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From ChimaBot to Broader Decision-Making Support: The Sequel Nobody Saw Coming

Remember that moment at SPARK 2025—September at Seattle’s iconic Edgewater Hotel—when Bashir Bseirani, CEO of Avertra, Chima Chijioke, VP of Customer Solutions for Georgia Power, and ChimaBot (Chima’s AI-powered digital twin) stole the show?


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The live, unscripted demo compared Chima’s real-time decision-making with ChimaBot’s simulated responses, leaving the audience both inspired and slightly unnerved—like watching Siri get promoted to Senior VP.

 

The session quickly evolved into a lively debate about ethics and real-world applications. And ever since, utility executives have been lining up, asking, “When do I get to experiment with my own digital twin?”

 

If you missed the session—or want to relive the fireworks—here’s where the story stands.

 

Starting With Our Why


Simon Sinek famously says we should start with why. For utility leaders, the “why” behind ChimaBot is simple: executives face relentless pressure in two critical areas:

  • Time — you can’t be everywhere at once.

  • Bias — even the best decision-making has blind spots.


So we asked ourselves: What if we could train a bot to think like an extraordinary leader?


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Enter ChimaBot—a digital twin built from Chima Chijioke’s leadership philosophies, interviews, conference appearances, LinkedIn posts, publications, and even personality assessments. Chima, long known for his clarity, compassion, and candor, was the perfect choice for the experiment.

 

The goal wasn’t just to explore “How would Chima lead?”—though yes, the t-shirt designs are already in progress. It was to embed authenticity, empathy, and judgment into a digital tool capable of delivering thoughtful guidance on demand. In short: leadership cloning with both a personality and a conscience.

 

Inside the SPARK Experiment


At SPARK, Bashir posed the same scenario-based leadership questions to both Chima and ChimaBot—with no advance notice. That uncertainty was intentional. It forced both human and machine to respond authentically, in real time, to scenarios ranging from motivating underperforming employees to managing crises and prioritizing transformation.

 

The results were eye-opening. In most cases, ChimaBot’s responses closely mirrored Chima’s—except for one: a question about investment priorities prompted the real Chima to pause and reflect on his own potential bias.

 

The takeaway isn’t that AI can replace human leaders, but that it could augment them—serving as a bias check, surfacing blind spots, and helping teams move faster and safer. Think of an AI bot as a trusted advisor, whispering clarity to the person holding the flashlight at 3 a.m.

 

What’s Next: Three Phases of a Brave Experiment


So, where does the U2030–Avertra experiment go from here?

  1. Refine ChimaBot with Georgia Power while piloting new, real-world use cases.

  2. Expand to new leaders, including Janisse Quiñones, CEO and Chief Engineer of LADWP, plus two others (soon to be announced). Each digital twin aims to preserve culture, capture institutional knowledge, and—just maybe—immortalize their best leadership jokes.

  3. Prepare for what’s next. The third phase remains under wraps, but the roadmap is bold—and will stretch the imagination of what leadership support can become.

 

A Call to the Courageous (and the Curious)


The experiment is currently open to a select few, but we’re building the roadmap to scale. Our goal is to uncover the promise and pitfalls of AI-driven leadership support—and test how digital empathy can embed resilience into every corner of the sector.

 

Become Part of the Next Chapter


  1. Subscribe to the U2030 newsletter for updates.

  2. Join us at the ENERGIZE Retreat in Charleston, April 2026, where the next phase of the ChimaBot experiment will take center stage. Seats are limited (they always sell out), and U2030 members receive priority. If SPARK taught us anything, it’s that you don’t want to miss the sequel—or the moment AI and humanity find new common ground. Unsure of your membership status? Email us at info@utility2030.org.

 

Full Circle


When Chima and ChimaBot took the stage, we thought we were testing technology. What we discovered was something much bigger—a mirror reflecting what makes leadership human: empathy, courage, and reflection.

That’s the real power of this experiment. It’s not about machines replacing people—it’s about people rediscovering what truly matters when they lead.

 

 

 
 
 

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