AI Executives Recognized
TIME Names Five Tech Executives Utilizing AI for Operational Efficiency and Governance
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Key Points
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E.l.f. Beauty’s agentic-AI rollout is deliberately grassroots: employees closest to the work are being asked to determine which tasks agents should handle and which should remain human-led, with the aim of redesigning jobs around innovation rather than administration.
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Back Market CTO Dawn Baker frames AI adoption as an environmental responsibility, saying the refurbished-electronics marketplace must optimize its computing use because AI is resource-intensive and “the opposite of environmentally friendly” despite having valuable applications.
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Lilly built its LillyPod supercomputer in just four months using more than 1,000 Nvidia Blackwell GPUs; the system models biological processes and screens molecules before candidates move into wet-lab testing.
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Databricks’ Genie is being used beyond internal experimentation: customers including Novo Nordisk, Virgin Atlantic and Unilever are using the AI agent to support what CIO Naveen Zutshi calls the “democratization of data and AI.”
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S&P Global’s Firdaus Bhathena previously served as the top technology executive at CVS Health and founded software companies WebLine and Relicore; he now urges S&P employees to adopt a startup mentality and “run towards” problems rather than avoid them.
TIME has named five technology executives as its 2026 Executives of the Year, recognizing leaders who are reshaping how companies adopt AI while balancing speed, efficiency and human judgment TIME. The inaugural list spotlights leaders from E.l.f. Beauty, Back Market, Eli Lilly, Databricks and S&P Global — companies that represent a shift from experimental AI projects toward practical, governed deployment across beauty, retail, pharmaceuticals, data and financial services.
These executives are tackling a critical tension: how to harness AI's power without sacrificing environmental responsibility, employee autonomy or risk management TIME. Their strategies range from grassroots employee-led automation to supercomputers screening drug candidates in weeks instead of months.
E.l.f. Beauty's Grassroots Approach to Automation
Ekta Chopra, chief technology and AI officer at E.l.f. Beauty, is deploying agentic AI in a way that keeps employees at the center of decisions TIME. Rather than executives dictating which tasks become automated, Chopra's team asks front-line workers — product managers, supply-chain specialists, and trend analysts — to identify what agents should handle.
The goal is reshaping jobs around innovation rather than routine administration TIME. This method aims to help E.l.f. respond faster to viral beauty trends while ensuring people remain in control of high-stakes decisions. Employees closest to the work become the architects of their own AI tools.
Back Market's Case Against Wasteful AI Spending
Dawn Baker, chief technology officer at Back Market, frames AI adoption as an environmental responsibility TIME. The refurbished-electronics marketplace treats artificial intelligence as computationally expensive — and therefore demands careful, selective use.
Baker emphasizes that AI is "the opposite of environmentally friendly" when deployed indiscriminately TIME. Instead, Back Market optimizes its computing use, focusing AI resources on practical problems where the value justifies the energy cost. This stance contrasts sharply with hyperscalers expanding data centers without constraint.
Eli Lilly's Supercomputer Transforms Drug Discovery
Eli Lilly built its LillyPod supercomputer in just four months, equipping it with more than 1,000 Nvidia Blackwell GPUs TIME. Diogo Rau, the company's chief information and digital officer, oversees a system designed to model biological processes and screen drug candidates before they enter wet-lab testing.
The pharmaceutical giant is shifting toward a "computation-first" model, where digital twins simulate manufacturing and AI screens molecules TIME. This approach accelerates drug development cycles and reduces physical testing costs. Lilly views massive compute infrastructure not as a luxury but as essential competitive infrastructure.
Databricks and S&P Global Scale AI Across Enterprises
Naveen Zutshi, chief information officer at Databricks, is deploying Genie, an AI agent designed to democratize internal data access TIME. Employees can use Genie to retrieve information, conduct research, automate workflows and build applications without requiring deep technical expertise.
Major customers including Novo Nordisk, Virgin Atlantic and Unilever are already using Genie to support what Zutshi calls the "democratization of data and AI" TIME. Meanwhile, Firdaus Bhathena, chief technology and transformation officer at S&P Global, is merging technology, data and AI under one leadership structure. Bhathena — formerly CVS Health's top tech executive and founder of software companies WebLine and Relicore — urges S&P employees to adopt a startup mentality and "run towards" problems rather than avoid them.
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