Stavros Zervoudakis

With over two decades of experience, Stavros Zervoudakis has established himself as a forward-thinking AI leader, sculpting the future with innovative solutions. He boasts an impressive track record, having orchestrated the successful launch of 24 AI initiatives in just three years, including the implementation of a comprehensive Data Science, Analytics, and Machine Learning framework. His work has catalyzed monumental gains, with single projects injecting between $12M and $56M in value.   Recently, Stavros has architected and deployed a groundbreaking, modular Generative AI platform, enriching the digital ecosystem with four pioneering GenAI products seamlessly integrated across six input/output systems. At the helm of his company's AI voyage, he not only crafted the strategic blueprint but also executed the firm's inaugural AI/ML model in a mere three months, netting an impressive $450K in savings.   A natural leader, Stavros has guided teams towards the creation of business-transforming applications, leveraging the latest in technology through agile, SME-centric project methodologies. His tenure as an academic luminary at NYU and the University of Exeter has allowed him to disseminate his profound AI insights, nurturing the next wave of innovation.   His journey with agile startups and industry titans like Citigroup, led him to deep-rooted understanding of regulatory mandates and has empowered him to weave essential privacy and security measures into his strategic visions, product leadership, and advisory roles, benefiting startups and Fortune 500 firms.   Beyond the digital realm, Stavros is a connoisseur of photography, an avid reader, a globetrotter, and a passionate creator of a future Einstein. Connect with him on LinkedIn to explore common interests.

John Almasan

Dr. John Almasan is an accomplished technology executive with over 20 years of experience leading global tech teams and building large-scale data, AI, and cloud platforms for prominent companies such as TIAA, McKinsey & Co., American Express, Bank of America, and Nationwide Insurance. With deep expertise in multi-cloud big data engineering, machine learning, and data science, John is a hands-on practitioner and passionate about enabling the acceleration of AI adoption.

As an adjunct professor at various universities and a member of Arizona State University's Executive Board of Advisors, John is committed to preparing the next generation to meet the future's skillset needs and demands. He focuses on employee cross-training and actively engages in teaching and mentoring students in the field.

John holds two master's degrees in Engineering and Statistics, a Doctor of Business Administration, and has over 20+ patents credited to his name. He has received several awards throughout his career for his contributions to the technology industry.

Jeff Herbst

Jeff Herbst is Co-Founding Managing Partner of GFT Ventures, an early stage AI-focused venture capital fund with approximate $140M in assets under management.  He brings to the fund over three decades of venture capital, operational, business development and M&A experience. Prior to launching GFT, Jeff spent 20 years as NVIDIA's Vice President of Business Development where he built an ecosystem of accelerated computing applications spanning the domains of AI, Data Science, Autonomous Machines, and Graphics and Visualization. During his tenure at the company, among other things he created the Nvidia GPU Ventures program, overseeing more than 40 global investments and 20 acquisitions valued over $8B. He also led the Nvidia Inception global startup accelerator, now comprised of more than 10,000 AI, Data Science and High Performance computing companies.

Mike Shirazi

Jeff Winter

Daniel Wu

Daniel Wu is an accomplished technical leader with over 20 years of expertise in software engineering, AI/ML, and team development. With a diverse career spanning technology, education, finance, and healthcare, he is credited for establishing high-performing AI teams, pioneering point-of-care expert systems, co-founding a successful online personal finance marketplace, and leading the development of an innovative online real estate brokerage platform. Passionate about technology democratization and ethical AI practices, Daniel actively promotes these principles through involvement in computer science and AI/ML education programs. A sought-after speaker, he shares insights and experiences at international conferences and corporate events. Daniel holds a computer science degree from Stanford University.

Gautam Hotti

Highly experienced and visionary Director and Head of Enterprise Architecture with over 20 years of experience in leading cross-functional teams to design, build and implement complex software systems and platforms. Proven track record of developing architecture services and processes, rolling out governance best practices, leading distributed systems architecture and development. Currently driving adoption of Generative AI in Novartis.

Aayush Mudgal

Aayush Mudgal is a Senior Machine Learning Engineer at Pinterest, currently leading the efforts around Privacy Aware Conversion Modeling. He has a successful track record of starting and executing 0 to 1 projects, including conversion optimization, video ads ranking, landing page optimization, and evolving the ads ranking from GBDT to DNN stack. His expertise is in large-scale recommendation systems, personalization, and ads marketplaces. Before entering the industry, Aayush conducted research on intelligent tutoring systems, developing data-driven feedback to aid students in learning computer programming. He holds a Master's in Computer Science from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Technology in Computer Science from Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur.