The Directorate of Executive Education and Professional Studies (DEEPS), SRM University-AP, organised a Management Development Programme, “Decision Intelligence for Leaders (DIL),” from June 25 – 27, 2026.
The three-day exclusive forum was the vision of two remarkable individuals – Mr Venkateswaran Ramamurthy, Director of DEEPS, who conceived and built the programme from the ground up, and Prof. Ch. Satish Kumar, Vice Chancellor, SRM AP, whose belief in executive education as a transformative force made it possible.
Day 1 anchored the cohort in the human side of leadership. Mr Varun Upadhyay of the Art of Living spoke about the inner clarity that underlies every great decision. Shri KSLN Rao, Principal, Southern India Bankers Training College, Bangalore, brought decades of wisdom from high-stakes banking.
Dr Srabani Basu, Associate Professor, SRM AP, explored how leaders build trust through complexity. The day ended with Prof. Ch. Satish Kumar leading participants through the university’s Quantum Research Centre, one of India’s most advanced quantum computing facilities, built 85% indigenously.
Day 2 went deep into the technical and strategic. Mr Rakesh N Subramanian of NTT Data India made the case that design-led businesses will win, and every customer interaction is an untapped data opportunity.
Ms Padma Vakkalanka, Global Practice Head for Digital Engineering, Data and AI at Bahwan CyberTek, led the room on a journey from data to impact. She stated, “Reports do not drive action. Confidence does. Data is no longer the competitive advantage. Better decisions are. And AI creates value only when it augments human judgment.”
Prof. Soumitra Dutta, founder of the Global Innovation Index, delivered a masterclass on exponential thinking and the bold leadership our world urgently needs. A panel discussion closed the day with sharp conversations on AI in banking and the challenge of human bias in intelligent systems.
Day 3 ended with a live judgement exercise and a certificate distribution ceremony that marked not just the close of a programme, but the beginning of something far bigger. DIL was a curated experience designed to challenge assumptions, sharpen judgment, and shift the way senior professionals approach decisions in a world shaped by AI and data.
