TIME has published its first-ever Executives of the Year: Tech & Data list, recognizing 50 business leaders whose work in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and digital innovation is reshaping how major organizations operate, compete, and grow. The list arrives at a moment when emerging technologies are driving both the global economy and the daily news cycle, placing technology executives at the center of corporate strategy.
The honorees span industries and geographies, from cybersecurity and social media to pharmaceuticals, insurance, manufacturing, entertainment, and finance. Among them is Bartley Richardson, CrowdStrike's chief AI and autonomous systems officer, who is heading a new AI research lab dedicated to building autonomous cybersecurity systems. Reddit chief technology officer Amit Puntambekar is overseeing AI adoption at one of the internet's largest repositories of human conversation.
At Eli Lilly & Co., Diogo Rau led the effort to build a supercomputer called LillyPod, which models biological processes and screens potential molecules before promising candidates move into wet lab experiments. At OpenAI, Vijaye Raji, CTO of applications, is responsible for engineering the ubiquitous ChatGPT as well as the coding tool Codex.
To assemble the list, editors and reporters across the newsroom evaluated the scale of each leader's responsibilities, the significance of the investments and initiatives they oversee, and their demonstrated impact on how their organizations operate and grow. The result is a group of executives tasked with modernizing legacy systems and digital infrastructure.
Those leaders include Monica Caldas, Liberty Mutual's global chief information officer, who is rewiring the century-old insurance company for what she calls «the intelligence era.» Ogi Redzic joined Caterpillar Inc. as senior vice president and chief digital officer in 2018 and has helped the equipment manufacturer rebuild itself around data to address customers' labor and safety issues.
The list also highlights newly created or expanded roles designed to meet the fast-evolving moment. Kathleen Grace was named Lionsgate's first-ever chief AI officer in February and is the first Hollywood studio executive to hold that title. At Delta, Amala Duggirala joined the airline in January as executive vice president and chief digital and technology officer, a brand-new role overseeing its recently combined digital and technology organizations, encompassing both the enterprise technology that powers global operations and the digital tools it creates for customers and employees.
Beyond the United States, technology executives across Asia, Africa, and Europe are driving innovation. At Singapore-based Grab, CTO Suthen Thomas Paradatheth has helped the company transition from a ride-sharing platform to a superapp that processes millions of transactions a day across Southeast Asia. Felix Ike, co-founder and CTO of the Nigerian fintech company Moniepoint, has helped establish the business as one of Africa's leading financial platforms.
At Paris-based Back Market, a global online marketplace for refurbished electronics, CTO Dawn Baker is applying an environmental mission to the company's use of computing power. «We have to make sure we're not using more than we need,» she says. «It's about using AI smartly and not falling for the hype.»
The honorees reflect a broader shift in corporate leadership, as companies across sectors create dedicated technology roles and elevate executives who can translate innovation into measurable results. Their responsibilities range from building autonomous security systems and AI research labs to modernizing insurance infrastructure and expanding digital marketplaces across multiple continents.
TIME describes these leaders and their fellow honorees as the catalysts of some of the most consequential transformations taking place across modern enterprise, translating innovation into meaning for the organizations they serve.