In this episode of Sloanies Talking with Sloanies, Christopher Reichert interviews Henna Karna, EMBA ’18, who reflects on her academic and professional journey. Karna discusses how Sloan’s blend of quantitative and qualitative learning has shaped her approach to innovation, emphasizing engineering new patterns over relying on existing use cases. With a PhD in applied mathematics and a career spanning roles at the NSA, Google, and AXA, she shares insights on cryptography, behavioral modeling, and risk management. Karna advocates for empowering others, aligning short-term actions with long-term goals, and fostering sustainable innovation. Currently a Harvard fellow, she focuses on AI’s societal role, aiming to ensure its responsible and human-centric adoption. Karna defines success as finding joy in daily life and encourages prospective MBAs to embrace the rigorous yet rewarding Sloan experience.

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Henna Karna, EMBA ’18, on Innovation, AI, and the MIT Sloan Experience