We’re proud to introduce our Advisory Council. Coming from all over the world and with a range of backgrounds and expertise, they are crucial to helping us achieve our mission of showcasing the power of AI.
Learn who they are, what they do, and where they've enjoyed their successes from their profiles below…
Karl Sponholz
AI & Exec Advisor, Fractional CMO, GrowthPath Partners
He is an entrepreneurial leader with a proven track record in designing and building innovative and successful customer experiences across multiple industries.
Raymond Kunik
SVP, Head of Digital at 3M
Raymond Kunik, an innovative and customer-centric leader with a proven track record of success in digital transformation across various industries.
With over 20 years of experience, Raymond has spearheaded Fortune 500 digital transformation programs for companies such as Hertz, General Motors, and Danaher.
Ana Simion
Guest Lecturer, Leader in Regulation and Policy
Stavros Zervoudakis
VP of Artificial Intelligence at Mutual of America
Stavros is a leader with 20+ years of experience spanning AI technologies, process automation, cloud computing, UX, QA/QC, agile, SDLC, with an engineering mindset and focus on delivery and business value generation.
In addition to his teaching role as Adjunct Professor at NYU, Stavros is VP, AI at Mutual of America.
Ahmed Serag
Chief Data & AI Officer at AIL at Cornell University
Ahmed is an executive leader with a strong track record of leading global organizations to turn data into insights that drive meaningful commercial innovation and decision making.
He currently works as Chief Data & AI Officer, AIL at Cornell University.
Shashank Kapadia
Staff Machine Learning Engineer at Walmart Global Tech
Shashank Kapadia is a machine learning engineering leader specializing in large-scale AI solutions that drive measurable improvements in user engagement and business outcomes. With over a decade of hands-on experience at global organizations like Walmart, Randstad, and Monster Worldwide, he has pioneered cutting-edge ML solutions—optimizing revenue, boosting engagement, and streamlining decision-making.
Shashank’s approach balances technical rigor with ethical responsibility. He champions fairness, transparency, and real-world relevance, ensuring solutions serve both the enterprise and the broader community. An active mentor and thought leader, he has spoken at global conferences, judged and mentored hackathons, authored widely-read articles on NLP, and co-authored published research—guiding teams to award-winning results.
A valedictorian graduate in Operations Research from Northeastern University, Shashank continues to push the boundaries of ML innovation. His work exemplifies a seamless fusion of cutting-edge techniques, high-level strategy, and values-driven execution—advancing technology that’s as impactful as it is responsible.
Become an AIAI Advisor
Apply to be an advisor here. The form shouldn’t take any longer than a few minutes to complete and once you’ve registered your interest we’ll get back to you with a little bit more info about what is involved.
In the meantime, if you’ve got any questions, drop us a line or find us on Slack.
