Infosys Topaz AI Conversations: Zurich Chapter

Anna Maria Blengino is the Chief Information Officer of Sunrise, a position she has held since April 2023. After rejoining Sunrise Communications in 2017 as Director of Platform Delivery, Anna Maria acted as the IT stream lead following the Sunrise–UPC transaction, and then, in her current role, became responsible for IT Strategy and Innovation. Prior to this, she spent four years at UBS from 2014 to 2017, responsible for global worldwide automation shared services. Anna Maria has over 25 years of experience in the IT industry.

Asim Khan is Head of Artificial Intelligence & Enterprise Architecture, IT, at MSC Cruises SA, and a member of the Enterprise AI Steering Committee chaired by the CEO & Executive Chairman. He leads the enterprise's IT roadmap for Generative AI adoption, focusing on enhancing customer experiences, boosting workforce productivity, and driving revenue growth across the organization.

MSC Cruises’ AI team launched the first in-house production-grade agentic Generative AI customer service solution, MSC Virtual Concierge. Adopting a bottom-up approach tied to rapid prototyping and a ‘fail fast’ mindset, the team leveraged AI tools and a new SDLC to deploy new innovative solutions in the customer care and content space in record time. Previously Asim managed the technology side of MSC's global digital channels. He has extensive experience driving technology transformations across diverse industries, including mission-critical projects for enterprises such as the New York Stock Exchange in USA.

He has an MS in Computer Science and expertise spanning AI, enterprise architecture, and digital transformation. He champions responsible AI adoption and works to establish enterprise-wide AI policies, frameworks & delivery capability for safe, effective implementation.

Balakrishna D.R., popularly known as Bali, is an Executive Vice President at Infosys and leads the Industry Verticals and AI and Automation practice globally. Bali holds P&L accountability for a $3 Billion portfolio and is responsible for new service offerings, solutions, platforms, and partnerships. He also champions the adoption of AI and automation in all service offerings and internal functions within Infosys, aiming to improve efficiency and drive differentiation.

Bali has been with Infosys for nearly 30 years in sales, occupying roles in program management and delivery across different geographies and industry verticals. In his previous roles, he led ADM, SAP, and Testing service lines and served as the head of the Bangalore development center. During his eight-year tenure in the US and Canada, he established Infosys' first Global Development Center in Canada. He has managed several large programs for Infosys, catering to different Fortune 500 clients.

He is an active member and speaks at multiple industry forums and panels, such as NASSCOM, CII, SPE, TM Forum, British High Commission-UK-India Tech Team, and AI Governance in India. Additionally , he collaborates with multiple universities and startups and has authored several thought leadership papers and articles on AI.

A transformative Group Chief Information Officer with over two decades of experience driving technological advancement and business growth for multinational corporations. A proven ability to architect and execute enterprise-wide digital and Artificial Intelligence (AI) transformations, delivering substantial ROI and enhancing competitive advantage. An influential leader recognized for cultivating high-performance teams and seamlessly aligning innovative technology solutions with overarching business objectives.

Pioneering AI-Driven Business Transformation & Innovation Championed and led the enterprise-wide adoption of Artificial Intelligence, from strategic scouting (including Open AI, Google Imagen 3, Connected Stories) to the successful deployment of numerous high-impact AI solutions across diverse business functions.

Enhanced Customer Experience & Operational Efficiency through AI:

1. Launched an AI-powered multilingual chatbot, providing 24/7 guest support, achieving a 30.1% cabin adoption rate and handling over 129,000 user sessions, resulting in annual savings of approximately €100k per ship.
2. Implemented an AI-driven system for automated restaurant seating, improving allocation by 30-50% and significantly reducing crew workload.
3. Deployed AI to categorize and expedite complaint resolution, enhancing accuracy and customer satisfaction.

Revenue Growth & Marketing Optimization with AI:

1. Drove an AI-powered multi-channel content marketing strategy that increased engagement and conversion rates.
2. Automated spa service pricing optimization with an AI-driven model, leading to improved revenue growth and market penetration.

Global Communication & Data Insights via AI:

1. Rolled out an AI-based translation platform supporting 80+ languages, achieving up to 90% reduction in translation time and significant cost savings.
2. Leveraged AI to analyze multimedia logs and open-text survey comments, improving NPS and enabling faster issue identification.

Strategic AI Oversight & Operational Model Evolution:

1. Initiated the strategic review of the IT operating model to natively embed AI capabilities within core processes, including service management, legacy systems code modernization, help desk, and portfolio management.

Florian works at Microsoft as a Senior Partner Solution Architect for Data & AI, focusing on the Swiss market since October 2022. With a background that combines over seven years of experience in IT consulting and a PhD in Innovation Management from the University of Bremen, he helps drive AI adoption and strengthen the partner ecosystem in Switzerland. In his role, Florian advises partners, startups, and customers on a broad range of Azure cloud products and AI services to help them leverage technology effectively. Florian is also a passionate developer and an enthusiastic user of AI agents. He actively builds agentic solutions and recently created a platform for scraping and exploring AI use cases, combining practical tools with hands-on insights to make AI more accessible and impactful.

Micha Helbig is the Senior Vice President and Regional Head of Financial Services for Continental Europe at Infosys, where he has worked for 18 years. His career spans consulting, business development, and client relationship management across Europe and APAC. Having started his career as a business consultant, Micha has over 28 years of experience in consulting, business development, client relationship management and alliance management, primarily in software and services for the Financial Services Industry across Europe and from 2005- 2020 also in Australia/APAC.

Micha is currently based in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. He is originally from Groningen (also Netherlands), where he received a MSc. in Business Administration from the University of Groningen. He also holds a Master of Sport Administration and Facility Management from Ohio University in the US.

In his spare time, Micha loves spending time with his wife Hannah and son Jules, staying fit doing CrossFit and reading, mostly crime novels and management books.

Mona Dash heads Infosys Topaz, an AI-first suite of offerings, in Europe. Mona is a seasoned Tech sales leader with over twenty years of experience in Europe, in complex solution sales in the OSS, BSS and more significantly in the Automation and AI solutions space. She works across the partners ecosystem and industry verticals with a view to articulate and enable Infosys service lines and customers with AI led and enabled programs. She is a Telecoms Engineer, holds an MBA and also a Masters in Creative Writing. She is an award-winning author of five published books, has been featured in more than thirty anthologies, and is also a public speaker. With this intersection between Technology and Creativity, she is both excited and cautious about the possibilities and challenges AI offers.

With over 32 years of industry experience, Nagaraj Joshi (aka “ Joshi”) is a seasoned aerospace & mechanical engineer specializing in turbine technology, energy systems, propulsion, aerospace, and defense. His deep technical expertise spans turbomachinery, propulsion engineering, and energy transition, enabling him to drive innovation across critical sectors such as Energy, Aerospace, Propulsion , Defense and advanced manufacturing.

Throughout his career, with Industry & Infosys Joshi has held diverse leadership roles including Engineer, Chief Engineer, Head of Business, Global P&L Leader, Country Head, and Board Member. His strategic and operational acumen has helped shape engineering programs and business portfolios on a global scale, aligning advanced technology with long-term organizational growth.

Currently, Joshi serves as Global Client Partner for Turbomachinery, Defense, and Aerospace Manufacturing in addition to his role as a Country Head for Infosys Switzerland as well Member of the Board, for Infosys Consulting Holding (AG) , consulting business of fully owned subsidiary of Infosys Limited, global HQ at Swiss. In this capacity, he leads global teams and manages strategic client relationships across multiple regions. As a trusted advisor to senior stakeholders and industry leaders, he plays a key role in shaping and accelerating technology adoption in areas such as energy transition, digital engineering, sustainable aviation, and advanced manufacturing. Joshi is known for his ability to bridge engineering, business and tech, offering insight-driven guidance that supports clients’ transformation agendas and long-term competitiveness. His leadership continues to influence industry’s best practices and emerging trends at the intersection of engineering innovation and strategic execution.

Thomas Jung is the Chief Data Officer at Syngenta Group. Syngenta helps millions of farmers around the world to grow safe and nutritious food, while taking care of the planet. Thomas is the executive responsible for Syngenta’s Data and AI strategy, realizing the transformative potential of digital solutions for agriculture. Thomas has a strong track record leading technology and business transformation, with a career spanning across technology consulting, M&A integration and most recently leading the digitalization of R&D at Syngenta crop protection.

Vivek leads the AI and Automation portfolio at Infosys, helping clients transform their businesses by leveraging AI. He also drives the adoption of AI and automation across all service offerings and internal functions at Infosys to improve efficiency and create differentiation. As an AI leader, he is responsible for competency development, building service offerings, solutions, platforms, and partnerships in this space. He collaborates with think tanks, academia, industry leaders, and regulatory bodies on AI adoption and the responsible and ethical use of AI.