Artificial intelligence is everywhere, yet many organizations still struggle to use it effectively. Rashida Hodge, a Microsoft executive and ISE alumna, sees the issue differently. As Corporate Vice President of Cloud and AI Platform Customer Success at Microsoft, she leads global strategy for data driven transformation. She will also deliver a keynote address at the 2026 IISE Annual Conference and Expo. “Right now, we’re surrounded by what AI could do but very few organizations have fully figured out what it should do,” she said. She argues the challenge is not technical. Instead, it is about making AI work reliably in real systems.
Hodge brings more than two decades of global experience in artificial intelligence and emerging technologies. She has worked in more than 70 countries, including China and Slovakia. Previously, she helped commercialize IBM Watson and built its AI services business. Because of this experience, she has seen how organizations struggle to scale innovation. “The hardest part of AI isn’t the technology itself, it’s adoption,” she explained. As a result, companies must learn how to turn models into tools people trust. They must also integrate AI into everyday workflows.
Hodge believes this challenge creates a major opportunity for industrial and systems engineers. “Those fundamentals, systems thinking, human centered design and disciplined execution, are exactly what’s required,” she said. These skills help organizations manage complexity and change. Engineers, she added, do not need to reinvent themselves. Instead, they can apply what they already know to guide AI adoption at scale.
At the same time, Hodge emphasized that this moment is not entirely new. “We’ve seen this pattern before. Innovation moves fast, but adoption takes time,” she said. Past technologies also required careful integration before delivering value. She urged engineers to focus less on hype. Instead, they should study how systems evolve and stabilize over time.
The IISE Annual Conference and Expo 2026 will bring together industrial and systems engineers from around the world. The event will feature new technologies, practical tools and opportunities for collaboration. In this setting, Hodge plans to focus on responsible and lasting change. “We’re not behind in AI. We’re still learning how to absorb it,” she said. Leaders must decide carefully how and where AI fits. Ultimately, success will depend on judgment, patience and responsible design.