Rajeev Pai, a seasoned IT consultant from Deloitte, shares his expert perspective on modern technology leadership. He discusses the rise of “AI-native” companies, the importance of a governed “innovation funnel,” and the evolution of the CIO into an “enterprise orchestrator.”
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Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:
- A Leader’s Skill is Building People, Not Products: The tech executive’s role has evolved from being the best engineer to being a “multiplier” and “connector” who invests in finding and developing talent.
- Embrace a “Pay It Forward” Ethos: A true leader doesn’t just hire rockstars; they build them by providing opportunities to up-and-coming talent, paying forward the chances they once received.
- Translate Tech into Business Value: To overcome resistance to innovation, stop talking about the technology itself and start communicating its value in a language the entire business—from the C-suite to legal—can understand.
Can you please tell us about yourself and your role?
I have been in the IT industry for about 23 years, primarily in the consulting world with a focus on technology consulting for financial services clients. My career started with a 17-year stint at Accenture, followed by two years at HSBC in the bank’s internal consulting practice.
I have worked in India, the US, and the UK. Last year, I moved from the UK to the Middle East to join Deloitte, where I continue to work with clients in this region.
What challenges are you currently facing in the IT landscape?
As a consultant working with CIOs and CTOs, the key challenge has always been making technology work for the business. That is a constant. Another constant is managing tech disruptions.
Specifically, in this age of AI, the main thing CIOs and CTOs are grappling with is how to adopt AI and demonstrate its value to the business. As an enterprise architect, I work with these leaders to solve these problems, whether the disruption is cloud, data, or now, AI.
How do you think the IT sector will evolve in the next three to five years?
Technology has evolved through increasing levels of abstraction, from on-premise infrastructure to cloud services like IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS. The next stage of this evolution is AI.
For existing organisations, the challenge will be to redefine how they invest in technology, marrying new AI capabilities with the legacy systems they can’t just throw away.
Beyond that, we will see a new breed of companies that I would term “AI-native,” just as the last decade gave rise to cloud-native companies. These new businesses will be built on AI from the ground up, likely on the cloud, and will shape the next wave of innovation.
How is the regulatory environment changing, and how are IT leaders navigating these shifts?
Regulators are typically a few steps behind emerging technologies because it’s a complex landscape with many stakeholders. However, in greenfield regions like the Middle East, we are seeing regulators moving almost neck-and-neck with innovation.
Going forward, regulations will have an extremely high focus on AI ethics, governance, explainability, data privacy, and security. The potential for AI to be misused if not governed the right way is huge, so these four areas will be critical.
How do you balance the need for innovation with the demand for stability and security?
This is where strong technology governance comes in. Firstly, an organisation needs a clear prioritisation framework that is aligned with the business strategy. This ensures you are not spreading yourself too thin and are focusing on the areas that matter most.
Secondly, you should use what I call an “innovation funnel.” Start with a proof-of-concept or a pilot for any new technology. You can then use beta testing with a reference set of users to assess the risk. Only once you are convinced that the innovation is safe, aligned with business values, and compliant should you promote it to production.
How do you approach mentoring and developing the next generation of leaders within your IT team?
In an environment with a high pace of disruption, a culture of continuous learning is essential, and that is something we embed in our organisation’s DNA. This learning must be multidisciplinary.
Technology skills in AI and data are very important, but a large part of solving problems for clients involves understanding their culture and business. This requires soft skills, leadership skills, and the ability to think critically. We make sure our training processes address this full, multidisciplinary set of skills needed to thrive today.
What’s the one question all CTOs should be asking themselves today?
In the past, IT was often seen as a support function. Today, technology is the heart of every business. While this is a fact, many organisational cultures still don’t fully appreciate it, and we still see CIOs and CTOs not getting a seat at the main table.
Given this, the question a CTO should be asking every day is: “How can I clearly articulate the value my organisation is delivering to the business?”
This question leads to the concept of the CIO or CTO as an orchestrator for the enterprise. They are in a unique position to connect all the technology investments happening in silos across the business and harness the maximum value from them. They should think of themselves as managing the “nerve centre” of the organisation and make the case for the right investments to keep the business at the forefront.
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