Interested in attending? Contact ocrevents@mit.edu for more information about the event.
Building on insights from the 2025 MIT Research and Development Conference on November 18–19, we invite you to continue the conversation at our member-exclusive workshop on Thursday, November 20, at the MIT Industry Meeting Center (E90).
This interactive session builds on conference insights and explores how AI is transforming leadership, decision-making, and resilience. Tailored specifically for ILP members and led by experts Abel Sanchez and Blade Kotelly, participants will:
Designed for senior leaders, innovation officers, and executives, the workshop combines expert guidance with peer learning in an intimate setting. Through hands-on exercises and facilitated discussions, attendees will gain practical frameworks and clear direction for driving AI adoption across their organizations.
Interested in attending? Contact your ILP Program Director, or send email to ocrevents@mit.edu for more information about the event.
Research Scientist, MIT
Dr. Sanchez holds a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and serves as the Executive Director of MIT's Geospatial Data Center (GDC). His expertise encompasses the Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data, AI, Generative AI, Cybersecurity, and Digital Innovation. He has taught graduate courses in Data Science, Cybersecurity, and Innovation, focusing on large-scale computation for the past eight years.
In IoT, Dr. Sanchez led the global network architecture at MIT, addressing large-scale computation challenges. His work highlights IoT's vast scale, surpassing the combined total of the world's 2 billion computers, 7 billion phones, and 8 billion people. He also directed simulations of U.S. critical infrastructure with the National Infrastructure Simulation and Analysis Center (NISAC).
Dr. Sanchez's early data science work involved supply chain information engineering, analytics, simulation, and visualization with companies such as Wal-Mart, Kraft, and SAP. He extended this work to global anti-counterfeiting efforts with Johnson & Johnson, SAP, and Altria, developing a track-and-trace system using RFID standards still utilized globally.
In enterprise computing, Dr. Sanchez designed a global data infrastructure simulator for Ford Motor Company, modeling various system components to identify data center reduction opportunities, potentially saving billions.
In cybersecurity, he directed large-scale cyber attack impact analyses and designed Cyber Ranges for the Department of Defense (DOD), conducting repeatable experiments and modeling cyber environments. He also led a DOD security study on Enterprise Resource Planning systems across the U.S. Armed Forces.
Dr. Sanchez pioneered password security with a Negative Authentication (NA) system for the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA), inspired by the immune system's T-cell process.
In machine learning, he designed a situational awareness framework for financial fraud detection in collaboration with Accenture, improving false positive ratios and identifying fraudulent activities in vast, unlabeled financial data sets.
Dr. Sanchez is the founder and Chief Software Architect of the Open Source RFID platform project. His software systems are employed by companies such as Samsung, NEC, NTT, Hitachi, Motorola, SAP, IBM, Microsoft, Sandia National Laboratories, MIT, and several organizations in East Asia and Europe.
Dr. Abel Sanchez is an instructor in advanced and applied topics such as Applied Blockchain, Applied Cybersecurity, Applied Generative AI for Digital Transformation, and Cloud & DevOps: Continuous Transformation at MIT Professional Education. He offers Blended Professional Certificate Programs for Chief Digital Officer, Chief Product Officer, and Chief Technology Officer roles, as well as courses in Blockchain Technology and Data Leadership. Through MIT Professional Education, Dr. Sanchez has taught professionals in 106 countries, focusing on leveraging technology for digital transformation, with courses available in multiple languages globally.
Over the past three years, Dr. Sanchez has focused his work on Generative AI, applying it across classrooms, industry, and government. He has developed on-demand interactive intelligent tutors and created applications, assistants, and agents for sectors including retail, finance, and education. His work demonstrates a commitment to advancing AI technologies and their practical applications, enhancing learning experiences, improving industry efficiencies, and supporting government initiatives with cutting-edge AI solutions.
He advises companies in the Americas, Europe, and the Middle East.
Discover how Agentic AI is transforming the way we think about leadership, delegation, and accountability. This session dives into the unique capabilities of Agentic AI compared to traditional AI and generative models, showcasing its role in driving digital transformation. Gain insights into how autonomous systems are reshaping decision-making and scaling operations, with real-world examples of organizations leveraging this technology to lead in an AI-driven world.
Senior Lecturer, MIT
Blade is an innovation and user-experience expert & Senior Lecturer at MIT on Design-Thinking and Innovation. Blade provides consulting service in Design-Thinking and helps top brands to innovate radically on their product and services, and teaches corporate teams how to create solutions that customers love. Customers include Bose, CPI International, Whirlpool, Lufthansa, The D.C. Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, and others.
Prior to that, Blade led the Advanced Concept Lab at Sonos where he defined the future experience that will fill your home with music. Prior to joining Sonos, Blade was the VP Design & Consumer Experience at Jibo, Inc. where he was in charge of the industrial-design, human-factors, user-interface, brand, packaging, web experience supporting Jibo, the world’s first social robot for the home. Blade has also designed a variety of technologies including ones at Rapid7, an enterprise security-software company, StorytellingMachines, a software firm enabling anyone to make high-impact movies, Endeca Technologies, a search and information access software technology company, Edify and SpeechWorks, companies that provided speech-recognition solutions to the Fortune 1000.
Blade wrote the book on speech-recognition interface design (Addison Wesley, 2003), The Art and Business of Speech Recognition: Creating the Noble Voice and his work and thoughts have been featured in publications including The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and on media including TechTV, NPR, and the BBC. Since 2003, Blade has taught courses on design-thinking to thousands of students and professionals, and holds a Bachelors of Science in Human-Factors Engineering from Tufts University and a Master of Science in Engineering and Management from MIT.
Learn how to transform AI from a promising concept into a scalable driver of growth and efficiency. This workshop offers a practical framework for large enterprises to staff effectively, choose the right starting points, and navigate the phases of AI adoption with confidence. Learn how governance, alignment, and adaptability play a critical role in ensuring AI systems remain trustworthy and resilient. Explore supervisory frameworks like SuperAI to maintain oversight and checks as AI evolves. By balancing innovation with execution and vision with governance, your organization can harness AI as a powerful tool for long-term competitive advantage.