In this interview from theCUBE + NYSE Wired: Practitioner Series, Anand Pradhan, head of the AI Center of Excellence and Mortgage Data Group at ICE, joins theCUBE’s John Furrier to discuss the critical shift from AI strategy to enterprise execution. Pradhan shares how the Intercontinental Exchange is moving generative and agentic AI into production at scale within a highly regulated environment. He unpacks the realities of building with AI agents, emphasizing that they are simply another layer in the software stack that still requires rigorous evaluation and careful token economics. Pradhan also details ICE's unwavering commitment to security, highlighting how their infrastructure and InfoSec teams deploy strict controls, data loss prevention and continuous monitoring to safely harness both proprietary models and external LLMs. The conversation also explores the pragmatic application of AI in enterprise workflows and its realistic impact on established SaaS platforms. Pradhan dispels the hype that AI will immediately replace complex transactional systems or systems of record, noting instead its power to enhance front-end interactivity, automate deterministic flows and dramatically improve data quality. By championing a culture of education and providing secure AI tools to employees, Pradhan illustrates how organizations can push the boundaries of innovation while strictly adhering to regulatory guardrails and maintaining essential human-in-the-loop oversight.