What it takes to make AI work in enterprises | Head of Product Strategy ⁨@rackspacetechnology⁩

What does AI strategy look like inside industries that are still catching up to cloud?In this episode, Mala speaks with Madhavi Rajan, Head of Product Strategy for Rackspace’s Private Cloud business, about her journey from NASA-funded research to enterprise infrastructure and AI strategy. Madhavi shares hard-earned lessons from 20+ years in deep tech, including how to move from engineering to product, why enterprise customers adopt technology slowly, and how leaders should think about private cloud, responsible AI, security, and business outcomes.This episode is especially relevant for founders, product leaders, infrastructure builders, enterprise SaaS teams, cloud strategists, AI operators, and anyone building for industries that move slowly but matter deeply.________________________________________________________Timestamps:00:05 – Madhavi Rajan’s journey into cloud and AI strategy01:34 – Early career in semiconductors and networking02:36 – The cancelled project that changed her career04:13 – Moving from technical execution to strategy05:07 – Breaking into product management06:04 – What private cloud means for enterprise customers07:45 – Private cloud, public cloud, and regulated industries08:55 – How AI workloads fit into private cloud09:41 – AI sandboxes for sovereign and enterprise customers10:52 – Why security is horizontal across AI and infrastructure12:39 – Technology waves, enterprise laggards, and the reality of infrastructure adoption15:26 – Responsible AI, GPUs, CPUs, and business outcomes17:48 – Enterprise AI for efficiency vs revenue generation20:10 – Why Copilot adoption is not the same as an AI strategy24:26 – Infrastructure partnerships, ecosystems, and what real AI adoption will require26:07 – Rapid fire with Madhavi28:07 – Leading through ambiguity in AI strategy________________________________________________________🔗 Connect with Madhavi Rajan → https://www.linkedin.com/in/madhavi-rajan/🔗 Connect with Mala Ramakrishnan → https://www.linkedin.com/in/malaramakrishnan🎧 Subscribe to the podcastYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnL3D6aI60R-cCvypFIkh4ASpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1NIDE4cT5fuVjC3HaGbCDK?si=eoSTNmhqQNKHQl9d1Jx0UQApple Podcast: https://podcastsconnect.apple.com/my-podcasts/show/talking-to-the-leaders-of-ai-the-ceo-series-with-mala/22ad2bae-502b-4eb1-aa74-53bc79754db7Visit our Website: https://malaramakrishnan.com | https://founderscreative.org#MalasPodcast #MadhaviRajan #Rackspace #PrivateCloud #AIstrategy #EnterpriseAI #CloudComputing #Infrastructure #ProductStrategy #WomenInTech #TechLeadership #ResponsibleAI #HybridCloud #DataCenters #AIInfrastructure #ProductManagement #EnterpriseTechnology #CloudStrategy #Founders #DeepTech