Calcutta: If you want to succeed, you should be ready to go wherever jobs and opportunities are, IT veteran and tech investor T.V. Mohandas Pai said on Thursday.

Specialisation and technical expertise are the others skills one should have, Pai said.

He was speaking at the AIMA-CMA Regional Management Conclave, held in association with The Telegraph. The topic of the conclave was Leadership in the Age of Disruption.

The main challenge that artificial intelligence, machine learning and other technological advancements will bring in is job creation, Pai, the president of AIMA, said.

He said there would be little scope for regular nine to five jobs in the future. "It's going to get tough for the ordinary Joe on the street."

"Specialise in what you do, get deep technical expertise and make sure to treat the whole world as a state. Make sure you go anywhere in the world where jobs and opportunities are. Forget about any distinct tribal loyalties that you have," Pai, a former CFO of Infosys, said.

At the start, he said Calcutta held a "very special place" for him. "I do believe that India got made by Calcutta and the idea of India was first formed in this city a long time ago."

The rise of machines was the first major disruption in the world, he said while explaining how the two world wars "fundamentally changed the world".

The second major disruption was the Internet. Billions of people connecting with each other means there is one big supply chain, he said.

Disruptions like artificial intelligence and Internet of Things will affect all other industries, including manufacturing, oil, automobile, healthcare and education, he said.

Sumit Ray, CEO of All India Technologies Ltd, Ajoy Chawla, senior vice-president, strategy and business incubation, Titan Company Limited, and Jaydeep Datta Gupta, partner, Deloitte Touche Tohmatshu India LLP, were among the other speakers.