From Indiana cornfields to DeepMind's AI readiness chief, Lila Ibrahim's rise

Growing up in a modest immigrant family, Lila Ibrahim spent a summer at age 14 pulling tassels from corn in Indiana for a wage of about $1 an hour, an experience she says taught her perseverance. After a stint as a fruit-fly DNA research assistant at Purdue, she embarked on a two-decade tenure at Intel, rising to chief of staff for a workforce of 85,000 and having twins before leaving in 2010. Her career later included roles in venture capital and educational technology, leading her to relocate to London in 2018 to become Google DeepMind’s inaugural chief operating officer despite lacking formal AI credentials.

Earlier this year she assumed another first-ever role, chief AI readiness officer, as DeepMind navigates delayed models, high-profile exits, and low morale following co-founder Demis Hassabis’s shift to an advisory position. Ibrahim attributes her success to an outsider perspective shaped by her Lebanese father, Palestinian mother, and first-generation Arab-American background, which she says fuels her curiosity and willingness to seize unconventional opportunities.