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SAICI Co-Executive Director Jay Nakagawa’s The UnConventional Strategist Hits #1 in Nine Categories Across U.S., Canada, and the U.K.

WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES, May 27, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — The Society for AI in Competitive Intelligence (SAICI), a microsociety of the American Institute of Artificial Intelligence (AIAI), today announced that The UnConventional Strategist: Building, Keeping, and Thriving in Your Career — the new book from SAICI Co-Executive Director Jay Nakagawa — has reached international bestseller status, claiming #1 positions in nine categories and topping bestseller charts in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom within weeks of its release. The book distills more than four decades of cross-functional leadership and competitive intelligence experience into a practical guide for leaders navigating an era of rapid, AI-driven change.

Drawing on Nakagawa’s career, including more than 14 years as Director of Competitive Intelligence at Dell Technologies, where he built a global intelligence organization supporting over $100 billion in annual revenue and empowering more than 50,000 sales professionals worldwide, The UnConventional Strategist cuts through buzzwords and recycled frameworks to deliver what its author calls “real strategy, not strategic theater.” The book examines how leaders can see strategic opportunities before competitors, escape career autopilot, make better decisions in the middle of chaos, and innovate inside environments that aren’t built to reward creativity.

For SAICI, the book’s reception marks more than a personal milestone for one of its founding leaders. It reinforces the intellectual foundation of the society’s mission: forging a new kind of practitioner, the GenAI in Competitive Intelligence professional, who pairs disciplined human judgment with AI-native capability. Nakagawa’s central premise, that “you can’t outspend your competitors, but you can outsmart them,” sits at the heart of SAICI’s approach to redefining the profession around new tools and methodology, faster tempo, and a higher standard of strategic capability. The bestseller response signals that the questions Nakagawa is raising — about strategy, judgment, and capability in an AI-reshaped world — are resonating well beyond the CI profession itself.

“Strategy isn’t a framework you memorize. It happens through awkward starts, wrong turns, and hard-earned scars,” said Jay Nakagawa, Co-Executive Director of SAICI. “I wrote this book for the practitioners who refuse to operate on autopilot, the people doing the actual work of staying ahead. That same spirit is what we’re building SAICI on. Whether you’re leading a CI function, designing AI agents, or shaping competitive strategy, the discipline behind the work is the same. The tools just got more powerful.”

“At AIAI, we build the professional infrastructure, the bodies of knowledge, credentials, and societies, that turn emerging AI capabilities into mature professional disciplines. That work depends on having leaders who already think at that altitude,” said Dr. Al Naqvi, Founder and CEO of the American Institute of Artificial Intelligence. “Jay’s book is a window into how he does it, and a reminder of why we partnered with him to lead SAICI. The competitive intelligence profession is being rebuilt around AI, and Jay is one of the few practitioners with both the operating experience and the strategic mind to help shape what that profession becomes.”

The UnConventional Strategist: Building, Keeping, and Thriving in Your Career is available now on Amazon and through Barnes & Noble. Professionals interested in learning more about SAICI, the CGENAI^® in Competitive Intelligence certification, or the broader AI CI community are invited to visit saici.ai.

About SAICI
The Society for Artificial Intelligence in Competitive Intelligence (SAICI) is a professional society dedicated to advancing the future of competitive intelligence through standards, certification, professional development, and community. SAICI serves professionals and organizations working to build stronger intelligence capability in an environment shaped by artificial intelligence and rising strategic demands. Through its certification and leadership initiatives, SAICI is helping define the professional standard for modern competitive intelligence.

New credential marks a significant step forward for competitive intelligence as AI reshapes how intelligence is produced, interpreted, and applied.

WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES, April 21, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — The Society for Artificial Intelligence in Competitive Intelligence (SAICI) today announced the launch of its CGENAI^® in Competitive Intelligence certification, a new professional credential created for practitioners working in a field being reshaped by artificial intelligence and rising expectations for faster, more strategic decision support.

The certification is designed to recognize validated capability in the emerging field of AI in competitive intelligence, including strategic analysis, AI-enabled intelligence workflows, and the ability to turn complex market and business signals into decision-ready insight. As organizations face faster-moving markets and a growing range of intelligent tools, SAICI created the credential to help define what professional readiness now looks like in AI in competitive intelligence.

SAICI recognizes Jeff Korte of Dell Technologies as the first professional to earn the CGENAI^® in Competitive Intelligence certification. His achievement marks an important early milestone for the credential and offers one of the first visible examples of how leadership in competitive intelligence is evolving.

Korte, whose professional work centers on competitive intelligence and strategic analysis, reflects the kind of practitioner the field increasingly demands: one who can interpret change, assess competitive dynamics, and translate intelligence into meaningful strategic guidance. As the first professional to earn the certification, he sets an early benchmark for modern competitive intelligence leadership in an AI-shaped environment.

“Jeff’s achievement is significant not only because he is the first to earn the CGENAI^® in Competitive Intelligence certification, but because he represents the kind of practitioner this moment demands,” says Jay Nakagawa, Co-Executive Director of SAICI. “He brings strategic discipline, curiosity, and a real commitment to applying AI in ways that strengthen competitive intelligence and decision-making. I’m proud to see him reach this milestone, and even more excited about what it will enable as we continue advancing the role of AI in competitive intelligence.”

“We created the CGENAI^® in Competitive Intelligence certification because the profession is being reshaped by AI, and the field needs a more credible way to recognize modern capability,” says Nan Bulger, Co-Executive Director of SAICI. “Competitive intelligence leaders now need to do more than gather information –– they need to interpret complexity, work across new tools and workflows, and produce insight that drives action. Jeff Korte’s certification is an early signal of that new standard taking shape.”

For employers, the emergence of a credential like CGENAI^® in Competitive Intelligence reflects a growing need for professionals who can translate AI-driven change into actionable competitive insight and strategic advantage. For practitioners, it offers a way to demonstrate readiness for a profession that is becoming more strategic, more technology-enabled, and more central to organizational decision-making.

“Earning this credential took real work, and I’m proud to have achieved it. More importantly, it’s only the beginning,” says Jeff Korte. “The next step is applying what I’ve learned at Dell as we continue building what we believe can become the world’s most advanced AI-driven competitive intelligence program, a transformation that is already underway. I’m also excited to contribute to the profession by helping others learn and grow in the field of AI in competitive intelligence.”

With the launch of CGENAI^® in Competitive Intelligence, SAICI is establishing a credential built specifically for the realities of modern intelligence work: AI-transformed workflows, faster competitive shifts, and higher expectations for strategic relevance. Rather than treating AI as a peripheral add-on, SAICI’s approach reflects a profession being redefined around new tools, new demands, and a new standard of capability.

Professionals, employers, and industry leaders who want to help shape the future of competitive intelligence are invited to learn more about SAICI, explore certification pathways, and consider joining a growing professional community focused on standards, leadership, and practical excellence in the AI era. For practitioners who want to lead rather than react, this is a moment to become part of the field as its next standard is being defined.

About SAICI
The Society for Artificial Intelligence in Competitive Intelligence (SAICI) is a professional society dedicated to advancing the future of competitive intelligence through standards, certification, professional development, and community. SAICI serves professionals and organizations working to build stronger intelligence capability in an environment shaped by artificial intelligence and rising strategic demands. Through its certification and leadership initiatives, SAICI is helping define the professional standard for modern competitive intelligence.

Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) represents the next frontier of artificial intelligence—a stage where machines can perform any intellectual task that a human can do. Unlike narrow AI, which excels at specific tasks like image recognition or language translation, AGI aims to replicate the full breadth of human cognitive abilities. This includes reasoning, problem-solving, creativity, and even emotional understanding.

Recent developments in deep learning, transformer models like GPT-4, and reinforcement learning have fueled speculation that AGI may not be as far off as once believed. Systems can now adapt to new information, learn from fewer examples, and operate across multiple domains. Yet, we’re still far from machines that can truly generalize knowledge like the human brain.

The biggest challenges lie not just in computational power, but in understanding human consciousness, ethics, and intent. Building systems that can reason abstractly, understand causality, and act responsibly remains a monumental task.

Experts remain divided. Some believe AGI could be achieved within a few decades, while others argue it may take a century or more. But one thing is clear: the race toward AGI is accelerating, and its success—or failure—will reshape our world.

Artificial Intelligence is ushering in a new era of digital brilliance, where industries across the board are being reimagined. From finance to healthcare, AI is becoming a cornerstone of innovation, making businesses smarter, faster, and more responsive than ever.

In finance, AI systems are analyzing market trends in real time, identifying fraud, and optimizing portfolios without human intervention. In healthcare, algorithms diagnose diseases from medical images, predict patient risks, and even assist in drug discovery at a pace that was once unthinkable.

Manufacturing has entered the age of the smart factory, where AI-powered robots, IoT devices, and predictive analytics are reducing downtime and enhancing efficiency. Meanwhile, creative industries are leveraging generative AI to produce music, art, and content, blurring the line between machine output and human imagination.

The brilliance of AI lies in its ability to process massive amounts of data, detect patterns, and adapt to changing environments. As we move deeper into the digital age, AI isn’t just enhancing our tools—it’s becoming an indispensable partner in problem-solving and innovation.

At the heart of modern artificial intelligence lies the neural network—a digital structure modeled after the neurons in the human brain. These systems are designed to recognize patterns, learn from data, and make decisions, forming the foundation for technologies like facial recognition, voice assistants, and autonomous vehicles.

Neural networks are composed of layers of interconnected nodes (neurons), where each connection carries a weight that adjusts through training. Deep learning, a subfield of machine learning, involves networks with many layers that can model complex relationships and abstract concepts.

When trained on large datasets, these networks can learn to recognize faces, understand speech, or translate languages with impressive accuracy. However, they also inherit the flaws of their data—biases, errors, and blind spots—which can lead to problematic outcomes.

Despite their power, neural networks remain a “black box” in many ways. Researchers continue to explore methods to interpret their internal workings and ensure they make decisions fairly and transparently. As neural networks grow in sophistication, they increasingly mimic the processes of human learning—but without emotion, consciousness, or morality.

Today’s consumers expect more than just functional websites and generic recommendations. They want personalized, meaningful interactions. With AI, companies can now deliver experiences tailored to individual preferences on a massive scale.

By analyzing behavior, preferences, and past purchases, AI enables hyper-personalization—serving the right product, message, or support at just the right moment. Retailers use machine learning to predict what customers are likely to buy. Media platforms like Netflix and Spotify curate personalized content to keep users engaged.

Conversational AI, such as intelligent chatbots and voice assistants, handle thousands of customer interactions in real time. These tools learn from each conversation, continuously improving their ability to solve problems, guide purchases, and offer support.

Predictive analytics goes a step further, enabling businesses to anticipate customer needs even before they arise. The result? Smoother journeys, higher satisfaction, and increased loyalty.

AI has transformed the digital customer experience from reactive to proactive—creating a competitive edge for those who embrace it.

As artificial intelligence systems take on more critical roles—from hiring to policing to healthcare—the question of ethics has become paramount. Can we teach machines to make fair decisions? Can AI ever be truly moral?

Bias is one of the biggest challenges. AI systems trained on biased data can perpetuate discrimination—whether it’s denying loans, flagging individuals in surveillance systems, or recommending unjust sentences. Even well-intentioned algorithms can lead to unfair outcomes.

The issue of accountability is equally pressing. When an autonomous vehicle causes an accident, who is responsible? The manufacturer? The software developer? The AI itself?

In areas like warfare and surveillance, the use of AI raises even deeper concerns. Autonomous weapons and mass surveillance tools challenge our notions of privacy, human rights, and international law.

To address these concerns, governments and organizations are developing ethical frameworks and policies. The EU’s AI Act, for instance, seeks to regulate high-risk applications, while companies like Google and Microsoft have pledged to follow AI ethics guidelines.

The future of AI must be rooted in trust, transparency, and inclusivity. Ethics shouldn’t be an afterthought—it should be built into the foundation of AI development.