Saurabh Singh

Leading AI Where It Meets the Physical World

– Lessons from Grundfos on products, operations and critical infrastructure

From intelligent pumps to critical water infrastructure, AI is increasingly moving beyond the computer screen and into the physical world. Here, algorithms are not merely analytical tools; they become an integral part of the decisions that influence operations, maintenance, resource consumption, and the reliability of essential infrastructure.

Drawing on concrete solutions and experiences from Grundfos, this session explores how AI is being used to monitor, predict, and optimize physical systems at scale. Yet the technology itself is only part of the story. As data and algorithms gain influence over day-to-day operations, they also reshape the collaboration between product developers, data scientists, manufacturing teams, service technicians, and customers.

This presentation examines how AI is transforming decision-making, the division of responsibilities, and professional judgment around physical assets and infrastructure. Which decisions can be entrusted to data, which still require human expertise, and how should organizations adapt when digital intelligence has direct consequences in the real world?

This is a story about what happens when AI no longer simply generates insights, but becomes an active force in the interaction between people, technology, and critical infrastructure, and about the new demands this places on leadership, organizational design, and capabilities.

You will leave with:

• Grundfos case study will guide you to understand how AI affects tasks, roles, workflows, and organizational structures
• How AI-enabled productivity can create capacity for higher value customer and business activities
• A perspective on the changing role of employees, from producing outputs to framing, steering, and evaluating work
• An understanding of the human considerations involved

Saurabh will share practical lessons from Grundfos' AI adoption journey, including the leadership challenges, organizational changes, and human considerations required to scale AI responsibly and effectively.

Bio:

Saurabh Singh is Head of AI Solutions at Grundfos, where he leads the company's AI strategy and the development of AI-powered products and solutions supporting sustainability, water, and climate ambitions.

With more than 25 years of experience across product management, digital transformation, AI, IoT, and enterprise technology, he has spent his career turning emerging technologies into scalable business value.

Before joining Grundfos, Saurabh served as Chief Product Officer at Hive Streaming and held multiple global leadership roles during a 17-year career at Ericsson, where he helped pioneer AI, IoT, and connected technologies.

Today, he focuses on one of the most pressing leadership questions facing organizations: how AI is reshaping work, roles, skills, and organizational structures. 

Saurabh takes the stage in Aarhus.