Lunch, Learn, Lead: Vishal Sikka
Join us for an informal conversation with Vishal Sikka (Stanford Ph.D. 1996) about his life journey in artificial intelligence and enterprise transformation through innovation in the Silicon Valley.
Dr. Vishal Sikka is a leading computer scientist, thought leader and business executive in the areas of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and enterprise transformation through innovation. He was CEO and Managing Director of Infosys during 2014-2017, and helped to transform the company during a time of significant change in the services industry. He implemented the renew+new strategy of helping clients renew their existing landscapes using automation and artificial intelligence, and at the same time bring breakthrough innovation to transform existing businesses, open new business opportunities and new business models. Dr. Sikka created a strong focus on learning and innovation within Infosys, bringing education in Design Thinking and AI to more than 150,000 employees, adopting breakthrough product and service innovation, and creating the foundation for strong and sustained financial performance of the company. Prior to Infosys, Dr. Sikka was a member of the Executive Board of SAP SE, and head of all SAP products and technologies. He is credited with creating SAP’s breakthrough in-memory data platform SAP HANA, the fastest growing product in SAP’s history, and leading all of SAP's product, technology and innovation initiatives over a 12 year career that also saw him named SAP's first-ever Chief Technology Officer. Dr. Sikka is the creator of ‘timeless software,’ a set of principles to build long-lived, yet modern and trusted software systems. Dr. Sikka holds a Ph.D. in Artificial Intelligence from Stanford University, a BS in Computer Science from Syracuse University and an honorary Doctorate of Engineering from the University of Queensland. Dr. Sikka has served on several boards and as an adjunct professor of computer science at Stanford University and at East China Normal University.
Lunch, Learn, Lead is Center for South Asia’s professionalization series for Stanford students. It features reflections from inspiring leaders of South Asian origin about their values, beliefs, and motivations in life. Speakers and the participants discuss choices, difficulties, and commitments encountered in a professional journey. These conversations provide an informal forum for Stanford students as they begin to navigate careers beyond the university. It also aims to generate collective futures through enduring connections in South Asia and beyond.
This event is at capacity. RSVPs are no longer accepted. Questions can be directed to burcak [at] stanford.edu (burcak[at]stanford[dot]edu).