Closed‑door leadership roundtables emphasise operating model readiness, security discipline, and India’s rising role in enterprise‑scale AI adoption
Global enterprise leaders convening at AHEAD India have called for a decisive shift from hype to execution in how organisations adopt artificial intelligence (AI) and strengthen cybersecurity. Senior technology, security, and operations executives including Eric Kaplan (CTO), Donnie Lochan (CIO), Sumed Marwaha (Managing Director, AHEAD India), Grant Sewell (Chief Security Officer) and Dave Dowsett (SVP, Enterprise AI Engineering) participated in closed-door roundtables focused on aligning AI and security strategy with real‑world enterprise outcomes.
A consistent theme throughout the discussions was the need to simplify ambition and sharpen execution. Leaders agreed that the next wave of enterprise AI will be defined not by experimental pilots but by the ability to embed AI into core workflows, platforms, and decision‑making systems.
Kaplan underscored that AI success hinges on integration, not experimentation.
“Enterprise AI only works when it is tied to a real business problem and deployed at scale. Many pilots fail because they sit on the side instead of being integrated into core systems and workflows. We focus on delivering measurable outcomes, not just experiments,” he said.
The discussions reiterated that people transformation skills evolution, leadership alignment, and organisational change remains as critical as technology strategy. Leaders emphasized that sustainable AI adoption demands clear accountability, governance, and an operating model capable of absorbing AI‑driven change.
On the cybersecurity front, experts agreed that identity is becoming the new control plane for both humans and machines, while the browser increasingly defines the enterprise workspace. Sewell highlighted the need for operational resilience in an AI‑intensive environment.
“Security ultimately comes down to trust. At AHEAD, we treat security as an operating model, not a separate department. Real progress comes from using AI to support human experts, improve detection, and reduce risk,” he said.
Participants also recognized India’s expanding role as a global hub for engineering, AI execution, and always‑on security operations. AHEAD India’s integrated delivery capabilities, deep technical expertise, and 24×7 operational model were cited as critical enablers for helping global enterprises scale AI and security responsibly.
AHEAD reaffirmed its commitment to helping enterprises modernise cloud, data, AI and security foundations ensuring innovation scales responsibly, securely, and with measurable business impact.