How Responsible AI is Shaping the Future of Banking and Finance - with Shub Agarwal of U.S. Bank and USC
Release Date: 04/29/2025
The Evolving Role of AI in Modernizing Clinical Trials - with Xiong Liu of Novartis
The AI in Business Podcast
Today’s guest is Xiong Liu, Director of Data Science and AI at Novartis. Xiong returns to the platform in a special episode brought to you by Medable to explore the evolving role of AI in modernizing clinical trials. Their conversation covers how life sciences teams are leveraging AI to streamline data workflows, accelerate study readiness, and maintain regulatory compliance in both decentralized and traditional models. Throughout the episode, Xiong shares insights into the growing importance of integrating structured and unstructured data across trial systems — from clinical notes to...
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Driving Data Security in Unstructured and Structured Data for Customer Analytics - with Jiaxi Zhu of Google
The AI in Business Podcast
Today’s guest is Jiaxi Zhu, Head of Analytics & Insights at Google. Jiaxi joins Emerj Editorial Director Matthew DeMello to explore how enterprises can strengthen data security and governance as customer analytics increasingly relies on both structured and unstructured data. As organizations expand their use of sources like call transcripts, social media posts, and third-party platforms, traditional data protection models are no longer sufficient. Jiaxi explains how modernizing data governance with comprehensive data dictionaries and metadata management is essential for understanding...
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Laying the Groundwork for Enterprise AI in Banking and Finance - with Chris Tapley of EPAM
The AI in Business Podcast
Today’s guest is Chris Tapley, Vice President and Head of Financial Services Consulting for North America at EPAM Systems. EPAM is a global digital engineering company that provides software development and consulting services across industries, including financial services, healthcare, and media. With deep experience guiding AI adoption in regulated industries, Chris joins Emerj Editorial Director Matthew DeMello on the show today to unpack the foundational challenges facing financial institutions as they move from experimentation to production. He explores the technical and organizational...
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Scaling Drug Manufacturing from Clinical Trials to Commercial Production - with Shreyas Becker of Sanofi
The AI in Business Podcast
Today’s guest is Shreyas Becker, Head of AI & Data Products, Manufacturing & Supply at Sanofi. Shreyas joins Emerj Managing Editor Matthew DeMello to discuss the practical application of AI in life sciences, focusing on tools that are already improving supply chain resilience and manufacturing efficiency. He explains how AI helps navigate geopolitical disruptions, optimize production workflows, and ensure the reliable delivery of critical medications. The conversation also covers the evolution of AI systems developed during the pandemic and their role in shaping future innovations....
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AI Data Strategies for Life Sciences Agriculture and Materials Science - with Daniel Ferrante of Deloitte
The AI in Business Podcast
Today’s guest is Daniel Ferrante, AI Leader in R&D and Data Strategy at Deloitte. Daniel joins Emerj CEO and Head of Research Daniel Faggella on today’s show to delve into the intersection of AI, data strategy, and research and development across industries such as agriculture, life sciences, and materials science. Ferrante breaks down the core challenges organizations face in harnessing data to unlock AI’s potential and drive efficiencies in R&D processes. Ferrante also emphasizes the importance of contextualizing data through a multimodal framework — Deloitte’s Atlas — to...
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Unlocking Operational Efficiency with AI in Accounting Departments - with Greg Cucino of RoundTable
The AI in Business Podcast
Today’s guest is Greg Cucino, Managing Director at RoundTable Strategy Advisors. RoundTable is a leading firm specializing in CFO and NetSuite services that help businesses boost financial management and operational efficiency. Greg joins Emerj Editorial Director Matthew DeMello on the podcast to share his perspective on how AI is redefining the CFO role. As AI automates manual finance and accounting workflows, executives are shifting focus from historical data to forward-looking strategy. Greg also explores emerging AI technologies, including agentic AI, and how they’re set to transform...
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How AI is Reshaping Commercial Insurance and Risk Assessment - with Sidharth Ojha of AXA XL
The AI in Business Podcast
Today’s guest is Sidharth Ojha, Head of Process Optimization in Data and AI at AXA XL, a global commercial insurance and reinsurance company and subsidiary of AXA. Sidharth joins Emerj Managing Editor Matthew DeMello to discuss how AI is being applied across commercial insurance workflows with real, measurable impact. He explains how machine learning is enhancing underwriting efficiency, portfolio decision-making, and risk assessment. The conversation also covers key enablers for scaling AI, including data quality, governance, and change management. For insurance professionals and data...
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How Integrated Systems Are Reshaping Global Risk Oversight - with Kandie Ibaka of Citi
The AI in Business Podcast
As the financial industry moves deeper into the generative AI era, compliance teams are navigating the tension between modernization and risk oversight. In this episode, Kandie Ibaka, Vice President and Sanctions Control Officer at Citi, returns to the ‘AI in Business’ podcast to discuss the real-world challenges of balancing legacy tech stacks with emerging technologies across global compliance operations. Throughout the episode, Kandie and Emerj Editorial Director Matthew DeMello explore how institutions can approach AI adoption without losing sight of regulatory expectations or...
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Breaking Complexity in Banking Risk Operations With AI - with Nathaniel Bell of Wells Fargo
The AI in Business Podcast
In this episode of the ‘AI in Business’ podcast, Nathaniel Bell, Data Management Director at Wells Fargo, returns to discuss the evolving role of AI in risk management, compliance, and enterprise automation in banking. Host and Emerj Editorial Director Matthew DeMello and Nathaniel explore how financial institutions can balance innovation with caution as deterministic, generative, and agentic AI technologies move from experimentation to production. He goes on to outline how simple automation and deterministic models are already creating meaningful efficiencies in audit workflows and...
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Reducing Sanctions Compliance Pressure with Smarter Tools - with Kandie Ibaka of Citi
The AI in Business Podcast
Today’s guest is Kandie Ibaka, Vice President and Sanctions Control Officer for International Investigations and Emerging Sanctions in Advisory Controls and Executions at Citi. Kanide joins Emerj Editorial Director Matthew DeMello to discuss how compliance leaders are navigating today’s rapidly shifting regulatory landscape. With global sanctions evolving at an unprecedented pace, Kandie shares how financial institutions are moving beyond basic monitoring to real-time risk interpretation, operational alignment, and strategic response. This episode is sponsored by MindBridge. Learn how...
info_outlineOn today’s episode, we’re joined by Shub Agarwal, author of Successful AI Product Creation: A 9-Step Framework available from Wiley and a professor of the University of Southern California teaching AI and Generative AI product management to graduate students. He is also Senior Vice President of Product Management for AI and Generative AI at U.S. Bank. Shub joins Emerj’s Managing Editor Matthew DeMello on the show today to offer his perspective on what responsible AI adoption truly looks like in a regulated environment - and why method matters more than models. With over 15 years of experience bringing enterprise-grade AI products to life, he explains why “AI is the new UX” - and what that means for the future of digital interaction in banking and beyond. He also dives into the nuances of responsible AI adoption - not as a buzzword but as a framework rooted in decades of data governance and enterprise rigor. The opinions that Shub expresses in today’s show are his own and do not reflect that of U.S. Bank, the University of Southern California, or their respective leadership. This episode is sponsored by Searce. Learn how brands work with Emerj and other Emerj Media options at emerj.com/ad1.