Center for Digital Transformation

About Us

Led by Faculty Director Vijay Gurbaxani and guided by a distinguished governance council and advisory board, the Center for Digital Transformation (CDT) is at the forefront of addressing strategic issues at the intersection of business and technology in the age of AI. CDT’s mission is to develop and disseminate thought leadership to elevate the discourse on technology, especially AI, to ensure that business executives, faculty and students, and society are prepared for future success.

Featured Events

Digital IQ Series link

Digital IQ Series

Unlocking High-Value Enterprise LLM Use Cases

Dr. Sharon Zhou
CEO & Founder
Lamini

January 30, 2025

View Video
Digital Leadership Series link

Digital Leadership Series

Artificial Insecurity: Why AI Will Worsen Social Fragility and How Business Leaders Must Act to Narrow the Gap

Professor Bhaskar Chakravorti
Dean of Global Business, Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy
Tufts University

May 7, 2025
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM

Register Now
Signature Conference link

Signature Conference

Digital Leadership Agenda Conference 2025: Recoding Business at the Speed of AI

Bringing top executives & scholars together to shape your digital future.

October 2-3, 2024

View Videos

Faculty Director

Vijay Gurbaxani

Vijay Gurbaxani

Taco Bell Endowed Chair of Technology Management

Professor of Information Systems

Founding Director of the Center for Digital Transformation

Vijay Gurbaxani is a distinguished scholar and expert on digital transformation, the strategic impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on business, and the economics of technology, Vijay has devoted his academic career to advancing understanding of the digital economy and guiding business leaders through the opportunities and challenges of technological innovation. His thought-provoking work blends rigorous academic research with management practice, equipping business leaders and boards with the tools to make informed decisions in an AI-driven world.

What can CDT do for you?

The Center serves as a hub of engagement, fostering conversations and collaborations among academia, industry experts, and business leaders.

Connect

Join a community of business executives, academics, and students

Inform

Acquire new knowledge from academia and industry

Influence

Advance your digital leadership capabilities

Governance Council

Roxanne Austin

Board Director
AbbVie, Verizon, CrowdStrike Holdings, Freshworks

Jagdeep Bachher

Chief Investment Officer
University of California

Dawn Behnke

EVP, Consumer Markets Division
Pacific Life Insurance Company

Susan Doniz

Chief Information and Data Officer
The Walt Disney Company

Julie Guggemos

Board Director, Evrnu, Beekman 1802
Former SVP & Chief Design Officer, Target

Gajen Kandiah

Former Chief Executive Officer, Hitachi Vantara
Former Chief Digital Transformation Officer, Hitachi, Ltd. Digital Systems and Solutions Division
Former Deputy General Manager, AI Transformation Division, Hitachi, Ltd.

Jeff Margolis

Margolis Enterprises, LLC
Senior Advisor, Blackstone; Chairman, Nextgen Healthcare; Board Director, Alignment Health Care, TriNetX, Hydrogen Health, Grin, DNAnexus, Brightside Health

Diana McKenzie

Board Director
MetLife, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Paradox, agilon health

Chris Nardecchia

SVP, Chief Digital & Information Officer
Rockwell Automation

Kalpana Ramakrishnan

Principal
KPMG

Shashank Samant

Executive Chairman of Hitachi America, Ltd. & Executive Chairman of Hitachi Digital LLC
Board Director, Hitachi Energy, Office Depot, Rackspace
Software Advisory Council, Mercedes-Benz

Tiffany Wilding

Managing Director & Economist
PIMCO

 

 

 

 

Center Contributors

Advisory Board

Kiva Allgood

Head, Centre for Advanced Manufacturing and Supply Chains
World Economic Forum

Vasudev Bhandarkar

Founder & CEO
ScoreData Corporation

Manish Dasaur

Chief Data & AI Officer - NA Communications, Media and Technology
Accenture

Suren Dutia

Senior Fellow
Kauffman Foundation

Adam Fingersh

Chief Customer Officer and EVP North American Operations
Experian

Shivbir Grewal

Co-Founder and Managing Member
Auctus Global Capital Group

Lynn Hemans

Head of Insights & Analytics
Chipotle

Donald Jones

Chief Digital Officer
The Scripps Research Institute

Allan Lubitz

Board Member
SigmaSight

Jeff Margolis

President
Margolis Enterprises

Phil Potloff

Head of Enterprise Strategy
Amazon Web Services

Geraldine Ramezani

Executive Coach
GMR Coaching & Consulting

Ashwin Rangan

CEO
DoubleCheck Solutions

Shankar Rao

Principal
Shadowbrook Systems

Rebecca Scholl

VP, Digital Innovation
Genpact

Julie Sokol

Chief Technology Officer
OCVIBE

Sri Velamoor

President & Chief Operating Officer
NextGen Healthcare

Dr. Nicholas Vitalari

Chief Strategy Officer
Quantum Materials Corp


Industry and Research Fellows

Tom Andriola

Senior Industry Fellow
Vice Chancellor for Information, Technology & Data, UC Irvine

Meghna Sinha

Senior Industry Fellow
Chief AI Strategist, Kai Roses Inc.

Dr. Nicholas Vitalari

Senior Research Fellow
CEO & Founder, Elasticity Labs


Faculty Affiliates

Vibhanshu Abhishek

Associate Professor
The Paul Merage School of Business

Behnaz Bojd

Assistant Professor
The Paul Merage School of Business

Michael Carey

Professor
Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences

Vidyanand Choudhary

Professor
The Paul Merage School of Business

Sanjeev Dewan

Professor
The Paul Merage School of Business

Vijay Gurbaxani

Professor and Director CDT
The Paul Merage School of Business

Michael Imerman

Assistant Professor of Teaching
The Paul Merage School of Business

Mimi Ito

Professor in Residence
Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences

Bill Maurer

Dean, Professor & AAAS Fellow
School of Social Sciences

Melissa Mazmanian

Associate Professor
Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences

Tingting Nian

Assistant Professor
The Paul Merage School of Business

Connie Pechmann

Professor
The Paul Merage School of Business

Jui Ramaprasad

Associate Professor
Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland

Padhraic Smyth

Professor
Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences

John Turner

Associate Professor
The Paul Merage School of Business

Margarethe Wiersema

Dean’s Professor
The Paul Merage School of Business

Mingdi Xin

Assistant Professor
The Paul Merage School of Business

Student Opportunities

MBA Immersion in Digital Transformation

The MBA Immersion in Digital Transformation prepares students to lead in the digital economy by analyzing tech-driven change and leveraging digital tools for businesses, from startups to incumbents.

Learn More

Master of Science in Business Analytics

The Master of Science in Business Analytics equips students with data expertise for high-demand roles across industries. This one-year program, led by top faculty, trains students in handling and analyzing large data sets for business applications.

Learn More

Recent News

Stay informed with the latest updates, achievements and breakthroughs from our faculty, students and alumni.

10 Tips for Pivoting Your Career to AI

The world of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is expanding at a rapid pace, and many professionals are looking to pivot their careers to tap into this transformative technology. As a Merage School alum, you already possess a solid foundation in business acumen, strategic thinking, and problem-solving. Now, you have to learn how to leverage AI at work. As we like to say, the race is not between AI and humans but between humans who know how to race alongside AI against those that do not.

READ MORE >>

New Digital IQ Series spreads awareness of emerging technology

The inaugural event featured a discussion on ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence program that has gone viral over the last few months.

READ MORE >>

Can technology be used to create a ‘Golden Age of Education?’

Carnegie Mellon Professor Michael Smith argues universities must adapt to the digital world.

READ MORE >>

Contact Us

Center for Digital Transformation
UC Irvine Paul Merage School of Business
4291 Pereira Drive, SB2 220
Irvine, CA 92697-3125

cdt@merage.uci.edu

UCICDT

@centerfordigitaltransformation

Meet the Team

Vijay Gurbaxani
Faculty Director
vgurbaxa@uci.edu

Leslie Fell
Assistant Director
Programming and Content

lfell@uci.edu

Nina Parpana
Program Coordinator
nparpana@uci.edu