Employees are already using artificial intelligence inside their companies — often faster than their employers can establish policies and controls for how it should be used. On September 29, a small group of Rochester-area CEOs and business leaders will get together to compare what they're actually doing about it.

Brooklyn Advisors will host "Your Employees Are Already Using AI. Are You Governing It?", a CEO roundtable at the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce focused on balancing AI opportunity with risk and accountability.

The premise is straightforward: AI adoption is moving faster than many companies' policies and controls — and often faster than leadership teams can fully assess the implications. CEOs are being asked to balance two competing risks: moving too slowly and moving without appropriate guardrails.

Rather than another seminar on AI theory, the roundtable is designed around the questions already surfacing inside companies: What happens when employees put confidential company or customer information into public AI tools? Where is AI producing measurable value — and where is it still mostly hype? How much governance is enough without stifling experimentation? And who inside the organization should own AI policy, adoption and accountability?

The gap between AI adoption and effective oversight is becoming increasingly visible. A 2026 enterprise AI adoption survey by Writer, covering 2,400 executives and employees, found that while 97% of executives said their company had deployed AI agents in the previous year, only 23% reported significant ROI from them.

"Every CEO I talk to is dealing with some version of this — an employee putting customer data into a chatbot or a team experimenting with tools nobody has vetted," said John Collins, Managing Partner of Brooklyn Advisors. "The question isn't whether to embrace AI or stop it. It's how to get the benefit without exposing the business unnecessarily. CEOs need to hear what other CEOs are actually doing."

The conversation will include two complementary perspectives. Katarina Polozie, a partner at Woods Oviatt Gilman LLP and leader of the firm's Data Privacy, Data Security and AI Governance practice group, will bring a legal and governance perspective. Adam Martocello, founder of Lilac Automation, will bring an implementation perspective on how organizations are putting AI and automation to work. Collins, a former CEO, will host and facilitate the discussion.

Following a brief expert spotlight, most of the program will be reserved for a facilitated CEO roundtable, giving participants an opportunity to compare experiences, challenge assumptions and hear how other leaders are approaching the same decisions.

Event Details

What: "Your Employees Are Already Using AI. Are You Governing It?" — a CEO roundtable on AI opportunity, risk and accountability
When: Tuesday, September 29, 2026, 8:00–11:00 a.m. Program begins at 8:30 a.m.
Where: Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce, 75 S. Clinton Ave., Rochester, NY 14604
Cost: Free to attend; a $25 donation to the Center for Employment Opportunities – Rochester is requested at registration.
Attendance: Limited to 15 CEOs and senior business leaders.

The September event marks the beginning of an ongoing series of CEO roundtables Brooklyn Advisors is developing across Rochester and Buffalo, designed around facilitated peer discussion of consequential issues facing CEOs and business owners. The next roundtable, scheduled for November 10, will focus on exit planning as the first step in long-term business planning.

Brooklyn Advisors helps CEOs think more clearly by giving them experienced outside perspective — through one-to-one executive coaching, leadership team advisory, and OCTET, its peer advisory community for Western New York.

Media Contact: John Collins, Managing Partner, Brooklyn Advisors · john.collins@bknyadvisors.com · 646-272-8938