Saira Jesani is Executive Director of the Data & Trusted AI Alliance, a coalition of 26 Fortune 500 companies and AI startups—including AT&T, GM, IBM, and Mastercard—working to accelerate AI adoption in ways that prioritize business value and create trust. 

Saira's career spans science journalism, business strategy, and AI governance. She has led the development of industry standards and frameworks that are now used across multiple sectors and advises executives on the practical and ethical challenges of AI—bridging business, academia, and policy.

Before leading the Alliance, she was a partner at SYPartners, where she worked with Fortune 100 C-Suite and government leaders, developing the vision and strategy of the current Pfizer CEO’s term, the setup of a new government entity on early childhood development in the UAE, and research and branding around longevity for AARP.  She has also taught at Yale School of Management and Parsons School of Design.

Born in Kenya and raised across Africa and the Middle East, Saira studied Microbiology and Immunology at McGill University.