AI Project Management in the Pharmaceutical Industry – with Sumathi Arcot

In this episode of AI Today, host Kathleen Walch sits down with Sumathi Arcot, Project Director for Lean Agile Transformation in AstraZeneca’s U.S. Oncology Business Unit, for a candid conversation on what it really takes to manage AI responsibly in one of the world’s most regulated industries. 

Sumathi shares how the CPMAI methodology fundamentally shifted her perspective on AI, from something experimental and exploratory to a product discipline with defined outcomes, built-in governance, and clear success criteria from day one. In a pharma environment shaped by strict compliance requirements, she explains how CPMAI doesn’t slow innovation—it enables it—by aligning seamlessly with privacy impact assessments, third‑party risk reviews, and regulatory expectations. 

Drawing on a real-world patient value impact analysis project in the rare diseases space, Sumathi highlights how CPMAI’s six phases—especially Phase I: Business Understanding and Phase II: Data Understanding—help teams focus on the right problem before model development begins. She also connects CPMAI to PMI’s M.O.R.E. vision, explaining how structured artifacts, KPIs, and go/no-go checkpoints help project managers move beyond delivery to value especially when navigating AI initiatives with diverse, risk-aware stakeholders. 

You’ll hear insights on: 

• How CPMAI transforms AI experiments into governed, auditable products 
• Why Business Understanding is critical in AI initiatives 
• How pharma compliance aligns to CPMAI checkpoints 
• How the PMI M.O.R.E. vision helps project managers communicate AI value 
• What agentic AI and human‑in‑the‑loop leadership looks like in the years ahead 

Whether you’re a project manager, transformation leader, or AI practitioner, this episode offers practical lessons for leading AI initiatives where the stakes and the scrutiny are high.