PeopleofSuperintelligence

Lab leader

Rama Akkiraju

Also known as Rama Kalyani T. Akkiraju

Rama Akkiraju is vice president of AI for IT at NVIDIA, and her IBM work applied AI to personality analysis and IT operations. At IBM's Watson Division she led People Insights, which developed technology to infer personalities and emotions from social media data. She also served as CTO of AI Operations, a product that aims to optimize IT operations with AI. Forbes named her one of its Top 20 Women in AI Research in 2017, and Fortune featured her in its A-Team in AI in 2018. She earned an MBA with a gold medal from NYU's Stern School of Business in 2004.

Timeline

  1. 2004

    An MBA with a gold medal

    She receives an MBA from New York University's Stern School of Business in 2004, with a gold medal for highest academic excellence.

  2. 2015–2019

    People Insights at IBM Watson

    From 2015 to 2019 she serves as Distinguished Engineer and Director of Engineering at IBM's Watson Division. There she leads People Insights, which develops technology to infer personalities, emotions, tone, attitudes, and intentions from social media data.

  3. 2017–2018

    Forbes and Fortune AI lists

    Forbes names her one of its Top 20 Women in AI Research in May 2017, and Fortune features her in its A-Team in AI in July 2018.

  4. 2019

    Named an IBM Fellow

    In 2019 she is named an IBM Fellow, and ISSIP gives her its Excellence in Service Innovation award for People Insights.

  5. 2020

    CTO of AI Operations

    At IBM, she serves as CTO of AI Operations, a product that aims to optimize IT operations with AI. In 2020, the University of California, Berkeley gives her its Athena Award for Technical and Executive Leadership.

  6. March 2023

    An NYU Stern fireside chat

    NYU Stern's Innovation Speaker Series features her in a fireside chat in March 2023 as vice president for artificial intelligence and machine learning for IT at NVIDIA.

  7. May 2025

    A podcast on AI platform architects

    In May 2025 she joins the AI Podcast as vice president of IT for AI and machine learning to discuss how enterprises can build the right foundations for AI success.

  8. As of October 2026

    Vice president of AI for IT

    Her current title is vice president of AI for IT at NVIDIA.

Sources and credits

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  1. Rama Akkiraju | Research research.nvidia.com. Checked 14 October 2026.
  2. Rama Akkiraju - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org. Checked 14 October 2026.
  3. RAMA AKKIRAJU - Bangalore Technology Conclave 2020 btc.ieeebangalore.org. Checked 14 October 2026.
  4. A Fireside Chat with Rama Akkiraju, Vice President for Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning for IT at Nvidia - NYU Stern stern.nyu.edu. Checked 14 October 2026.
  5. NVIDIA’s Rama Akkiraju on How AI Platform Architects Help Bridge Business Vision and Technical Execution | NVIDIA Blog blogs.nvidia.com. Checked 14 October 2026.