Manoj Saxena
First there were simple computers that were little more than calculators. Then came sophisticated computers that we all use today. They perform complex tasks and are ubiquitous. Still they are not easy to use and manipulate as they don’t speak our language and needed to be talked to in special computer programming languages. Now we could be entering the third stage of the computing age, one of artificially intelligent computers that can understand natural languages and speak to us like humans. Watson, the AI being developed at IBM as part of its DeepQA project, could be the beginning of just such computing. Born in 2007, the IBM Watson became powerful enough to win the game show Jeopardy! in 2011, and now IBM wants to put all that power and intelligence to real use by commercialising Watson so it can be used in everything from cancer treatment to industrial production. The man initially tasked with that commercialisation project is Manoj Saxena, until recently the General Manager at IBM Watson Solutions. He has a MMS in industrial engineering and management from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science and an MBA in marketing and strategy from the Michigan State University. Saxena who describes himself as a serial entrepreneur has founded companies like Exterprise and Webify, the acquisition of which took him to IBM. The racing enthusiast has recently quit to become a venture capitalist and serves on the boards of several companies.