LIVE VIRTUAL EVENT

Getting ROI from AI: 3 Pillars of Value Creation and Why They Matter

AI promises to transform the chemical industry, but most companies aren't seeing the return they expected. In this episode, Dr. Krishnan Sankaranarayanan draws on two decades leading digital transformation at ExxonMobil and SABIC to break down the three pillars that determine whether an AI initiative delivers — and what to fix when it doesn't.

Krishnan Sankaranarayanan

Former Chief Digital/AI Officer (CDO)

Jay Bhatia

Founder & CEO

WHAT TO EXPECT

Why most AI initiatives failed to deliver, and it wasn't the algorithm: Krishnan unpacked what solving the wrong problem actually looks like, and how to avoid it.
The data foundation: Krishnan explained what a real data foundation looks like in a chemical company, where most organizations fall short, and what it takes to actually build one.
Change management, the human side of AI transformation: He shared what good change management looks like for an AI initiative, and the specific moments where it most commonly breaks down.
Real examples from the field: Case studies from across the chemical industry, including what worked, what didn't, and the key differentiators that separated meaningful return from expensive experiments.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Krishnan Sankaranarayanan

Former Chief Digital/AI Officer (CDO)

About Krishnan

Krishnan Sankaranarayanan is a senior AI and digital transformation executive with 20+ years of experience driving large-scale innovation across energy, oil & gas, and industrial enterprises. Krishnan joined Frame Data from SABIC Aramco, where he served as Chief Digital Officer leading enterprise-wide AI and digital transformation initiatives. Prior to SABIC, he spent more than a decade at ExxonMobil across upstream, downstream, and chemicals businesses. Krishnan holds a PhD from Princeton University and serves as an Adjunct Faculty member at the University of Houston, where he teaches Chemical Engineering courses as well as AI for Chemical Engineers. He also delivers guest lectures at Columbia University focused on translating AI strategy into effective, real-world implementation.

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