By Yumi W. Kimura, Student in the IKNS Program, School of Professional Studies
As organizations race to adopt AI and digital transformation strategies, many overlook a critical component for success: knowledge management (KM). Without a strong KM foundation, companies risk inefficiencies, innovation bottlenecks, and even AI failure.
Through my journey as a founder, start-up advisor, and now student in the Columbia University School of Professional Studies (SPS) Information & Knowledge Strategy (IKNS) program, I’ve seen firsthand how structured KM—not just storing knowledge, but activating it—can be a competitive advantage. My mission is to help companies bridge the gap between information and action by embracing AI-powered solutions that make knowledge accessible, collaborative, and strategically aligned with business goals.
How Did I Get to Columbia?
I began my career consulting start-ups and advising venture capital funds, leading international expansion for tech companies, including serving as the founding country manager of Meitu Japan, where I contributed to Meitu’s $4.6 billion initial public offering. Through my work with global enterprises, I witnessed firsthand the inefficiencies in KM, workforce collaboration, and the challenges faced by junior employees without strong managerial support. This inspired me to found LEAD, an AI-powered KM platform that helps midsize to Fortune 500 companies optimize internal expertise, engage employees, improve operational efficiency, and bridge knowledge gaps.
While growing LEAD, I am pursuing the IKNS degree at Columbia University, further refining my research into how organizations can leverage AI, data, and human capital to drive business outcomes.
Initially positioned as an HR tech solution, LEAD pivoted to KM after I recognized that 80 percent of potential clients with BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline) were outside HR. While it was clear that LEAD wasn’t a traditional HR tool, its broader potential became evident only after I joined Columbia’s IKNS program, where I deepened my understanding of KM and enterprise challenges.
What Is LEAD?
LEAD helps organizations uncover expertise, break down silos, and drive business impact through hidden insights. In partnership with a leading academic institution’s research on organizational network analysis (ONA), LEAD leverages ONA—a key people analytics approach—and integrates it with existing enterprise systems such as Microsoft Teams and Slack to map knowledge networks and streamline process management for mentorship, buddy programs, and virtual coffee chats —initiatives that directly support knowledge transfer.
Unlike traditional people analytics, which focuses on individual performance metrics, ONA maps real-world influence, collaboration patterns, and knowledge-sharing dynamics at both individual and team levels. Just like IKNS’ approach to KM, LEAD’s approach to KM goes beyond storing structured data. Instead, it captures, organizes, and applies both implicit and explicit knowledge within an organization to enhance decision-making, efficiency, and innovation, ensuring employees can access the right expertise at the right time and adapt processes to changing conditions. Additionally, we emphasize teams over individuals: LEAD’s KM approach goes beyond identifying subject-matter experts—it analyzes how teams function, how knowledge flows between them, and where synergies or inefficiencies exist. This helps leaders optimize workforce collaboration, improve cross-functional efficiency, and ensure that the right teams—not just individuals—connect at the right time to drive business impact. Currently in the seed stage, LEAD is focused on refining its go-to-market strategy and proving scalability. Funding challenges are steep—estimates suggest that 30 percent to 40 percent of start-ups at this stage successfully raise funds. For women-led startups, the odds are even tougher: in 2023, they received just 2.8 percent of all U.S. venture capital funding.
Guiding LEAD from an idea to a product that fits the market, I witnessed firsthand how the reality of start-up growth requires relentless iteration and market research. After engaging with more than 3,000 individuals and experimenting with various concepts, LEAD began gaining traction in its third year, now serving Fortune 500 clients and more than 2,000 organizations.
The Future of Knowledge Management
Despite what tools like LEAD can offer, most companies do not have a clear budget or dedicated KM role. Unlike IT, HR, or marketing, KM is often assigned as a secondary responsibility to different departments, leading to a lack of ownership and inconsistent execution. However, as enterprises continue adopting AI and digital transformation strategies, effective KM is no longer optional—it’s a competitive advantage. Companies that fail to invest in structured KM risk inefficiencies, lost expertise, and failed AI initiatives, while those that get it right unlock innovation, improve productivity, and maximize business impact.
What I’ve Learned from Columbia’s IKNS Program
Through my studies at Columbia and the many connections I was able to form through the IKNS network, , I have seen firsthand how organizations struggle with knowledge flow—but also how the right tools and strategies can turn KM from an afterthought into a business driver. According to McKinsey, by 2030, nearly 75 percent of Fortune 500 companies may fail, and smaller enterprises may fail at an even higher rate. The survivors will be those who understand the power of KM, bridging the gap between information and action, ensuring that knowledge isn’t just stored but actively used to empower employees, drive innovation, enhance decision-making, and fuel long-term success.
Views and opinions expressed here are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Columbia School of Professional Studies or Columbia University.
About the Program
The Columbia University M.S. in Information & Knowledge Strategy (IKNS) degree provides students with foundations in information science, organizational psychology, and change management as well as practical skills in project management and executive leadership.
The STEM-accredited program is available full-time or part-time, online or in person, on Columbia’s landmarked campus right here in New York City. To maximize opportunities for networking and community building, our online students join our New York–based students on Columbia’s campus for three in-person residencies during their studies.
Students train under world-class faculty, including former and current executives from Google, IBM, NASA, and Oliver Wyman, and join a powerful global alumni network in coveted positions, including at Alphabet, Goldman Sachs, Nike, Pfizer, and the World Bank.
For more IKNS insights, news, and events, please go to our website, connect with us on LinkedIn, or attend one of our online info sessions. Visit the School of Professional Studies website to learn more about the SPS student experience.
The final fall 2025 application deadline for the IKNS program is June 1. Learn more here.
