PGGM CEO Edwin Velzel on the AI Accelerator and the future of AI at PGGM

Artificial intelligence will affect almost every aspect of our work in the years ahead. Edwin Velzel, CEO of PGGM, wants the organisation to be ready to harness its full potential. This also means adopting a new way of working. ‘Using AI tools should become as natural and self-evident for every employee as working with Word, PowerPoint and Outlook,’ he says. 

AI will impact all areas of work 

AI will influence nearly every part of PGGM, from investment management and pension services to IT, HR and our health and welfare services. ‘Much of our work will, in future, be done with or by AI,’ Edwin explains. ‘The challenge is to stay ahead of that development and seize the opportunities it offers, rather than being overtaken by others.’ 

According to him, that challenge raises several important questions: How can PGGM anticipate the opportunities AI creates instead of being surprised by the speed of its development? How can we use AI to strengthen insights from internal data, such as labour market and pension data, and external data, such as market and company information? What does this mean for the sectors and companies in which we invest on behalf of our clients, as these may change significantly due to AI? 

And finally, who will be the new winners in the market thanks to AI, and how will we recognise them? 

The power of the right question 

In essence, Edwin says, AI represents the combined knowledge and expertise of millions of people, brought together through big data and the internet. Everything that can be produced digitally can, in time, be produced by AI. Eventually, AI will surpass human capability in nearly every field. 

‘What remains for us as humans,’ he continues, ‘is translating specific situations into the right questions for AI to answer.’ 

‘We are becoming question-askers rather than question-answerers,’ Edwin explains. ‘Albert Einstein once said: If I had an hour to solve a problem, I would spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking about solutions. With AI, we save those last five minutes, but the first 55 remain crucial: asking the right questions.’ 

Investing in knowledge and experimentation 

PGGM is investing significantly in ‘AI for everyone’, for example by making Microsoft Copilot available to all employees. ‘It’s a worthwhile investment,’ says Edwin. ‘If everyone becomes just a little more productive each month, it will more than pay for itself. More importantly, it helps us discover what AI can do and how we can put it to broader use.’ He stresses: ‘Everyone must keep experimenting with AI. We have to continue exploring new breakthroughs, and they will certainly come.’ 

Acting responsibly with data
 

Every new technology has its downsides and raises ethical questions. The same applies to AI, particularly when it comes to privacy and potential bias when using big data. ‘The employers and participants of our clients have entrusted us with highly sensitive data,’ Edwin explains. ‘As PGGM, we have a duty to handle that data with the utmost care and, of course, to comply fully with all applicable laws and regulations, even as they continue to evolve alongside the growing use of AI.’ 

‘Progress cannot be stopped,’ he concludes. ‘But by using AI responsibly, we can ensure it contributes to better services, more efficient processes and a strong social role for PGGM.’