AI in MBA Education: What Rohit Kapoor Told B-Schools
At the Dr Pritam Singh Foundation's Teachers Day event in Aero City, New Delhi, Rohit Kapoor, CEO of Swiggy's Food Marketplace and the Chief Guest, delivered a keynote that placed AI in MBA education at the centre of the conversation. His central argument was clear: the rise of Artificial Intelligence is commoditizing the value of Strategy and Intelligence Quotient (IQ) in business leadership. In plain terms, the analytical horsepower and strategic frameworks that once set top managers apart are becoming widely and cheaply available through AI tools. It is a striking assessment from a leader who built his own career on strategy and analytics.
Asked what this means for MBA education, Kapoor was unambiguous. “Business schools should focus on building better Critical Thinking, Communication and Interpersonal Skills in MBA graduates to prepare them for the future,” he said. The message reframes what an MBA should deliver: not just strategy or IQ, but the distinctly human capabilities that AI cannot easily replicate.
Kapoor's point about AI in MBA education rests on a simple economic logic. When a capability becomes abundant, its market value falls. AI systems can now generate strategy options, model scenarios and process information at a scale and speed no individual can match, which is what he means by AI commoditizing strategy and IQ. The competitive edge therefore moves to what remains scarce: judgement, the ability to ask the right questions, persuasive communication, and the interpersonal skill to build and lead teams.
Rohit Kapoor's Five Timeless Principles of Leadership
Kapoor argued that instead of worrying excessively about what is changing, leaders should focus equally on what will not change. He set out five timeless principles of leadership:
- Hard work will always matter. Focus on the job and your responsibilities, not merely on titles and positions.
- Build security and trust. Create a strong sense of security and trust among people, because insecurity rarely brings out their best.
- Keep an intense focus on talent. Organizations are ultimately built by people.
- Lead with generosity. Show appreciation and recognition, share success and, wherever possible, share prosperity.
- Never adopt a “Grab All” mindset. Leadership is not about accumulating power, credit or rewards for oneself; it is about creating an environment where people feel valued, secure and motivated to give their best.
On the last point, Kapoor was emphatic that “Grab All” should never be the mindset of an effective leader.
The keynote was delivered at the Dr Pritam Singh Foundation's Teachers Day celebration at Aero City, New Delhi, where glowing tributes were paid to the late Dr Pritam Singh, described as a doyen of Indian management education. Rohit Kapoor attended as the Chief Guest.
Rohit Kapoor: From ISB to McKinsey to Swiggy Food Marketplace CEO
Rohit Kapoor brings a rare mix of consulting, corporate leadership and management-education exposure to the debate on AI in MBA education. He has been CEO of Swiggy's Food Marketplace since August 2022. Before Swiggy, he held a series of CEO-level roles at OYO, led Max Healthcare as Executive Director and Board Member, and spent close to a decade as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company, where he also led the firm's recruitment at ISB and IIM Ahmedabad's PGPX programme.
Kapoor earned his CFA charter between 2001 and 2004 and completed his post-graduate management programme at the Indian School of Business in 2005–06, where he graduated on the Dean's List.
Take Aways
AI in MBA education is no longer a distant question, and Rohit Kapoor's Teachers Day keynote gives aspirants a clear brief. The Swiggy Food Marketplace CEO argued that AI is commoditizing strategy and IQ, and that business schools must build stronger critical thinking, communication and interpersonal skills in MBA graduates. He urged current and future leaders to hold on to five timeless principles of leadership: hard work, trust, a focus on talent, generosity and a rejection of the “Grab All” mindset.
Dr. Pritam Singh Foundation is a registered trust established by friends and well-wishers of Dr. Pritam Singh. It has been founded to take forward the legacy and life lessons of Dr. Pritam Singh. The trustees include Mr. P Dwarakanath (Former Chairman, GSK), Mr. S Y Siddiqui (Executive Advisor, Maruti Suzuki), Dr. H Chaturvedi (DG, IILM), Dr. Asha Bhandarker (Professor Of Organizational Behavior) and Dr. B A Metri (Director, IIM Nagpur).
Dr Pritam Singh (19 November 1941 – 3 June 2020) was an Indian academic, educationist, advisor and management professor. In 2003, Dr Singh was awarded Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian award by the Government of India. Dr Singh first served as the director of MDI-Gurgaon and then served as director of IIM-Lucknow from 1998 to 2003 and again at MDI-Gurgaon from 2003 to 2006. He also steered the International Management Institute (IMI) for three years until October 2014. Dr Singh was chairman and member of several policy-making committees and bodies of the Government of India and private organizations.
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AI in MBA education has moved from a niche debate to a boardroom reality, and B-schools should reprioritize key competencies they plan to nurture in MBAs. Speaking as Chief Guest at the Dr Pritam Singh Foundation's Teachers Day event at Aero City, New Delhi, Rohit Kapoor, CEO of Swiggy's Food Marketplace, said the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is commoditizing the value of Strategy and Intelligence Quotient (IQ) in business leadership. His message to business schools was direct: focus on building better critical thinking, communication and interpersonal skills in MBA graduates to prepare them for the future. Kapoor, a McKinsey veteran and ISB alumnus, also urged leaders to anchor themselves in what will not change, setting out five timeless principles of leadership.