Chaitra “Chai” Vedullapalli believes the AI revolution will be won or lost on one question: who gets a seat at the table?

A TEDx speaker, #1 Amazon bestselling author of ICONIC Leadership, and former Microsoft and Oracle executive, Chai has shaped AI strategy in boardrooms and AI policy on the world stage as a U.S. delegate to the W20/G20.

As President & CEO of Women in Cloud, she has built a global movement of 150,000+ members across 120 countries, unlocked more than $600 million in economic access, and is now driving toward $1 billion.

On stage, Chai blends hard data with stories people feel. She shows executives, teams and emerging leaders how to build Frontier Firms, organizations where AI, trust and talent multiply each other. Audiences leave with clarity, courage and a 90-day plan to act.

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Keynote, Moderator & Facilitator | AI, Leadership & Growth That Includes Everyone | TEDx Speaker

Chaitra Vedullapalli

Flexible depending on the event

Thoughtful & Conversational

Keynote

Fireside chat / moderated conversation

Panel participation

Workshop / breakout session

Host / emcee

Meet & greet

Book signing

Educate & Upskill

Thought Leadership

30 min

45 min

60 min

90 min

Mostly Practical

Business Model Innovation

Workplace Culture

Trust

Leadership Mindset

Case Studies – Best Practices

Crisis Management

Digital Transformation

The People Side of Business

Accountability

Large Companies

Business Growth

Collaboration

Competing in Uncertain Times

Leadership

In the 1890s, factories rushed to adopt electricity. Most of them simply took out the steam engine and put an electric motor in its place. For nearly 30 years, productivity barely moved. The real breakthrough came only when a new generation of leaders redesigned the entire factory floor around the new source of power.Today, most organizations are making the same mistake with AI. They are adding tools, launching pilots and buying licenses, but keeping the same structures, workflows and leadership habits. The result is activity without transformation.In this high-energy keynote, TED speaker and former Microsoft and Oracle executive Chaitra Vedullapalli introduces the Bricks-to-Cathedral framework. Bricks are individual AI tools and pilots. The cathedral is an organization redesigned around AI, people and trust. Drawing on her work with enterprises, global policymakers and a 150,000-member community across 120 countries, Chai shows how Frontier Firms move from experimenting with AI to competing on it.Attendees will:<ol><li>Understand why most AI pilots stall, and what separates firms that capture real value</li><li>Redesign one real workflow with AI agents during the session</li><li>Leave with a Frontier Firm readiness checklist to bring back to their leadership team</li></ol>Formats: 45-minute keynote | 90-minute keynote + Frontier Firm Lab | Half-day executive workshopIdeal audiences: C-suite and boards, transformation and IT leaders, enterprise leadership summits

Rewire the Factory Floor: Building the Frontier Firm

AI is now part of everyone’s job, whether they asked for it or not. Employees use it to write, analyze, summarize, code and decide, often with no clear sense of what’s safe, what’s smart, or who is accountable when something goes wrong. The result is two equally costly problems: people who avoid AI out of fear, and people who use it carelessly.In this energizing and interactive session, TEDx speaker, #1 bestselling author and former Microsoft and Oracle executive Chaitra Vedullapalli introduces the ICONIC Altitude Model, a simple mental model any employee can use in any role. Drawing on her work shaping AI policy as a U.S. delegate to the W20/G20 and on leading a 150,000-member global community, Chai turns AI governance from a rulebook into a habit. The result is confident, responsible AI use across the whole organization.Every employee will:<ol><li>Use AI with confidence, knowing when to trust it, when to check it, and when to take the controls</li><li>Protect the company by spotting data, privacy and accuracy risks before they become problems</li><li>Leave with a 4-question Altitude Check to apply to every AI task, starting the next day</li></ol>Interactive element: The Altitude Check Challenge. Attendees work through real AI scenarios, like a customer email, a data summary or an agent’s decision, and practice finding where it went wrong and how to fix it.Formats: 45-minute all-hands keynote | 90-minute interactive session | Leader + employee two-part seriesIdeal for: All-hands and town halls, AI rollout launches, learning and development programs, company-wide AI literacy initiatives

Everyone’s a Pilot Now: Altitude Thinking for Working Safely and Smartly with AI

Revenue rarely falls off a cliff. It leaks, like a slow tire leak. The car still drives fine, until one day it doesn’t. A loyal customer quietly shrinks their order. A key partner starts working with a competitor. An AI-native startup offers something “good enough” at half the price. By the time the leak shows up in the quarterly numbers, the damage is already done.In this high-impact masterclass, TEDx speaker, #1 Amazon bestselling author of ICONIC Leadership and former Microsoft and Oracle executive Chaitra Vedullapalli introduces the ICONIC ARC Revenue Risk Scan. This diagnostic exposes six hidden risks threatening growth in the AI economy: trust, partner, market, disruption, relevance and advocacy risk.Drawing on her experience in enterprise go-to-market and building Women in Cloud into a 150,000-member ecosystem across 120 countries that has unlocked $600M+ in economic access, Chai shows leaders how to find their leaks early, and turn them into new sources of growth.This is not a talk to sit back and listen to. Attendees scan, score and secure their own business in real time.Attendees will:<ol><li>Find the hidden leaks putting their revenue at risk in the AI economy</li><li>Get a Revenue at Risk score and heat map for their business or team</li><li>Leave with a 90-day plan to protect current revenue and open new growth</li></ol>Signature experience: Attendees complete the scan before the event. Event organizers receive a combined Revenue Risk report afterward.Formats: 45-minute keynote | 90-minute interactive masterclass | Half-day executive workshopIdeal audiences: CEOs and founders, CROs and sales leaders, sales kickoffs, partner and GTM teams, executive summits

Revenue at Risk: The ICONIC ARC Scan for Hidden Growth Leaks

The most dangerous customer isn’t the one who complains. It’s the one who goes quiet. They stop asking questions, delay the renewal, and order a little less each quarter. Then one day the order simply doesn’t come.In the AI economy, that silence is getting more expensive. Buyers now research, compare and shortlist vendors with AI, often before a salesperson ever gets a call. Your next order can be won or lost before you know the customer is shopping.In this hands-on masterclass, TED speaker, #1 Amazon bestselling author of ICONIC Leadership and former Microsoft and Oracle executive Chaitra Vedullapalli introduces the ICONIC ARC Customer Order Scan. It is a diagnostic that reveals the six hidden reasons customers stop buying:<ul><li>Relationship risk: the customer feels like a transaction, not a partner</li><li>Champion risk: the whole account depends on one person who could leave</li><li>Discovery risk: buyers and their AI tools can’t easily find or understand your value</li><li>Response risk: you’re slow to adapt as their needs change</li><li>Substitution risk: a cheaper or AI-powered alternative looks “good enough”</li><li>Proof risk: no customer advocates are vouching for you</li></ul>Attendees bring a real or fictious account into the room and scan, score and save it in real time.Attendees will:<ol><li>Spot the early warning signs that a customer order is at risk, before it shows up in the numbers</li><li>Score their most important accounts and find the biggest risk in each</li><li>Leave with a save plan to protect the next order and grow the account</li></ol>Signature experience: Teams learn to scan, and Chai opens with the patterns across the room. Organizers receive a combined consolidated reportFormats: 45-minute keynote | 90-minute interactive masterclass | Half-day sales and customer success workshopIdeal audiences: everyone at the company who manage customers, partner and operational workflows that may be impacted AI or not.

Customer Order at Risk: The ICONIC ARC Scan to Protect Your Next Order Before It’s Lost

Chaitra is a force! I am so grateful to women like her who have the ability to have their voice heard and for the greater good. Paving the way for people like me and my daughters. So so grateful.

Anne Marie Christmas

Chaitra, you are such an inspiration. Your speech is incredibly powerful. It is people like you who are willing to take a stand and BE a change maker that changes the world. Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!

Terry Sidford

It is very interesting to see who will speak out and up and who will not. If it weren't for people like Chaitra I dare say we wouldn't be making progress at the rapid rate we now are.

Chaitra Vedullapalli

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