10 IBM AI and data science leaders
David Cox, Vice President—AI Foundations | IBM Research, leads this list of IBM AI and data science leaders, who also include a vice president for AI and automation, an executive director of AI, and heads and directors of AI groups. A reader can learn how AI and data science leaders work at IBM from people who have held the role.
Professionals to explore
Anthony J. Annunziata
LinkedInExperience: Director of AI Open Innovation · IBM
Anthony J. Annunziata has been Director of AI Open Innovation at IBM since March 2023, responsible for IBM's strategy in open innovation for AI across software technologies, models, community, policy and partnerships. Anthony J. Annunziata was Director of Product and Engineering, AI-Accelerated Science at IBM from 2021 to 2023 and Director, Quantum Computing at IBM from 2017 to 2021.
Brad Topol
LinkedInExperience: IBM Distinguished Engineer, Director of AI and Cloud Open Technologies · IBM
Brad Topol has been IBM Distinguished Engineer, Director of AI and Cloud Open Technologies at IBM since February 2023, based in Apex, North Carolina. Brad Topol was IBM Distinguished Engineer, Open Technology and Developer Advocate CTO for Kubernetes Technologies at IBM from 2018 to 2023 and IBM Distinguished Engineer, OpenStack from 2012 to 2017.
David Cox
LinkedInExperience: Vice President—AI Foundations | IBM Research · IBM
David Cox has been Vice President—AI Foundations | IBM Research at IBM since January 2026, and the listing says David Cox is responsible globally for core research in generative AI. David Cox was Vice President, AI Models, IBM Research at IBM from 2023 to 2025 and has also been IBM Director, MIT-IBM Computing Research Lab since January 2026.
Dr. Liliana Horne, PhD
LinkedInExperience: Executive Director of AI | Chief Information Office | IBM · IBM
Liliana Horne has been Executive Director of AI | Chief Information Office | IBM at IBM since January 2023, where the listing says Liliana Horne leads IBM's AI Transformation strategy, advancing the adoption of Agentic AI, GenAI and IBM watsonx. Liliana Horne was Executive Director of AI Accelerator | Global Chief Data Office | IBM from 2022 to 2023.
Dwarkanath Prahlad Rao
LinkedInExperience: Head of Artificial Intelligence · IBM
Dwarkanath Prahlad Rao has been Head of Artificial Intelligence at IBM since January 2022 and describes the role as Head of Agentic AI Platforms and Solution Architecture at IBM Ireland for EMEA. Dwarkanath Prahlad Rao was also Head of AI Platforms | CTO, Financial Services Cloud & Architecture — IBM from 2022 to 2026 and Chief Solutions Architect at IBM from 2016 to 2022.
Mahesh Chitragar
LinkedInExperience: Head of AI CoE Engineering · IBM
Mahesh Chitragar has been Head of AI CoE Engineering at IBM since July 2020, where the listing says Mahesh Chitragar leads the AI Innovations and Inorganic growth teams for IBM Cloud. Mahesh Chitragar was VP Engineering at Spanugo from 2018 to 2020 and Director Of Engineering at CA Technologies from 2005 to 2016.
Munish Goyal
LinkedInExperience: Head of AI & Technology, Global Business Orchestration Services · IBM
Munish Goyal has been Head of AI & Technology, Global Business Orchestration Services at IBM since July 2026, based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Munish Goyal was Partner & Distinguished Engineer, CTO - Data & AI Enterprise Transformation at IBM Consulting from 2019 to 2026 and Chief Data Scientist at IBM Consulting from 2015 to 2019.
Nicholas (Nick) Fuller
LinkedInExperience: Vice President, AI and Automation · IBM
Nicholas Fuller has been Vice President, AI and Automation at IBM since January 2023, where the listing says Nicholas Fuller leads AI and automation innovation strategy for IBM's automation software business and launched enterprise-wide LLM and agentic AI research. Nicholas Fuller was Vice President, Distributed Cloud at IBM from 2021 to 2023 and Director, Hybrid Cloud Services, Master Inventor from 2017 to 2021.
Sujatha (Suj) Perepa
LinkedInExperience: CTO Data & AI · IBM
Sujatha Perepa has been CTO Data & AI at IBM since February 2022, in the office of the IBM CIO, where the listing says Sujatha Perepa leads the AI and data strategies. Sujatha Perepa has also been Distinguished Engineer - IBM CIO -SAP Platforms at IBM since March 2026 and was IBM Distinguished Engineer there from 2019 to 2026.
Will Scott, Ph.D.
LinkedInExperience: Head of AI Technology, IBM Carbon Design System · IBM
Will Scott has been Head of AI Technology, IBM Carbon Design System at IBM since December 2025, leading the AI engineering team inside IBM's design system, and the listing says Will Scott architected the team's agent tooling and led it through adoption by IBM product teams and general availability. Will Scott was Head of Accessibility Technology & Innovation at IBM from 2024 to 2025.
Choose the right perspective
Pick the person whose own group sits closest to your question, whether that is research, internal AI adoption or AI engineering. Check the start dates of each role to see how recent the experience is.
Questions to take into the conversation
- 01How have you decided which AI work your own group takes on and which it leaves to others in the company?
- 02What has it taken to move an AI capability from an early prototype into regular use by other teams?
- 03How have you set up your group's working relationship with product, engineering and business leaders?
Reaching IBM AI and data science leaders
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About this directory
This is a professional research starting point based on business profile data retrieved on . Titles and companies reflect that source snapshot; roles marked former had ended by then. Check the linked profiles for current details. Inclusion does not imply Instant Expert membership or availability.