Bjorn Austraat

Bjorn Austraat brings more than two decades of diverse experience in taking complex business problems and finding pragmatic, profitable solutions to them through machine learning, AI and other technologies.

Currently, he serves as SVP and Head of AI Acceleration at Truist where he is building out the new AI & Analytics Accelerator (A3) and AI COE to enable innovation and accelerate scalable solution deployment for AI and analytics across the enterprise. The Accelerator provides a complete incubation environment including open source and commercial software, curated code repositories, design thinking and agile methodologies as well as synthetic data to support and empower teammates across Truist to grow ideas from early stage to MVP to fully deployed solutions.

Formerly, Bjorn was SVP for Agile AI at Wells Fargo, Global Cognitive Finance Leader with IBM for a top-3 International Bank and the Global Leader for Cognitive Visioning and Strategy for IBM Watson, where he provided strategic direction for marquee engagements including H&R Block and Vodafone.

Prior to joining IBM, Bjorn held a number of senior leadership roles in companies ranging from Silicon Valley startups to large, multinational consulting enterprises working with companies such as Apple, AT&T, Microsoft and Ford.

Bjorn holds an MBA from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley, an M.A. in Translation and Interpretation from the Monterey Institute of International Studies, and an M.A. in Conference Interpretation from the University of Vienna, Austria. When he is not busy with all things technology, Bjorn spends his time with photography, international travel, nutritional science and AI ethics.