Meet The 10 Gen AI Leaders Revolutionizing The Telecom Sector

What’s inside?

• Top-ranked AI leaders in all sectors — Who’s climbing, who’s falling

• AI in action — No hype, just real wins

• Tips & trends — Stay sharp, stay ahead

Abhishek Singh is the SVP and Head of Data and AI at Bharti Airtel. He’s the guy driving data engineering and AI efforts, making Airtel smarter. His focus? Using AI to boost services and streamline operations.

Before Airtel, he held big roles in tech. Helped push forward data analytics and AI. And he is the main reason for Airtel’s digital shift. Always looking for fresh, innovative ways to improve customer experience.

In telecom, Abhishek is a major player. He’s shaping how AI and data fit into the industry. Pushing boundaries. Keeping up with fast-changing market needs.

Andrew Pavliv is a tech game-changer. Entrepreneur. Investor. Visionary. Built N-iX from the ground up. Took it from a small startup to a global software powerhouse.

He’s the guy with the big ideas. The one steering the ship. Making sure N-iX isn’t just another tech company, but a partner that actually transforms businesses.

Andrew’s all about strategy. About real impact. About creating solutions that matter. Under his leadership, N-iX doesn’t just keep up; it leads.

Lumen Technologies, formerly known as CenturyLink. It is a big player in the telecom world. It is based in Monroe, Louisiana. Kate Johnson runs the show at Lumen. She’s the CEO and President. Also sits on the board.

She’s all about shaking things up. A powerhouse in business tech. Big moves. Big wins. Spent over 20 years driving digital transformation at Fortune 100 giants. She’s got the strategy, the go-to-market smarts, and the bold vision to push innovation forward.

Kate isn’t about sticking to old playbooks. She believes in unlearning. Rethinking. Creating space for new ideas. That’s what sets Lumen apart.

She stepped into Lumen in 2022. Before that? Ran the game at Microsoft, GE Digital, and Oracle. Also took on leadership roles at Red Hat, UBS, and Deloitte.

Kristjan leads the whole workforce as the founder of MindTitan. He has spent over five years studying and working on machine-learning projects. After earning a Master’s Degree in Computer Science and Machine Learning, he joined Milrem Robotics as Team Lead for Autonomous Vehicles, helping develop self-driving technology.

He also has experience building intelligent systems for data centers, robots, and electric vehicles. His expertise includes computer vision and image recognition. Kristjan is especially interested in how experts from different industries use data science to uncover insights and drive innovation.

Sumit Khanna serves as the head of product development in AI, R&D, and Solution Engineering at Netcracker Technology. With over 22 years of experience, Sumit Khanna specializes in solving complex business problems using Data Science, AI/ML, and Cloud Technologies. His expertise lies at the intersection of Applied AI, Generative AI, Cloud, NLP, Computer Vision, and Microservices.

Throughout his career, he has led multi-regional teams and driven digital transformation initiatives that create real business impact. He takes a hands-on approach to building scalable solutions, combining AI/ML, full-stack development, and cloud technologies to accelerate innovation and improve efficiency.

As Group Director of AI and CVM at Vodafone, Daniel Ramirez Cano leads a team of data and AI experts who develop innovative solutions for customer value management, marketing, and product development across Vodafone’s markets.

With over 20 years of experience in advanced analytics, AI, and machine learning, he has a strong track record of driving business growth, improving customer satisfaction, and enhancing operational efficiency through data-driven strategies.

He has successfully led AI projects in industries such as retail, telecom, and health, using cutting-edge technologies. His achievements include increasing customer retention and loyalty by 25%, optimizing marketing and pricing by 15%, and launching AI-powered products that generate new revenue and improve customer experiences.

Shyam Prabhakar Mardikar is the Group Chief Technology Officer - Mobility at Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited. Born in Jabalpur, he studied at various schools across Madhya Pradesh, including Holy Cross Convent in Raipur, Miss Hill School in Gwalior, and St. Xavier's in Surguja. He earned a Bachelor's degree in Telecommunications Engineering from Jabalpur Engineering College.

Shyam began his career in 1994 as a software research engineer at C-DOT. He later held key roles at Airtel, including operational and management positions. He also served as Deputy General Manager in India's Department of Telecommunications and was a member of GSMA’s executive management committee.

While discussing telecom-managed services during his time at Airtel, he famously said, “Telecom sells like fish,” emphasizing that operators find it more cost-effective to hire experts to handle operations while they focus on marketing.

Dr. Yue Wang is the Chief Expert at China Telecom. Before this, she held leadership, strategy, and research roles in the US and UK. At Samsung Research UK, she led 6G Research and later Advanced Network Research. She drove strategy, innovation, and R&D in areas like AI-native networks, system architecture, and O-RAN.

Yue is a globally recognized expert in 5G, 6G, and AI for telecom. She chairs the UKTIN AI Expert Working Group, analyzing AI’s impact on telecom technology, business shifts, and innovation. She has led major European projects, holds numerous patents, and speaks at top industry events like MWC and TMF DTW.

She has played a key role in multiple SDOs, including ETSI ENI, O-RAN WG3, and nGRG. From 2017 to 2019, she served as Secretary and Rapporteur for ETSI ENI. Her outstanding contributions earned her the ETSI ENI Award in 2019. In 2023, she became an assessor for O-RAN nGRG. Yue earned her PhD from the University of Victoria, Canada.

Mahesh Ram is an entrepreneur and tech leader focused on building platforms that streamline operations and drive positive outcomes. He has founded and led three cloud-based software companies, all of which became market leaders.

His most recent venture, Solvvy, became a top Conversational AI SaaS platform for Customer Experience (CX) and Support automation, serving some of the world's biggest brands.

In May 2022, Zoom (NASDAQ: ZM) acquired Solvvy, and Mahesh now leads Digital Customer Experience at Zoom. Before Solvvy, he founded GlobalEnglish, an online learning solution for language acquisition, which served over 450 Global 2000 companies before being acquired by Pearson PLC. Beyond his role at Solvvy and Zoom, Mahesh advises and invests in select startups, working closely with talented founders to drive innovation.

Elena Fersman is a VP at Ericsson, leading the Global AI Accelerator and heading the Silicon Valley site. She oversees a team spread across the U.S., Sweden, India, and Canada.

She’s a docent and adjunct professor in Cyber-Physical Systems at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, focusing on automation. Elena holds a PhD in Computer Science from Uppsala University, an MBA from St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, and completed a postdoc at University Paris-Saclay.

At Ericsson, she’s held roles in product management and research leadership. She served on the Board of Directors for RISE Research Institutes of Sweden (2019-2022) and is a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences. Elena is also a prolific innovator, co-authoring over 50 patent families.

Gen Matrix report is just the beginning!

Firstly, kudos to all the rankers. We never miss out on recognizing the contributions of leaders to the AI world. This report isn’t just numbers, but there’s more to it. It is packed with the latest AI updates, experts’ insights, and rankings.

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