Advancing Alignment, AI Adoption, and Delivery Excellence
Extentia, a Merkle Company, hosted the Digital Experience (DX) leadership team from the United States across Bangalore and Pune from March 9 to March 13, 2026. The visit included senior leaders from Merkle, including Eric Buss, Christopher Kostakis, Luke Jasprizza, David Starkweather, Matthew Lewter, and Sean Farrington. The week was focused on strengthening alignment, sharing direction, and enabling teams to work more effectively across Digital Experience, Engineering, AI, and Product.
With over 150 participants and more than 20 sessions, the visit created a structured platform for teams to understand priorities, exchange ideas, and move forward with a clear and shared direction.
More about the event can be explored here:
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7437763769948315648
Strategic Direction and Capability Focus
The leadership sessions focused on current market needs and changing client expectations. Key areas discussed included Content Technology, Commerce, and Digital Product Engineering. The emphasis was on building stronger, more connected solutions instead of working in silos.
These discussions helped teams understand where the organization is headed and what is expected in terms of delivery and capability development.
Accelerating AI in Delivery
AI was a major focus area during the week. A dedicated AI Delivery Lifecycle (AI-DLC) workshop was conducted over two days to help teams understand how AI can be applied in real delivery scenarios.
Teams worked on identifying use cases, experimenting with prompt engineering, and building early-stage workflows using tools such as Claude. The workshop focused on practical learning, where teams moved from ideas to working concepts within a short time.
This approach helped in making AI more tangible and relevant to everyday delivery work, with a clear focus on solving real client problems.
Explore workshop moments here:
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/dentsuglobalservices_ai-activity-7439272861153935361-zxb-
Engagement Across Teams
The visit included multiple formats to enable interaction between leadership and teams. Open house sessions provided an informal setting for discussions and questions. Panel discussions covered the role of AI in delivery and brought in different leadership perspectives.
Focused breakout sessions across Commerce Tech, Content Tech, and Salesforce allowed teams to go deeper into specific areas, understand expectations, and discuss next steps.
Key Outcomes
- Clear alignment on business priorities and delivery direction
- Better understanding of how AI can be applied in real projects
- Stronger connection between leadership and teams across locations
- Practical exposure to AI tools and workflows
- Focus on building integrated and capability-driven solutions
About Merkle
Merkle, a dentsu company, is a leading data-driven customer experience management (CXM) company that specializes in the delivery of unique, personalized customer experiences across platforms and devices. For more than 30 years, Fortune 1000 companies and leading nonprofit organizations have partnered with Merkle to maximize the value of their customer portfolios. The company’s heritage in data, technology, and analytics forms the foundation for its unmatched skills in understanding consumer insights that drive hyper-personalized marketing strategies. Its combined strengths in consulting, creative, media, analytics, data, identity, CX/commerce, technology, and loyalty & promotions drive improved marketing results and competitive advantage. With more than 14,000 employees, Merkle is headquartered in Columbia, Maryland, with 50+ additional offices throughout the Americas, EMEA, and APAC. For more information, contact Merkle at 1 (443) 542-4000 or visit www.merkle.com.
About Extentia, a Merkle Company
A global IT services firm that helps clients transform and realize their digital strategies. With a unique Experience Centric Transformation approach, Extentia’s ground-breaking solutions are in the space of mobile, cloud, and design. The team is differentiated by an emphasis on excellent design skills that they bring to every project. Focused on enterprise mobility, cloud computing, and user experiences, Extentia strives to accomplish and surpass their customers’ business goals. The company’s inclusive work environment and culture inspire team members to be innovative and creative, and to provide clients with an exceptional partnership experience.