Re-Placed

As artificial intelligence rapidly disrupts the global economy, leaders across industries are facing unprecedented challenges to human identity, work, and worth. In her forthcoming book, Re-Placed: Answering the Call of Leadership in the Age of AI (Fast Company Press; July 14, 2026), U.S. Air Force combat veteran and trusted executive advisor Kari Zeller provides a groundbreaking framework for navigating this profound technological and cultural shift. 

In Re-Placed, Zeller addresses a deep crisis she terms "ontological vulnerability,” the unsettling uncertainty that arises when the foundations of our professional value and our place in the world give way. Re-Placed argues that the threat of being replaced by AI offers a rare opportunity to be actively replaced, consciously claiming a new position in which uniquely human capacities like judgment, ethics, presence, and meaning matter more, not less. 

"We are at the beginning of an existential change for humanity," says Zeller. "The question we must all ask ourselves is whether we’ll lead through this transformation or be led by it". 

As industries confront the convergence of AI, robotics, automation, and exponential technologies, Re-Placed challenges leaders to rethink how organizations create value, innovate, and mobilize people in a rapidly changing world. Zeller argues that the next era of competitive advantage will not come from technology alone, but from leaders who can align human capability, strategy, and technology fast enough to adapt. Drawing on her ‘New Era’ framework, Zeller offers leaders a practical approach for navigating periods of deep disruption and reinvention. Rather than focusing only on operational change, Re-Placed examines how leaders create strategic clarity, help people let go of outdated.