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Priya  Lakhani

Priya Lakhani

CEO of Century Tech, Renowned Entrepreneur, AI Expert & Advocate for Innovation in Education & Business

Priya Lakhani

CEO of Century Tech, Renowned Entrepreneur, AI Expert & Advocate for Innovation in Education & Business

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Biography

Priya Lakhani OBE is a renowned entrepreneur, AI expert, and advocate for innovation in business and education. As the founder and CEO of CENTURY Tech, she has revolutionized learning through artificial intelligence, helping schools and organizations worldwide enhance teaching and training. A passionate keynote speaker, Priya shares insights on AI, leadership, and the future of work, drawing from her experience as a successful business leader and government advisor. Her dynamic and inspiring talks empower audiences to embrace technology and drive meaningful change. 

In 2008, Priya left her career as a barrister to launch a successful FMCG business, which through its charitable foundation provided millions of meals and thousands of vaccinations to the underprivileged in India and Africa.

She was appointed to the UK government’s AI Council in 2019 and co-founded the Institute for Ethical AI for the education sector. Between 2021 and 2023, Priya was appointed as Non-Executive Board Member to the UK Government Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS), with specific focus on online safety and technology. In 2023 she was an advisor to Patrick Vallance for his Pro-innovation Regulation of Technologies Review and currently advises the government as a member of the Prime Minister’s Council of Science and Technology.

Most recently, Priya was selected by the World Economic Forum as a Tech Pioneer for her pioneering AI work at CENTURY and has received a number of prestigious awards including the MIT SOLVE award (2018), the National Economic Innovator of the Year by The Spectator (2019), The Mayor’s Fund Special Recognition Award (2016) and Business Entrepreneur of the Year by the Chancellor of the Exchequer (2009). Priya has also received investment and a grant from MIT to develop cutting edge AI technology for education.

Priya holds numerous trustee and non-executive posts, and was awarded an OBE in 2014. She is an Honorary Vice President of the Council of British International Schools and in 2020 she received an honorary doctorate from Coventry University’s engineering faculty. She is co-host of BBC News’s flagship AI programme, AI Decoded on The Context, with Christian Fraser.

Speech Topics

The 13%: Entrepreneurial Mindset in Corporate Environments

Innovation does not depend on having the freedom of a startup. It depends on people who can see opportunity, challenge convention, and keep moving when the path forward is unclear. Drawing on her experience as an entrepreneur and business leader, Priya Lakhani explores how executives and intrapreneurs can bring an entrepreneurial mindset into complex corporate environments. Priya examines how purpose, resilience, and agility help leaders overcome cultural barriers, navigate uncertainty, and turn ambitious ideas into meaningful business impact. She also shares how organizations can create the conditions for employees to think more boldly without losing sight of strategy, accountability, or results. This inspiring keynote equips audiences to lead with greater conviction and drive innovation from wherever they sit.

Audiences will learn:

  • How to apply an entrepreneurial mindset within established organizations

  • Ways to overcome cultural and structural barriers to innovation

  • How purpose and resilience can strengthen leadership and business impact

Disruption, Innovation & Building a Culture That Thrives on Change

Disruption creates opportunity only when organizations are prepared to act on it. Drawing on her experience as an entrepreneur and innovation leader, Priya Lakhani explores how companies can turn technological change into new products, stronger business models, and lasting growth. Priya examines why innovation often stalls inside established organizations and what leaders can do to embed experimentation, accountability, and adaptability into everyday operations. Through practical examples of corporate reinvention, she shows how incentives, performance measures, and cross-functional ways of working can support meaningful transformation. This forward-looking keynote gives leaders a clearer roadmap for moving beyond isolated ideas and building a culture that can respond to change with confidence.

Audiences will learn:

  • How to identify opportunities for innovation amid disruption

  • Ways to embed innovation into operations, incentives, and performance measures

  • How to lead digital transformation with greater clarity and adaptability

Artificial Intelligence: Opportunity, Disruption & Strategy

Artificial intelligence is creating new possibilities across nearly every function, but turning that potential into lasting value requires more than adopting the latest tools. Priya Lakhani gives enterprise leaders a clear view of where AI is headed, how organizations are already using it, and which developments are most likely to matter over the next several years. Priya explores practical applications ranging from productivity and automation to personalization and forecasting, while also examining the risks that can undermine implementation. She offers a strategic framework for identifying the right opportunities, aligning AI initiatives with business priorities, and building the capabilities needed to scale responsibly. The keynote also addresses the wider forces shaping AI, including regulation, security, and geopolitical change. Audiences leave better equipped to move beyond experimentation and develop an AI strategy grounded in purpose, evidence, and sound judgment.

Audiences will learn:

  • How to identify the AI opportunities most relevant to their organization

  • What leaders must consider when moving from experimentation to implementation

  • How to build a responsible AI strategy aligned with business priorities

Sector-Specific AI: Insights & Strategic Applications

The value of artificial intelligence depends on how well it addresses the realities of a particular industry. Drawing on her broad cross-sector experience, Priya Lakhani translates complex AI developments into practical insights, risks, and opportunities relevant to each audience. Priya explores how organizations are applying AI to challenges such as personalization, forecasting, operational efficiency, customer experience, and decision-making. Depending on the sector, she may examine applications across financial services, retail, media, education, travel, logistics, and other fields while addressing the regulatory and ethical considerations shaping adoption. Tailored to the audience’s industry and level of AI maturity, this keynote helps leaders identify meaningful use cases and determine where investment can deliver the greatest value.

Audiences will learn:

  • How AI is being applied within their industry

  • Which opportunities and risks deserve the greatest attention

  • How to prioritize use cases based on organizational needs and readiness

HI, AI & the Future of Work and Skills

The future of work will not be shaped by artificial intelligence alone, but by how effectively people learn to work with it. Priya Lakhani explores how AI is changing roles, redefining valuable skills, and creating new expectations for leaders and employees across an organization. Priya examines where technology can augment human judgment and productivity, as well as the capabilities people will need to remain effective, including critical thinking, adaptability, and data literacy. She also considers how hiring, upskilling, and corporate learning must evolve as traditional job descriptions give way to more fluid ways of working. This forward-looking keynote helps leaders prepare their workforce for change while keeping human potential at the center of AI adoption.

Audiences will learn:

  • How human-AI collaboration is reshaping roles and responsibilities

  • Which skills will become more valuable as AI capabilities expand

  • How organizations can rethink hiring, learning, and workforce development

The Future of Truth: AI, Attention & the Ethics of Influence

When anyone can create convincing content at scale, trust becomes one of the most valuable and vulnerable assets an organization has. Priya Lakhani explores how generative AI, persuasive technology, and algorithmic systems are reshaping what people see, believe, and share. Priya examines the growing influence of deepfakes, misinformation, and data-driven manipulation, along with the effects these technologies can have on public confidence, employee judgment, and customer relationships. She also considers the responsibility organizations have to protect information integrity and adopt AI in ways that respect individual autonomy. This timely keynote gives leaders a clearer framework for navigating influence responsibly while helping people become more discerning consumers of digital information.

Audiences will learn:

  • How AI and algorithms are changing attention, trust, and decision-making

  • What organizations can do to protect information integrity

  • How media literacy can help employees and customers navigate digital manipulation

AI Strategy Workshop (With Foundational Keynote)

A successful AI strategy begins with a shared understanding of the technology and a clear view of where it can create meaningful value. In this interactive half- or full-day workshop, Priya Lakhani opens with a foundational keynote that gives cross-functional teams a common language for discussing AI’s capabilities, limitations, and strategic implications. Priya then guides participants through a structured process for identifying relevant use cases and evaluating them based on feasibility, potential impact, and alignment with organizational priorities. Teams will also consider the data, skills, partnerships, and governance needed to move promising ideas forward responsibly. By the end of the session, participants will have a clearer set of priorities and practical next steps for piloting or scaling AI across the organization.

Participants will learn:

  • How to identify AI use cases with meaningful organizational value

  • A practical framework for prioritizing opportunities and assessing readiness

  • How to define the resources and next steps needed for responsible implementation