AI Summit New York: Deloitte’s Gina Schaefer, Truist’s Bjorn Austraat Named Innovators of the Year

Deloitte’s Gina Schaefer and Truist’s Bjorn Austraat have been named AIconic Innovators of the Year. Both took home awards Wednesday night at the AI Summit in New York. 

Schaefer, managing director at Deloitte Consulting, was named this year’s top solutions provider, recognized for spearheading the launch of Deloitte’s US Intelligent Automation practice five years ago.

The practice helps large enterprises implement AI-enabled technologies to reimagine business processes. Within a year of launching, it exploded from zero to a headcount of 200. It has now generated almost $500 million in sales revenue. 

Austraat, senior vice president of AI acceleration at Truist, took home the AIconics Solutions Implementer award for his role in a holistic policy modernization project.

Bjorn’s executive leadership is credited with leading to the implementation of continuous AI model implementation techniques — known as ModelOps — that are expected to significantly accelerate workflows for stakeholders including machine learning experts.

He was also responsible for designing and executing the inaugural Truist Natural Language Processing Summit, a cross-functional showcase for 55+ business and technical stakeholders for identifying synergy and project opportunities. 

​​The AIconics Awards were established in 2016 to recognize the outstanding achievements of individuals, projects and teams responsible for harnessing breakthrough innovations in artificial intelligence.