Ingram Content Group has appointed Dr. Rajen Bhatt to the newly-created position of director of AI. In his new role, Bhatt will oversee efforts to integrate AI across Ingram. Bhatt previously worked as director of engineering for AI technologies at HP, and in various roles at Bosch, Samsung India, and numerous startups.

In a press release announcing the appointment, Ingram said its “AI strategy focuses on driving efficiency, innovation, and next-generation solutions. By designing AI-powered initiatives, the company streamlines operations, optimizes workflows, and enhances automation while maintaining strict privacy standards.” The company went on to emphasize that its AI initiatives will maintain privacy standards and intellectual property protection while developing AI-driven publishing and distribution tools for customers.

Steve Marshall, Ingram's chief information officer, added, "Ingram has long been at the forefront of innovation in publishing, and AI presents an incredible opportunity to further enhance our global operations. With Dr. Bhatt's leadership, we are well-positioned to drive AI-powered growth, ensuring efficiency and security remain core to our initiatives, and thereby strengthening our position in the industry."

Bhatt took a few moments following his appointment to answer some questions from PW:

How will AI specifically transform book distribution and fulfillment processes at Ingram, and what competitive advantages might this offer publishers using your services?

AI and machine learning are transforming Ingram’s ability to forecast demand, analyze audience engagement, and enhance traceability across various sectors, and will generate insights into content performance. Ingram's AI-powered tools for marketing, advertising, content curation, audience matching, and metadata enhancement means lower costs, quicker deliveries, and greater discoverability—enabling publishers to reach more readers and expand into new markets.

What unique challenges does the book distribution business present for AI implementation compared to other retail sectors, and how are you addressing publishers concerns about protecting intellectual property and content in AI systems?

Books are unique in retail due to their extensive variety, author-as-a-brand model, cultural themes, recommendations, and digitization. At Ingram, security and privacy are prioritized alongside data governance and AI ethics principles. Books and their content are handled securely in our private data centers, with no sharing of publisher intellectual property.

What timeline do you envision for rolling out AI tools across Ingram's services, and how will smaller independent publishers benefit from these AI-powered capabilities compared to larger publishing houses?

AI at Ingram is a strategic initiative aligned with our vision of servicing and enhancing the industry, providing tools and services that will benefit publishing houses of all sizes. AI services will be deployed on a regular basis and will continue to evolve in response to their effectiveness and usage.