In conversation with Josh Tarr, Dow’s Sarah Jo Rowley reveals how a 128-year-old company is leading the AI adoption era by anchoring its transformation in trust, skills-based frameworks, and a culture of empathy.
Emily Faracca
Multimedia Content Writer
Workday
Audio also available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Every business is navigating the rise of AI technology, learning as they go and shaping best practices in real time. It’s a shared experience across all walks of work, akin to the nascent days of social media, or even the internet.
“No one’s ever done it better, because no one’s ever done it before,” says Sarah Jo (“SJ”) Rowley, associate HR technology director at Dow. In conversation with Workday’s Josh Tarr, she calls this current age “the adoption era,” and opens up about how Dow—a 128-year-old company still fervently focused on innovation—aims to lead by example.
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It can feel easy to fall into the trap of viewing AI adoption through a short-term lens; there’s always a new tool to evaluate, and a new skill to build. But the acceleration of AI is much more than just a moment.
At Dow, a leading materials science and chemical manufacturing company, that perspective guides every decision. “We’re not a tech company,” Rowley says. “We’re really focused on how we support the organization to be the best version of themselves.”
That means leaning on core traits that have always defined Dow:
Governance
Ethics
Human-centered mindset
Before diving into productivity gains or automation, the company built a strong foundation of trust and accountability. It’s important to ensure every AI use case lives up to their values and people-first philosophy.
While many organizations view AI primarily as a productivity play, Dow sees something bigger: a cultural transformation.
“Productivity is the catalyst,” especially from a C-suite perspective, Rowley explains, “but leveling everyone up is the reason to go forward.”
It’s a powerful reframing. Instead of worrying about what AI might replace, Dow’s leaders are asking: What can it free us to do?
For HR, that means shifting roles from task execution to strategic influence. Recruiters, as an example, are evolving into talent advisors — unshackling from administrative work to focus more on building relationships, judgment, and strategy. AI is the enabler, people are the drivers.
This uplifting message is especially valuable when it comes to creating a culture that embraces the possibilities of AI, rather than fearing it. As Rowley emphasizes, any initiative to strengthen an organization with AI will fall short if the people are not truly motivated to lead the charge.
“Productivity is the catalyst, but leveling everyone up is the reason to go forward.” - Sarah Jo (“SJ”) Rowley, associate HR technology director, Dow
“I think there's a little bit of self-accountability where you have to want it,” Rowley says of developing AI skills in the workforce. “People can make recommendations on how to glean those skills or how to build those skills, but you've got to want it and you've got to put in the effort.”
Dow’s skills-based framework ensures that every employee has the chance to grow with AI, using it as a tool of empowerment. There’s a clear recognition that to thrive in this new era, people need to build not just technical know-how, but human skills that machines can’t replicate: empathy, judgment, teamwork, self-advocacy.
“If you're going to leverage agents or AI in your work process, you're going to be accountable for that,” Rowley says. “What skills do we need to be able to support people to actually be managers of those agents?”
In this vision of shared responsibility, humans remain firmly in the loop and are supported by technology that amplifies their impact. This pulls on a common theme in many recent conversations with business leaders: the human-centered future of work and the capacity of technology to supercharge our potential.
Collaboration is another essential piece in Dow’s blueprint for AI transformation. Rowley stresses that HR can’t handle this monumental undertaking alone, and credits “exceptional partnerships” across the organization: IT, legal, data protection, and cross-country relationships.
Team interconnectivity comes heavily into play when confronting a top challenge for the international brand: delivering globally consistent experiences, amid shifting audience requirements and legal landscapes. At its core, Dow’s ecosystem-based approach mirrors how AI itself operates best: When every function contributes perspective, innovation thrives safely and sustainably.
Dow’s pursuit of global consistency adds an extra layer of nuance — different countries, different rules — but also highlights the company’s dedication to being a trusted, transparent enterprise. Trust, after all, is the most important currency of the AI age.
Rowley’s description of the unfolding “adoption era” resonates for good reason. This is a time of collective experimentation, where curiosity matters as much as expertise and the courage to try something new counts as progress in itself.
“We don't know what we don't know,” Rowley says. “We can't be so committed to the plan that we can't pivot when new functionality or new services become available to us … We're at a place where it's never changed this fast in this amount of time.”
Living in this world of uncertainty and experimentation means leaders should make extra efforts to model empathy and understanding. Everyone is learning as they go. “Transformational moments require grace and tolerance,” Rowley urges.
“We're in transformational times, and those transformational moments require grace and tolerance."
Striking the right balance—between stability and boldness, legacy and innovation—is where Dow shines. By anchoring transformation in culture, trust, and human capability, the company is proving that AI adoption is not a race to automate but an ongoing journey to elevate.
And in that journey, Rowley and the team at Dow are showing what it means to level everyone up.
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