Who is behind it

The authors

IRGF was written by two practitioners who come at AI governance from opposite ends of the same problem: one from the architecture of enterprise systems, the other from the economics and operations of the networks they run on. It is improved by the people who test it.

Author · Framework architect

Dr. Rajan K Upadhyay

Enterprise architecture director, digital transformation strategist, author and mentor.

Rajan is a technology leader, researcher and practitioner with more than two decades of work in enterprise architecture, digital transformation and emerging technologies. He has led programmes across India, Southeast Asia and Europe, and today serves as a senior enterprise architecture director, where he aligns technology strategy with organizational goals, sets architecture standards and guides the adoption of scalable, secure solutions.

Over his career he has established Centres of Excellence in artificial intelligence, robotic process automation and data analytics, delivered blockchain programmes, and worked hands-on across DevSecOps, data science, IT solution architecture, payment solutions, IoT and analytics. He holds a Doctor of Business Administration in Leadership and Strategy, and has completed executive programmes at the University of Oxford, UCLA Anderson School of Management and the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta.

His research and writing focus on digital strategy, architecture governance and responsible technology adoption. IRGF grew out of a pattern he saw repeatedly in that work: governance that reads well at the board and dissolves somewhere between the design review and the runtime. He designed the framework’s core model, lifecycle and evidence chain.

Areas of focus

Enterprise architecture and digital transformation
AI and adaptive decision-making
Intelligent, resilient operations
Blockchain-enabled trust and verification
Internet of Everything and next-generation connectivity

Author of the books and journal articles

Beyond Visibility (2026)
When Supply Chains Collapse (2026)
Convergence of 6G, IoE, and Blockchain (2026)
BISS-SCM and ADST: An Extended Technical Reference Architecture (2026)
“Data Poisoning: A Contemporary Threat to AI” (2026)
“AI for Startups: Real Talk About ROI, Open Source Tools, and Data Privacy” (2026)

rajank.in LinkedIn X GitHub

Author · Industry and operations

Dr. Ray Mota

Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Principal Analyst, ACG Research.

Ray founded ACG Research, an analyst and consulting firm that helps service providers, enterprises and vendors get more from the infrastructure they already own, and leads it as Chief Executive Officer and Principal Analyst. He sets the firm’s strategic direction and provides expert analysis on networking and AI technologies, with particular depth in carrier strategy, infrastructure services, AIOps, AI business models and cost optimization through AI.

Before ACG Research he held senior roles at Aberdeen Group, Eastman Kodak and the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. He has built cloud applications and holds a software patent. His analysis has been featured in publications including The Wall Street Journal and Forbes, he is a frequent keynote speaker at global telecommunications events, and HispanicBusiness.com has named him one of the 100 most influential Hispanics in the United States.

In IRGF he brings the operator’s and the economist’s view: what governance costs, where it breaks under real production load, and how it has to demonstrate its value to the people who fund it. Away from work he is an amateur baseball player and coach, and supports sporting events for children living with illness.

Areas of focus

Carrier strategy and infrastructure services
AIOps and AI-driven operations
AI business models and monetization
Network economics and cost optimization

Around the authors

Reviewers, pilots and contributors

Every revision of IRGF is shaped by the practitioners who read it critically: risk and compliance leads, architects, engineers running AI in production, auditors and regulators. Those who review a chapter, pilot the framework or report a flaw that changes the text are credited by name, with their permission, in the next version. If you would like to be one of them, see how to contribute, or write to info@irgframework.org.