What Leaders Risk Losing in the Age of AI: Insights from CIO and EMBA Alumna Meerah Rajavel
As artificial intelligence reshapes how we think and work, what do leaders stand to lose in the process?
For Meerah Rajavel, Chief Information Officer of Palo Alto Networks, that question is not theoretical. When she returned to campus, she brought a perspective shaped by a career spanning Cisco, McAfee, Citrix, and now one of the world’s leading cybersecurity companies - along with a candid view of how AI is transforming leadership itself.
Rajavel spoke during an event for members of Leavey’s Executive MBA community hosted by Interim Dean Naren Agrawal. Attendees including alumni, current students, and faculty - convened for an evening of reflection on leadership, technology, and change.
Throughout the conversation, Rajavel traced her journey from a small town in southern India to the C-suite - one shaped by persistence, curiosity, and a willingness to take risks even when success was uncertain.
“I never imagined that I could even get outside of my hometown,” she said. “For me, even going to a larger city felt like a life goal.”
That mindset evolved as she began to seek out opportunities beyond what seemed immediately possible. “If the answer is no, I’ll find ten different ways to get there,” she said. “Anything that feels impossible - it gives me a bit of a kick to go after it.”
Central to that growth, she noted, has been a reframing of how leaders approach uncertainty and support. “Asking for help is a sign of strength, not a sign of weakness,” Rajavel said - an insight that has shaped both her leadership style and her approach to building teams.
Her time in Leavey’s Executive MBA program played a key role in that evolution, not by redirecting her career, but by expanding how she approached it. “It’s the experiential learning and the connections that you make for life,” she said. “You don’t have to know everything. You have to know how to build teams that complement you.”
The conversation also turned to one of the most pressing forces shaping business today: artificial intelligence. From her vantage point as a CIO, Rajavel described AI as more than just another wave of innovation - it represents a deeper structural shift.
“For the first time, we’re seeing technology disrupt cognitive work,” she said. “With AI, we are outsourcing our thinking in ways we haven’t before.”
While she remains optimistic about the long-term potential of AI, Rajavel emphasized that its rapid advancement requires leaders to be more intentional than ever. “It’s not about not falling,” she said. “It’s about how fast you get back up on your feet.”
At the same time, she pointed to a critical distinction: as AI begins to offload more of our cognitive work, the human elements of leadership become even more important. “We haven’t figured out how we carry the heart, the compassion [of leadership],” she said. “That’s where we still need to lead.”
Reflecting on the evening, Agrawal emphasized the value of bringing the community together in this format. “It was incredibly meaningful to welcome our Executive MBA community back to campus,” he said. “Meerah’s story and perspective are a powerful reminder of the impact our alumni are making and the leadership our community continues to cultivate.”
The Leavey School of Business will host its next Executive MBA Alumni Forum on June 10, featuring Carl Mount, Senior Vice President and Chief Supply Chain Officer at Jack in the Box and a Leavey Executive MBA alumnus.
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