Meet Your New Teammate, AI: Asana’s Saket Srivastava

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Sep 17, 2024

Saket Srivastava, CIO at Asana, has a rich background in tech with roles at General Electric and IBM. He discusses AI's evolution from a task optimizer to a true teammate, enhancing productivity in project management. Saket emphasizes the shifting role of CIOs as they lead innovation and strategic AI integration. He also highlights the importance of a supportive CIO community and the need for organizations to adapt their workforce dynamics as AI transforms skill requirements. Tune in for insights into the future of work!

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INSIGHT

CIOs Face Ambition vs. Readiness Gap

Asana's think tank couples industry and academia to study CIO journeys and AI adoption.
Their state of AI report shows a disconnect between leaders' ambitions and organizational readiness.

INSIGHT

CIOs Are Now Frontline Business Leaders

The CIO role has shifted from back-office operator to visible business leader driving AI strategy.
CIOs uniquely connect functions and must guide organizational change for AI adoption.

ADVICE

Pace AI Adoption With A Roadmap

Accept realistic expectations and design a staged AI journey rather than chasing hype.
Learn from peers and build roadmaps that combine technology, business needs, and people change.

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Saket Srivastava, CIO at work management platform Asana, has had technology roles at organizations such as General Electric, IBM, and Fujitsu, moving from back-end IT services positions to more strategic business leadership roles. Asana has already been working with artificial intelligence for several years, Saket notes, and has seen the technology’s role evolve: Rather than simply optimizing tasks, it now often acts as more of a teammate as it’s integrated into core workflows to enhance productivity by taking on cognitive tasks like writing project status updates.

Saket joins this episode to share his observations about the evolution of CIOs from back-end IT managers to front-line business leaders driving innovation and strategy, especially in the context of AI. He also discusses the benefits of being part of a CIO community in which people freely share their knowledge and experience and support one another as they navigate a rapidly evolving tech environment.

Read the episode transcript here.

Guest bio:

Saket Srivastava is the CIO for work management platform Asana. He oversees the company’s educational and information technology organization, which involves optimizing technology systems and processes, connecting technology strategy to overarching business strategy, and ensuring that technology infrastructure supports organizational goals. Previously, Srivastava held executive positions at Square, Guidewire Software, and other leading technology companies. He holds a master’s degree from the Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad and an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley’s Haas School of Business.

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