The Leadership in Technology: Distinguished Lecture Series invites you to hear from industry leaders and find inspiration in their journeys as you embark upon your own path to challenge the present and enrich the future through the innovative use of technology.
Sponsored by Information and Technology Services and the Office of the Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer.
Securing What Comes Next: Cybersecurity Leadership in the Age of AI
A fireside chat with Nikesh Arora, chairman and CEO of Palo Alto Networks
Thursday, October 22, 2026 • 2–3 p.m. (Check-In begins: 1:30 p.m.)
Rackham Auditorium, University of Michigan Central Campus
915 E. Washington St., Ann Arbor, MI 48109
The University of Michigan’s Leadership in Technology: Distinguished Lecture Series welcomes Nikesh Arora, chairman and CEO of Palo Alto Networks, a Fortune 500 company and global leader in AI and cybersecurity serving enterprises and governments worldwide. Arora will join Ravi Pendse, vice president for information technology and chief information officer at U-M, for a candid, forward-looking conversation about cybersecurity leadership in the age of AI.
AI is reshaping both sides of cybersecurity. It is giving adversaries powerful new ways to move faster, operate at scale and target increasingly complex systems. At the same time, AI is becoming essential to identifying threats, strengthening defenses and helping security teams respond with greater speed and precision. As cyber conflict begins to move at machine speed, how can organizations keep pace?
Drawing on his leadership at Palo Alto Networks and previous senior roles at Google and SoftBank, Arora will share his perspective on the evolving threat landscape, emerging trends and AI’s rapidly expanding role in cybersecurity. The conversation will explore where cyber risks are headed, how defenders can prepare and why technology alone is never the complete answer.
Attend in person at Rackham Auditorium for this timely conversation about how innovation, strategy and human judgment must work together to secure what comes next.
The program will be followed by a brief audience question-and-answer period. The event is open to U-M students, faculty, staff, alumni, and retirees. RSVP is required to attend.
Speakers
Nikesh Arora
Chairman and CEO of Palo Alto Networks
Nikesh Arora is chairman and CEO of Palo Alto Networks, the world’s leading cybersecurity company. During his tenure of seven years, he has led the company through a major transformation to become the global leader in AI and cybersecurity, and the security partner of choice for enterprise organizations and governments around the world. Before joining Palo Alto Networks in 2018, Mr. Arora served as president and chief operating officer of SoftBank Group Corp.
Prior to that, Mr. Arora spent ten years at Google, Inc. as a senior executive, where he was senior vice president and chief business officer, president of global sales operations and business development, and president of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. His career also includes serving as chief marketing officer for the T-Mobile International Division of Deutsche Telekom AG, and chief executive officer and founder of T-Motion PLC, which merged with T-Mobile International in 2002.
Nikesh Arora serves on the board of Uber Technologies, Inc., and as a non-executive director of Compagnie Financière Richemont S.A., a public Switzerland-based luxury goods holding company. Previously, he served on the boards of SoftBank Group Corp., Airtel, Aviva, Sprint Corp., Colgate-Palmolive Inc., Tipping Point and Yahoo! Japan, among others. He holds an M.B.A. in business administration from Northeastern University, an M.S. in finance from Boston College, and a B. Tech. in electrical engineering from the Institute of Technology at Banaras Hindu University.
He has received numerous awards for leadership and influence shaping the culture of Palo Alto Networks including Newsweek's Most Loved Workplaces (2023, 2022, 2021), CRN’s Top 100 Executives “Most influential,” Comparably’s Annual list of Best CEOs for Women, with a score of 100 on the Disability Equality Index (2023, 2022), and HRC Best Places for LGBTQ+ Equality (2022).
Ravi Pendse
Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer
University of Michigan
Ravi Pendse, Ph.D., is vice president for information technology and chief information officer at the University of Michigan, where he serves as an executive officer and provides university-wide leadership and strategic direction for technology. He is a clinical professor of engineering practice in electrical engineering and computer science. Dr. Pendse also serves as U-M’s first-ever Special Advisor to the President for India.
Dr. Pendse has helped lead higher education’s response to generative AI. Under his leadership, Michigan became the first university in the world to provide a custom suite of generative AI tools broadly to its faculty, staff, and students, built around principles of privacy, equity, accessibility, and responsible use. He co-sponsored U-M’s first Generative AI Advisory Committee in 2023 and the university’s 2026 AI in Education Working Group, helping shape an approach that explores how AI can strengthen teaching and learning while preserving critical thinking and human judgment.
A longtime professor, researcher, teacher, and student advisor, Dr. Pendse has secured more than $21 million in external research funding, earned several teaching awards, and published numerous scholarly articles with students. He advocates for human-centered AI based on a simple principle: technology should enhance human potential, not replace it.