Companies Seek AI-Skilled C-Suite Leaders, Not Just Techies

Not just techies, companies want C-suite leaders too to have AI skills

Bengaluru: As artificial intelligence becomes ubiquitous, companies are trying to ensure that their top leaders, not just operational employees, are skilled in the technology. Some of them are rolling out certification programmes with top universities like Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford for their top executives, while several others are holding bootcamps and having peer knowledge-sharing initiatives and tailored learning roadmaps to ensure that the leaders understand AI's implications on strategy and talent, and its uses and regulations across industries. Professional services firm Genpact is building a core artificial intelligence focus to foster expertise and innovation by training CEOs and other top executives. As much as 85% of its senior leaders are expected to undergo certification from institutions like MIT by the end of 2024 in applied AI leadership, or the use of AI in a business setting, said country manager Piyush Mehta. "For our leaders, it was a rush as to who would be first to get the training. This includes our CFO, and general counsel who went through the first batch," he said. "So, when you look at the people who've gone through AI training, it's not only the business people, it's not only the techies, it is the biggest leaders in the company." Apart from the leaders, more than 100,000 Genpact employees are actively learning foundational generational AI -- 70,000 have completed entry-level training, and 18,000 have finished more advanced work. ET also spoke with engineering giant Larsen & Toubro, IT services provider Infosys, multinational professional company Accenture and American business software firm Intuit about their initiatives to upskill top executives in AI. At L&T, which has implemented internet of things in 15,000 of its plants and machinery, and runs deep geospatial engineering through drones, AI is the bedrock for future business improvements, said R Ganesan, head of corporate centre at L&T Construction. CXOs at the company are learning and adapting to the technology through two platforms, he said. L&T EYE is a real-time business KPI dashboard, while the second platform, L&T Cognitive Services, is for data science and AI, including GenAI, Ganesan said. Infosys is encouraging C-suite leaders to apply artificial intelligence and advanced analytics to drive enterprise-scale value for clients, said Shaji Mathew, group head, human resource development. "This means getting better at everything ranging from sizing the AI opportunity and gauging data needs, to being able to determine how to implement AI responsibly and learning the best practices across industries. Infosys Wingspan plays a pivotal role in this upskilling journey, offering curated content and hands-on sessions that cover technical aspects, responsible AI, and AI case studies," Mathew added. Business leaders at the company also benefit from the Infosys Leadership Institute's curated programme on AI: AI Applications for Growth. Offered in partnership with Kellogg Institute, this programme is focused on AI-powered business applications and their implications. Accenture has rolled out a leader learning roadmap that covers capabilities like digital fluency, enterprise-wide governance, cross-functional collaboration, ecosystem partnerships, human-centred change management and people leadership. This, the company says, helps leaders understand the fundamentals of GenAI, and how to scale it across the enterprise, reinvent work and reshape the workforce, unlock people's potential, and adopt AI responsibly. "We have partnerships with Stanford University, MIT, UC Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon University, and the Alan Turing Institute to enable learning for our senior executives and leaders in data, AI, and adjacent roles," said Lakshmi C, lead of human resources, Accenture in India. Intuit's AI Adoption Accelerator Programme for leaders helps them upskill themselves in mindset training, practical skills and engineering for innovation, the company said. Some are also independently pursuing AI courses, as well as participating in in-person bootcamps and internal programmes. Beeline for edtech platforms Edtech platforms are seeing a rise in enrolments from CXOs for AI courses. Earlier this year, Coursera launched the GenAI Academy, aimed at corporate executives. One of the focus areas of this programme is executive education for strategic decision-making. Enrolments by CXOs in AI-related courses have gone up by 300% in the April-June quarter of 2024 as compared to a year earlier. Simplilearn said the edtech firm has seen a 10-18% increase in learner enrolments across AI programmes for CXOs, compared with a 5-8% rise in CXO enrolments for general programmes. This can be attributed to the advent of disruptive technologies like AI and a growing interest among leaders in understanding these technologies to drive better business outcomes, cofounder Kashyap Dalal said. The top sectors where CXOs are undertaking upskilling include IT, banking, and consulting, he said.

Not just techies, companies want C-suite leaders too to have AI skills

Bengaluru: As artificial intelligence becomes ubiquitous, companies are trying to ensure that their top leaders, not just operational employees, are skilled in the technology. Some of them are rolling out certification programmes with top universities like Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford for their top executives, while several others are holding bootcamps and having peer knowledge-sharing initiatives and tailored learning roadmaps to ensure that the leaders understand AI's implications on strategy and talent, and its uses and regulations across industries. Professional services firm Genpact is building a core artificial intelligence focus to foster expertise and innovation by training CEOs and other top executives. As much as 85% of its senior leaders are expected to undergo certification from institutions like MIT by the end of 2024 in applied AI leadership, or the use of AI in a business setting, said country manager Piyush Mehta. "For our leaders, it was a rush as to who would be first to get the training. This includes our CFO, and general counsel who went through the first batch," he said. "So, when you look at the people who've gone through AI training, it's not only the business people, it's not only the techies, it is the biggest leaders in the company." Apart from the leaders, more than 100,000 Genpact employees are actively learning foundational generational AI -- 70,000 have completed entry-level training, and 18,000 have finished more advanced work. ET also spoke with engineering giant Larsen & Toubro, IT services provider Infosys, multinational professional company Accenture and American business software firm Intuit about their initiatives to upskill top executives in AI. At L&T, which has implemented internet of things in 15,000 of its plants and machinery, and runs deep geospatial engineering through drones, AI is the bedrock for future business improvements, said R Ganesan, head of corporate centre at L&T Construction. CXOs at the company are learning and adapting to the technology through two platforms, he said. L&T EYE is a real-time business KPI dashboard, while the second platform, L&T Cognitive Services, is for data science and AI, including GenAI, Ganesan said. Infosys is encouraging C-suite leaders to apply artificial intelligence and advanced analytics to drive enterprise-scale value for clients, said Shaji Mathew, group head, human resource development. "This means getting better at everything ranging from sizing the AI opportunity and gauging data needs, to being able to determine how to implement AI responsibly and learning the best practices across industries. Infosys Wingspan plays a pivotal role in this upskilling journey, offering curated content and hands-on sessions that cover technical aspects, responsible AI, and AI case studies," Mathew added. Business leaders at the company also benefit from the Infosys Leadership Institute's curated programme on AI: AI Applications for Growth. Offered in partnership with Kellogg Institute, this programme is focused on AI-powered business applications and their implications. Accenture has rolled out a leader learning roadmap that covers capabilities like digital fluency, enterprise-wide governance, cross-functional collaboration, ecosystem partnerships, human-centred change management and people leadership. This, the company says, helps leaders understand the fundamentals of GenAI, and how to scale it across the enterprise, reinvent work and reshape the workforce, unlock people's potential, and adopt AI responsibly. "We have partnerships with Stanford University, MIT, UC Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon University, and the Alan Turing Institute to enable learning for our senior executives and leaders in data, AI, and adjacent roles," said Lakshmi C, lead of human resources, Accenture in India. Intuit's AI Adoption Accelerator Programme for leaders helps them upskill themselves in mindset training, practical skills and engineering for innovation, the company said. Some are also independently pursuing AI courses, as well as participating in in-person bootcamps and internal programmes. Beeline for edtech platforms Edtech platforms are seeing a rise in enrolments from CXOs for AI courses. Earlier this year, Coursera launched the GenAI Academy, aimed at corporate executives. One of the focus areas of this programme is executive education for strategic decision-making. Enrolments by CXOs in AI-related courses have gone up by 300% in the April-June quarter of 2024 as compared to a year earlier. Simplilearn said the edtech firm has seen a 10-18% increase in learner enrolments across AI programmes for CXOs, compared with a 5-8% rise in CXO enrolments for general programmes. This can be attributed to the advent of disruptive technologies like AI and a growing interest among leaders in understanding these technologies to drive better business outcomes, cofounder Kashyap Dalal said. The top sectors where CXOs are undertaking upskilling include IT, banking, and consulting, he said.