The AI Workforce Revolution: The Future of Jobs & Skills

// Panel

Location: The Landing Upstairs

Time: 12:15 PM – 1:00 PM

Moderator: Ayisha Irfan

Speakers: Mustafa Ammar, Jawad Mourabet, Faizan Ahmed

Abstract:

Automation and AI are rewriting the social contract of work—but for corporate leaders and startups, this disruption is also an unprecedented opportunity. This session explores how forward-thinking companies can profit from the evolving workforce through reskilling at scale, AI-driven productivity gains, and new business models built around emerging skills. Panelists will dive into opportunities for startups to create platforms that serve the redefined labor market, and for corporate leaders to strategically align talent, technology, and capital to thrive in the age of intelligent work.

Speaker Biographies:

Ayisha Irfan — Ayisha Irfan leads groundbreaking work at Google at the intersection of AI and public policy, where she shapes strategies for responsible innovation and governance of emerging technologies. She previously advanced these efforts at Airbnb, bringing a global perspective to ethical tech adoption. Earlier in her career, she served in government at the Manhattan Borough President’s Office and organized communities in Brooklyn in the aftermath of 9/11. A cofounder of the Muslim Writers Collective, she holds advanced degrees in public policy and international affairs.

Mustafa Ammar — Mustafa Ammar is Managing Partner at BlueNexus Ventures, former pharmacist, international diplomat, and investment banker who has led over $1.2B in financings.

Jawad Mourabet — Jawad is a Senior Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company, specializing in the intersection of finance and technology. He focuses on “future-proofing” the technology operations of financial institutions, with deep experience in operating models, core technology modernization, and cloud transformation. Jawad has led digital transformation initiatives across multiple industries and geographies — including customer journey digitization for regional and global banks, advanced analytics for major U.S. telecommunications companies, and predictive spend modeling for a global supply chain firm in Hong Kong. Jawad holds an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management and an MS in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the MIT School of Engineering.

Faizan Ahmed — Faizan Ahmed is the Co-Founder and Head of Machine Learning of Headstarter. Over the past year, he has helped grow Headstarter’s community to more than 115,000 engineers across 140 countries by equipping them with the skills needed to thrive in the age of AI. Faizan is now leading the development of a platform that enables top startups to source and evaluate talent through work trials - focusing on how engineers think, collaborate, and code alongside AI agents.