On March 1, 2024, the Mona School of Business & Management (MSBM) hosted an exclusive CEO event titled "Leveraging AI for Corporate Transformation" at the Terra Nova hotel. This event, part of MSBM's prestigious CEO Roundtable series, aimed to equip CEOs with key insights into harnessing the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for business growth and transformation.
The event featured a captivating keynote address delivered by Anand Mahurkar, founder and CEO of Findability Sciences, a leading AI, Cognitive Computing, and machine learning firm based in Boston. With a distinguished background, including serving on the IBM Watson Ecosystem Partner Advisory Board and being recognized as the Big Data hero by IBM Magazine in 2014, Mahurkar brought invaluable expertise to the discussion.
During his address, Mahurkar emphasized the significance of embracing AI technologies, stating, "Machine learning is here to stay, and you need to get on the train now, before AI overtakes you." He elucidated the difference between generative AI, exemplified by models like Chat GPT, and discriminative AI, which identifies patterns and makes predictions based on existing data. Mahurkar highlighted the latter's relevance for product managers in understanding customer behavior, preferences, and predicting market trends.
The keynote address was followed by a panel of local IT luminaries, moderated by Dr. Maurice McNaughton, Director of MSBM’s Centre of Excellence and Innovation. Panelists included Christopher Reckord, IT Consultant and Digital Transformation Advisor, also Chairman of the National AI Taskforce and the Data Protection Oversight Committee; Egbert von Frankenberg, Chairman of the Global Services Skills Board and co-founder and CEO of Knightfox App Design Ltd. and Dwight Scott, CEO and Chief Revenue Officer of Orba Technology Holdings. The panel focused on the readiness of the Jamaican business environment for digital transformation and pointed to some key enabling legislation being put in place, such as the Data Protection Act and National ID system (NIDS).
Dr. David McBean, Executive Director of MSBM, underscored the importance of AI adoption for today's CEOs, stating, "Today's CEOs must understand the fundamentals of AI and how to incorporate this relatively new and evolving technology into improving the efficiency and effectiveness of their business, or they will be left behind.” He further stated “MSBM is committed to raising awareness and adoption of cutting edge technologies such as AI, which will serve to improve business efficiency and enhance job quality” as he emphasized the opportunity for Jamaican CEOs to leverage AI early with the support of MSBM's Centre of Excellence & Innovation, which has developed a Digital Maturity Assessment tool to determine how ready a company is for digital transformation.
The event provided an invaluable platform for CEOs to gain insights into the practical applications of AI for corporate transformation. Attendees left with a deeper understanding of how AI can drive innovation, improve decision-making processes, and enhance overall business performance.
For more information about MSBM's CEO Roundtable series and upcoming events, please visit https://www.mona.uwi.edu/msbm/professional-services-unit
For further information contact
Diane Edwards
Professional Services Unit
Mona School of Business & Management