Divya Parekh

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For executives leading AI transformation, one of the most important decisions is also one of the most difficult: deciding where sensitive data should be processed, stored and governed as artificial intelligence becomes part of the enterprise operating model. The architecture choices organizations make today will shape not only their ability to innovate, but also their ability to protect critical information, meet regulatory expectations and maintain trust.The challenge is that there is no single blueprint for secure AI adoption. Leaders must weigh competing priorities, including the speed and scalability of cloud platforms against the control and data sovereignty of private or hybrid environments, the need for strong governance against the risk of slowing innovation and the benefits of advanced AI capabilities against the responsibility to maintain visibility over how data is used. As AI systems create new layers of information through prompts, outputs, embeddings and logs, organizations must consider not only where data resides, but where it flows and whether they can control its entire lifecycle.Members of the Senior Executive AI Think Tank, a curated group of experts specializing in machine learning, generative AI and enterprise AI applications, examine the most important trade-offs leaders should consider when designing AI architectures for sensitive or regulated data. They also identify common mistakes organizations are making, from focusing only on storage location to overlooking data derivatives, governance gaps and the operational capabilities required to manage AI responsibly. Because architecture decisions are no longer just technical choices—they are business decisions tied to risk, resilience and long-term value.

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Artificial intelligence may be transforming the enterprise, but behind every successful AI initiative is something far less glamorous: disciplined data engineering.As organizations race to deploy generative AI, agentic systems and increasingly sophisticated analytics, many are pouring resources into new models, cloud platforms and AI applications. Yet time and again, ambitious projects fail to deliver meaningful business value—not because the technology falls short, but because the underlying data is inconsistent, poorly governed or difficult to trust.According to McKinsey's latest State of AI research, organizations seeing the strongest returns from AI distinguish themselves not by the models they choose, but by the maturity of the data, governance and operating foundations supporting those models. In other words, AI success begins long before a prompt is entered or an algorithm is deployed.Members of the Senior Executive AI Think Tank, a curated community of executives specializing in machine learning, generative AI and enterprise AI applications, have witnessed this firsthand across industries ranging from healthcare and financial services to manufacturing, retail and cloud computing. Below, they outline the foundational data engineering capabilities they believe consistently deliver the greatest business value and why leaders should take more notice.

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In AI, success is no longer determined solely by selecting the largest language model or achieving the highest benchmark score. Increasingly, organizations are deploying AI systems composed of multiple foundation models, retrieval systems, APIs, business applications and autonomous agents working together to complete complex tasks.As these systems become more autonomous, reliability becomes a systems engineering challenge rather than simply a model evaluation problem. According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology's AI Risk Management Framework, trustworthy AI requires organizations to continuously monitor, govern and manage risks throughout the lifecycle—not simply evaluate a model before deployment. Those principles become even more important as organizations adopt agentic AI capable of making decisions and invoking external tools.Members of the Senior Executive AI Think Tank, with expertise in machine learning, generative AI, and enterprise AI applications, believe orchestration is rapidly becoming the operational foundation that makes this possible. Rather than simply routing requests between models, orchestration determines how systems select models, validate outputs, monitor execution, recover from failures and balance competing priorities including latency, quality, security and cost.In the following sections, they explore the critical decisions leaders must make as AI systems become more autonomous—from improving routing and evaluation to strengthening observability, managing complexity and creating safeguards that allow organizations to scale AI with confidence.

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Open-weight large language models have become one of enterprise AI's hottest topics. Their promise is compelling: greater control, improved privacy, customization and freedom from vendor lock-in. Yet many executives remain focused on one number—the licensing cost—while overlooking the far larger operational commitment required after deployment.Members of the Senior Executive AI Think Tank, a community of executives and practitioners leading AI strategy across industries, agree that organizations should evaluate open-weight models the same way they would any other mission-critical technology platform: through total cost of ownership, long-term operational resilience and measurable business outcomes.McKinsey has emphasized that successful AI adoption depends not only on selecting the right models but also on building the data infrastructure, operating models and organizational capabilities needed to scale them. For enterprises adopting open-weight models, those ongoing investments can quickly become a larger cost factor than the model itself.In this article, AI Think Tank members examine the hidden costs and strategic considerations behind open-weight AI adoption, sharing how executives should think about infrastructure, talent, security, governance, maintenance and the business cases where owning and operating these models can create a meaningful advantage—and when the hidden costs outweigh the benefits.

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For years, enterprise technology leaders have wrestled with a familiar dilemma: Embrace the speed and innovation of a vendor platform or invest in building enough internal capability to maintain strategic control. Generative AI has made that trade-off far more consequential. As organizations move beyond chatbots to autonomous agents that retrieve information, invoke tools and make decisions across business systems, the focus is increasingly on who controls the pathways connecting models, knowledge, applications and enterprise data.That challenge is driving renewed interest in customer-owned AI control planes—enterprise-managed gateways that sit between AI applications and the rapidly expanding ecosystem of models, Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers, agent hubs and knowledge sources. Rather than relying entirely on vendor-specific ecosystems, these architectures promise centralized governance, stronger security, greater architectural flexibility and the ability to adopt new AI capabilities without redesigning the entire technology stack. Yet they also introduce an important question: Does adding another layer simplify enterprise AI or simply shift complexity from vendors to internal engineering teams?Members of the Senior Executive AI Think Tank, a community of leaders shaping enterprise AI strategy across architecture, governance, cloud computing and digital transformation, largely agree that customer-owned control planes represent an important evolution—but only if organizations approach them with discipline. Below, they discuss why centralized gateways can help organizations reduce vendor lock-in without slowing innovation, what security and architecture teams need to see before they'll trust agentic AI at scale and why governance should be built into every model and tool interaction rather than bolted on later.

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The current AI conversation has been dominated by software. Organizations have raced to deploy chatbots, copilots and generative AI tools that promise to boost productivity, improve decision-making and automate knowledge work. But what happens when AI leaves the screen and enters the physical world?That future is already taking shape. AI-powered robots are moving beyond controlled factory environments and into warehouses, hospitals, retail operations and even homes. Companies including Amazon, Tesla and Figure AI are investing billions in autonomous systems capable of navigating complex environments, collaborating with humans and performing tasks that once required manual labor. At the same time, labor shortages, rising operating costs and demographic shifts are creating strong economic incentives for automation. According to the International Federation of Robotics, global demand for industrial robots has more than doubled over the past decade, with more than 4.6 million robots now operating in factories worldwide.Yet despite the excitement, fundamental questions remain unanswered: What milestone will signal that AI-powered robotics has evolved from a promising technology into a mainstream commercial reality? Will it be a breakthrough in capability? A dramatic reduction in cost? Regulatory approval? Or something less obvious?To explore these questions, we turned to members of the Senior Executive AI Think Tank, a curated group of leaders and practitioners specializing in machine learning, generative AI and enterprise AI applications. Below, they share the signals they believe executives should be watching and the conditions that will determine when AI-powered robotics truly crosses into the mainstream.

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Artificial intelligence has become the fastest-moving investment category in the corporate world. Boards are asking about it, investors expect it and competitors are announcing new initiatives seemingly every week. For many Fortune 500 CEOs, however, the challenge isn't deciding whether to invest in AI—it's deciding where to place the first major bet.The stakes are high because the wrong investment can consume millions of dollars while delivering little business value. Organizations across industries are launching AI labs, experimenting with custom models and deploying new tools at scale, yet many still struggle to achieve measurable returns.That reality raises an important question: If you were making your first significant AI investment today, where would you focus—and what would you avoid?To find out, we asked members of the Senior Executive AI Think Tank, a community of leaders and practitioners specializing in machine learning, generative AI and enterprise transformation. Their answers reveal a striking consensus about where AI creates value, why so many organizations get their priorities wrong and the foundational investments that should come before any large-scale AI deployment.

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For many organizations, AI training has become synonymous with productivity. Employees learn how to write better prompts, automate routine tasks and generate content faster than ever before. But as AI becomes embedded in everyday business decisions, a more important question is emerging: Are organizations teaching people how to use AI, or how to use it responsibly?AI can generate recommendations, summarize information and accelerate workflows, but it cannot assume accountability for outcomes. That responsibility still belongs to people. Yet many training programs spend far more time on tools than on judgment, ethics, governance and critical thinking.This concern is reflected in Deloitte's “The State of Generative AI in the Enterprise” research, which found that regulatory compliance concerns, risk management challenges and the lack of governance models rank among the leading barriers to scaling AI initiatives. As organizations move beyond experimentation, the challenge is no longer simply getting employees to use AI—it is ensuring they can use it responsibly.To explore what modern AI fluency should look like, we turned to members of the Senior Executive AI Think Tank, a curated community of experts in machine learning, generative AI and enterprise transformation. Their perspectives offer a roadmap for moving beyond AI tool proficiency and building the judgment, oversight and responsible-use practices that enable organizations to create lasting value from AI.

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The race to make AI indispensable in everyday life may have found its most compelling use case: health. As Google expands Gemini-powered health coaching capabilities and AI becomes increasingly embedded in wearables, smartphones and wellness platforms, the prospect of a 24/7 personalized health assistant is moving from science fiction to consumer reality.Members of the Senior Executive AI Think Tank believe AI health assistants possess characteristics few other AI applications can match: continuous engagement, highly personal relevance and the ability to influence daily behavior. Their optimism, however, comes with significant caveats.According to a Nature Digital Medicine analysis of large language models in healthcare, AI systems are advancing rapidly across clinical and consumer health applications, but researchers argue that stronger oversight, transparency and governance are necessary to ensure safe and responsible deployment.Think Tank members largely agree that AI health assistants have the potential to become the first truly mainstream consumer AI product, but they also emphasize that widespread adoption will depend on getting the safeguards right. Their insights reveal where the greatest opportunities lie, where the biggest risks remain and what organizations must do to build systems worthy of users' trust.

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As multimodal AI moves rapidly from novelty to baseline expectation, companies are confronting a deeper challenge than simply adding new features. Users increasingly expect software to understand text, voice, images and video simultaneously, while preserving context seamlessly across every interaction. That shift is forcing organizations to rethink how products are designed, architected and differentiated.Members of the Senior Executive AI Think Tank say the next era of product competition will center less on standalone AI capabilities and more on orchestration, workflow intelligence and trust. Their insights arrive as major technology companies race to integrate multimodal capabilities into mainstream applications. Multimodal systems capable of understanding and generating across formats are becoming foundational to enterprise software strategy. At the same time, organizations are discovering that simply embedding AI into existing workflows does not automatically create better user experiences.Instead, experts argue, multimodal AI is changing the very definition of interface design. Products are evolving from static tools into adaptive systems that anticipate intent, reduce friction and collaborate more naturally with users. The insights that follow explore why multimodal AI is forcing companies to rethink everything from UX design and workflow orchestration to trust, memory and product differentiation—and what leaders must do now to stay competitive.

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The nature of teamwork is undergoing one of the most significant transformations since the rise of the digital workplace. As artificial intelligence moves from a supporting tool to an embedded collaborator, organizations are rethinking not only how work gets done, but what collaboration truly means. A widely cited report from McKinsey highlights that generative AI could automate up to 30 percent of hours worked across the U.S. economy by 2030, fundamentally reshaping roles and workflows. But this shift is not simply about efficiency—it is about redefining the human role within teams. Members of the Senior Executive AI Think Tank—a curated group of leaders specializing in machine learning, generative AI and enterprise applications—believe teams will not necessarily disappear, but will instead evolve into hybrid ecosystems where human judgment, creativity and ethical oversight intersect with AI-driven speed, scale and synthesis. The following insights explore how that evolution will unfold—and what leaders must do to stay ahead.

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The race to dominate artificial intelligence has long been framed as a contest of scale—whoever spends the most on compute, talent and data should win. But Meta’s reported delay of its “Avocado” model, alongside discussions of licensing Google’s Gemini 3 technology, signals a turning point. According to members of the Senior Executive AI Think Tank, the frontier of AI is becoming harder to sustain even for the most well-funded organizations. A recent analysis of Big Tech’s AI spending highlights how companies are pouring tens of billions into infrastructure while facing diminishing returns in performance gains—proving that capital alone is no longer enough to secure leadership. This moment raises urgent questions for executives: If even hyperscalers struggle to keep up, what does competitive advantage in AI actually look like? And where does that leave smaller companies entering the race? Below, Think Tank members attempt to answer these questions while looking toward what’s next. Together, their perspectives outline a new playbook for AI competition—one that begins with a surprising change at the very top.

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In boardrooms around the world, artificial intelligence has shifted from experimentation to execution. Enterprise leaders are no longer asking whether to deploy AI—they are asking how to scale it across jurisdictions that disagree on what “responsible” looks like. The regulatory map is anything but uniform. The European Union’s risk-based AI Act framework takes a precautionary stance, while the United States continues to rely on sector-specific oversight and executive guidance. At the same time, public trust remains fragile. According to Edelman’s 2024 Trust Barometer, a majority of global respondents report concern that innovation is moving too quickly without sufficient safeguards—an anxiety that directly affects adoption, investment and brand reputation. For AI leaders, this divergence creates both friction and opportunity. The organizations that treat ethics and governance as strategic design challenges—not compliance checklists—will be positioned to expand confidently across markets. Members of the Senior Executive AI Think Tank—a curated group of machine learning, generative AI and enterprise AI experts—argue that navigating global AI complexity requires a shift in mindset. Innovation and compliance are not opposing forces. When structured intentionally, they reinforce one another. The following strategies outline how leaders can operationalize that balance in practice.

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For many workers, learning artificial intelligence tools has quietly become “a second job”—one layered onto already full workloads, unclear expectations and rising anxiety about job security. Instead of freeing time and cognitive energy, AI initiatives often increase pressure, leaving employees feeling overworked or even disposable. A 2024 McKinsey report on generative AI adoption found that employees are more likely to experience burnout when AI tools are introduced without role redesign or workload reduction, even as productivity expectations rise. Similarly, a recent study from The Upwork Research Institute reveals that while 96% of execs expect AI to improve worker productivity, 77% of employees feel it’s only increased their workload (with an alarming 1 in 3 employees saying they will quit their jobs within the next six months due to burnout). Members of the Senior Executive AI Think Tank—a curated group of leaders in machine learning, generative AI and enterprise AI applications—note that this growing problem is not necessarily due to employee resistance or lack of technical ability, but how organizations sequence AI adoption, structure learning and communicate intent. Below, Think Tank members offer a clear roadmap for introducing AI as a system-level change—not an extracurricular obligation—to help ensure this technology empowers people rather than exhausts them.

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Internal AI assistants are quickly becoming the connective tissue of modern enterprises, answering employee questions, accelerating sales cycles and guiding operational decisions. Yet as adoption grows, a quiet risk is emerging: AI systems are only as reliable as the knowledge they consume. Members of the Senior Executive AI Think Tank—a curated group of leaders working at the forefront of enterprise AI—warn that many organizations are underestimating the complexity of managing proprietary knowledge at scale. While executives often focus on model selection or vendor strategy, accuracy failures more often stem from outdated documents, weak governance and unclear ownership of information. Research from MIT Sloan Management Review shows that generative AI tools often produce biased or inaccurate outputs because they rely on vast, unvetted datasets and that most responsible‑AI programs aren’t yet equipped to mitigate these risks—reinforcing the need for disciplined, enterprise level knowledge governance. As organizations move from experimentation to production, Think Tank members offer key strategies for rethinking how knowledge is curated, validated and secured—without institutionalizing misinformation at machine speed.

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As AI becomes inseparable from competitive strategy, executives are confronting a difficult question: Who actually owns AI? Traditional org charts, designed for slower cycles of change, often fail to clarify accountability when algorithms influence revenue, risk and brand trust simultaneously. Without oversight and clear ownership of responsibility, issues like “shadow AI” deployments that increase compliance and reputational risk can quickly get out of hand. To prevent this problem, executive teams are rethinking AI councils, Chief AI Officers and cross-functional pods as strategic infrastructure—not bureaucratic overhead. Members of the Senior Executive AI Think Tank—a curated group of leaders specializing in machine learning, generative AI and enterprise AI deployment—argue that this structure matters, but not in the way most organizations assume. Below, they break down how leading organizations are restructuring for AI: what belongs at the center, what should be embedded in the business and how executive teams can assign clear ownership without slowing innovation.

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As artificial intelligence advances at breakneck speed, the question of trust has become more urgent than ever. How do senior leaders ensure that innovation doesn’t outpace safety—and that every stakeholder, from customers to regulators and employees, retains confidence in rapidly evolving AI systems? Members of the Senior Executive AI Think Tank—a curated group of seasoned AI leaders and ethics experts—are confronting this challenge head-on. With backgrounds at Microsoft, Salesforce, Morgan Stanley and beyond, these executives are uniquely positioned to share practical, real-world strategies for building trust even in regulatory gray areas. And their insights come at a critical moment: A recent global study by KPMG found that only 46% of people worldwide are willing to trust AI systems, despite widespread adoption and optimism about AI’s benefits. That “trust gap” is more than just a perception issue—it’s a barrier to realizing AI’s full business potential. Against this backdrop, the Think Tank’s lessons are not theoretical, but actionable frameworks for leading organizations in a world where regulation lags, public concern mounts and the stakes for getting trust wrong have never been higher.

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Influence is now a core leadership skill. Award-winning authority builder Divya Parekh explains why executives need a visible voice and how to build authentic, trust-driven influence that strengthens credibility, attracts top talent, and drives meaningful impact.

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As enterprises scale their use of artificial intelligence, a subtle but potent risk is emerging: employees increasingly turning to external AI tools without oversight. According to a 2025 report by 1Password, around one in four employees is using unapproved AI technology at work. This kind of “shadow AI” challenges traditional governance, security and alignment frameworks.But should this kind of AI use be banned outright? Or can its use be harnessed to spur innovation and encourage creativity and experimentation?The Senior Executive AI Think Tank—a curated group of senior leaders specializing in machine learning, generative AI and enterprise AI applications—has pooled its collective wisdom to help organizations transform unmanaged AI usage from a hidden threat into a structured lever of innovation, enhancing speed, agility and enterprise alignment.

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As major players like OpenAI, Google, Amazon and Anthropic continue to dominate AI infrastructure, smaller businesses and startups face a growing concern: how to compete in a landscape shaped by centralized compute, model development and vast resources. Major tech firms have invested billions in foundational models and own substantial portions of the infrastructure underlying generative AI. This can make it challenging for smaller companies to not only get off the ground, but get ahead. The Senior Executive AI Think Tank brings together seasoned experts in machine learning, generative AI and enterprise AI applications who believe that smaller firms can still win—in different ways. This article explores their insights on how startups should pivot from trying to match scale to leveraging agility, domain expertise and smarter infrastructure choices.

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As enterprise AI adoption accelerates, so too does the complexity of choosing the right foundation. Should companies invest in proprietary platforms like GPT-4 or Claude, or build on open-source models such as Meta’s Llama or Mistral? The answer increasingly lies not in technical specs alone, but in how each option aligns with an organization’s cost structure, data governance needs and long-term innovation strategy. Recent research from McKinsey & Company underscores the growing momentum behind open systems: Over 50% of enterprises already report using open-source AI tools across their technology stack, and 76% expect to increase usage in the coming years. At the same time, proprietary platforms offer speed, reliability and white-glove scalability—often the shortest path to business impact. The trade-offs are real and consequential. To help executive decision-makers navigate these choices, we turned to members of the Senior Executive AI Think Tank—a group of enterprise AI, machine learning and innovation leaders who are shaping the way organizations operationalize artificial intelligence. In the sections below, they break down the pros and cons of each approach and offer actionable guidance on when to build, when to buy and how to orchestrate the right AI model strategy for your organization’s evolving needs.

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The FDA’s new generative AI tool, Elsa, could signal the start of AI-native government operations—streamlining scientific reviews, increasing public transparency, and reshaping how trust is earned in digital-era governance. But as Elsa ushers in new efficiencies, AI leaders warn: Success depends on human oversight, ethical frameworks, and explainable systems.

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AI Think Tank members explore how OpenAI’s upcoming “super-assistants” could impact daily habits, reduce mental load and enhance productivity for consumers everywhere.

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AI Think Tank members weigh in on Meta's plan to fully automate ad creation by 2026—highlighting the efficiency gains, strategic risks, and human oversight required to stay competitive and authentic.

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As AI-generated content floods every platform, how can businesses preserve authenticity and build trust? Members of the Senior Executive AI Think Tank share how they’re staying human in a sea of automation.

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AI Think Tank members predict the future of business dashboards, where natural language, predictive analytics, and strategic recommendations replace static charts and siloed metrics.

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AI hallucinations aren’t just technical glitches—they’re business risks. From brand damage to legal trouble, members of the Senior Executive AI Think Tank share what every executive needs to know about the real-world fallout of trusting unverified AI outputs.

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AI adoption is accelerating—but some of its most game-changing applications are still being underestimated. Members of the Senior Executive AI Think Tank reveal which underhyped use cases deserve executive attention right now—and why they could define the future of smart business.

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With open-source models like Mistral and Llama gaining traction, the AI landscape is shifting fast. Members of the Senior Executive AI Think Tank break down how open and proprietary platforms will compete—and coexist—over the next 12 months.

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AI agents and memory-enabled models promise enterprise transformation—capturing institutional knowledge, automating workflows and making context-rich decisions. But without robust oversight, they pose security, privacy and accountability risks. Members of the Senior Executive AI Think Tank share insights on the risks and rewards of agentic AI in business.

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What will GPT-5 change about how we work, create and connect with technology? Members of Senior Executive’s AI Think Tank share their insights into how GPT-5 could redefine reasoning, personalization and AI’s role as a truly intelligent collaborator.