Methodology
The INSEAD AI 50 (Alum-led) list is the product of months of global outreach and careful review. It offers a curated snapshot rather than a ranking, shining a light on INSEAD students, alumni, faculty and friends who lead or materially shape AI initiatives across industries and regions.
What “alum‑led” means
“Alum‑led” refers to the community organising this initiative — the volunteer members of INSEAD AI (alum‑led) who nominated, researched and compiled the list. It does not restrict who can be honoured.
Eligibility
Honorees are current or former INSEAD students, professors/faculty, staff or alumni whose work leads or materially shapes AI initiatives. Roles include founders and CEOs, C‑suite executives and business-unit leaders, heads of data and AI, fund general partners and investors, policymakers and public‑sector digital chiefs, board directors focused on AI governance, executive search and advisory partners, faculty directing significant AI programmes and domain specialists applying AI at the frontier.
How we got here
- Open nominations via Google Form from alumni, faculty, staff and students worldwide
- Direct outreach to alumni in every region to mobilise local networks
- Multiple posts on social channels and in newsletters
- Targeted calls to our 3,000+ INSEAD AI (alum‑led) community
- Independent research across INSEAD groups, publications, conference programmes and sector networks
- Profile checks using nomination materials, LinkedIn profiles, company and faculty pages and relevant publications
- Multi‑round filtering from well over 100 strong candidates down to 50 honorees
If we missed deserving INSEADers in our 70,000+ community we welcome suggestions for future editions.
Selection criteria
To our best knowledge, every honoree met the following criteria:
- Leadership and scope: clear decision authority or outsized influence over an AI product, programme, fund, research agenda or policy
- Original contribution: building or deploying AI and ML in ways that are new, scaled or field‑defining — whether technology, strategy, governance or market impact
- Evidence: recent public signals (company pages, press, papers, talks) or direct confirmation that substantiate role and impact
- Connection to INSEAD: alumnus/alumna, faculty member or affiliate, verified
- Balance: intentional diversity in region, sector, function and career stage
Verification & updates
We captured three‑sentence summaries for each person using nomination inputs plus public sources such as LinkedIn, company and faculty pages and reputable press. These were confirmed with honorees. Titles and affiliations reflect each person’s public profile as of August 11, 2025 (ET).
How we grouped the list
To make the landscape easier to navigate, honorees are organised into five pillars and sub‑categories:
- Part I – The Founders: AI in Education (EdTech); AI in Finance & Private Capital (FinTech); AI in Health & Biotechnology (HealthTech); AI in Climate & Foundational Technologies; AI Services & Platforms
- Part II – The Corporate Vanguards: Leadership in Big Tech; Driving AI Across Global Industries; Public Sector & Policy
- Part III – The Academic Pioneers: The Strategists & Innovators; The Specialists & Institution Builders
- Part IV – Capital Allocators & Strategic Advisors: Venture Capital & Investment; Strategic Advisory & Executive Search
- Part V – The Domain Specialists: Applied & Technical Frontiers
Groupings are for navigation only and do not imply ranking or exclusivity — many leaders span multiple categories.
Governance, conflicts & fairness
Reviewers did not consider themselves for inclusion and recused themselves from any potential conflicts. We consulted senior leaders in the global INSEAD Alumni Association to validate the approach and results.
A final word
This is a community project. If we missed a deserving student, staff member, alum or faculty member, please help us correct it. Our goal is simple: reflect the real breadth and depth of INSEAD leadership in AI and make it easier for all of us to learn from, and work with, one another.