TIECON 2020 – Keynote by Ms Indra Nooyi

Like all the events around the world, this year’s TIECON 2020 global organized by TIE Silicon Valley has become virtual. For me, it was a blessing, as I could attend the event for free (as a TiE Chennai member) and not spend the thousands of dollars travelling to the USA and also the entry ticket fee. Earlier there were talks by Mr Deepak Chopra, Mr Vinod Khosla and Ms Shellye Archambeaua.

Today, the grand keynote was by Ms Indra Nooyi, Former Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of PepsiCo, who happens to be from my city (Chennai, India). Below are from the notes (in random order) I took during the talk:

1. What you are seeing as the effect of COVID during this pandemic?:
   It is disrupting life as we know it. It is also creating loneliness. It is also creating new opportunities. A technology led disruption. What would’ve happened in the next 5 to 6 years are now happening in 5 to 6 months. They might’ve have anyway happened, but they are accelerating. Businesses are going to look at technology as their friend.
2. Some of the non-traditional players like Walmart going to succeed?:
   Customer is going to have a choice and they are going to be served better. We are spending more than what we need. I see more boxes outside their houses. Downside is the social interaction that happens in the store, with other customers, interaction with real humans. The problem is the reduction of human interaction. I worry about younger people who are only using technology and lose a sense of community and warmth of meeting people. Human to Human connections must be preserved and gone back after the pandemic.
3. Where do you most opportunity – AI & Technology?:
   K-12 education must be imagined. We have just glued together something now. How to combine offline-online in a correct way? How to do make kids imagine a 3-Dimension object? How technologist can think and do (instead of the next app) on how I can do a complete solution, can we re-imagine K-12, what’s the purpose.
4. What do you see in Telemedicine?:
   Low cost equipment that can reduce the healthcare cost here in the USA. Why low-cost countries can offer better healthcare than the USA?. COVID has exposed the fault line in our society. If we don’t anything here, then we have lost a big opportunity.
5. I will say SELF-worth is more important NET-worth
6. Woman of minority and colour. What’s your advice?
   Women get 2.3% of VC money. 70% of High-School valedictory are women. MIT graduate 47% in technology/engineering. Why are VCs not staffed with qualified women?
7. On CEOs quality:
   Good CEOs are Curious. They ask nuggets of information, ask for more. Have a larger purpose, then People can bring their whole self to work. They need to communicate to the whole group of people.
8. What is the World you see in the next 10 to 50 years?:
   Privacy is gone, next 2 to 3 generations have to seriously think about this. With Smart cities, more AI is going to make privacy less and less.
9. Technology companies have to question the harm their technology is doing in the society. Technology companies have to address the inclusive(ity), diversity, yet provide women with support to raise kids and family (because society needs kids!).