Iwo Szapar

Hybrid Work Expert

🚀 Remote-First Activist | Top 50 Remote Influencer | Since 2017, shaping the future of remote-first world

Aloha, I'm Iwo Szapar! Over the years, I've helped transform how over 3,000 companies approach work, leading to more efficient and enjoyable professional lives. 🌍

Key Achievements:

▪️Co-created the AI Maturity Index with Harvard researchers, democratizing access to enterprise-grade AI readiness insights
▪️Advised Ministry of Communications and Technology of Saudi Arabia on AI up-skilling for startups
▪️Launched world's first certification program for remote workers: Remote-how Academy, back in 2018.
▪️Established strategic partnerships with 150 companies, including Asana, Deel, Remote, and Safetywing.
▪️Created an expert community of 250+ consultants from companies such as GitLab, Netflix, and Hubspot.
▪️Co-organized 3 editions of Remote Future Summit, reaching over 11,000 attendees and featuring 140 speakers.

Born in Gdansk, Poland, I've embraced the 'slowmad' lifestyle, living in various countries while working remotely. This journey has enriched my perspective and fueled my passion for innovation. When I'm not working, you can find me reading history books, following international affairs, or indulging in my hobbies as a dog lover, amateur surfer, and DJ.

Connect with me to explore how you/your company can work smarter! 🚀

🚀Remote Work Advocate & Co-founder

Remote-how helps companies make remote & hybrid work, work. Since 2017. 

🤓 Remote-how Marketplace - the world’s leading remote & hybrid work experts marketplace. Work on your consulting and advisory projects with 200+ pre-vetted practitioners from top distributed companies. 

🚀 Remote-how Campus - a community where leaders of hybrid teams come to connect, learn and grow together with access to live leadership development programs, mentoring services, and more.

🚀 Our AI Maturity Index got acquired by ISG (Information Services Group).

Didn’t think a random virtual coffee with a stranger would turn out this way...

18 months ago, Eryn and I started talking about AI adoption chaos.

Everyone had opinions.
Nobody had data.

We launched this as a research project.

It evolved into a diagnostic tool.
Using AI to assess… AI maturity in under 15 minutes.

Our system interviewed 6,000+ professionals across 75 countries.

The data was clear:
• 92% of companies are increasing AI investment
• Only 1% consider themselves AI-mature

Companies weren’t struggling with AI tools.

They were struggling with knowing where to start.

ISG noticed.
They partnered with us.
Then became our biggest client.

Today, they acquired us.

That’s not how acquisitions usually work.
But maybe it’s how they should.
They knew the product deeply.
We knew their vision.
The fit was obvious.

ISG brings research capabilities we couldn’t build alone.
Global reach to take this from thousands to millions.
Resources to turn our platform into enterprise infrastructure.

I’m genuinely excited about what we’ll build together.

Now, zooming out for a second.

It’s been 8 years of building.

First Remote-how.
Then Remote-First Institute.
Now AI Maturity Index.

Many mistakes.
Many lessons.

And now — first exit.

I’m relieved before I’m excited 😅

Eryn — you made this possible.

That “virtual coffee stranger” became an incredible co-founder who pushed me, challenged me, and helped me grow fast.

Thank you. Truly. ❤️ 

Fun fact: we met only twice in real life. 
Once in Lisbon (where we decided to launch the company together - see picture), and second time in Saudi Arabia.

This entire journey was 100% remote.

To the 6,000+ people who took the assessment and trusted us with their data:
You made this possible. Every benchmark came from you.

To Steven, Hannah, and the entire ISG team: You believed in the platform long before the acquisition. That partnership gave us confidence this would work. Thanks a bunch!!!

And to everyone who thought:
“Just another AI survey” — fair skepticism.
We had to earn trust with data quality.

Now we close the 92% / 1% gap.

At scale.

With resources that matter.
Companies investing in AI need to know where they stand.
We’re building the infrastructure to show them.

PS. Yes — I am VERY excited. Like… a lot.

PS2. Full press release → link in comments 👇

Co-Creator of AI Maturity Index (Acquired by ISG) 🤙 Vibe Worker

Founder & CPO at Upflex I Investor I Strategic Advisor I Coach & Mentor

I’m a builder at heart of products, companies, and communities.
With 20+ years of experience across North America and Asia, I’ve worked at the intersection of innovation and impact, helping startups transform bold ideas into real-world solutions. From the future of work to healthcare, e-commerce to fashion, I’ve led teams from zero to launch and scaled to global growth.

One of my early career highlights was joining Embedded Wireless as the first employee. What began as a small office in Kuala Lumpur quickly evolved into a global operation. I helped build and scale cross-functional teams across India, Ireland, Malaysia, Bangladesh, and the U.S., bringing together a diverse and talented group of engineers and leaders. That experience shaped how I think about scale, collaboration, and the unmatched strength of global talent diversity.

Today, I’m the Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer at Upflex, a platform that reshapes workspace access for distributed teams. I’m also a Partner at Sero Partners, a New York-based advisory and investment firm that helps growth-stage companies expand and access capital through a trusted network of VCs, family offices, and operators.

As an angel investor, I actively support early-stage startups, especially those led by women and focused on AI, the future of work, and global impact. Diverse teams build better products and a better future.

Patents + Collaborations
• WO 2014145779 A3 – Personal Health Server & Ecosystem
• US 20050114366 A1 – Personalized Online Services & Ads in Public Spaces
• WO 2004068296 A3 – Online Commerce
• WO 2000041543 A2 – Single-point to Multipoint Data Communication

Always up for meaningful conversations — especially at the edge of what’s next.

Ginger Dhaliwal

Grateful to be included in The Top 50 Women Chief Product Officers of 2026.

Back to building.🚀

Co-Founder at Upflex I Investor I Strategic Advisor I Mentor Designing the Future of Work | Investing in Bold Ideas | Building at the Edge of What’s Next

The Top 50 Women Chief Product Officers of 2026

Women We Admire is pleased to announce The Top 50 Women Chief Product Officers of 2026. Chief Product Officers sit at the center of how organizations decide what to build, why it matters, and how products evolve over time.

Shruti Patel (US Bank), Donna Bristow (Broadridge), Sheryl McKenzie (Western Union), Marianne McPeak-Johnson (Cox Automotive Inc.), Inbal S. (Twilio), Tanja Oquendo (Fairview Health Services), Clarissa Riggins (Experian), Stacie Overbaugh (Korn Ferry), Saumya Bhatnagar (involve.ai), Karyn Hillman (Levi Strauss), Shelly Nooner (Infotech), Kimberly Bloomston (6sense), Irina Mladenova (Vytal), Annie Chechitelli (Turnitin), Vinitha Ramnathan (NRC Health), Paulami Kar (Northern Trust), Kelly Vincent (Auctane), Rebecca Timmons (Alltech), Ginger Dhaliwal (Upflex), Ashley Blankette (CAQH), Ilse De Bruin (Nowports), Tal Herman (Orchid Security), Andra Munteanu (Onfleet), Danielle Costa Nakano (Grassroots Analytics), Claire Robinson (Upsolve), Meera Vaidyanathan (SurveyMonkey), and Deepika Chauhan (DigiCert).

Nominate a woman leader at https://lnkd.in/gr_guaPH

Sign up for free email newsletter at https://lnkd.in/gFsjdj4

#leadership #womenleadership #CPOs

https://lnkd.in/gpYXgb_V

Open article: The Top 50 Women Chief Product Officers of 2026 by thewomenweadmire.com

The Top 50 Women Chief Product Officers of 2026

Dan Smolen  warns of a “hollow middle”: senior leaders on one end, AI on the other, and too few humans learning to bridge the two.

The paradox that keeps me up: Gen Z’s fluency with AI is both their greatest edge and the very force narrowing the first rung.
This isn’t just a talent problem. It’s a leadership one.
Read Dan’s full piece 👇

Executive Producer and Show Host of What's Your Work Fit? I help you make your work and workplace decisions result in better and more satisfying professional experiences and outcomes.

For decades, the entry-level job was the front door to a dazzling career.


It’s where people learned not just what to do, but how work works, how decisions get made, how teams collaborate, how trust is earned, and, how one’s judgment and expertise form over time.

Today, the front door to entry-level work is quietly narrowing.

#AgenticAI now drafts, analyzes, schedules, summarizes, and predicts. 

Distributed workplaces flattened offices into Slack channels and Zoom rooms.

And many large companies, facing investor pressure and betting on automation, responded by pulling back precisely where careers once began.

This is not just a talent pipeline issue. It’s a leadership one.

In my latest Substack post, I dig deep into the issue of #entrylevel talent and what can be done to support them in an increasingly #AI dependent workplace.

Subscribe for free.

Our best days lie ahead.

Note: image for this post was rendered on ChatGPT 5.2 based on our prompts.

#futureofwork #workplace #workfit #careerpodcast

Open article: The First Rung Matters in a Distributed AI-Enabled Workplace by dansmolen.substack.com

The First Rung Matters in a Distributed AI-Enabled Workplace

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The Battle

Iwo Szapar

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Engagements

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Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Iwo Szapar's LinkedIn Performance

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