“The council brings together some of the world’s leading experts in key strategic and emerging technology areas. The council will provide independent outside-in insights, challenge current thinking, bring frontier insights, helping us sharpen our technology focus and make it relevant for our clients,” said Infosys’ chief technology officer, Rafee Tarafdar, in an internal mail to employees. ET has reviewed the email.
Among the council members are four global thought leaders–cybersecurity expert Chris Painter, cognitive psychologist and founding director of Human Interaction Lab at Stanford University, Jeremy Bailenson, AI strategist and principal research scientist at MIT Sloan Center for Information Systems Research, Barbara Wixom, and founder of Exponential View Azeem Azhar, according to a person privy to the development.
The Bengaluru-based IT major’s management is understood to have initiated discussions with each expert to devise models and joint technology plans.
The council will also advise on monetisable research opportunities, help identify new collaboration models, and connect Infosys to global innovation ecosystems.
The initiative will also influence both internal strategy and client-facing offerings, including Living Labs, a program led by Infosys Center for Emerging Technology Solutions (iCETS), and help create innovative solutions for its clients.
Painter is also the president of the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise Foundation and chairs the risk committee at the Centre for Internet Security, while Azhar is a visiting fellow at Oxford University and executive fellow at Harvard Business School.