On the 48th episode of Enterprise AI Innovators, hosts Evan Reiser (Abnormal Security) and Saam Motamedi (Greylock Partners) talk with Sathish Muthukrishnan, Chief Information, Data, and Digital Officer of Ally Financial. Ally is an American bank holding company, with over $8 billion in annual revenue and over 11,000 employees. The company provides auto financing, mortgage loans, banking, and other financial services to 11 million customers across the United States. In this conversation, Sathish explores Ally’s groundbreaking journey from mainframes to AI-powered banking, the game-changing role of generative AI in customer support, and his predictions for how AI will redefine personal banking in the years to come.

Producer’s note: This episode was recorded in August of 2024.

Quick hits from Satish:

On the rules for engaging with Gen AI: “Gen AI is new and fast evolving. Like any new technology, there are risks that you have to tackle. We came up with guiding principles for how we use AI: One, let's build use cases that face our internal customers as the technology evolves. Two, there should always be a human in the middle. And three, we cannot allow sensitive information to leave Ally.”

On the necessary data journey to unlock AI’s potential: “AI is having its moment because of the convergence of other hype cycles that have happened. Whether that’s data, cloud, native app development, or any technology investments. If you went through the data journey, and you have cloud enabled, you've made it findable, and you've made it easy to compute the data, now you have the ability to access the data and use the insights, and you can take advantage of this AI explosion.”

On the importance of staying up to date with new technology: “Do not forget to experiment. Do not be afraid of the fast evolving technology. Continue to experiment, have your team be empowered. Whether it’s on the offensive or defensive side, it's extremely important for you to be prepared. You need to continue familiarizing yourself with new technology so you can be prepared.”

Recent Book Recommendation: Ideaflow by Jeremy Utley and Perry Kleb

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Enterprise Software Innovators is a show where top tech executives share how they innovate at scale. Each episode covers unique insights and stories that will help you succeed as a technology leader. Find more great lessons from tech leaders and enterprise software experts at https://www.enterprisesoftware.blog/

Enterprise Software Innovators is produced by Luke Reiser & Josh Meer.