Perspectives From the 2nd Annual SS&C Intralinks AI Bootcamp

I spoke with Torben Rankine, the Director of Corporate Sales at SS&C Intralinks, following the company's 2nd Annual AI Bootcamp on Tuesday, May 19, 2026. We discussed how corporate development teams in Silicon Valley are identifying opportunities in the current market, applying generative and agentic AI to drive growth within their organizations, and aligning legal and deal-process teams.

Episode Transcript

(00:01):
Welcome to Reinventing Professionals,a podcast hosted by industry analyst
Ari Kaplan, which shares ideas,guidance, and perspectives from market
leaders shaping the next generationof legal and professional services.
This is Ari Kaplan, and I'm honoredto be speaking to you just after the

(00:21):
Intralinks AI Bootcamp, our second annual.
I am privileged to be speaking withmy colleague and friend, Torben
Rankine, who is the Director ofCorporate Sales for Intralinks.
Great to see you, and thank you so much.
It was excellent to have youhere back in Silicon Valley
for this second AI Bootcamp.
Ari, you moderated last year'ssession, you did it again today.

(00:42):
What's the sentiment in theroom in this second AI Bootcamp?
This was such a sophisticated group,and as opposed to 2025, when we were
talking about basic use cases orovercoming reluctance or fear, this
year they were talking about deployingan array of agents, leveraging all

(01:03):
kinds of technology, and a levelof comfort that you don't even see
in a lot of other jurisdictions.
It was a wonderful andvibrant conversation.
I feel like you always know whenit's going well because we go too
long and people stay, and theyreally want to learn from each other.
And credit to Intralinks forfacilitating such a fantastic dialogue.

(01:23):
It was very interesting.
It was how is AI feeding and helpingand facilitating the daily life
of a corporate development team?
And then also how it's facilitatingactual diligence, the sourcing diligence
and post-merger integration work.
Those were the two levels of conversation.
It was interesting that there's sucha growth in use of AI agents that we

(01:46):
heard in the room, but then also somegrowing fear about the risks involved.
And sophisticated leaders are actingin ways that are advanced but measured.
They recognize that in order to supporttheir teams and to empower deal-making,
they really need to use the tools thatare available, but use them responsibly

(02:09):
and ethically, and in a way that's goingto give them a competitive advantage,
but to do so in a way that will allowthem to actually close the transaction.
People shared really interestingperspectives and stories
about how they're using it.
It was just very tacticaland less theoretical.
There was also some future gazing.

(02:30):
People were really thinking aboutwhere will we be a year from
now and how advanced will thisconversation be in 12 months.
We did this last year as a little bit ofan experiment, and I feel like it's been
validated even further this year 'cause Ithink there is an appetite to learn from
each other and really understand how thesetools are being worked on within teams.

(02:53):
So it is super interesting.
I think it was a very valuable session.
And I had several conversations withpeople who talked about the interplay
between the corporate developmentteams and the legal teams, and
how the best legal teams empower.
They don't stand in the way orfocus as much on risk, much more on

(03:13):
solutions and how you accommodatewhat the organization is trying to do,
and to manage the risk and the legalramifications in ways that drive success.
It was a mindset that seems reflectiveof what we have come to appreciate
about being in Silicon Valley.

(03:33):
I'm really looking forward to nextyear's because I think it's gonna be,
music to my ears, very interestingto see this group expanding.
Last year we might have been 12.
This year I think we were closer to 20.
Standing room only.
It was really incredible.
We had to bring in chairs.
The appetite for this conversationat this moment with your
team is really remarkable.

(03:56):
It's a change of mindset for sure, andeveryone's on the same learning curve
with AI and the possibilities of AI.
So thanks, Ari for doing this again.
Torben, thank you so much.
Really been a privilege.
Thank you for listening to theReinventing Professionals podcast.
Visit reinventingprofessionals.com orarikaplanadvisors.com to learn more.