Private Equity CEO Predicts AI Will Leave 60% of Finance Conference Attendees Jobless

Robert F. Smith, CEO of Vista Equity Partners, told attendees at the SuperReturn International 2025 conference in Berlin last week that 60% of the 5,500 finance professionals present will be “looking for work” next year due to AI disruption.

Smith predicted that while 40% of attendees will adopt AI agents — programs that autonomously perform complex, multi-step tasks — the remaining majority will need to find new employment as AI transforms the sector. “All of the jobs currently carried out by one billion knowledge workers today would change due to AI,” Smith said, clarifying that while jobs won’t disappear entirely, they will fundamentally transform.