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How AI is reshaping localization roles:
The shift towards gatekeepers

The real question in localization right now isn’t where to put AI — it’s where to put humans, and what they should be doing.

 

On April 23, Wada’a Fahel (CEO & Founder at LocVerse at LocVerse, ex-Harley-Davidson, Zendesk, Xerox) and Konstantin Savenkov (CEO & Co-Founder, Intento) are sitting down for a fireside chat on how localization roles are actually changing — from both the vendor and the client side.

Wednesday 13th of November, 2024.
From 11:00 am to 12:00 pm Eastern Time (ET)
  • April 23, 2026
  • From 11:00 am to 12:00 pm ET
Speakers
Reflect on a banner year in Machine Translation

A few things they’ll get into: how output stops scaling with headcount once AI handles execution; where human judgment becomes more valuable, not less (governance, brand fit, quality decisions, sign-off on what ships); how to make the case internally when leadership treats localization as a cost line instead of a capability; and where the new ground is — closer to content creation, further from coordination.

 

If you run a localization team or work inside one, this one’s for you. Come with questions.

What you'll learn:
In this webinar, we cover:
  • How to grow influence and become a strategic partner (not a service function).
  • How to build investment cases using stakeholder interviews and the right metrics.
  • How to answer “we can’t prove impact” with confidence—without perfection paralysis.
  • How to use AI to strengthen localization’s role and relevance.
Speakers

Wada’a Fahel

Founder, Strategic Advisor
LocVerse
Wada’a Fahel is a global growth strategist with 20+ years shaping how iconic brands like Harley-Davidson and Zendesk design and scale meaningful customer experiences through content. As the founder of LocVerse, a GTM-focused consultancy, she helps clients navigate the intersection of content at scale, storytelling, and technology integrations in the age of AI. She also advises vendors, bringing both a client and buyer perspective to solution design, team building, and the mastery of narratives that connect, differentiate, and sell.

Konstantin Savenkov

CEO and Co-Founder
Intento
After receiving his PhD in 2008, Konstantin Savenkov piloted various research projects at Moscow State University. Moving into the business sector in 2012, Konstantin worked with notable start-ups such as Bookmate and Mindojo, and became increasingly aware of the trouble global companies had when onboarding cognitive AI services. To address this issue, Konstantin founded Intento with Grigory Sapunov in 2016, in part with the distinguished Berkeley Skydeck Accelerator Program. Since then, Konstantin has led Intento into a significant growth period, helping major global businesses around the world procure and deploy best-fit AI.

Konstantin Savenkov

CEO and Co-Founder
Intento
After receiving his PhD in 2008, Konstantin Savenkov piloted various research projects at Moscow State University. Moving into the business sector in 2012, Konstantin worked with notable start-ups such as Bookmate and Mindojo, and became increasingly aware of the trouble global companies had when onboarding cognitive AI services. To address this issue, Konstantin founded Intento with Grigory Sapunov in 2016, in part with the distinguished Berkeley Skydeck Accelerator Program. Since then, Konstantin has led Intento into a significant growth period, helping major global businesses around the world procure and deploy best-fit AI.

Jose Palomares

Director of Localization
Coupa
Jose Palomares is the Director of Localization at Coupa, the SaaS leader in Business Spend Management. With more than 20 years of trajectory in the globalization industry, his current focus is on growth strategy, UX, and Ops efficiency, brought forward into a constant drive to apply state-of-the-art translation, automation, and transformative AI-driven solutions to do more with less and faster. Jose is also a Board Director of the Globalization and Localization Association (GALA), where he strives to push the envelope for the industry as a whole.

Brock Hansen

Globalization Program and Solutions Manager
Wish
Brock is a Globalization leader with proven success across 12 years in innovating, improving, developing, and optimizing: operations, teams, programs, solutions and processes. He is passionate about technology, AI, creating teams, programs, and processes that drive innovation and success.

Sebah Ghannam

Associate of Globalization Technology
Procore
Sebah Ghannam is currently working at Procore in the localization team. Her main work consists of TMS maintenance and updating the support site's localized pages. Having been born and raised in Michigan, she was all too familiar with 'potholes' of construction before joining Procore, and has learned a lot since about how technology can improve the field. Sebah uses AI and many of its forms in her day to day job and is always looking for creative solutions it can be used for. Sebah earned a B.A. in International Affairs and French Language and an M.A. in Translation and Localization Management with a focus on Chinese Language studies from Middlebury Institute of International Studies.

Sebah Ghannam

Associate of Globalization Technology
Procore
Sebah Ghannam is currently working at Procore in the localization team. Her main work consists of TMS maintenance and updating the support site's localized pages. Having been born and raised in Michigan, she was all too familiar with 'potholes' of construction before joining Procore, and has learned a lot since about how technology can improve the field. Sebah uses AI and many of its forms in her day to day job and is always looking for creative solutions it can be used for. Sebah earned a B.A. in International Affairs and French Language and an M.A. in Translation and Localization Management with a focus on Chinese Language studies from Middlebury Institute of International Studies.

Pascale Tremblay

Executive Consultant
Pascale Global, Consulting Services
Pascale is a seasoned Globalization leader with an extensive track record, boasting expertise in orchestrating a multitude of successful localization initiatives throughout her career. She now advises and develops language capabilities initiatives for growing companies, including organizational development, strategy and technologies. Her most recent role, as the Director of Localization at Gap Inc., exemplifies her achievement in this field. She is deeply passionate about injecting fresh ideas that catalyze transformative change and foster innovation, thereby facilitating sustained growth within organizations. She is based in the Seattle area.
Moderated by

Claudia Siegenthaler

Project Manager
Intento
Claudia is currently working as a Project Manager at Intento, a localization startup specializing in MT and AI. Previously, she worked as an Account Manager/Intern at Mother Tongue. While interning, she received her masters in Translation and Localization Management from the Middlebury Institute in May 2023. She is relatively new to the localization field, but has completely immersed herself in events, meeting new people, and attending talks from industry professionals (and has the books to prove it!) She's been a member of Women in Localization since 2021, and currently serves as Sponsorship Manager for the Global Sponsorship team. She is currently based in San Francisco and when she is not working, enjoys keeping up her ballet training with the SF ballet, as well as hiking or discovering the best cocktail bar in the city.
Webinar agenda

(all times listed in Eastern Time Zone)

11:30 am to 11:35 am
Introduction

Mark Hjerpe, Head of Global Revenue, Intento

11:35 am to 11:50 am 
Keynote

Konstantin Savenkov, CEO & Co-Founder, Intento

11:50 am to 12:30 pm
Panel discussion #1: “Achieving Excellent Language Experience” + Q&A

with Konstantin Savenkov (CEO & Co-Founder, Intento) and the participation of:

  • Pascale Tremblay – Executive Consultant, PG Consulting Services
  • Jose Palomares – Director of Localization, Coupa
  • Paulina Makles – Localization Program Manager, ClickUp

This panel will focus on what it takes to create an excellent language experience.

12:30 pm to 12:45 pm
Mini-Session: “Brief update on the GenAI Landscape in recent months”

with Grigory Sapunov (CTO & Co-Founder, Intento)

12:45 pm to 1:25 pm
Panel discussion #2: “Automating localization in 2023″ + Q&A
with Daria Sinitsyna (Lead Computational Linguist, Intento) and the participation of:

  • Alessandra Binazzi – Principal Consultant, Global Sights Consulting
  • Brock Hansen – Globalization Programs & Solutions Manager, Wish
  • Sebah Ghannam – Associate of Globalization Technology, Procore

In this panel, we’ll share stories of how new technologies are being utilized to enhance language experience.

1:25 pm to 1:30 pm
Closing remarks

Mark Hjerpe, Head of Global Revenue, Intento

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