Host: Romily Broad – NODE
Guest: Rajiv Shesh – Corporate Vice President, HCLTech & Chief Revenue Officer, HCLSoftware
In this episode of the NODE podcast, we welcome Rajiv Shesh, Corporate Vice President of HCLTech and Chief Revenue Officer for HCLSoftware.
Rajiv’s leadership experience at the forefront of technology extends over decades. He has witnessed and been directly involved in the major tech-driven transformations of our world since the 1970s, and is now leading one of the world’s most important companies in the midst of the latest seismic shift: artificial intelligence.
From his early fascination with AI during his engineering days to his current role at HCLTech, Rajiv offers a uniquely well informed perspective on the impact of AI across the thousands of companies his company serves.
AI has rapidly evolved from an academic curiosity into a practical tool that is already becoming integral to business operations. We delve into the expectations and attitudes of HCLTech’s customers towards AI, with Rajiv highlighting the varying levels of optimism and concern among them. While some are excited about AI’s potential for hyper-personalisation, others are worried about job displacement. To the latter he says: AI can drive innovation and profit and, when a company grows, it hires rather than fires.
Rajiv also shares his thoughts on the skills needed in the age of AI, be that among workers being asked to adapt or the next generation. He stresses the importance of ‘learning to learn’, with a focus on math and language, as well as the value of social skills, team sports, and an appreciation for the arts.
In the age of AI, he says, humans will need to perform at higher levels of creativity and innovation and will be more liberated to do so.
