VMPL
New Delhi [India], July 29: Enterprise AI is entering a new phase. Having moved past copilots and assistants, organizations are now confronting a harder question: how do they build, govern and scale systems that can act -- not just advise? The answer will shape how enterprises compete over the next decade, and it is this question that will anchor the 27th Annual ET Edge CIO&Leader Conference.
Scheduled from 30 July to 2 August 2026 at Fairmont Jaipur, the invitation-only residential conference -- organized by ET Edge, The Times Group -- will bring together 250+ CIOs, CTOs, Chief Digital Officers, CISOs and business technology leaders from across 18 industries. This year's theme, "The Agentic Enterprise - Platforms. People. Policy. Profits.", captures the shift the industry is now navigating: from experimenting with AI to operationalizing it as the backbone of enterprise decision-making.
The Gap Between Investment and Impact
That shift is arriving amid a sobering reality check. The latest ET Edge CIO&Leader AI Survey finds that 52% of AI pilots never reach production stage, and only 12% of organisations report significant, measurable returns on their AI investments. Yet 46% of technology leaders name Agentic AI as the capability most likely to reshape enterprise operations over the next 18 months.
Read together, these numbers point to an uncomfortable truth: enterprises have made the investment, but the returns are still catching up -- and the next wave of AI, far from simplifying this challenge, is set to compound it.
"The investment in AI has arrived, but the returns are still catching up. Enterprises have moved beyond curiosity and experimentation, yet the real challenge remains converting pilots into production, measuring outcomes and building governance frameworks for scale. Agentic AI will raise the complexity further because enterprises are no longer only deploying AI that assists humans--they are building systems that can act on their behalf," says R. Giridhar, Editorial Director - Technology, ET Edge CIO&Leader.
That distinction -- between AI that assists and AI that acts -- is at the heart of why Agentic AI demands a different playbook. Traditional AI applications surface insights for a human to evaluate. Agents, by contrast, can execute workflows, coordinate across systems, and make decisions within defined boundaries -- with far less room for a human to intervene before an outcome is set in motion. This raises the stakes on governance, cybersecurity, privacy and trust, and it is redefining what the CIO's mandate looks like.
"The future enterprise will not be defined by how many AI tools it adopts, but by how effectively it creates an intelligent operating model. The CIO's role is evolving from managing technology platforms to architecting organisations where AI, people and processes work together to deliver business outcomes," says Jatinder Singh, Chief Editor, ET Edge CIO&Leader.
Voices Shaping the Conversation
To unpack this shift, the conference will draw on perspectives well beyond the technology function itself. Speakers include:
- V. Srinivas, Chief Secretary, Government of Rajasthan
- Prof. Toby Walsh, Chief Scientist, UNSW AI Institute
- Rahul Dravid, Former Cricketer & Coach, Indian National Cricket Team
- Harish Bhat, Former Brand Custodian, Tata Sons and Bestselling Author
- Jim Sarbh, Indian Film and Theatre Actor
- Madan Sundar Das, Monk, Spiritual Teacher, and Director of EVOLVE Pune
- Dr. Murthy Remilla, Former Head, Project Management, Human Spaceflight Group, ISRO
They will be joined by leading CIOs sharing enterprise AI case studies, implementation challenges and practical approaches to scaling Agentic AI -- grounding the big-picture conversation in the realities of execution.
What's on the Agenda
Over four days, the conference will run keynote sessions, strategic discussions, fireside chats, CIO case studies, executive roundtables and technology showcases built around the questions CxOs are actually wrestling with:
- Building AI-native enterprises and intelligent platforms
- Moving Agentic AI from pilots to enterprise-wide deployment
- AI governance, cybersecurity and responsible AI
- Cloud, data platforms and intelligent infrastructure
- The evolving role of the CIO in autonomous enterprises
- Workforce transformation and measuring AI ROI
Crucially, the agenda treats these as more than technology problems. Alongside the platforms and the metrics, the conference will spend equal time on the leadership, cultural and organizational shifts that determine whether Agentic AI succeeds or stalls inside a business.
A Platform for the Next Phase
Over its 27-year run, the ET Edge CIO&Leader Conference has built a reputation as a trusted forum where India's technology leadership exchanges ideas, tests thinking and works through the challenges shaping enterprise technology's future. This edition will also host the NEXT100 Awards, recognizing emerging technology leaders, and the CIO Samman, honoring outstanding contributions to enterprise technology leadership.
As autonomous AI begins to reshape how enterprises operate, compete and innovate, the conversations in Jaipur this year will do more than mark the moment -- they will help set India's roadmap toward the Agentic Enterprise.
The 27th Annual CIO&Leader Conference & Awards 2026 is supported by an illustrious lineup of industry leaders and innovators. AMD joins as the Presenting Partner, NxtGen Technologies as the Co-Presenting Partner, Workday as the Powered by Partner, and Freshworks and OutSystems as Co-Powered by Partners. The conference is further supported by Gold Partners Dynatrace, HPE, Tata Communications and Snowflake; Silver Partner STT Telemedia; Experience Partner Syndrome Newedge; Associate Partners Autodesk, Commvault, CrowdStrike, Delta, F5, Genesys, InfoBeans-ServiceNow, Liferay, Nopal Cyber, Oracle, Procol.ai, Prophaze-BD Soft, Rubrik, Savex-SolarWinds, Techno Digital and Yotta; Exhibit Partners Barco, Barracuda, CyberAssure-Varonis, Forcepoint, Ivanti, NeoSOFT, Newland AIDC, Nividous, Privacy Pillar and RSA-Cotteligent; Event Tech Partners VConnect and Zebiq; Skilling Partner TimesPro; Education Partner Bennett University; and Business Insights Partner ET Insights. The conference is conceptualised and executed by CIO&Leader, ET Edge, Times Group.
For more details; ET Edge Annual CIO&Leader Conference | India's Top CIO Meet
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