Sol Rashidi
- Former Chief Data/Analytics/AI Officer @ Fortune 100s
- Top 100 AI Thought Leaders
- Global 100 Power List
- 50 Most Powerful Women in Tech
- 10 Patents
Travels From
Florida
Sol Rashidi Speaker Biography
With a pivotal role in launching IBM’s Watson in 2011, a groundbreaking application of Artificial Intelligence on a global scale, Sol Rashidi has consistently been a trailblazer in the ideation, conceptualization, design, and development of Data & AI applications. Boasting over three dozen large-scale implementations and a remarkable record, Sol holds eight granted patents, with 21 filed, and has garnered numerous prestigious awards, including being recognized as one of the “Top 100 AI People” in 2023.
Sol’s impact is evident in her presence on the “Global 100 Power List” for consecutive years (2021, 2022, 2023), recognition as one of the “Top 20 CDOs Globally” in 2022, and being named “Chief Analytics Officer of the Year” in 2022. Further, she earned the “Isomer Innovators of the Year” award for three consecutive years (2021, 2022, 2023) and has been acknowledged as one of the “Top 100 Innovators in Data & Analytics” from 2020 to 2023. Adding to her achievements, Sol was listed among the “Top 100 Women in Business” in 2022.
Her other accolades include: “Top 75 Innovators of 2023,” “Top 65 Most Influential Women in 2023,” and earning the title of “Forbes AI Maverick of the 21st Century” in 2022. Additionally, she has been honored with the “Top 10 Global Women in AI & Data” award in 2023, the “Top AI 100 Award” in 2023, and inclusion in the “50 Most Powerful Women in Tech” in 2022.
Throughout her career, Sol has held significant C-Suite positions in Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies, including roles such as Chief Analytics Officer at Estee Lauder, Chief Data & Analytics Officer at Merck Pharmaceuticals, EVP and Chief Data Officer at Sony Music, Chief Data & AI Officer at Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, and Senior Partner leading the Digital & Innovation Practice at Ernst & Young. Her impactful tenure at IBM as Partner leading Watson Go-To-Market further solidifies her expertise in the field.
Now serving as an advisor, consultant, and fractional CDO & CAIO, Sol is dedicated to assisting companies in advancing their business objectives. As a global keynote speaker, she leverages her technical expertise and storytelling abilities to articulate the business value of data, AI, and technology. Her Amazon bestselling book, Your AI Survival Guide: Scraped Knees, Bruised Elbows, and Lessons Learned from Real-World AI Deployments, is made for business leaders without a technology background. Sol’s hallmark is simplifying the complex and helping leaders realize that innovation doesn’t always require cutting-edge solutions but often involves cutting through the noise.
The New Workforce of the Future, the AI + Human Workforce
As some employees adopt AI, while others resist it, AI will undoubtedly be a part of a company fabric no matter what scale of AI you’re deploying and it will come in various forms, the adoption of AI Agents, AI Models, and/or embedded AI systems (like Microsofts co-pilot, Salesforce, Snowflake, etc). What should you do to prepare for this human +AI workforce integration? What should you look out for? What assumptions won’t hold true? How should your HR, Leadership, and Middle-Management teams proactively plan for whats to come in the next 1-3 years.
Your New Organizational Operating Model after AI
The goal of AI is to amplify and accelerate what we do best in order to do MORE with the SAME (not less). So how do you prepare your organization model post-launch? What is the new Operating Model after deployment? What considerations and assumptions do you need to know NOW to achieve your ROI, establish a regenerative growth model, and drive “Catalytic commerce” – where AI as an enabler that creates compounding value generation vs. taking a one-time slingshot approach with barely any returns.
AI: Fact or Fiction
Geared for Non-Technologists who want to make sense of the AI world and what it entails, this conversation gets past the ‘Art of the Possible’ and into the ‘World of the Practical’. A majority of us aren’t technologist, so its important to understand what all this means today, for the future, and how to best be prepare for it personally and professionally. It also discusses the hype, the marketing, whats fact vs. fiction, and how to tell the difference.
The Good, the Bad, and the Not So Ugly sides of Innovation
While many companies strive to be innovative, nearly 76% of all innovation projects fail and nearly 92% fall short of expected results. This conversation focuses on how to avoid the pitfalls and quicksand of innovation and why BUSINESS VALUE is not the metric of choice when choosing your innovation projects. It also discusses, how to make sense of the new world of CXO’s where the boundaries of technology have expanded past the CIO. How should one think through the division of labor, motivating a work force that can be apprehensive or resistant towards the latest advents of today, and how to forecast innovation projects.
Enterprise Data: Why all the FUSS
Many organizations are focused on being ‘Data Centric’, ‘Data Driven’, and monetizing on data because its the new enterprise oil. However, most organizations fail to make the pivot, with nearly 73% of organizations fall short of what they set out to accomplish with their data strategy. This discussion will go into all the reasons ‘Why’, and what we can do to course correct, evangelize, and create a movement that will build a last legacy with data. Everyone can be data-centric without removing the creativity, critical thinking, and experience we bring to the table.
How to Be Responsible & Safe with AI
With the advent of AI and with nearly 86% of organizations investing in AI-based capabilities, its been proven that AI is not a fad or a trend that will go away. However, what we can’t measure are the economical and moral impacts AI will have on our society. Like parents, who are the caretakers of children, their responsibilities are to teach children right from wrong and to embed a moral compass in each of us. Similarly, WE as humans are the caretakers of AI, also teaching it right from wrong, yet we’re at a cross roads with moral compass because of the biases, poor practices, falsification, and misinformation we’re helping it propogate. I will share a personal story of how ‘fake news’ almost ruined my 20+ career and how I caught it, and how to embed safer and responsible practices for AI.
Why All Leaders Should Go Rogue
Change is hard. Disruption is hard. With the pace of change being the fastest its ever been, leaders have an unfair advantage in todays world. Constantly distracted by messages and emails, combined with the pressures of motivating teams, aligning strategic priorities, balancing workloads, and all while innovating, leaders are not set up to succeed, UNLESS THEY GO ROGUE. This discussion is all about finding the rogue in us. The leader who focuses on not being busy, but being productive. The leader who lets go of the need to respond in exchange for the need to reflect. Leaders who in spite of resistance can see beyond the trees and around the corner, and put forth passion and relentless pursuit to achieve what needs to be accomplished, and all while staying sane. This discussion is about managing our energy so we can show up in the right way, in the right time, and for the right people to drive change and create outcomes.
