Intelligent Luxury with Asha Saxena and Julie Faupel

About Intelligent Luxury with Asha Saxena and Julie Faupel

Intelligent Luxury is a conversation about what cannot be automated. Hosted by Julie Faupel and Asha Saxena, the series gathers the advisors, anthropologists, and futurists operating at the highest level — for unhurried conversations on the human capacities that define their work: curiosity, discernment, nuance, cultural intelligence, the art of reading the signal others miss. Guests are drawn from REALM Global's curated network of nearly 600 luxury advisors across 21 countries, as well as educators, cultural critics and futurists shaping how we understand the intersection of AI and luxury.

Publisher

Asha Saxena and Julie Faupel

Category

business · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

3 Jun 2026

Latest episode

26 Aug 2026

Latest episodes

24 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   26 Aug 2026

   Episode 24 - Intelligent Luxury: From Contacts to Capital: Relationship Intelligence

   Episode 24 - Intelligent Luxury: From Contacts to Capital: Relationship Intelligence Featured Guests Abigail Posner — Futurist based in New York City. She delivered a keynote at the Realm event in Scottsdale, Arizona, and also teaches at Columbia University. She specializes in the intersection of technology, culture, and human behavior, with a focus on how AI can serve as a creative partner rather than just a productivity tool. Asha Saxena — Host of Intelligent Luxury, CEO and thought leader in data and technology. Julie Faupel — Co-host of Intelligent Luxury, Asha's collaborator with a background in luxury and lifestyle. Key Takeaways The 70/30 rule of AI: Approximately 70% of day-to-day tasks can be automated by AI, but the remaining 30% — the deeply human work — is "where the magic happens." That 30% is the true differentiator for luxury advisors. Luxury consumers are more educated than ever: AI-related searches about luxury have surged 1,470%, meaning clients arrive with significant knowledge. Advisors must validate, contextualize, and elevate that information rather than simply repeat it. There's a major service gap in luxury: About 56% of luxury buyers report being dissatisfied with the service they receive. Advisors who close this gap through deeper human insight create a competitive advantage. Technology is a creative partner, not a replacement: AI excels at finding connections and generating ideas, but human judgment is essential to filter, challenge, and redirect those outputs. Blindly accepting AI answers is a mistake. Advisors must ask the questions clients wouldn't think to ask: Clients can only prompt AI based on what they already know. A great advisor expands the client's thinking by introducing perspectives and questions they wouldn't conceive on their own. Luxury has shifted from scarcity to abundance: Traditional luxury was about rarity and limited editions. Today's luxury is about depth of understanding, personalized experience, and human connection in a world saturated with information. Human energy and presence are irreplaceable: The human-to-human energy exchange — presence, empathy, and emotional intelligence — is something AI will never replicate. AI actually frees up space for advisors to lean into these qualities. Start small, bring your team along: The practical advice is to take baby steps with AI, build quick wins solving day-to-day problems, then scale up. The journey isn't solo — bring your team and become a constant learner in the age of intelligence.

2. 

   19 Aug 2026

   Episode 23: Intelligent Luxury - Decoding Motivations of AI & Tech Entrepreneurs

   Episode 23: Intelligent Luxury - Decoding Motivations of AI & Tech Entrepreneurs Featured Guest: Brian Solis — a futurist and digital anthropologist based in Silicon Valley, with a career spanning since the '90s studying signals, trends, and the impact of technology on human behavior, culture, and markets. He has served as head of innovation for ServiceNow. Episode Summary: In Episode 23 of Intelligent Luxury, hosts Asha Saxena and Julie Faupel welcome Brian Solis, who appeared at a Realm-hosted real estate and technology event in Scottsdale, Arizona. The conversation centers on the intersection of AI, innovation, and luxury real estate. Brian shares his perspective as a futurist and digital anthropologist, discussing how organizations should approach AI not just as an automation tool but as a catalyst for reimagination and positive disruption. The episode explores how technology has historically been used to scale yesterday's models rather than create new paradigms, and challenges listeners to use AI to unlock new value rather than simply optimize existing processes. Key Takeaways: Don't just automate — reimagine. Most organizations use new technology (AI, smartphones, etc.) to do what they already did yesterday, just faster or cheaper. True innovation comes from using AI to do what you couldn't do before. Keep human intelligence at the center. In an era of AI, the human element — relationships, curiosity, creativity — matters more than ever. Don't outsource your thinking to AI; use it to augment your unique value. Give yourself space for imagination. If you fill your calendar automating old processes, you leave no room for the curiosity, creativity, and exploration that drive real innovation. Fix broken processes before automating them. Automation is an opportunity to rediscover and redesign workflows — don't automate what doesn't work; use AI to create new, better processes. Mistakes are essential to learning. Experimentation and failure are necessary parts of evolving with new technology. If you're not making mistakes, you're not pushing boundaries. Positive disruption over reactive disruption. The goal is to disrupt yourself — doing new things that make old things obsolete — rather than waiting to be disrupted by outside forces. Challenge the information AI gives you. Innovation requires validating AI outputs, challenging norms, and applying your own intelligence to ensure you're moving in the right direction.

3. 

   14 Aug 2026

   Episode 22: Intelligent Luxury - The Invisible Buyer: Next-Generation Tech Wealth

   Episode 22: Intelligent Luxury - The Invisible Buyer: Next-Generation Tech Wealth Featured Guest: Mark McLaughlin, a residential real estate broker from Jackson Hole, Wyoming, with approximately 20 years of experience in the brokerage business. Episode Summary: Hosts Asha Saxena and Julie Faupel sit down with Mark McLaughlin to explore how AI, shifting consumer expectations, and generational wealth transfer are reshaping luxury real estate. Recorded at a Realm real estate and technology event in Scottsdale, Arizona, the conversation centers on the concept of "Intelligent Luxury" — how real estate professionals must evolve from transactional agents into trusted advisors who understand lifestyle, legacy, and the human element. The discussion draws on insights from a panel of eight futurists and emphasizes that technology is not replacing the human connection but raising the bar for it. Key Takeaways: Disrupt yourself or be disrupted. As futurist Brian noted, "If you're not willing to disrupt yourself, it'll be a gift given to you by someone else." Professionals who aren't actively learning AI risk being outperformed by those who are. Clients benchmark you against every experience, not just other agents. Consumers don't compare your tech savviness to another real estate professional — they compare it to Amazon, Netflix, Domino's, and every other seamless digital experience in their lives. Information is abundant; judgment is the differentiator. Buyers arrive "armed with information," but the advisor's value lies in market knowledge, empathy, and the ability to interpret data in ways the client cannot. Shift from agent to advisor. The role is no longer about closing a deal — it's about deeply understanding what the client truly wants, even when they can't articulate it, and curating options rather than flooding them with choices. Time is the ultimate luxury. Research shows the wealthy feel richest when they have time and experiences. Wasting a client's time — say, sending ten properties instead of the right three — is the fastest way to lose them. Pay attention to the generational wealth transfer. Legacy now carries deeper meaning. Wealth is flowing to younger generations and to women, and buying a second home is often about the people who will occupy it, not the property itself. Trust is a loyalty card only the client can take back. In a world of abundant data and AI tools, the cornerstone of the advisor-client relationship remains human trust and connection.

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Guest appearances

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