AITech Interview with Kiranbir Sodhia, Senior Staff Engineering Manager at Google

Kiranbir, we’re delighted to have you at AITech Park, could you please share your professional journey with us, highlighting key milestones that led you to your current role as a Senior Staff Engineering Manager at Google?

I started as a software engineer at Garmin then Apple. As I grew my career at Apple, I wanted to help and lead my peers the way my mentors helped me. I also had an arrogant epiphany about how much more I could get done if I had a team of people just like me. That led to my first management role at Microsoft.

Initially, I found it challenging to balance my desire to have my team work my way with prioritizing their career growth. Eventually, I was responsible for a program where I had to design, develop, and ship an accessory for the Hololens in only six months. I was forced to delegate and let go of specific aspects and realized I was getting in the way of progress.

My team was delivering amazing solutions I never would have thought of. I realized I didn’t need to build a team in my image. I had hired a talented team with unique skills. My job now was to empower them and get out of their way. This realization was eye-opening and humbled me.

I also realized the skills I used for engineering weren’t the same skills I needed to be an effective leader. So I started focusing on being a good manager. I learned from even more mistakes over the years and ultimately established three core values for every team I lead:

  1. Trust your team and peers, and give them autonomy.
  2. Provide equity in opportunity. Everyone deserves a chance to learn and grow.
  3. Be humble.

Following my growth as a manager, Microsoft presented me with several challenges and opportunities to help struggling teams. These teams moved into my organization after facing cultural setbacks, program cancellations, or bad management. Through listening, building psychological safety, providing opportunities, identifying future leaders, and refusing egos, I helped turn them around.

Helping teams become self-sufficient has defined my goals and career in senior management. That led to opportunities at Google where I could use those skills and my engineering experience.

In what ways have you personally navigated the intersection of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) with technology throughout your career?

Personally, as a Sikh, I rarely see people who look like me in my city, let alone in my industry.  At times, I have felt alone. I’ve asked myself, what will colleagues think and see the first time we meet?

I’ve been aware of representing my community well, so nobody holds a bias against those who come after me. I feel the need to prove my community, not just myself, while feeling grateful for the Sikhs who broke barriers, so I didn’t have to be the first. When I started looking for internships, I considered changing my name. When I first worked on the Hololens, I couldn’t wear it over my turban.

These experiences led me to want to create a representative workplace that focuses on what you can do rather than what you look like or where you came from. A workplace that lets you be your authentic self. A workplace where you create products for everyone.

To Know More, Read Full Interview @ https://ai-techpark.com/aitech-interview-with-kiranbir-sodhia/

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AITech Interview with Robert Scott, Chief Innovator at Monjur

Greetings Robert, Could you please share with us your professional journey and how you came to your current role as Chief Innovator of Monjur?

Thank you for having me. My professional journey has been a combination of law and technology. I started my career as an intellectual property attorney, primarily dealing with software licensing and IT transactions and disputes.  During this time, I noticed inefficiencies in the way we managed legal processes, particularly in customer contracting solutions. This sparked my interest in legal tech. I pursued further studies in AI and machine learning, and eventually transitioned into roles that allowed me to blend my legal expertise with technological innovation. We founded Monjur to redefine legal services.  I am responsible for overseeing our innovation strategy, and today, as Chief Innovator, I work on developing and implementing cutting-edge AI solutions that enhance our legal services.

How has Monjur adopted AI for streamlined case research and analysis, and what impact has it had on your operations?

Monjur has implemented AI in various facets of our legal operations. For case research and analysis, we’ve integrated natural language processing (NLP) models that rapidly sift through vast legal databases to identify relevant case law, statutes, and legal precedents. This has significantly reduced the time our legal professionals spend on research while ensuring that they receive comprehensive and accurate information. The impact has been tremendous, allowing us to provide quicker and more informed legal opinions to our clients. Moreover, AI has improved the accuracy of our legal analyses by flagging critical nuances and trends that might otherwise be overlooked.

Integrating technology for secure document management and transactions is crucial in today’s digital landscape. Can you elaborate on Monjur’s approach to this and any challenges you’ve encountered?

At Monjur, we prioritize secure document management and transactions by leveraging encrypted cloud platforms. Our document management system utilizes multi-factor authentication and end-to-end encryption to protect client data. However, implementing these technologies hasn’t been without challenges. Ensuring compliance with varying data privacy regulations across jurisdictions required us to customize our systems extensively. Additionally, onboarding clients to these new systems involved change management and extensive training to address their concerns regarding security and usability.

To Know More, Read Full Interview @ https://ai-techpark.com/aitech-interview-with-robert-scott/

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CEO at The ai Corporation, Piers Horak – AITech Interview

Piers, congratulations on your appointment as the new CEO of The ai Corporation. Can you share your vision for leading the organization into the fuel and mobility payments sector?

Our vision at The ai Corporation (ai) is to revolutionise the retail fuel and mobility sector with secure, efficient, and seamless payment solutions while leading the charge against transaction fraud. ai delivers unparalleled payment convenience and security to fuel retailers and mobility service providers, enhancing the customer journey and safeguarding financial transactions.

In an era where mobility is a fundamental aspect of life, we strive to safeguard each transaction against fraud, giving our customers the freedom to move forward confidently. We achieve that by blending innovative technology and strategic partnerships and relentlessly focusing on customer experience:

Seamless Integration: We’ve developed an advanced payment system tailored for the fuel and mobility sector. By embracing technologies like EMV and RFID, we ensure contactless, swift, and smooth transactions that meet our customers’ needs. Our systems are designed to be intuitive, providing easy adoption and enhancing the customer journey at every touchpoint.

Unmatched Security: Our robust fraud detection framework is powered by cutting-edge AI, meticulously analysing transaction patterns to identify and combat fraud pre-emptively. We’re committed to providing retailers with the knowledge and tools to protect themselves and their customers, fostering an environment where security and vigilance are paramount.

With the increasing demand for sustainable fuels and EV charging, how do you plan to address potential fraud and fraudulent data collection methods in unmanned EV charging stations?

The emergence of new and the continued growth of existing sustainable fuels means our experts are constantly identifying potential risks and methods of exploitation proactively. The increase in unmanned sites is particularly challenging as we observe a steady rise in fraudulent activity that is not identifiable within payment data, such as false QR code fraud. In these circumstances, our close relationships with our fuel retail customers enable us to utilise additional data to identify at-risk areas and potential points of compromise to assist in the early mitigation of fraudulent activity.

Mobile wallets are on the rise in fleet management. How do you navigate the balance between convenience for users and the potential risks of fraud and exploitation associated with these payment methods?

When introducing any new payment instruments, it is critical to balance the convenience of the new service with the potential risk it presents. As with all fraud prevention strategies, a close relationship with our customers is vital in underpinning a robust fraud strategy that mitigates exposures, while retaining the benefits and convenience mobile wallets offer. Understanding the key advantages a fleet management application brings to the end user is vital for understanding potential exposure and subsequent exploitation. That information enables us to utilise one or multiple fraud detection methods at our disposal to mitigate potentially fraudulent activity whilst balancing convenience and flexibility.

To Know More, Read Full Interview @ https://ai-techpark.com/revolutionizing-fuel-mobility-payments/

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AITech Interview with Chris Conant, Chief Executive Officer at Zennify

Chris, could you start by introducing yourself and your role at Zennify and sharing a little about your background in the finance and technology sectors?

I joined Zennify in April 2023 as Chief Executive Officer. I’m a customer success and IT services veteran with over 15 years of experience in the Salesforce ecosystem and 30 years in technology.

Most recently, I was the Senior Vice President of Customer Success at Salesforce. I led the North American Success team responsible for ensuring the retention and growth of the $15B customer base. Before that, I was the COO of Model Metrics (acquired by Salesforce in 2011) and was a board advisor to Silverline and 7Summits, services firms within the Salesforce ecosystem. I was privileged to advise them on scaling and company growth.

We have a fantastic opportunity at Zennify to push boundaries and change the way consulting is done, using AI and tools to accelerate implementations and customer time to value. We strive to be the top boutique Salesforce and nCino consultancy for financial services firms. I’m proud to be here at Zennify and to continue upholding our reputation as one of the go-to partners for financial institutions that want to see accelerated outcomes.

Why financial institutions should ban AI at their own risk:

Chris, you’ve raised the idea that financial institutions should not ban AI at their own risk. Could you elaborate on why you believe AI is crucial for the financial sector’s future and what potential risks they face by not embracing it?

AI has and will continue to impact the breadth, depth, and quality of products and services offered by financial institutions. There are multiple use cases for AI – and a lot of them focus on increased efficiencies. For example, teams can use AI to better predict and assess loan risks, improve fraud detection, provide better and faster customer support through smarter personalization, and analyze data in unstructured ways – all while reducing costs. These are use cases that would have typically taken more time and have more room for errors. Understanding and implementing AI thoughtfully leads to sustainable business growth and staying ahead of your competitors.

To Know More, Read Full Interview @ https://ai-techpark.com/aitech-interview-with-chris-conant-ceo-at-zennify/

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