Current Speakers US

Mainak Mazumdar is the Chief Business Officer at Fiddler AI leading sales, customer success and partnership teams.

Mainak Mazumdar is recognized for his pioneering use of AI to reshape the media and advertising sectors, where he transformed measurement, improved advertising performance, built data platforms and delivered actionable consumer insights that significantly impacted diverse media platforms.

Prior to Fiddler, Mainak was the Chief Analytics Officer at FOX Corporation where he developed and implemented analytics strategies that significantly improved advertising effectiveness and drove business growth. During his long tenure as Chief Data Officer at Nielsen, he spearheaded the launch of the groundbreaking NielsenOne platform, setting a new standard for measurement for streaming, and forged strategic technology partnerships. He has also held leadership positions at Simulmedia, NIQ, and DoubleClick (now Google), consistently delivering impactful results.

Mazumdar has served as a distinguished member of the U.S. Census Scientific Advisory Committee and the University of Chicago Booth Kilts Center for Marketing Steering Committee. He holds an M.A. and a Ph.D. from Brown University and a B.A. from Universitaire American in Switzerland, and is a prolific inventor with over 15 U.S. patents.

Gaurav Chawla is a seasoned AI/ML Lead specializing in real-time Machine Learning solutions. With extensive experience at JP Morgan Chase, he has a proven track record of implementing innovative AI-driven projects. Gaurav holds a Master’s degree in Data Science from Columbia University and is actively involved in the open-source community. He regularly reviews research papers for major journals, contributing to the advancement of AI and Machine Learning fields. Gaurav is dedicated to leveraging technology to solve complex problems and drive business success.

Gaurav Chawla | Vice President-Machine Learning and real-time Fraud Detection | JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Based in Montreal, QC, CA, Marie-Eve Malette currently hold the title Director, Data Science at Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ). Marie-Ève Malette brings experience from previous roles at IVADO, Vention and JACOBB – a research center in applied AI, and National Bank of Canada. Marie-Ève Malette holds a Masters in financial engineering from HEC Montreal as well as a Masters in Computer Science and AI from Université de Montréal. She has also passed all three levels of the CFA.

Tim has led Data, AI, and ML initiatives across industries, driving large-scale transformations with measurable impact. With a background in management consulting, he strategically leverages data and technology for business growth and operational efficiencies. His expertise spans AI adoption, data strategy, and operational excellence, guiding organizations through digital transformation.

Milton Santiago is a distinguished global digital executive and visionary leader known for his expertise in deciphering client needs and transforming them into compelling digital experiences. With a robust background in UI/UX design, security and authentication, and new product development, Milton has an extensive track record of launching profitable and innovative solutions.

As the Head of Global Digital Solutions at SVB, Milton is responsible for driving end-to-end digital client experiences. He has transformed how the organization develops and launches products by establishing an Agile Practice, experience analytics, a user experience and design team, and go-to-market activities. Under his leadership, his team created SVB Go, a multi-year award-winning digital banking platform.

An accomplished industry speaker, Milton covers a wide range of topics, including security and fraud, mobile payments, emerging payments, usability, and innovation. He is also an expert facilitator, creating and leading domestic and global client advisory boards. As an award-winning inventor, Milton holds over 130 patents in digital commerce, client experience, and financial services. Notably, he created CashPro® Online, a renowned electronic banking platform used by Bank of America. During his tenure at Bank of America, he was responsible for establishing the global strategy for client-facing channels and driving the direction for eCommerce solutions.

Before joining Bank of America, Milton led ABN AMRO’s North American Electronic Banking division, overseeing product management and strategy for the commercial and wholesale markets. His career in the financial industry began in 1987, providing him with over 30 years of extensive experience in training, product development, and technology.

Recognized as a successful founder and leader in innovation and user experiences in the financial sector, Milton serves as an advisor and board member for several organizations in the financial and cryptocurrency space. His contributions to mobile payment technology have earned him global recognition, including a top 10 ranking for one of his patents in 2015.

John is an expert in digital engagement and a pioneer in leveraging technology to educate and empower users. In 1999, John co-founded Launchfire, a game-based promotions company that helped top brands like Coca-Cola, Time Warner, and Costco educate consumers and drive engagement through interactive experiences.

In 2018, John co-founded LemonadeLXP, expanding on the success of customer education. Recognizing that there had to be a better way to train and enable employees, he built LemonadeLXP to help financial institutions equip their teams with the knowledge and skills needed to succeed through engaging, experiential learning.

Always a believer in leveraging innovation, John has transformed LemonadeLXP into an AI-powered training and enablement platform, making it easier than ever for organizations to empower their workforce with the knowledge they need—when they need it.

Denny Royal, Head of Global Design at MentorMate, brings over 32 years of design leadership experience. He oversees our global design capabilities, ensuring excellence across all projects. His expertise spans design research, customer experience, brand, behavior design, biomimicry, and technology, offering a holistic approach to client challenges. Notably, Denny is among a handful of people worldwide with advanced Biomimicry training.

Pradeep Sundaram is a seasoned technology leader with over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry specializing in driving transformational change across AI enablement, API Management and cloud enablement. He has a proven track record of building divisional architecture practices from the ground up and using that to drive technology modernization using innovative architecture patterns. He is a frequent contributor and speaker on several enterprise-wide technology forums and sits on multiple steering committee responsible for shaping technology strategy. Over the last few years, Pradeep has been focused on leveraging AI to enhance business and technology productivity within the enterprise , driving efficiency and innovation at scale.

With over 18 years of experience in the financial industry, I am a seasoned software architect and strategic leader dedicated to leveraging technology to drive transformational change. My passion lies in crafting innovative solutions that align with business vision and delivering exceptional results through collaboration and leadership. I specialize in building complex financial solutions from the ground up using best practices that pave the way for long-term success. I work closely with CIOs, CTOs, and COOs as a trusted thought leader and advisor driving strategic initiatives. In addition to my technical and leadership skills, I am an avid industry contributor who actively contributes to the industry through patents, publications, and presentations. I am an active FINOS contributor and a regular speaker at various industry conferences. I am a passionate Tech philanthropist, as evidenced by my involvement in initiatives like the Financial Services Autism Hackathon and Passion Projects, which connect students with industry experts.

Sai Zeng is the Head of AI at Group Compliance and Governance Technology and a Distinguished Engineer. Previously, she created and led the AI CoE (Center of Excellence) for UBS Group Functions. Her work has been focusing on digitizing, automating, and optimizing UBS’s Group Functions while enhancing data science excellence to drive business impact. Before UBS, Sai held various positions at IBM Research, including Chief Technology Strategist, Principal Research Scientist, and Chief Architect, where she brought cutting-edge innovations to life. Sai has over 50 publications and 50 patent applications and serves as keynote speaker, panelist, and program committee at many industrial and academic conferences. She holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Tech USA.

Sai Poguluru, CTO/CIO/CISO with 30+ years of global experience. Sai is a sought-after leader in Security, Data, Cloud, Agile & Digital Transformation. Sai has extensive experience in delivering services in a global delivery Model (India-Singapore/Malaysia-North America-South America-Europe-South America). Sai has successfully led large global teams with follow-the-sun model and managed mission critical 24 X 7 operations.

As an entrepreneur, Sai successfully established and led Sourcing Advisory, Application Development & BPO services from India to several customers in North and South America.

Sai’s extensive experience includes leading several large Outsourcing Deals in Technology (Infrastructure, Application Development, Maintenance, BPO etc.) of $B+ and 5-10 years terms.

Sai led API & Open Banking mandate for a large FI. Sai currently hold CISO & Head of IT Operations role @ YNCU.

Sai is passionate about mentoring and helping next generation leaders. Sai is on Program Advisory Committee of Conestoga College, mentors startup founders as part of Treefrog Accelerator and Schulich Startup Program.

Dhagash Mehta is the Head of Applied Machine Learning Research (Investment Management) at Blackrock Inc. and an Editorial Board Member at the Journal of Financial Data Science (https://jfds.pm-research.com/). Previously he was a Senior Manager, Investment Strategist (Machine Learning – Asset Allocation) at Investment Strategy Group at The Vanguard Group. Before joining Vanguard, he was a Senior Research Scientist at United Technologies (UTX) Research Center. Prior to that, he was a Research Assistant Professor at Department of Applied and Computational Mathematics and Statistics in conjunction with Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at University of Notre Dame. he was a Fields Institute Postdoc Fellow for the Thematic Program on Computer Algebra at Fields Institute, Toronto, in Fall 2015 and a Visiting Fellow at Simons Institute for Theory of Computing at Berkeley in Fall 2014. Previously, he have held various research positions at the University of Cambridge (the UK), Imperial College London (the UK), the University of Adelaide (Australia), Syracuse University (USA) and National University of Ireland Maynooth (Ireland).

Oliver Heins is an experienced early-stage venture capital investor based in New York. Currently a Partner at Sinai Capital Partners, he previously worked with Struck Capital and Quantum Capital Partners, focusing on high-growth startups. His background includes roles in principal investing at Goldman Sachs and quantitative investment research at AQR Capital Management. With a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from MIT, Oliver combines technical expertise with strategic investment insights. Passionate about AI, fintech, and deep tech, he actively supports innovation in emerging technologies.

As an executive entrepreneur with a passion for innovation, Alp owns two responsibilities at CoBank,
leading the Innovation Organization and the AI Center of Excellence.

As Head of Innovation, Alp is dedicated to establishing and advancing the innovation function at CoBank,
bringing a deep understanding of how business and technology are reshaping the financial services
industry.

Focusing on horizon 2 and 3 technology disruptions, Alp’s primary mission is to advance cutting-edge
solutions, cultivating a culture of creativity and bringing innovation, incubation, and acceleration to the
next generation of credit and other value-added financial, technological and industry services to support
CoBank associates and customers.

Leading his team through early concept development and prototyping, alliance building, identifying
capability gaps, and exploring opportunities for new innovative approaches, Alp maintains strategic
partnerships with FinTech’s, startups, and other external partners.

In his role leading the AI Center of Excellence, Alp is responsible for promoting AI adoption throughout
CoBank’s lines of business, managing the centralized AI model, and serving as the executive lead for the
central governance body of experts and advisors.

Prior to joining CoBank, Alp held executive leadership roles as Group Chief Technology Officer for Telstra
Enterprise and Senior Director of Strategy and Innovation at AT&T Business.

Alp graduated from Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia, with a Master of
Science in Network Systems, a Graduate Diploma of Information Technology in Systems Development,
and a Graduate Diploma of Science in Network Systems.

Norbert Mehl is a visionary entrepreneur with a diverse background spanning real estate, high-tech, and finance, and over 15 years of leadership experience. As the Founder & CEO of ventures such as IVP.vc, GenZ.vc, and BanxCorp, Norbert Mehl has successfully built innovative platforms, including BanxQuote, a market-leading provider of U.S. banking and mortgage analytics featured in the White House’s 2008 Economic Report.

Norbert Mehl has led M&A, joint ventures, and financial transactions across industries, structured deals worth billions, and developed partnerships with global media giants like WSJ.com and Reuters. A seasoned leader, Norbert Mehl thrives in complex business transformations and global collaborations.

Angie is Head of Business Innovation at TD Asset Management and leads a team of data scientist creating machine learning techniques that increase efficiencies, generate revenue while becoming a leading-edge global firm. Prior to working in the Innovation space, she worked in Investment Risk where she analyzed risk and performance attribution reviewing current trading strategies and providing quantitative analysis, and before that in a front office trading floor as she developed and traded various credit derivative strategies, set risk limits for structured equity products, oversaw business risk tolerance, and participated in various firm acquisitions on the sell-side. Her experience also includes leading a global valuation team for a top tier consulting firm guiding large top tier institution on best practices. Throughout her career she has constantly been involved on initiatives to marry academia and industry and created the FinHub lab at the University of Toronto. Angie holds a B.Sc. in Mathematics, Statistics and Chemistry, a Masters in Mathematical Finance, and a Ph.D. in Engineering, all from the University of Toronto. She also holds a FinTech Certification from Harvard University, is an Instructor at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management specializing in artificial intelligence and is an Advisory Board Member of Rotman’s FinHub.

Sami Huovilainen is an Analytics and Data Science leader at Citi US Personal Banking with 25 years of experience in translating data into insights, strategy, and business outcomes. As a Head of Next Gen Analytics at Citi, Sami is responsible for designing, building, and deploying AI/ML & Gen AI solutions and translating Big Data vision and findings into tactical implementable steps and tangible outcomes. Prior to joining Citi in 2004, Sami spent five years at JPMorgan Chase as a Data Scientist.

As the President of Retail Banking at Southern Bancorp, I lead a large team of customer obsessed professionals who provide a superior customer experience and deliver exceptional financial wellbeing plans and financial solutions. In this role, I balance the dual objectives of margin and mission in our company’s efforts to build wealth for all the communities we serve. I leverage my 20+ years of experience in senior leadership roles in the financial services and customer experience industry, spanning multiple geographies, cultures, and market conditions to help close the wealth gap and help all our customers become financially successful and retire with integrity.

My mission is to continue to develop and empower the next generation of leaders, through inspirational coaching, consultation and mentoring. I also excel at crafting and executing effective strategies that maximize performance and create competitive advantage that stimulate growth. I leverage my FinTech expertise, acquired from the Oxford Executive Education Programme, to drive innovation and transformation in the financial services sector. I am passionate about what I do, and I strive to make a positive impact in the lives of our employees, customers and our communities.

As a strategic and influential senior leader with almost 20 years of experience in financial services including 17 years of management experience in retail banking, private banking, small business, wealth management, lending and contact center. Proven leadership, strategic business development, management, and operational excellence effectiveness skills. Consistent history of success with coaching and developing teams, establishing partnerships across various business lines to lead regions to increase profitability and objectives. Experience in developing and implementing multifaceted growth plans with core competencies in vision, strategy and execution, customer excellence mastery and customer relationship management, cross-functional leadership, cost optimization and efficiency gains, innovation, and continuous improvement.

• People leader with nearly 20 years of continuous hands-on experience in model development and validation.
• An innovative leader who has a systemic view to design an integrated automation and AI/ML model platform with AI Agent for Modeling and Analytic tasks using LLM, and to prototype the ModelOps for digital model lifecycle management.
• Proven track record of building highly competent and efficient model validation teams covering loss forecast (CCAR) models (Commercial and Consumer Credit Risk, Operational Risk), economic capital models (market, interest rate, credit, and operational risks), Machine Learning, Counterparty Credit Risk (PFE/CVA, and SIMM), and derivatives valuation/pricing models.
• Proven ability to influence senior-level management and key stakeholders.
• Experience in direct regulatory interactions and demonstrated ability to set up policies and procedures to satisfy SR11-7, Basel, CCR, and CCAR/CECL regulatory requirements.

Valerie Drew is an executive-level technologist known for optimizing companies’ growth with visionary technology leadership through relentless innovation in Artificial Intelligence, global security, cloud infrastructure, and financial application development for Fixed Income and Capital Markets. She is a thought leader who catapults teams to exceed expectations in complex environments. She propels MM revenue savings by utilizing predictive analysis, code optimization, and best practices in the international market.

Valerie is the VP, Global Technology Risk Lead for Corporate and Investment Banks responsible for designing controls for Artificial Intelligence, Robotics Process Automation, and Cloud Security at Deutsche Bank. Valerie is best known for her ability to design and implement global business initiatives spanning application continuity data center transformations, security risk mitigation, and complexity reduction.

Valerie has expertise in cybersecurity, leading organizations through all regulatory audits, including SOX, SSAE16, internal and external audits, and mitigating cyber risks. She has a strong infrastructure background specializing in the full life cycle development of financial systems in Fixed Income, Capital markets, Equity, mergers, and Acquisitions.

Valerie is an active OWASP and ISACA member and holds ITIL and Cyber Security certifications. She has a Bachelor of Science in Engineering Sciences from the New Jersey Institute of Technology, a Master of Cyber Security from the University of Maryland, and an MBA in Mergers and Acquisitions from the University of Maryland.