Vivek Sharma

Vivek Sharma helps boards and management teams grow their businesses through AI, data, and digital transformation.

Vivek is a Senior Advisor for AI at Advent International, a leading global PE firm with $90B AUM, and serves on the boards of Kaiser Permanente, JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ: JBLU), and Hexaware Solutions. He is an adjunct professor of data science at the University of Southern California and a member of Caltech’s Innovation Science & Technology (IST) advisory council. An accomplished author, Vivek has written two books— “C-SPARK: CEO-led Workforce Education for the AGE of AND” and “WIREFRAMED: Simplifying Digital Innovation for Business Leaders”—as well as several HBR and NACD-Directorship articles, including “It’s Time for Boards to Take AI Seriously,” “6 Ways AI Could Disrupt Your Business” and “ Shift Your Focus to Strategic AI Risks.”

Previously, as CEO and co-founder of InStride, a Los Angeles-based EdTech company established in 2019, Vivek transformed the company into a profitable 200-person enterprise. Under his four years of leadership, InStride partnered with 41 major corporations, helping their employees avoid $630 million in student debt and earning a spot on Fortune’s ‘Global Impact 20’ list. Before InStride, Vivek spent six years at The Walt Disney Company as Senior Vice President, Digital Guest Experience & eCommerce, leading a $10 billion eCommerce business and serving 150 million guests annually across Disney’s global network of theme parks, resorts, cruises, restaurants and retail businesses. In earlier stints, Vivek served at Yahoo for four years as General Manager of Yahoo Mail & Messenger and Vice President of Yahoo Search, and at McKinsey & Company for eight years as Associate Partner of technology practice.

Vivek graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, and holds an MBA from INSEAD, France.