Keynote SpeakersDr Ayesha Khanna is the Co-Founder and CEO of Addo, a global artificial intelligence (AI) solutions firm headquartered in Singapore and San Francisco.
Ayesha has been a strategic advisor on artificial intelligence, smart cities and the Metaverse to leading corporations and governments worldwide.
In 2017, Addo was featured in Forbes magazine as one of four leading artificial intelligence companies in Asia. Ayesha was named one of Southeast Asia’s groundbreaking female entrepreneurs by Forbes magazine in 2018.
Addo’s clients have included SMRT, Singapore’s most prominent public transport company; Mercy, one of the largest hospital networks in the United States; Singtel, Singapore’s largest telco; SOMPO, Japan’s largest insurance firm; Habib Bank, Pakistan’s largest bank; and Smart Dubai, the government agency tasked to transform Dubai into a leading smart city.
Before founding Addo, Ayesha spent over a decade on Wall Street developing large-scale trading, risk management and data analytics systems for leading financial institutions.
Ayesha serves on the board of AVEVA Group, a British FTSE 100 multinational technology firm that is a global leader in industrial software. She also serves on the board of NEOM Tech and Digital Holding Company, responsible for formulating the vision and delivery of the technology infrastructure (which includes AI, robotics, blockchain, and virtual reality) for NEOM, the $500 billion smart city under development in Saudi Arabia. Ayesha also serves on the global Scientific Advisory Board of L’Oreal, the world’s largest cosmetics company. She advises on the future of new technologies, disruptive innovations and changing consumer preferences. Ayesha is an active advisor and board member to companies and smart city projects.
Ayesha serves on the board of Ngee Ann Polytechnic, a leading polytechnic in Singapore with 44 full-time programs through 9 academic schools and a student population of almost 15,000. She is also a member of the board of Sport Singapore, the lead government agency tasked with developing a holistic sports culture for the nation.
From 2018-2022, Ayesha served on the board of the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), the Singapore government agency that develops and regulates its world-class technology sector to drive the country’s digital economy and power its Smart Nation vision. In 2014, Ayesha was a member of Singapore’s Ministry of Education’s steering committee, which resulted in Skills Future. This innovative national program aligns education with economic demand, career guidance and lifelong learning to prepare citizens for the fourth industrial revolution.
Ayesha is the Founder of 21C GIRLS (21st Century Girls), a charity that delivers free coding and artificial intelligence classes to girls in Singapore. Programs include Code in the Community, a program sponsored by Google that has taught thousands of children (8-14 yrs) coding, and Empower, which has partnered with Ngee Ann Polytechnic to teach girls (18-24 yrs) the basics of artificial intelligence. Ayesha is also the Founder of Squad, a global collective for women who want to learn, build and invest in the Metaverse and Web3.
Ayesha is the author of Straight Through Processing (2008) and co-author of Hybrid Reality: Thriving in the Emerging Human-Technology Civilization (2012). She has been published and quoted on technology, innovation and smart cities in The New York Times, BusinessWeek, TIME, Newsweek, Forbes, Harvard Business Review, Strategy+Business, and Foreign Policy.
Ayesha was featured in ZDF’s (Germany’s largest TV channel) documentary on twelve “Leading Women” around the world (2019). She has been named one of Singapore’s leading women in tech (Singapore Computer Society). She has been recently profiled for her work in artificial intelligence in leading publications, including Neue Zürcher Zeitung (Switzerland), Focus Magazin (Germany), Corriere Della Sera (Italy), Dagens Næringsliv (Norway), Lëtzebuerger Journal (Luxembourg), Computer Sweden (Sweden), Information Age (Nordics), Peak (Singapore), and In The Black (Australia).
Ayesha has a BA (honours) in Economics from Harvard University, an MS in Operations Research from Columbia University, and a PhD in Information Systems (focused on digital innovation in smart cities) from the London School of Economics.
Dr Ayesha Khanna Speaker
Dr Ayesha Khanna is a sought-after keynote speaker for the world’s largest global companies, governments, and industry associations on artificial intelligence (AI), smart cities and innovation.
Ayesha has presented at major financial, technology, and other industry conferences, provided high-level government briefings, chaired symposiums such as AI Asia and spoken at TEDx events.
She is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Councils, a community of international experts who provide thought leadership on the impact and governance of emerging technologies.
Speaking topics include:
Winning with AI: How to Innovative Leaders Drive Growth
AI has been called one of the most important technologies of our time. But what is the reality behind the hype? With some of the world’s most recognized companies as her clients, Dr Khanna provides insights into how innovative firms embrace data and machine learning to leapfrog competitors and win new customers. She also provides recommendations for how your firm can accelerate its AI journey and use AI responsibly to engender trust amongst consumers and investors.
The Future of Work: How to Amplify Human Potential in the Fourth Industrial Revolution
AI, robotics, additive manufacturing, AR/VR, quantum computing, and gene editing are among the revolutionary technologies disrupting every industry in the world. What do they mean for the future of work and jobs? Dr Khanna takes you on a journey through the main forces that will reshape the corporate world and labour markets, emphasizing how each sector can leverage these breakthroughs to make workers more productive, innovative, and empathetic. This process of human-technology co-evolution will forever change how we view the global economy and our role in it.
Smart Cities 2.0: The Future of How We Will Work, Play and Live
New technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things, and robotics can offer urban businesses and citizens higher quality, more productive, and more sustainable lifestyles. The critical shift is from centralized, top-down models to an ecosystem approach that includes corporate and civic stakeholders, especially digital native and data-driven companies. With a PhD in information systems focused on smart cities, Dr Khanna delivers a comprehensive assessment of case studies and best practices for effectively implementing and being part of the Smart Cities 2.0 paradigm.
Top Ten Trends that will Affect Your Industry
AI-driven automation, edge computing, industrial and nano-robotics, and human enhancement are some prominent trends that will significantly impact all industries in the coming 5-10 years. Using illuminating case studies, Dr Khanna discusses how these accelerating technologies will disrupt business models and operations and open up new opportunities to lift your firm to new heights. With experience advising some of the world’s largest corporations on data-driven digital transformation and innovation, Dr Khanna highlights the key technologies you must include in your strategic planning for the decade beyond.
The Disruptive Force of the Next Internet: Are you ready for Crypto, The Metaverse and Web3?
A tsunami of digital disruption is coming our way and will drive the next iteration of the internet will emerge. Dr Khanna explains the new digital architecture that will revolutionize how we live and do business, explaining concepts like the Metaverse, digital currencies and crypto, and the hot buzzword Web3. By connecting the technologies with real-world applications, Dr Khanna shows that these trends are not hype but will create enormous opportunities for creators and businesses to build products and reach consumers.
