Global enterprise leaders across technology, security, and operations convened at AHEAD India today, calling for a decisive shift from hype to execution in how organizations adopt artificial intelligence (AI) and approach cybersecurity.
Participants in the closed-door roundtables included Eric Kaplan (Chief Technology Officer), Donnie Lochan (Chief Information Officer), Sumed Marwaha (Managing Director, AHEAD India), Grant Sewell (Chief Security Officer) and Dave Dowsett (SVP, Enterprise AI Engineering) among other senior leaders.
A consistent theme across discussions was the need to simplify ambition and sharpen execution. As AI adoption accelerates, leaders emphasized that enterprise outcomes are increasingly shaped by operating model readiness, governance, and execution discipline, not just technology choices.
AI: From Ambition to Operating Model Execution
Leaders agreed that the next wave of enterprise AI will be defined less by experimental pilots and more by the ability to embed AI into core workflows, platforms, and decision-making systems at scale. AHEAD reiterated its focus on helping enterprises accelerate AI from strategy to production, aligning AI programs to business outcomes and integrating them into existing operating models. Executives highlighted that sustainable AI adoption depends on rethinking how work is organized, aligning accountability across teams, and building confidence through measurable outcomes over time.
People transformation emerged as a decisive factor in whether AI initiatives scale successfully. Participants underscored the importance of skills evolution, leadership alignment, and change adoption, alongside a clear emphasis on measuring business impact and prioritizing progress over perfection to sustain momentum.
Speaking on how enterprise AI adoption is evolving, Eric Kaplan, Chief Technology Officer, at AHEAD said ‘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. At AHEAD, we help organizations move from experimentation to execution by building secure, production-ready platforms and embedding AI into how work actually gets done. We focus on delivering measurable outcomes, not just experiments.
Cyber risk is continuous. With identity emerging as the control plane for both humans and machines, and the browser becoming the primary enterprise workspace, security leaders are reassessing where control and resilience must sit to support scale.
On strengthening enterprise security in an AI-driven environment, Grant Sewell, Chief Security Officer at AHEAD, said, ‘Security ultimately comes down to trust. At AHEAD, we treat security as an operating model, not a separate department, with our clients’ data at the center of everything we do. While there is a lot of hype around AI, real progress in cybersecurity comes from using AI to support human experts, improve detection, reduce risk, and work more efficiently. We help organizations follow proven security practices, run regular incident drills, and stay prepared for real-world risks like cyberattacks, cloud outages, and unauthorized use of AI.
India’s Expanding Role in Global AI and Security Execution
Across both AI and security, leaders agreed that execution now defines success. Enterprises that perform well are those that modernize platforms while strengthening governance, accountability, and operating discipline across functions.
India’s expanding role as a global hub for engineering, AI execution, and security operations was a strong point of convergence. Participants highlighted India’s strategic importance in enabling scale, consistency, and resilience across global enterprise environments, particularly for complex, always-on programs in cloud, data, AI, and cybersecurity.
AHEAD India’s growing capabilities and leadership were recognized as central to this shift bringing together integrated delivery, deep technical expertise, and 24×7 operational support to help global enterprises move from pilots to production-grade AI and security outcomes.
Through this global leadership engagement, AHEAD reinforced its commitment to helping enterprises modernise core technology stacks across cloud, data, AI, and security so innovation can scale responsibly, securely, and with measurable business impact.
