CHI 2016 Thursday Morning Plenary
Vishal Sikka, CEO of Infosys, in conversation with Alan Kay, Viewpoints Research Institute

Alan Kay, Computing pioneer, Viewpoints Research Institute

Alan Kay is best known for pioneering personal and laptop computers, and the inventions of the now ubiquitous overlapping-window interface (GUI), and modern object-oriented programming, as part of the larger Advanced Research Projects Agency and Xerox PARC research communities. He likes to say “No one owes more to his research community than I do”.

His deep interests in developing children’s learning and thinking were the catalysts for these ideas, and they continue to inspire his research.

He has intertwined “the Arts”—professional jazz musician in his early years, avid classical pipe organist to the present, deep involvements in theater and design)—and “the Sciences” (which are also “Arts”)—with a B.A. in Mathematics and Molecular Biology, with concentrations in Anthropology and English from the University of Colorado at Boulder, M.S. (1968) and Ph.D degrees in Computer Science from the University of Utah.

Recognition includes the ACM’s Turing Award and Software Systems Awards, National Academy of Engineering’s Draper Prize, the Kyoto Prize, and other awards and honorary degrees. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the National Association for the Advancement of Science, Royal Society of Arts, and the Computer History Museum.


Vishal Sikka, CEO, Infosys
Vishal Sikka is Director of the Board, and Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director of Infosys. He is featured among the top 50 CEOs in Glassdoor’s annual Employees’ Choice Awards for the Highest Rated CEOs in 2015.

Prior to joining Infosys, Dr. Sikka was a member of the Executive Board of SAP AG, leading all products and technologies, and driving innovation globally. In his 12 years at SAP, Dr. Sikka was instrumental in defining the company’s technology and product strategy and architecture. He is credited with creating the in-memory data platform, SAP HANA. He accelerated SAP’s development processes, bringing about a focus on design and user experience, transforming the company’s innovation culture, expanding engagement with startups and venture investing, and leading product incubation and co-creation with customers. He is also the creator of the concept of ‘timeless software’, which articulates the principles for the renewal of products without disruption to customer environments. He is especially known for his championship of technology as an amplifier of human potential, and his passion for applying software in purposeful ways to address some of the biggest global challenges.

His experience includes research in artificial intelligence, intelligent systems, programming languages and models, and information management – at Stanford University, at Xerox Palo Alto Labs, and as founder of two startup companies.

Dr. Sikka received his BS in Computer Science from Syracuse University. He holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Stanford University.

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Recorded on May 12th, 2016 at the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, San Jose, CA, USA

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