AI corporate training for leaders and teams
Edney “InterNey” Souza is a professor of artificial intelligence, innovation and digital transformation, cybersecurity and data at ESPM, Insper, PUCRS, USP and IBGC, in Brazil. He has taught since 1990. He delivers AI corporate training and in-company programs, from a workshop of a few hours to a program for an entire leadership team, in Portuguese, English or Spanish.
- In-company training, tailored
- Portuguese, English and Spanish
- In person in Brazil or online
- Curator of the ESPM Tech & Innovation track
About Edney
Professor of AI, innovation, cybersecurity and data
I started teaching in 1990, as a programming instructor, and helped launch seven startups over my career. Today I teach at ESPM, Insper, PUCRS, USP and IBGC; I curate the Tech & Innovation track at ESPM, one of Brazil’s leading business schools; and I deliver corporate training to companies such as Vivo, Bayer, Vale, JBS, Pirelli and Daiichi Sankyo.
I also recorded the course Data For Leaders, on data-driven decision making, for StartSe, and a course on business models for Domestika.
For companies
AI corporate training, innovation, cybersecurity and data
I design each AI training program around the company’s industry and the team’s maturity, and I do the same for the programs on innovation, cybersecurity and data. None of the four areas requires a technical background.
Three formats: a 2- to 4-hour workshop, a 4- to 16-hour training program in one or several sessions, or AI literacy (the basics every leader needs) for the entire leadership team, in successive groups. In person anywhere in Brazil, live online for teams in any country, for groups of any size.
I have trained teams and leaders at companies such as Vivo, Vale, JBS, Bayer, Daiichi Sankyo, Pirelli, Eurofarma, Record, Beneficência Portuguesa, BAT, B. Braun, Unipar, Argo Energia, Keeggo and SEFAZ/RS.
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence in Business
Hands-on AI training: the team leaves already using AI in its own work, no coding required.
- Generative AI in practice, with examples from the company’s industry
- ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Copilot and DeepSeek: differences and use cases
- Prompt engineering and how to give AI context, from basic to advanced
- AI agents (AI that carries out tasks on its own) and where they fail in practice
- AI governance: ethics, made-up answers (hallucinations), bias and compliance
Productivity and High Performance with AI
For teams that want to save time on the tasks that repeat every week, with generative AI and human review.
- Copilot, ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude in day-to-day work
- Time management and focus: beating procrastination disguised as work
- Fewer meetings: what to solve in writing and how to shorten the rest
- High-performance routines supported by technology
AI for Executives, Leaders and Board Members
For those who decide how much to invest in AI and how much risk the board will accept. An in-company AI program for executives.
- Evaluating AI investments: separating hype from measured return
- Hybrid decision making between experts and AI
- Digital governance, legal liability and tools used without IT approval (shadow IT)
- AI bias and risk to the company’s reputation
AI by industry and function
Programs with the cases and rules of each industry or function. The following already have dedicated content:
- AI for legal teams: research, contracts and deadlines with human review, based on the AI for Legal Efficiency module I teach at Insper.
- AI in healthcare: safe use of AI by physicians and healthcare teams, based on the Prompt Engineering course I teach at the University of São Paulo Medical School.
- AI in the pharmaceutical industry: AI in the work of sales reps and medical science liaisons, within the industry’s compliance rules.
- AI in HR: recruiting, performance reviews and a help desk for internal policies, with the final decision about each person in HR’s hands.
- AI in corporate learning: needs assessment, instructional design and training impact evaluation, with AI and review by the L&D team.
- AI in finance: which finance decisions AI already takes part in, and the controls the finance function needs before signing off.
- AI in insurance: where AI already takes part in insurance operations and who is accountable when it gets things wrong.
- AI in telecommunications: what Brazilian carriers already do with AI and how to measure the result of each project.
- AI in agribusiness: a criterion for choosing the first AI investment for a farm or cooperative.
- AI in the energy sector: what AI changes in generation, transmission and distribution, and what regulation does not cover yet.
- AI in logistics: three questions to answer before approving an AI project in the supply chain.
I also build tailored programs for retail, consumer goods, marketing and sales, construction, real estate and education, and for other industries based on your brief. The articles linked above are in Portuguese.
Innovation and Digital Transformation
Innovation Governance and Organizational Ambidexterity
Delivering this year’s results while the company tests new ventures.
- Ambidexterity: efficiency in the short term, innovation in the long term
- Innovation culture: rituals and incentives
- Innovation metrics beyond traditional ROI
- Digital mindset and change management in digital transformation
Futures Design and Trends
Signals of change turned into business hypotheses the leadership can test.
- Futures Radar and backcasting (planning backwards from the desired scenario), with AI
- How to track the trends of your industry continuously
- What innovation festivals such as SXSW and VivaTech reveal, and which decisions that should change
- Future of work: new ways to lead and organize teams
Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity and Digital Risks for Teams
The team learns to spot a scam before clicking or transferring money.
- Social engineering: how to recognize and prevent scams
- Phishing: fake emails, calls and messages that try to steal data or money
- Voice and video deepfakes and generative AI scams
- Shadow IT: the risk of tools used without approval
- Security habits the team keeps every day
Cybersecurity for Leaders and Board Members
Cybersecurity as a business risk, in the language of those accountable for the company.
- The seven questions executives should ask whoever runs security
- A plan for when the company is attacked: how to know it works in practice, not just on paper
- Deepfakes and social engineering aimed at senior leadership
- Cybersecurity in corporate responsibility and governance
Data, Data-Driven Culture and Data Storytelling
Data-Driven Leadership: Culture and Evidence-Based Decisions
For leaders who want to read data on their own, without depending on IT.
- Analytics maturity: where the company stands in its use of data and how to move forward
- Deciding with method and data: the role of people and the role of the machine
- A data kit for executives, with no programming
- Interpretation traps and biases
- The seven pitfalls that make data cultures fail
Data Storytelling: Data That Drives Decisions
People who present results to leadership learn to leave the meeting with a clear next step.
- Data storytelling for non-technical audiences
- Data storytelling to convince the board and the executive team
- Data literacy: what to ask before approving a report
- The metrics the executive team needs to track
I also give talks and keynotes at conventions, kick-offs and innovation weeks. Topics and availability are on the speaking page.
What clients and students say
Testimonials
From clients who hired me for corporate training, participants in those programs and students of my ESPM courses. Translated from Portuguese.
At Vale, we understand how important it is to prepare our communication professionals to face challenges and seize the opportunities AI offers. That is why we kicked off an AI course, facilitated by Edney Souza, for all our communicators.
A very enlightening and interesting session on how AI works, how it can be applied and its impact on our lives. Edney is great at explaining the subject, and it felt more like a conversation among friends than a workshop.
He studies everything he does in depth and cares deeply about his audience. In his workshops and corporate training programs, he always goes further and delivers much more than theory and practice.
Exceptionally talented at training and talks. He has a gift for turning complex ideas into something simple to apply in business.
Besides being a great professor, he holds the class’s attention with his knowledge and the way he runs the course. I highly recommend the training: it is useful at work and in personal life.
I took the Productivity and ChatGPT course at ESPM and found it outstanding. The prioritization and management techniques gave my team and me a lot to reflect on and improve. We are already putting them into practice.
Originally posted on LinkedIn: in public posts, in recommendations and on the services page of my profile.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
The programs are organized into four areas: artificial intelligence (AI in business, productivity, AI for executives and board members, and AI by industry and function, such as legal, HR, healthcare and energy); innovation and digital transformation; cybersecurity, for teams and for leaders; and data, with data-driven culture and data storytelling. The content of each area is on this page.
Yes. Workshops and talks can be delivered in English or Spanish. For long programs with group exercises, we recommend teaching in Portuguese with translated materials. When the team is mixed, we agree on the format with HR, for example a bilingual class with content in both languages.
No. In-company training is delivered in person anywhere in Brazil or live online for teams in any country. Groups can be of any size: smaller groups allow more exercises and discussion, and larger groups are more lecture-based.
The fee depends on scope, total hours, format (in person or online) and number of participants. There is no public price list, because each program is tailored. The portfolio shows the programs and formats. To receive a proposal, contact Bruno Gimenez on WhatsApp or through the form on this page.
Edney Souza is a professor at ESPM, Insper (AI for Legal Efficiency), PUCRS (Internet of Things and AI, graduate program), the University of São Paulo (Prompt Engineering) and IBGC, the Brazilian Institute of Corporate Governance (AI for boards). At ESPM, he also curates the Tech & Innovation track. He has taught since 1990.
Request a proposal
Tell us the goal, the team and the format you have in mind. The reply comes from Bruno Gimenez, who handles the business side.
