O TYM ODCINKU
What does AI strategy look like inside industries that are still catching up to cloud?
In this episode, Mala speaks with Madhavi Rajan, Head of Product Strategy for Rackspace’s Private Cloud business, about her journey from NASA-funded research to enterprise infrastructure and AI strategy. Madhavi shares hard-earned lessons from 20+ years in deep tech, including how to move from engineering to product, why enterprise customers adopt technology slowly, and how leaders should think about private cloud, responsible AI, security, and business outcomes.
This episode is especially relevant for founders, product leaders, infrastructure builders, enterprise SaaS teams, cloud strategists, AI operators, and anyone building for industries that move slowly but matter deeply.
________________________________________________________
Timestamps:
00:05 – Madhavi Rajan’s journey into cloud and AI strategy
01:34 – Early career in semiconductors and networking
02:36 – The cancelled project that changed her career
04:13 – Moving from technical execution to strategy
05:07 – Breaking into product management
06:04 – What private cloud means for enterprise customers
07:45 – Private cloud, public cloud, and regulated industries
08:55 – How AI workloads fit into private cloud
09:41 – AI sandboxes for sovereign and enterprise customers
10:52 – Why security is horizontal across AI and infrastructure
12:39 – Technology waves, enterprise laggards, and the reality of infrastructure adoption
15:26 – Responsible AI, GPUs, CPUs, and business outcomes
17:48 – Enterprise AI for efficiency vs revenue generation
20:10 – Why Copilot adoption is not the same as an AI strategy
24:26 – Infrastructure partnerships, ecosystems, and what real AI adoption will require
26:07 – Rapid fire with Madhavi
28:07 – Leading through ambiguity in AI strategy
________________________________________________________
🔗 Connect with Madhavi Rajan → https://www.linkedin.com/in/madhavi-rajan/
🔗 Connect with Mala Ramakrishnan → https://www.linkedin.com/in/malaramakrishnan
🎧 Subscribe to the podcast
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnL3D6aI60R-cCvypFIkh4A
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1NIDE4cT5fuVjC3HaGbCDK?si=eoSTNmhqQNKHQl9d1Jx0UQ
Apple Podcast: https://podcastsconnect.apple.com/my-podcasts/show/talking-to-the-leaders-of-ai-the-ceo-series-with-mala/22ad2bae-502b-4eb1-aa74-53bc79754db7Visit our
Website: https://malaramakrishnan.com | https://founderscreative.org
#MalasPodcast #MadhaviRajan #Rackspace #PrivateCloud #AIstrategy #EnterpriseAI #CloudComputing #Infrastructure #ProductStrategy #WomenInTech #TechLeadership #ResponsibleAI #HybridCloud #DataCenters #AIInfrastructure #ProductManagement #EnterpriseTechnology #CloudStrategy #Founders #DeepTech
TRANSKRYPCJA 🔗
WYSZUKAJ MINIONE ODCINKI
INNE ODCINKI W TYM PODCASCIE
