Who's Accountable When AI Sets the Price? Pricing Governance in the Age of AI with Steven Forth
Impact Pricing · Jan 5, 2026 · 29:08
Impact Pricing · Jan 5, 2026 · 29:08
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Steven Forth, Managing Partner at Ibbaka and co-creator of Value IQ, joins Mark Stiving to tackle a topic most pricing teams are avoiding: pricing governance in an AI-driven world.
This episode explores who owns pricing decisions when AI is involved, how companies should govern data and models, and why pricing leaders must step into a broader leadership role or risk having governance imposed on them by others.
If AI is touching your pricing process in any way, this conversation will change how you think about responsibility, risk, and trust.
Why You Have to Check Out This Episode:
"The big issue for me is how, as pricing people, do we develop the knowledge that we need to be accountable for AI pricing governance? It's not something any of us were taught."
– Steven Forth
Topics Covered:
01:51 - Pricing Governance and Accountability. What pricing governance really means and why accountability breaks down when roles are unclear.
05:04 - Pricing and Customer Value Alignment. Why pricing teams sit at the center of aligning sales, product, finance, and customer value.
08:01 - AI Challenges in Pricing Governance. How AI introduces new risks around data usage, ownership, and responsibility in pricing decisions.
12:45 - AI Pricing Governance Challenges. Who is accountable when AI makes mistakes and how strict rules can slow innovation.
16:35 - AI Governance in Pricing. Why pricing leaders must take ownership of AI governance or risk losing control to other functions.
22:13 - AI Transparency in Pricing. The importance of explainable pricing models and why transparency matters to both sellers and buyers.
26:49 - AI in the Buying Process. How buyers are using AI to evaluate vendors and why transparency will shape future pricing outcomes.
28:08 - Connecting on LinkedIn. How to continue the conversation and connect with Steven Forth directly.
Key Takeaways:
"Governance is an area of pricing that we don't spend enough time thinking about and talking about because it's not sexy and it does not immediately tie to results." – Steven Forth
"If pricing leaders don't take ownership of AI governance, someone else will." – Steven Forth
"It's the fact that the AIs are not deterministic that allows them to be, dare I say it, creative and to find new things." – Steven Forth
"AI generally does a better job of explaining how it got to its answers than most humans can." – Steven Forth
People & Resources Mentioned:
Connect with Steven Forth:
Connect with Mark Stiving:
