AI era calls engineers to think like CEOs, says OpenAI VP

Srinivas Narayanan, speaking at Sangam 2025, said AI is transforming engineers from coders into strategic thinkers, urging them to adopt a CEO mindset as AI takes over execution and enables focus on vision and leadership

Artificial Intelligence is no longer just transforming industries—it’s redefining the mindset required to lead them. Speaking at the sixth edition of Sangam 2025, the flagship innovation summit of the IIT Madras Alumni Association, Srinivas Narayanan, Vice President of Engineering at OpenAI, said the role of engineers is shifting from writing code to making strategic decisions like CEOs.

“For every software engineer, the job is going to shift from being an engineer to being a CEO,” Narayanan told a packed audience. “You now have the tools to do so much more, so you should aspire bigger.” He described AI as a “super-assistant” that is increasingly capable of handling execution-level tasks, allowing professionals to focus on broader vision, purpose, and leadership.

Narayanan, who has led several high-impact projects at OpenAI including Codex, stressed that engineers will increasingly define the “what” and “why” rather than the “how.” He explained that the shift demands a mindset of ambition, creativity, and long-term thinking, rather than mere technical execution.

AI’s promise beyond engineering

AI’s potential, according to him, extends well beyond software engineering. He cited emerging use cases in healthcare and scientific research, where reasoning models are enabling earlier diagnoses of rare genetic diseases and helping researchers formulate new hypotheses. He emphasized that AI, when responsibly deployed, can amplify human potential across all sectors.

However, with such power comes responsibility. Narayanan emphasized the importance of safety, governance, and transparency in AI development. He acknowledged that OpenAI does not get everything right at first, but added that the organization rapidly learns and iterates to reduce risks, including those related to misinformation or misuse.

The event also saw the selection of three promising startups from over 250 applications to receive support from the IIT Madras Innovation Ecosystem, which has helped launch over 500 ventures to date. These included a startup developing fiber-optic sensing systems for infrastructure monitoring, another creating precision gimbals for defense and drone applications, and a medical technology firm working on solid-state laser tools for eye surgery.

Narayanan concluded with a strong message: the future belongs to those who embrace AI not as a threat, but as a tool to elevate human ambition, creativity, and leadership.