New Chief AI Officer to Lead Equifax AI Innovation

EQUIFAX WELCOMES RAGHU KULKARNI as Global Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer (CAIO), responsible for global EFX.AI and the company’s data science laboratories around the world. 

For nearly a decade, Equifax has driven AI innovation – beginning with the introduction of the first Machine Learning (ML) credit scoring system with the ability to generate logical and actionable reason codes for the consumer. Our custom-built Equifax Cloud™ and advanced data fabric enable us to maximize EFX.AI and we infuse into solutions that give our customers the deeper insights they need to move people forward, faster. 

“We see AI as a powerful force in creating new financial opportunities for consumers around the world and continue to integrate it throughout our enterprise, ” said Harald Schneider, Chief Data and Analytics Officer at Equifax. “AI accelerates the value of our proprietary data through richer data combinations, and I am confident that under Raghu’s leadership, we will leverage AI and the Equifax Cloud to further drive product innovation.”  

In 2023, 70% of our new Equifax scores and models were created using AI and ML, and we have a goal of increasing that number to 80% for 2024. In the first quarter of 2024, we outperformed our annual goal with 85% of our new models and scores built using AI and ML. 

“Equifax recognizes that its use of AI over the past decade has enabled our customers to make better decisions, " said Kulkarni. “To support its increasing use of AI, the company has adopted a set of guiding principles, designed to operationalize Responsible AI and help ensure that Equifax consistently and appropriately designs, implements, and uses AI Systems for approved use cases. I look forward to utilizing those principles as we drive innovation with a continued focus on enabling improved decision making.” 

Kulkarni joins Equifax with over 18 years of experience in the financial services industry, most recently serving as the Senior Vice President and Chief Data Sciences Officer for Discover. At Discover he led the company’s AI/ML Model development for credit underwriting, marketing, fraud, collections, anti-money laundering and Operations. 

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