is the single most expensive hiring mistake companies make when building an AI team, and how do they usually realize it? 5. How should a mid-sized company that can't match Google or Anthropic's compensation position position itself to still win strong candidates? 6. What is the real reason most AI engineers leave, and is it the same reason their manager thinks they left? 7. For companies that can't offer equity or Big Tech-level salaries, what retention strategies have you actually seen work? 8. Where is the biggest emerging talent gap over the next two years? Which roles are companies not preparing for today that they will urgently need?