Ep. 65: Sapana Patel, Former CIO of Spirit Airlines, Building the Future of IT Leadership through AI

In this episode of Next in Line, Cesar sits down with Sapana Patel, CIO of Spirit Airlines, for an honest conversation on leadership, resilience, innovation, AI adoption, and what it really takes to lead technology teams inside one of the world’s fastest moving industries. Sapana shares her journey from studying aeronautical engineering at Embry‑Riddle Aeronautical University to becoming a CIO, along with the lessons she learned navigating change, building trust, leading under pressure, and continuously evolving throughout decades in technology leadership.

This episode dives into:

• Why curiosity and continuous learning are essential in IT

• Leading teams through rapid AI transformation

• Building the right data foundation before deploying AI

• Balancing innovation with real business impact

• Why communication and relationships still matter most

• Lessons learned from failure, pressure, and owning mistakes

• The evolving role of the modern CIO

• Why AI should augment people, not replace them

• How future technology leaders can stand out in a rapidly changing workforce

This episode is packed with practical leadership advice, real-world CIO insights, and an honest look at how enterprise technology leadership is evolving in the AI era.