He helped ship operating systems, a phone, and the first HoloLens. His durable invention may be simpler: write the problem down, name an owner, and decide before the room goes stale.

Before AI became every company’s favorite noun, Punkaj Jain had already spent decades doing the less glamorous work: turning new technology into products, teams and businesses that could survive contact with customers.

A sixth-grade encounter with BASIC led to a career in code, a roadside Chili’s led to Test Double, and a stubborn question about fairness led its founders to give the company to its employees.

After leading ASAPP from the technology seat to the CEO’s office, Priya Vijayarajendran is returning to the identity that has followed her through SAP, IBM and Microsoft: a builder who wants enterprise AI to survive contact with reality.