India Inc heavyweights look to AI to drive innovation and efficiency

Mumbai: An increasing number of CEOs, CXOs and top management professionals are seeking to upskill and specialise in generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) at a time when AI technology is expected to be the primary disruptive force for most businesses, potentially altering processes and systems beyond recognition.

Hence, there is an urgent push for key managerial personnel to acquire knowledge and understanding of AI in various aspects of business transformation to drive innovation and changes, top officials and academics said.

Leading global business school Insead has witnessed an uptick in senior professionals from India wanting to upgrade in new-age tech skills, including AI and GenAI, said dean Francisco Veloso. "There is a lot of interest from corporates and senior management professionals and because of that, we are developing more content in areas related to AI and business - from strategy to organisational behaviour," he said.


Doctoral Programmes
"They don't want to be experts in AI. What they want to learn is how they can use it in their businesses, to leverage the AI tools to create better products and drive efficiency. Our aim is to help these professionals on how to use tech in business strategy," added Veloso, a professor of strategy.

Edtech platform upGrad has seen an increasing demand for doctoral programmes in GenAI - with over 130 sign-ups for executive doctorate programs in GenAI with its US university partner Golden Gate University, San Francisco in less than eight months.

"CXOs, directors and seasoned professionals with 10 to more than 15 years of experience are opting for the executive doctorate programs," said upGrad co-founder Mayank Kumar. "The increase in demand is particularly because these senior professionals are trying to adapt new skills to become more agile and adaptable in the current market circumstances," he added. "Over 95% of our enrolments come from professionals with over eight years of experience," he added.

Sunil D'souza, CEO, Tata Consumer, said the company's senior digital team members are guiding the management on AI's business possibilities.

"Our digital team has run us through multiple inductions and shown us use cases of the art of the possible. We now have a small team starting to commercialise the good use cases," he said.

Sunil Kataria, CEO, Raymond Lifestyle (India & International), said: "The top leadership team is constantly collaborating with experts in the AI field."

"Our top executives are engaging with Microsoft and AWS workshops to build a digital roadmap in Generative AI business solutions. One of our top colleagues is pursuing a PhD in AI through BITS Pilani," he said. "The integration of AI has emerged as a transformative force in today's rapidly evolving business landscape in how we interact with customers and operate businesses."

Top board members said there is nothing more important in today's rapidly changing business environment than the knowledge of AI.